Auctioncope Auction Blog

You might want to print those USPS labels this evening as rates will be increasing in the next few hours.  My estimation is around 12am EST or 9pm Pacific.  I have a detailed rundown of what’s changing available at USPS Prices Going Up, Staying the Same, Going Down in 2010.  The biggest change is that the cost to ship one pound or less Priority Mail is based on how many zones the package is traveling.  Previously, one pound or less Priority Mail was the same price no matter where it was shipped.  This makes the Flat Rate Envelope and Small Box my package of choice for 2010 for anything that will remotely fit inside of it, as the cost is the same no matter where it is traveling.  Otherwise it’s a fairly standard rate increase from USPS.  No major announcements or changes in service.

There’s an odd glitch when printing Priority Mail labels online at USPS.com. Beginning the evening of September 30, 2009 (Possibly October 1 Eastern Time which would make sense), USPS changed the prefix of its Delivery Confirmation numbers from 0103 8555 **** **** to 0550 3699 **** **** where * represents the rest of the numbers. When I check to see if any of these packages with the 0550 3699 **** **** Delivery Confirmation number have been delivered, USPS says “There is no record of this item” for every single package shipped since September 30th. I’ve been a little concerned over the past week that none of my packages have been delivered. Even more worrying is the fact that PayPal may think that I haven’t been shipping any items and will shut me down or buyers will think I haven’t shipped the item at all. Of course, without online verifiable proof that the item has been delivered, I would lose any PayPal dispute for Item Not Received which could potentially mean thousands of dollars in losses if buyers started to catch on. Several buyers on eBay have contacted me and asked for the “correct” Delivery Confirmation number and all I can tell them is that there’s some glitch with USPS Delivery Confirmation and their item has in fact shipped as indicated in the email generated by USPS and PayPal.

Well, I figured out that if you put “94″ before the 0505 3699 **** **** Delivery Confirmation number that USPS generates then USPS will return the correct Delivery Confirmation information online. For example, if the number USPS gives you is 0550 3699 3000 0110 1234 then simply put a “94″ before it to get 94 0550 3699 3000 0110 1234. This new number will generate the correct shipment information and your item should show up as it did with the 0103 8555 **** **** numbers.

Hopefully the United States Postal Service will get its act together here and fix this glitch as soon as possible. I’ve called and emailed and gotten nowhere as usual so only time will tell. Until then, if a buyer asks about the status of their order tell them to put a “94″ before the number they received and track it that way. If possible, print labels through PayPal, Stamps.com, or other means until USPS fixes the problem with labels printed at USPS.com.

For several years eBay had an easily accessible link at the top of the eBay.com homepage that would forward anyone at any time to eBay Live Help Chat.  eBay replaced that link in January with a link to simply “Contact Us.”  The “Contact Us” link takes the user to a screen where they have the opportunity to enter their question in a kind of “Ask Jeeves” format. EBay then attempts to return an appropriate answer based on the keywords entered.  Depending on the question, eBay would invite the user to either email eBay or join a Live Chat session if the question wasn’t answered to the user’s satisfaction.  More recently, eBay has seemingly removed the option to enter live chat through the “Contact Us” link no matter what question or keywords are entered and only offers a link to email the eBay supercomputer.  Never fear Auctioncope.com readers, as eBay Live Help Chat is still easily accessible through this link:

https://cschatlb-na.corp.ebay.com/chat.asp?profile=15

You can expect a longer wait than you might be used to if you haven’t tried to chat “live” recently.  We can assume that eBay did away with the easily accessible “Live Chat” link to cut costs as explained in my last post.

Live Help is useful in somewhat limited circumstances.  You’re basically instant messaging an entry level customer service representative located in India that will cut and paste whatever their handy eBay handbook tells them to.  They have no power to do much more than answer basic questions pertaining to listing policies or provide the correct link to email the appropriate eBay department that *might* be able to help with your problem.  Nonetheless, if you have a question it doesn’t hurt to ask, just don’t be surprised when you don’t get a helpful response or what they say turns out to be untrue.

All of this eBay Live chatter has reminded me of eBay’s currently defunct Live events. Since everyone that would attend such an event is either permanently suspended or no longer interested in selling on eBay I was considering having the event in my backyard. Time and date to follow.

You may also be interested in these guides: Does USPS Require A Signature For Delivery? and How to Use USPS Signature Confirmation Effectively with eBay and Paypal

Yes, if you ship an item with Signature Confirmation to a Post Office Box, the recipient will receive a notice that there is a package that requires a signature.  The recipient will then take the notice to the Post Office window and sign for the package.  This is exactly the same process that would happen if you shipped Signature Confirmation to an address and there was no one available to sign for it.  For my guide on when Signature Confirmation is required on eBay and Paypal see, How to Use USPS Signature Confirmation Effectively with eBay and Paypal.  Remember, only USPS can deliver to Post Office boxes so if you’re shipping with UPS, Fedex, or anyone else it will not be possible to ship to P.O. boxes.

You may also be interested in these guides: Utilizing USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate Boxes For Your eBay Business and Guide Roundup – How to Ship on eBay and Paypal

This is actually a common question.  You pay the shipping cost based on the total weight of the package including the packaging.  If you ship a 1 pound item in a 5 pound box then you’re going to pay shipping on 6 pounds.  If you shipped the 1 pound item in a 2 ounce envelope then you’re going to pay postage on 1 pound 2 ounces.  Thus, using the lightest packaging available will be cheaper.  Remember how USPS rates work.   There is no difference in cost between a package that weighs 2lbs 1 ounce and 3 pounds even, but there is a significant increase in cost between 3 lbs even and 3lbs 1 ounce. Likewise, there is no difference in cost between a package that weighs 1 pound 1 ounce and 2 pounds even but there is a significant increase between 2 pounds even and 2 pounds 1 ounce.  This means that your packaging can weigh as much as 15 ounces and not cost any more to ship than if you had put a shipping label on the item itself.  Take into consideration whether or not the item is fragile when considering packaging options.  Many of the USPS boxes are durable and lightweight.  You can order USPS Priority Mail boxes and have them delivered for free at The USPS Store.  They are also available for free at any Post Office and most other mailing stores.