eBay Altering My Shipping

[thusspakezarathustra]

https://imgur.com/gallery/NC5yNA4

I selected USPS Parcel Select Ground when I created the auction. I double checked it. I triple checked it. 

When I go to buy postage, it gets change to USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Envelope.

This is the third time this has happened and I do not understand why.

[thusspakezarathustra]

So, then I see that eBay wanted to charge me $14.22 for shipping. Then when eBay changed my shipping to Priority Mail the cost went down to $7.66.

Instead of messing with this eBay failure, I went to pirateship (bottom image) and lo and behold, the postage was back up to the correct price of $14.22. 

https://imgur.com/a/2ScHPbV

How do you report this type of utter failure to eBay?

[santamonicajeweler]

Why would your Imgur link wants me to sign in? 

Okay, so eBay is suggesting a lower shipping alternative. What's so bad about it?

I think that's a thoughtful thing to do. Software likes you. Check your weight and size limitations, Priority Mail might not work for you

[thusspakezarathustra]

Sooo, I’m supposed to put an item that fits in a 17x17x5 box in a flat rate envelope? The price is lower not because it a “thoughtful thing to do” but because the shipping method is wrong. Do a google search for this problem, you will find it is sadly common. Software is inanimate, it neither likes nor dislikes me. 

I selected a particular shipping method which is listed on various eBay pages. I want that method to remain through to the purchasing page. 

I check both imgur links in an incognito Window, both are public and accessible without logging in. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

eBay has decided to phase out access to Parcel Select Ground labels, even though USPS has made no changes in their services or policies, and it's offered by all other online postage sellers including PayPal (at www.PayPal.com/shipnow ), endicia, stamps.com, etc. You can even get it at usps.com's Click N Ship!

When Parcel Select Ground is not offered on the label page, it often shows Priority flat rate envelope instead. probably just by default because it's the first item on the list.

 eBay has not made any official announcement about this policy. The only reference I have seen is comment #15 made by an eBay staffer in this thread: "USPS Parcel Select is being phased out as an option for sellers using eBay Labels. This was due to it not being widely utilized, and having a higher rate of poor buyer experiences (more common INRs, etc). " Another staffer has mentioned that it's still available for Top Rated Sellers.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Discussion-with-eBay/Community-Chat-December-9-1-00-pm-PT-Gener...

Compare prices before you decide to purchase Parcel Select elsewhere rather than using an eBay label for regular Priority Mail. The USPS online price for Priority Mail is sometimes not much more than Parcel Select Ground, especially for lighter weights and closer Zones. If you're a TRS you get a 3% discount when purchasing Priority labels through eBay.

[santamonicajeweler]

Imgur, just asked me to sign in again. Why would you post something which I have to sign into? I think there is a malware detected by my software ... Never mind!

You can still ship your item via Priority Mail. Make sure it fits this criteria at all times

Weight, Size, & Shape Requirements

• Maximum weight is 70 lbs.
• Maximum combined length and girth (girth is the distance around the thickest part) is 108″.
• When sealing a Flat Rate Envelope or Box, the container flaps must be able to close within the normal folds.

Shipping Software is suggesting an alternative, you can take it or you wouldn't, that's all up to you. Price will change for your dimensions 

[nobody*s_perfect]

The flat rate envelope is an "alternative" only in the sense that it is available whereas Parcel Select Ground is not. It's not some fancy recommendation based on the information that was provided in the listing's shipping calculator, it's just a default.

The OP mentioned that eBay wanted to charge him $14.22 to ship his package via Parcel Select Ground.  That's the cost to ship a 6-pound package to Zone 8.  An online label for Priority Mail for that weight and Zone would cost $27.43, which is nearly double the cost.

[redmodelt]

The buyer will see the lower rate, ground. That is what they pay.

You then have to buy the label at the Post Office or via other services. I haven't used that level of service, so don't know if you can buy it on the USPS.com site.

eBay has not allowed the generation of a label for that service for a while now, but is still available for the seller to show and the customer to buy.

You do not have to buy the label through eBay, but in some cases you will get the discount by doing so.

No matter how you buy the label, make sure to upload the tracking number.

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@redmodelt wrote:

The buyer will see the lower rate, ground. That is what they pay.

You then have to buy the label at the Post Office or via other services. I haven't used that level of service, so don't know if you can buy it on the USPS.com site.... You do not have to buy the label through eBay, but in some cases you will get the discount by doing so....

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Parcel Select Ground is available only online. As I mentioned above (after verifying), it IS available at usps.com.  At the Post Office, you'd get the retail equivalent, which is called Retail Ground.  (Both services used to be known as Parcel Post.)

There is no special "eBay discount", you just pay the regular online rate when you purchase a domestic postage label through eBay; it's the same price you'd pay anywhere else online.

[wastingtime101]

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@redmodelt wrote:

The buyer will see the lower rate, ground. That is what they pay.

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The buyer will see the shipping options and services the seller offers, in the order the seller dictates.

[santamonicajeweler]

It's just an eBay's software suggestion, I get it all the time. If it doesn't work, don't buy, nothing 'fancy' about it 

[thusspakezarathustra]

I get that you don’t understand. It’s not a suggestion, it’s a failure. I cannot fit the item into any prepaid envelope offered by the USPS. Do you grasp that? I simply want the shipping I select when creating the auction, to be the same when I go to pay for said shipping label.  I do not want any suggestions, or your super weird “software loves you.”  I want the system to behave in a consistent manner. 

[thusspakezarathustra]

Right. And here’s the thing: Parcel Select Ground is not one of the options when I get to the “purchase label” stage. So, I select it when I’m creating the auction, and eBay changes that. 

So, why are they offering it in the first place?

This doesn’t happen on many of my other auctions. It seems to me a problem that eBay hasn’t bothered to fix.

[nobody*s_perfect]

eBay also doesn't offer shipping labels for Retail Ground or First Class letters and flats (AKA Large envelopes) either, but they let sellers use those options when setting up listings, in case that's what they intend to use.  

IMHO, rather than eliminating those options entirely,  it would be more effective if eBay gave sellers a heads-up when they set up a listing with an option that they won't be able to purchase an eBay postage label for. Or at least make an announcement to inform sellers about the phase-out of Parcel Select Ground; it began two years ago.

[redmodelt]

How much did the buyer pay?

What service did the buyer indicate?

If the buyer asked for and paid for ground service, then you DO NOT have to use any other service "suggested" by eBay as long as the service is equal to or better what the buyer chose. If a higher rated service was in the listing, then maybe that is what was selected by the buyer. Most buyers would not want to wait the extra time for ground anyway. Which is why eBay has moved away from it and most sellers don't even offer it as an option. Often the cost difference is not that great anyway.

After the item is sold, the ground service is NOT shown as an available option when you print the label and would default to a different  service.

Reading all the post, this has been pretty well covered.