How to use Ebay standard envelope for non-ebay sale
derryb
Posts: 37,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
The standard envelope label feature appears to be exclusive to buying/printing ebay shipping labels. However, when you make a standard envelope eligible sale on ebay, send the coin in a regular, addressed, stamped envelope to your buyer. This leaves the standard envelope available for future use. Later, simply find the sale in your ebay "orders sold" list and click on "purchase shipping label" in the drop down menu. When the "ship your order" page appears "edit" the ship to address for your non-ebay buyer and print him a standard envelope label. You are basically reserving your ebay standard envelope option for future use with a non-ebay shipment. I find this works best when I sale a cheap single coin that can ship undamaged in a regular envelope. This leaves the standard envelope option for a multiple coin sale that requires a heavier envelope.
Comments
Good head-up.
What is the point? You'd be doing with no tracking and no insurance. You might as well just put the 2nd shipment in a regular envelope and 1st class postage
Then do it your way.
A standard envelope from ebay is for coins that sell for $20 or less and don't normally need insurance. Do you insure such items? Tracking is not an issue because a first class envelope reaches the ebay buyer before he becomes concerned
pretty sure i've tried this and it will NOT permit me to change the address. as i think back, perhaps i've only tried it after i've already printed a label and tried to do another?
can someone confirm one with a sale that hasn't had one printed yet? i would try but i JUST printed out one for the one order i hadn't done yet right BEFORE reading this thread. ><
The point is that there is no real advantage to it, mot that I'm getting tracking or insurance elsewhere. In fact, if you used discount postage stamps it is cheaper to send it regular 1st class without playing games.
a good point but not the only one. there are other situations where it may behoove one to be able to know if it is an option to be able to do it or not. i can think of at least 2 exceptions just now but either way, just making sense isn't always something to be bound by, the knowledge of options, especially where creative thinking is involved and not being bound by the obvious is a pretty good way to accomplish some neat things or get one into some havok.
just because we can't think of something that is useful to others, doesn't mean there isn't something there. ya know?
just to drive the point home. i watched a video of an analysis of a game of magnus carlsen, one of the greatest/best chess players of all-time. he was in a game with i think Nepo (for short) and the engines thought it was a draw or didn't have the hours necessary to find a victory line, it was estimated that any other 2700+ 2 players would call it a draw, partially due to the limitations of human stamina and energy or mental capacity BUT carlsen grinded on, didn't give in (for this game) and after an exceptional amount of moves based on the average GM level game, found a victory line with incremental and minor advantages that NO one else could/did see.
for the record, i do not know if it is against ebay policy or the usps policy for such things. just for full disclosure and there MAY even be some laws involved if someone delved down deeply enough into it. KINDA like shipping non-media mail items in packages with media mail labels. a bit different but kinda the same.
i pushed the envelope (no pun intended) recently a few times selling items that are on a list of embargoed goods, despite not actually shippng to those locations. weird imo but it is what it is. so ebay removed an item under this auspice and a good thing i read the message as it was my "LAST" warning, so apparently i've done it in the past. (i hope they are this thorough with counterfeit sellers)
so even if not illegal but just frowned upon, when bending rules, reader beware, we are subject to their disciplinary action and for my part, the low value of the sales of those embargoed coins is simply not worth the risk of even just one of my accounts that i've had for over a decade. i would put this shipping label thing in that category.
there is another work-around that isn't necessarily a violation and i did it recently.
a buyer buys a single item that is over $20 (up to $50 for 3 coins, cards and others have different amounts), just by a little which stings because it jumps from .57 to like 3.46, over a couple bucks of value SO i asked the buyer to purchase the lowest dollar item listable .99c (as a BIN) and i'd just add a dollar to the envelope. i'm out a little bit but it is still cheaper than the nearly $3 increase to first class and better than no tracking envelope. (i actually messed up the first time i think trying to combine the items on that particular screen so go into knowing it may take a couple times to get it right but once you mess up the label, it will not let you combine them afterwards and auto add the tracking, you'll have to add it manually to the ebay listing and if not an ebay listing, then it doesn't matter) you have to select to combine and then ACTUALLY combine. i think that was the step i messed up on. combine 2x basically.
NOW, this does NOT give insurance to one or more of the items, just like shipping w/o standard envelope.
there are some other options at the post office i don't know the cost of off the top of my head but one of them is return receipt. if you go to the po or look online, you will see they have little trays or whatever with several different forms.
ALSO, there is an option called a Flat but i think a requirement is that i cannot have anything in it that can't bend, even a coin, so i was told but there may be wiggle room to that. i've never pushed that option.