eBay Shipping Question

chib

Hi,

When selling on eBay I usually offer CollectPlus as the primary method which everyone uses as its cheap, quick and easy however last night when I sold an item the buyer opted for the RM Special Delivery option.

I've never used eBay for RM postage labels before but assumed it should be straight forward enough. I put in a generous weight and was happy with the price - purchased and printed the label.

I noticed the label didn't have a tracking number on it, I assumed that I'd get this when I took it to the Post Office this morning - when I did this they said that as it's already paid they can't issue me a tracking number and would simply provide me a Certificate of Posting which they have.

I came back and called eBay, unfortunately not very helpful and terrible line quality simply told me to call Royal Mail. And no surprise, Royal Mail aren't contactable at the weekend.

Is it common practice when you print a postage label via eBay that you don't get a tracking number? The email confirmation I received simply says Tracking Number : N/A. (See below)



Any thoughts?

Regards,
Chib.

soolin

No, that is wrong. When I take special or signed for to the PO or mail centre that i printed on eBay I then have to either take my ore filled silver or orange slip with me (I have a stock) or get one filled out while I am there.

It needs the tracking details- and in particular you need the tracking to win any PayPal claim raised against you.

chib

Hi,

My thoughts were that you printed the label, stuck to the parcel and dropped it off. When completing the process it never mentioned anything about additional slips and the post office didn't mention this either.

FidgitsID

chib wrote: »

Hi,

I noticed the label didn't have a tracking number on it, I assumed that I'd get this when I took it to the Post Office this morning - when I did this they said that as it's already paid they can't issue me a tracking number and would simply provide me a Certificate of Posting which they have.

Chib.

Think your post office was wrong, they should have put on the the tracking sticker/number.

I dont understand, why you let the post office take it, when you knew it did not have a tracking number.....

What service did the post office actually accept it as ? is it going as special delivery but without tracking, (I dont think thats possible) or did they accept it as normal first class ?

Does the lable you printed show the postage cost ? If not, the buyer might be in for a wait for a first class item after paying for special delivery :-( might be worth trying to confirm exactly what the post office has done and contact your buyer, or they might be quick with a defect & negative feedback.

sequence

No it's the post office that's wrong. They hate pre-paid parcels as they don't make any commission, so will say anything to fob you off. They should have put an SD sticker on it and given you a receipt with the tracking

chib

Great, another poor experience with the Post Office/Royal Mail.

I don't understand why eBay doesn't state that when you print the label. Either way it's probably going as First Class now - the label on the parcel states Special Delivery so they'll see I attempted to send it as that.

I'll try another Post Office next time, or remove RM as postage options. I've yet to have a single issue using CollectPlus and have sent over 100 parcels with them.

Sally22_2

Ive processed these lots of times before - normally the piece you print out and put on the parcel has a dotted rectangle on it, this is where the silver special delivery sticker is supposed to go. They are supposed to process as special delivery but on the last screen they would select prepaid and put in the amount. Then they should give you a slip of paper with the tracking on.

I would maybe use another post office next time, although might be worth putting in a complaint to PO directly as they may be doing this to lots of customers and not know the correct process. PO can call them and explain correct process or send support out for more training.

chib

Thanks all for the replies, can't help but think the information I've learned here should be on eBay's site.

martindow

I think you should also apologise to your buyer who will be expecting it to arrive before 1pm on Monday which possibly will not now happen. Hopefully it will arrive quickly and will not cause a problem. They will be able to see that you have paid for SD and that it is a PO mix up.

chib

I take my comments back, eBay does provide the information. Fingers crossed the item is delivered successfully, I'll ensure I receive the correct detail next time.

chib

Just one final update, I took that screenshot to the shop to show the staff but before I got a chance they already had it sorted - when I left they called up and checked themselves on what to do.

Glad thats sorted.