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eBay standard envelope gripe
beachbumcollecting
Posts: 461 ✭✭✭
while I think the standard envelope is great and opens up many sales that were not possible before for both buyers and sellers, I sure wish they would change the tracking or communicate what it means.
It is tiring getting the "not received" your funds are on hold when the item says "delivered" but I have not received it. With the standard envelope delivered just means it is at your local dispatch and scanned through. the carriers do not scan the envelopes. my experience is the cards show up sometime between that day to 3-4 days later.
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I just started selling off some cards after spending too much while being stuck at home after surgery. Actually had a card that was one of the first I sold, have received positive feedback from buyer, yet they have yet to release the funds. All others have been. It’s kind-boggling.
never sent with this feature, but been receiving plenty. i will say, these are ripe for nefarious buyers to take advantage of. id say half of mine never show a final destination scan weeks after it has been delivered. would be very easy for buyers to claim they never got the cards. now i do still have a few that hadnt been been delivered after stalling a week or so with no updates either. imo, not that use it but i really wouldnt consider it a dependable service to ship with. too many headaches.
1.) This is not a USPS tracking method, per se, it is a Pitney Bowes Tracking system that has access to USPS equipment to identify when and where the Stamp (QR code) is scanned and relays it to eBay.
2.) For the instances where there is no delivered "scan", this does NOT MATTER as long as there is at least ONE SCAN somewhere to show that it was received by USPS. And why is this? Because each Standard Envelope comes with $20 of 3rd party insurance for 1 card and I believe up to $40 total for multiple cards in one envelope. Thus, if it disappears, or if a buyer is "nefarious" and claims never received AND you lose the eBay case, you'll just go to eBay and fill out the claim form, and then in a day or two get the money you sold the cards for sent to your PayPal account. You will be whole!
Yeah, it sucks when you get a message from the buyer saying that tracking shows delivered, but there is nothing there, and you have to explain how the damn tracking works and it is an estimate, but how often does this really happen.
Since this program started, I've shipped an estimated 400 envelopes using this method. I've had a total of four buyers say they never received their card. In those instances, as a seller, I have no real choice but to refund the buyer and write it off as a loss. All of those instances were for cards worth less than $4 so I didn't lose sleep over it.
I can totally see buyers taking advantage of their card not being "scanned" when it's delivered, but 95% of my cards do show up as "delivered" using this program when you check the tracking number through ebay.
Overall, I still love the program, and it allows me to very easily and cheaply run through the stack of cards that would otherwise take up space on my desk.
I did just notice the price of postage is going up for the standard envelope program, but just by two cents per level. Not bad, but they better cut it out. I do always use the 2 ounce level, but I'm not sure it makes a difference. I read somewhere they don't scan the 1 ounce level, but I have no proof of that.
FYI - I send most of mine as 1oz and they are scanned and updated in the app.
Jim
I concur, I only use 1oz, and never have an issue. The idea that it makes a difference is absurd. No one is sorting these things by hand.
I've done a lot of the 1 ounce variety and each one has been scanned.
really? i would assume that it would need at least a scan in the buyers home town. whats to stop nefarious sellers from just sending out something to themselves. looking at most of the ones ive received, maybe half are marked with a scan or two. most look like they are scanned in at origin post office, then the regional hub and thats about it.
Oh, now we also have "nefarious" sellers too!! We are now talking about insurance fraud, which is technically on a different level. Also, it should be in the system as to where the label was addressed and if it matched the address in the order. At $20 to $40 a pop, it will take a long while for such a scam to really pay out!
a lot of mine are handwritten w the “stamp or tracking” only printed. i agree $20 would be stupid for insurance/mail fraud.
Only a buyer perspective here. Have never had one not show that I recall, if I did it must not have been that important as I have clearly forgotten about it. I have had several marked delivered that took a few days to show. The winner for that is almost 2 weeks when one finally showed up after being "delivered" 2 weeks prior! I would never open a claim for something if it has not shown up after 2-3 days. Plus, I don't blame the seller in that case anyway. I am willing to take the risk and save almost $4 if it is a cheap card.
My biggest gripe is the number of sellers who either are oblivious to this method or especially those unwilling to use it at all. I move on with these folks (w/o buying their items), but it is such a wasted opportunity. I guess you can't teach the stubborn anything new. Most people I have brought it up to are open to trying it and have won my business from it.
Forgot to add the gripe about the sellers who still try to make up all their fees and such with it. It should not cost a buyer even a buck, but some sellers go even further. I've been charged $1.50 and even $2.50 once. It's still better than $4, but that is not an excuse to gouge, when it is costing a seller about 50 cents.
which would you prefer free shipping and higher prices or a mix. you call it "gouging" but the reality is if sellers had to eat all the fees on low dollar items, those cards would not be available to you or I. if a seller sells a card for 2 bucks and 50 cents shipping, they would get a bout $1.30. why even bother as a seller.....
overall I have sent probably close to 1000 of these envelopes and not had issues with buyers trying to scam. many cards nevershow a scan and the buyers leave glowing feedback. the only issue I have had is the one I tarted this thread with which happened again today. scan shows delivered yesterday and at 7 am today I have a case opened that they didn't get it and money is on hold.
in the few cases where a buyer has complained and stuck to the not received story, the insurance has paid me back 100% without any questions
say wah???? The standard envelope label has the "stamp", return address, and shipping address on it.... What exactly are you handwriting? Even before the standard envelope I was using a word template, copy and pasting the address and running the envelope through a printer..
im not writing anything. talking about what i have been receiving. but yes, for the most part my address has been handwritten on them with only the postage parts being printed.
I've sent about 300, had to refund 2 or 3. Much better ratio than last year. I charge 1.49, as it is really shipping and handling, meaning the envelopes, tape, toploader, buffer cards, printer ink, paper and the few refunds etc actually do cost money. Not a ton, but I usually use the .71 or .91 option to be sure, though you all are right, they don't scan or weigh them. I have my local post office trained that they just toss em in the bin even w/o me there when I leave them while they conduct another transaction (small PO niceties).
It's a big winner in my book.
It's certainly not costing a seller 50 cents. With the envelope, cost of postage and ebay always taking their cut from everything.... it's at least a buck.
I’ve been sticking mine in my mailbox, putting the flag up, and letting my letter carrier take it from there. Knock on wood, but probably up to 50 or so with no problems yet.
And yes - there’s more materials than just the cost of the postage to consider, so I always charge $1 to cover the penny sleeve/top loader/buffer card(s)/etc.
Jim
I use a penny sleeve, rigid top loader, team bag, tape it to a 5x8 index card (wrapped around the card to add a little rigidity to the envelope), and a self-sealing #6-3/4 security envelope. The (99019) label is printed using my Dymo 450 printer. I only charge $1.00 for shipping. I don't feel like I'm over-charging.
I don't sell any cards for less than $2.00, so after fees I clear about $1.64 (not including my packing material costs) on a $2 card. For me it's worth the little effort, and I happen to enjoy the hobby this way by getting to handle the cards, and helping someone else complete their collection.
You shouldn't be charging peeps to create a refund insurance pool as you get the money back when you file a claim, so you are never out a refund.
My bad, that makes fore sense. If you are getting envelopes with a physical stamp, then that is NOT standard envelope shipping and no tracking. If you have an envelope with a normal looking barcode affixed for tracking, then that was done at the post office and probably cost $4 since you can't purchase tracking for non-First Class package prices.
Haven't filed claims on the two previous missing, and there is no guarantee your claim will be honored. At this point we are talking about literally $5 spread out over 300 transactions...if I were actually allocating a fund, which I'm not. My point was to demonstrate that there are many overlooked costs to shipping/fulfillment and if we are taking the prices we pay on auction or BIN for cards and Just the Card's actual value, then a nominal figure for these overlooked actual costs, let alone my time, should be expected.
I have a small business that grosses about 150-200k, and if I don't watch all the nickel and dime stuff, it ends up chipping me out of a few grand income out of my distribution at the end of the year.
I've run $30MM businesses for other people, same principle applied at that scale too.
Ive sent about a hundred of these and received about 50 and never had an issue with any of it.
Rufuss, how much do you sell?
to be completley frank, if I am selling a card for 2 bucks on ebay as an example, I am not going to bother unless I get 2 bucks in my pocket. the other option is I don't sell these cards and collectors don;t get the option to buy them. all the people I have dealt with seem very happy that i have offered these cheap cards and no one has had a problem paying a 1.25 shipping which covers my costs on these low dollar transactions.
Not sure why you're asking me, as I'm talking about refunds, not cost of shipping materials... But alas, I do about $1k -$2k a week in raw sales, which may have a bunch of standard envelopes. However I would never list a card that I know would sell for less $5 intentionally, so I'm not in your shoes,
I say disclose the shipping and if folks can clearly see what shipping is, they can choose to bid or not - like a previous poster said, I am only listing cards that have previous sales of around at least $10…..I charge $5 for shipping on cards but start all may auctions regardless of card at .99 - and I combine shipping…if someone gets a good deal buying a few inexpensive cards I don’t care, I just don’t want to be in the hole on a trip to the mailbox
had someone win 10 good low end cards last night and got many of them for .99 - happy to combine shipping for them (bumped it to $10 total for all cards - still fits in eBay standard envelope) I’ll make including shipping prob $25 and they got well over $100 in nice 90’s star/HOF cards in great condition….they didn’t complain about shipping because they saw it going in and factored it into bidding….I’m happy and they are happy - one trip one package $25
what do you charge for shipping?
as for the insurance pool, since the system is so messed up and many things go all the way through without scans the seller is on the hook. and the seller does not get the shipping costs back or the fixed transaction costs either. so it is not unreasonable to have something built in.
and sorry to seem that I was singling you out, I just asked you as you seemed to have the most posts on this topic. I guess I should also ask, what size shoe do you wear? just in case you want to try mine on
as for the whole original topic, pretty much happens several times a week. and then the crappy part is it gives buyers the idea of how to scam as they don't report back that they did receive the card probably 25% of the time. not sure if eBay refunds them or not as they end up releasing my funds based on the tracking details
Wait, you put that in an Ebay Standard envelope? Or did you mean a regular First Class package/bubble mailer?
So I do $1 for standard envelope, and i have in my listings that it is only for orders $20 and UNDER including combined, after that it is $4 for First Class which would be a bubble mailer. So, if the same person buys multiple sub-$20 cards, I have the option of invoicing them to first class which I'll usually do for 3 cards or more. If the buyer pays before I can invoice, then I'm getting $3 ($1 per card), so I'll eat the $1 and ship it First anyways.
For orders over $20 I pretty much will combine unlimited number of cards for $4. Same with eBay international labels since i get 8oz on those.
Back to the insurance pool thingy, when you file a claim, you get back the cost of the sale AND the shipping. Obviously you don't get the cost of the shipping supplies back, but that is nitpicking... So again, don't see the need to have a refund recovery bucket.
But if we are talking about moving $2 cards, I see that as pain and suffering! So juice them for all you can!
This one with 10 cards will go in a bubble mailer if they fit - wouldn’t try to squeeze 10 cards in eBay envelope…..lol….I’m not that greedy…..
Side question - anyone know how to get your seller id off the return address portion of the postage printout?
Makes me want to move to a PO BOX…..
I have never received the shipping charge back in the insurance claim. I don’t even think there is option anymore to include it. They just take the price from the eBay listing.
And you seem to be infatuated with the $2 card. I guess i brought this up and gave an example so my bad but you are starting to sound like the eBay buyers who act like sellers are trying to scam them and send nasty messages when the scans never happen and assume that the seller scammed them of 5 bucks and took off to the Carribean. 😂
Try either a sharpie or scissors.
You can, and should, send a partial refund for combined shipping. It is the right thing to do, for a number of reasons. And the ebay payment platform does still allow for a partial refund set to any amount you select. The buyer should not be financially punished for quick payment. I sell a fair amount of items, and I appreciate that it is easier to send a combined invoice, but if the buyer beats you to it, take the extra 10 to 20 seconds and return the balance.
I do refund quick payers.... If I send via standard envelope, I refund extra shipping down to the $1. If first class, then refund back to $4. My example is about multiple card purchases over $20 which are usually 3+ cards. I even will refund shipping down to $1 where I listed it as $4 thinking the auction would go over $20.
And in my example of quick payment, I was the one punished, since I was sending first class, but I got less than my First Class shipping charge.
So I went back and looked at my 2 insurance payouts. The first one was to Canada, so International Standard envelope.. Sold a card for $6 and charged $8 shipping ($3 discount).. Got a payout on the claim of $17, so $6 for the card and the actual shipping cost of $11.
My only other one was $14 for two cards and $1 shipping, shipped for 51 cents (maybe 71). The claim only payed $14, so maybe it is only international that pays the shipping cost back, as it is substantial comparatively,