Annoying ebay shipping issue FYI

[disneysteve]

I sell a lot of magazines and catalogs on ebay and normally ship them Media Mail. I've noticed a few times when creating a listing that it didn't offer Media Mail as one of the options but I couldn't figure out why. I finally realized it today.

The shipping options offered are based on the category in which you are listing your item.

I was selling a catalog for a line of Disney china figurines. The category is for the figurines. Obviously, you can't ship a figurine via Media Mail, so that option doesn't appear, except I'm not shipping a figurine, I'm shipping a catalog. That category is the only logical place to list the item though.

That means that to use Media Mail I need to take the envelope to the post office rather than being able to print the postage at home. That's kind of a pain but I'm not paying an extra $4 to send it Priority Mail which is the only option given.

[moneybags]

What about listing in 2 categories? I think there is a fee to do that, but if it saves you time.

[disneysteve]

What about listing in 2 categories? I think there is a fee to do that, but if it saves you time.

I could probably do that but it's not worth any extra fee. The items I'm selling are low priced, like under $10 typically.

[QuarterMillionMan]

I would do a first class envelope and try to "fudge the ounces" to as close as possible to the media mail price.

[disneysteve]

I would do a first class envelope and try to "fudge the ounces" to as close as possible to the media mail price.

I could do that. Just slap stamps on it. I just like the convenience of printing postage at home and being done with it.

[QuarterMillionMan]

No stamps needed, just print the label at home.

[QuarterMillionMan]

On eBay's shipping page when it asks for the lbs & ounces, I'll put 0 lbs, and maybe 8 ounces (instead of 14 ounces). Print the shipping label and drop it in a mail receptacle on the sidewalk.

[disneysteve]

On eBay's shipping page when it asks for the lbs & ounces, I'll put 0 lbs, and maybe 8 ounces (instead of 14 ounces). Print the shipping label and drop it in a mail receptacle on the sidewalk.

Can’t do that. These items are over a pound so in the priority mail range. Media mail is several dollars cheaper. I’m not lying about the weight and risking them not going through.

[kork13]

You can print your shipping labels from the USPS website. It's obviously not integrated to auto-populate your/your buyer's information, but you have full control over the process, and can still print it out from home.

[disneysteve]

You can print your shipping labels from the USPS website. It's obviously not integrated to auto-populate your/your buyer's information, but you have full control over the process, and can still print it out from home.

Don't you need to have an account to do that? I had looked into it in the past and it wasn't worth the cost for the volume I do.

[kork13]

Don't you need to have an account to do that? I had looked into it in the past and it wasn't worth the cost for the volume I do.

I assume you do need an account, but it appears that there are no extra fees for printing postage online. (USPS FAQs).

That said, not certain that it allows you to print postage for media mail (not clear on the FAQs)... You'd need to look into the detail with it.

[disneysteve]

I assume you do need an account, but it appears that there are no extra fees for printing postage online. (USPS FAQs).

That said, not certain that it allows you to print postage for media mail (not clear on the FAQs)... You'd need to look into the detail with it.

It looks like it's just Priority and Priority Express. I do ship stuff Priority but I can already print that postage at home through ebay.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Ebay gives a discount on USPS when printing at home. Printing directly through USPS, no discount. Also, USPS doesn't offer all services online compared to in-person at USPS. At this point disneysteve you may have to go in-person to USPS for media mail. Lesson learned about the categories. I will keep that in mind for myself if I sell an item that needs media mail.

[disneysteve]

Ebay gives a discount on USPS when printing at home. Printing directly through USPS, no discount. Also, USPS doesn't offer all services online compared to in-person at USPS. At this point disneysteve you may have to go in-person to USPS for media mail. Lesson learned about the categories. I will keep that in mind for myself if I sell an item that needs media mail.

It's fine in most categories. I've just come across a few, like the figurine one, where Media Mail isn't offered since the algorithm didn't consider the fact that you might be selling something like a book about those items. If you run across it, you could just pick a related category that lets you choose Media Mail.

Not a big deal at all for me. I just figured I'd share the info.

[kork13]

It's fine in most categories. I've just come across a few, like the figurine one, where Media Mail isn't offered since the algorithm didn't consider the fact that you might be selling something like a book about those items. If you run across it, you could just pick a related category that lets you choose Media Mail.

Not a big deal at all for me. I just figured I'd share the info.

I'm not sure how responsive eBay is to feedback, but that seems like some easy, valuable feedback worth offering to them. It shouldn't be difficult for them to offer media mail options regardless of category -- a "simple" reprogramming of their site. I'd go ahead & submit something to that effect, and see if they change it.

FWIW, I've had a surprising amount of success in getting functionality changes submitted to major tech companies as feedback that does end up getting built in. I don't recall all of my examples (probably 4-5 over time), but a good one that comes to mind is with Google -- a number of months ago I submitted feedback requesting that their Android messaging app allow for scheduling the delivery of a text message, with recommendations for how to implement it. Lo and behold, last month they announced that exact functionality, and it looks exactly as I suggested. My feedback may (likely) not have 100% driven the decision to add the feature, but most good companies do take quality feedback quite seriously.