Ebay postal prints

soolin

pennyforthem said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

The codes are for Royal Mail and eBay to talk to one another, I take them out. 


Buyers are very bad at giving a correct address, you can check on:


https://www.royalmail.com/find-a-postcode


and display the address as Royal Mail prefer. 


Some buyers will give you an incorrect postcode, if it's an obvious error such as pressing H instead of J I just correct it to what Royal Mail show. If the address is in Cornwall and the postcode in Scotland then probably best to check with the buyer.


Many buyers leave out the town name, think Brighton is in London or cram the whole lot on the first line and then duplicate the address again on the lower lines (auto fill on browsers is probably the issue). Plenty put in villages or local areas that Royal Mail don't need, up to you really if you leave them in. 


There has been issues with house numbers missing, tends to be newer members, and this obviously requires a check with the buyer.


You can book a collection here:


https://send.royalmail.com/


It asks for the parcel ID or tracking number, if it's something they won't collect I assume the flow will notify you and refuse the order going through. 


I buy my labels on the above link, the postcode checker in the first link doesn't give the county where as the label generation flow does and I take it out as it's pointless and cluttering up the label but other than that house number and postcode entered and Royal Mail will fill the rest. Whether you wish to add other information the buyer has given is up to you but email addresses, phone numbers, unneeded towns 20 miles away and requests to feed the cat whilst dropping off the parcel all get omitted when I buy the label. 


Clear, concise addresses as per Royal Mail's system will reduce losses and late deliveries. 


For missing parcels eBay's system is simple, if you don't have tracking (or delivery conformation) to show delivery took place and the buyer opens a case eBay will find in the buyer's favour regardless of where you purchase the label from. 

Despite the long post, it's probably best not to over think it  

My favourite is when eg someone has a PE address and say they live in Cambridge, arh someone needs a hug

PE would be Cambridgeshire and many people prefer to use perhaps a slightly better nearby town for reference if they live on the border, it  would almost certainly make no difference to the delivery.

The PE postcode area, also known as the Peterborough postcode area,[2] is a group of 38 postcode districts in eastern England, which are subdivisions of 18 post towns. These cover most of Cambridgeshire (including Peterborough, Huntingdon, Chatteris, St. Neots, St Ives, March and Wisbech), much of south Lincolnshire (including Bourne, Stamford, Spalding, Boston, Skegness and Spilsby) and west Norfolk (including King's Lynn, Hunstanton, Sandringham, Swaffham and Downham Market), plus parts of east Northamptonshire and very small parts of Bedfordshire and Rutland.

soolin

pennyforthem said:

jon81uk said:

pennyforthem said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Why would you have to email every buyer? 

Ebay has repeatedly changed my buyer's addresses usually it's just adding ebay codes for some strange reason but it has been a lot worse than that so I am forced to check every single address is correct some are but a large amount has been changed!

Obviously, if the eBay pre-done service is free and I use that then eBay would be liable for all the packages that do not arrive!!!!

Although saying that I am now remembering the nightmare of when I sold a very nice jigsaw and used ebay postal charge calculator with all the money from the item AND postage I was out of pocket let alone ebay fees etc........another lesson learnt the hard way maybe its better to just put the statement on the listing as no one seems to know if there is even a charge, not surprised I wasted enough of my life trying to work it out!!!!!!

If you are out of pocket then I expect you aren't working out how much it will cost to post something correctly. You need to weigh and measure the item.

For example I know a t-shirt is usually under 250g and I can fold it to be large letter size. So it will cost me £1.53 second class. I charge the buyer £1.60 to allow for packaging etc. If the item sells for 99p plus the £1.60 postage thats £2.59 income, less fees of 12.8% and 30p is a total fee of 60p, so I now have £1.99. Pay £1.53 to post it (either to Royal Mail, eBay or the Post Office) and I'm left with 46p.
If you assumed that item will be under 100g instead and therefore the postage will be 96p, then later on you weigh it and its too heavy, then yes you will be out of pocked as the postage is 57p more than you expected, so if you didn't charge the buyer enough then that 46p profit is wiped out.

Its important to consider whether it is worth selling low price items as the fees are relatively high. Its also important to know roughly what something will cost to post and either add the right charge on to the listing or increase the opening price (if free postage).

I was out of pocket on that occasion BECAUSE I used the Ebay postal calculator I have never once miss calculated myself!!!!!!!! And on top of your calculations for selling worth I also have to consider health and ability to live so if there is a possible method that will enable me to do this with more ease I will give it a go because this current rate is eye-watering!

Ebay don't really use a calculator as they don't know your weight or size of parcel only you know that. They tend to work in categories for their 'suggestions' and as  jon81uk says it is best to have an idea yourself about rough sizes. So as an example in the book category most people might be sending for £3.00 which is a standard small parcel printed on.line and ebay might suggest that as a price suggestion for postage. However it would not cover a huge coffee table book (many of which are over 2KG) and it would be too much for a small thin easy read type toddler book- but you have the item so you know whether the suggestion is correct.

The postage from Royal Mail via ebay packlink is a few pence cheaper than buying from a PO but not a lot , £3 for a standard parcel rather than £3.20,  for instance . If you are selling, even infrequently, it is a good idea to have a rough guide to postage either in your head or just on a bit of paper - normal size and weight for an RM small parcel for instance, if you sell anything as a large letter the rough price bands for the weights you most commonly use- then you can use those. Alternatively print out a PDF of prices from RM which you can do online . Obviously whatever you use you will still need accurate scales and if relevant a way of measuring the thickness of a large letter and a standard tape measure for sizes.

Packlink also do couriers , but the prices fluctuate quite a bit and sometimes it is cheaper to buy direct from the courier.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

soolin said:

pennyforthem said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

The codes are for Royal Mail and eBay to talk to one another, I take them out. 


Buyers are very bad at giving a correct address, you can check on:


https://www.royalmail.com/find-a-postcode


and display the address as Royal Mail prefer. 


Some buyers will give you an incorrect postcode, if it's an obvious error such as pressing H instead of J I just correct it to what Royal Mail show. If the address is in Cornwall and the postcode in Scotland then probably best to check with the buyer.


Many buyers leave out the town name, think Brighton is in London or cram the whole lot on the first line and then duplicate the address again on the lower lines (auto fill on browsers is probably the issue). Plenty put in villages or local areas that Royal Mail don't need, up to you really if you leave them in. 


There has been issues with house numbers missing, tends to be newer members, and this obviously requires a check with the buyer.


You can book a collection here:


https://send.royalmail.com/


It asks for the parcel ID or tracking number, if it's something they won't collect I assume the flow will notify you and refuse the order going through. 


I buy my labels on the above link, the postcode checker in the first link doesn't give the county where as the label generation flow does and I take it out as it's pointless and cluttering up the label but other than that house number and postcode entered and Royal Mail will fill the rest. Whether you wish to add other information the buyer has given is up to you but email addresses, phone numbers, unneeded towns 20 miles away and requests to feed the cat whilst dropping off the parcel all get omitted when I buy the label. 


Clear, concise addresses as per Royal Mail's system will reduce losses and late deliveries. 


For missing parcels eBay's system is simple, if you don't have tracking (or delivery conformation) to show delivery took place and the buyer opens a case eBay will find in the buyer's favour regardless of where you purchase the label from. 

Despite the long post, it's probably best not to over think it  

My favourite is when eg someone has a PE address and say they live in Cambridge, arh someone needs a hug

PE would be Cambridgeshire and many people prefer to use perhaps a slightly better nearby town for reference if they live on the border, it  would almost certainly make no difference to the delivery.

The PE postcode area, also known as the Peterborough postcode area,[2] is a group of 38 postcode districts in eastern England, which are subdivisions of 18 post towns. These cover most of Cambridgeshire (including Peterborough, Huntingdon, Chatteris, St. Neots, St Ives, March and Wisbech), much of south Lincolnshire (including Bourne, Stamford, Spalding, Boston, Skegness and Spilsby) and west Norfolk (including King's Lynn, Hunstanton, Sandringham, Swaffham and Downham Market), plus parts of east Northamptonshire and very small parts of Bedfordshire and Rutland.

From what I can tell the 'Town' which Royal Mail use on their address checkers is the one where the delivery office is (except for big cities).

Generally speaking Royal Mail do well but there must be less chance of a delay by using the address given by their own systems.

If only eBay wasn't so tight and used an address look up tool. 

jon81uk

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

soolin said:

pennyforthem said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

The codes are for Royal Mail and eBay to talk to one another, I take them out. 


Buyers are very bad at giving a correct address, you can check on:


https://www.royalmail.com/find-a-postcode


and display the address as Royal Mail prefer. 


Some buyers will give you an incorrect postcode, if it's an obvious error such as pressing H instead of J I just correct it to what Royal Mail show. If the address is in Cornwall and the postcode in Scotland then probably best to check with the buyer.


Many buyers leave out the town name, think Brighton is in London or cram the whole lot on the first line and then duplicate the address again on the lower lines (auto fill on browsers is probably the issue). Plenty put in villages or local areas that Royal Mail don't need, up to you really if you leave them in. 


There has been issues with house numbers missing, tends to be newer members, and this obviously requires a check with the buyer.


You can book a collection here:


https://send.royalmail.com/


It asks for the parcel ID or tracking number, if it's something they won't collect I assume the flow will notify you and refuse the order going through. 


I buy my labels on the above link, the postcode checker in the first link doesn't give the county where as the label generation flow does and I take it out as it's pointless and cluttering up the label but other than that house number and postcode entered and Royal Mail will fill the rest. Whether you wish to add other information the buyer has given is up to you but email addresses, phone numbers, unneeded towns 20 miles away and requests to feed the cat whilst dropping off the parcel all get omitted when I buy the label. 


Clear, concise addresses as per Royal Mail's system will reduce losses and late deliveries. 


For missing parcels eBay's system is simple, if you don't have tracking (or delivery conformation) to show delivery took place and the buyer opens a case eBay will find in the buyer's favour regardless of where you purchase the label from. 

Despite the long post, it's probably best not to over think it  

My favourite is when eg someone has a PE address and say they live in Cambridge, arh someone needs a hug

PE would be Cambridgeshire and many people prefer to use perhaps a slightly better nearby town for reference if they live on the border, it  would almost certainly make no difference to the delivery.

The PE postcode area, also known as the Peterborough postcode area,[2] is a group of 38 postcode districts in eastern England, which are subdivisions of 18 post towns. These cover most of Cambridgeshire (including Peterborough, Huntingdon, Chatteris, St. Neots, St Ives, March and Wisbech), much of south Lincolnshire (including Bourne, Stamford, Spalding, Boston, Skegness and Spilsby) and west Norfolk (including King's Lynn, Hunstanton, Sandringham, Swaffham and Downham Market), plus parts of east Northamptonshire and very small parts of Bedfordshire and Rutland.

From what I can tell the 'Town' which Royal Mail use on their address checkers is the one where the delivery office is (except for big cities).

Generally speaking Royal Mail do well but there must be less chance of a delay by using the address given by their own systems.

If only eBay wasn't so tight and used an address look up tool. 

I really don't think the middle part of the address matters if the postcode is correct. First line and post code are the two parts that really are needed to be correct. If the postcode is incorrect they I expect RM need the rest of the address, but the postcode is where they would try to direct mail to first.

soolin

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

soolin said:

pennyforthem said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

The codes are for Royal Mail and eBay to talk to one another, I take them out. 


Buyers are very bad at giving a correct address, you can check on:


https://www.royalmail.com/find-a-postcode


and display the address as Royal Mail prefer. 


Some buyers will give you an incorrect postcode, if it's an obvious error such as pressing H instead of J I just correct it to what Royal Mail show. If the address is in Cornwall and the postcode in Scotland then probably best to check with the buyer.


Many buyers leave out the town name, think Brighton is in London or cram the whole lot on the first line and then duplicate the address again on the lower lines (auto fill on browsers is probably the issue). Plenty put in villages or local areas that Royal Mail don't need, up to you really if you leave them in. 


There has been issues with house numbers missing, tends to be newer members, and this obviously requires a check with the buyer.


You can book a collection here:


https://send.royalmail.com/


It asks for the parcel ID or tracking number, if it's something they won't collect I assume the flow will notify you and refuse the order going through. 


I buy my labels on the above link, the postcode checker in the first link doesn't give the county where as the label generation flow does and I take it out as it's pointless and cluttering up the label but other than that house number and postcode entered and Royal Mail will fill the rest. Whether you wish to add other information the buyer has given is up to you but email addresses, phone numbers, unneeded towns 20 miles away and requests to feed the cat whilst dropping off the parcel all get omitted when I buy the label. 


Clear, concise addresses as per Royal Mail's system will reduce losses and late deliveries. 


For missing parcels eBay's system is simple, if you don't have tracking (or delivery conformation) to show delivery took place and the buyer opens a case eBay will find in the buyer's favour regardless of where you purchase the label from. 

Despite the long post, it's probably best not to over think it  

My favourite is when eg someone has a PE address and say they live in Cambridge, arh someone needs a hug

PE would be Cambridgeshire and many people prefer to use perhaps a slightly better nearby town for reference if they live on the border, it  would almost certainly make no difference to the delivery.

The PE postcode area, also known as the Peterborough postcode area,[2] is a group of 38 postcode districts in eastern England, which are subdivisions of 18 post towns. These cover most of Cambridgeshire (including Peterborough, Huntingdon, Chatteris, St. Neots, St Ives, March and Wisbech), much of south Lincolnshire (including Bourne, Stamford, Spalding, Boston, Skegness and Spilsby) and west Norfolk (including King's Lynn, Hunstanton, Sandringham, Swaffham and Downham Market), plus parts of east Northamptonshire and very small parts of Bedfordshire and Rutland.

From what I can tell the 'Town' which Royal Mail use on their address checkers is the one where the delivery office is (except for big cities).

Generally speaking Royal Mail do well but there must be less chance of a delay by using the address given by their own systems.

If only eBay wasn't so tight and used an address look up tool. 

I’d understood all RM need is the postcode and house number with anything else being just helpful if there is any problem with a bad postcode. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

jon81uk said:

I really don't think the middle part of the address matters if the postcode is correct. First line and post code are the two parts that really are needed to be correct. If the postcode is incorrect they I expect RM need the rest of the address, but the postcode is where they would try to direct mail to first.

soolin said:

I’d understood all RM need is the postcode and house number with anything else being just helpful if there is any problem with a bad postcode. 

That's probably about right, I check the addresses to ensure the postcode matches the street and generally tidy up the address so to tweak the rest to match the database doesn't really add much time to the day.

I like to think this saves a few missing parcels or irate buyers who have received all their other mail through the magic postal tunnel direct to their house and so alleviates a bit of stress.

custardy

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

jon81uk said:

I really don't think the middle part of the address matters if the postcode is correct. First line and post code are the two parts that really are needed to be correct. If the postcode is incorrect they I expect RM need the rest of the address, but the postcode is where they would try to direct mail to first.

soolin said:

I’d understood all RM need is the postcode and house number with anything else being just helpful if there is any problem with a bad postcode. 

That's probably about right, I check the addresses to ensure the postcode matches the street and generally tidy up the address so to tweak the rest to match the database doesn't really add much time to the day.

I like to think this saves a few missing parcels or irate buyers who have received all their other mail through the magic postal tunnel direct to their house and so alleviates a bit of stress.

Post codes are used for network routing.

So for Edinburgh and Lothians and we take EH12 7SB as an example.

EH is the postcode for the entire Edinburgh & Lothians. So nationally this is how mail is sorted via mail centred

12 takes the mail to the office that delivers to EH12 (in this case that office does EH11/12,29 & 30) and is how the mail centres sort mail directly to the delivery office

7 is a postcode sector within that offices delivery area (sectors can vary wildly in size)

S drills down to specific area of that sector  and B a street/part street or property in the case of properties with a unique postcode.

In delivery offices the manual sorting is done by street name/house number with postcodes only being used for queries or things like multiple streets of the same name.
EG You wouldn't believe how many Edinburgh roads there are in the EH postcode area