eBay made an interesting promise to help online sellers with several shipping problems involving Post Office window clerks. During its weekly chat with online sellers, eBay’s Jim “Griff” Griffith provided instructions on how to report two common problems sellers encounter.
The issue arose during the chat session when a seller reported problems with postal workers failing to scan packages. This is a hot topic as eBay moves to a new seller performance standard called On Time Shipping – a USPS scan of the package at the time it enters the mail stream is one way sellers can protect themselves.
The seller had filed a complaint with the USPS regarding the failure of its carriers to scan packages. “I got a call in response to this complaint at 5:45 am – and the rep interrupted to say – carriers don’t scan packages. I ended the call. IF the PO’s own complaint resolution center doesn’t think packages should be scanned, how can we expect that they will be?”
In response, Griff said USPS clerks are required to scan packages on request with no exceptions, and suggested sellers reach out to Nate in the eBay Shipping Team. He explained that Nate requested that any seller who has been given incorrect information by a USPS clerk contact him directly through Community messages at the ID: ship_like_a_pro and provided instructions on what information to include in the message.
“He will call his contact at USPS (upper management) who has asked for this information so they can correct the specific clerk or post office location on the actual rules. This also covers cases where a clerk has refused to accept a First Class Package label with CommBase rates for weight between 13 and 16 ounces.”
The latter issue has arisen since the January 17th postal rate changes – see the accompanying blog post for more information.
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