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A customer has bought three items and I have packaged them as one parcel. Why can't I add tracking info?
Summary: cosmosis_collectables is a seller experiencing difficulties with eBay's system for combining purchases into one order due to limitations with the Seller Hub. Despite eBay's suggestion to combine the items, cosmosis_collectables faced issues with adding a single tracking number for all items, resulting in concerns over shipping insurance and eBay's monitoring of dispatched items. papso22 suggested shipping separately to ensure seller protection, while tressygirl provided guidance on the process of handling refunds and tracking post-purchase. cosmosis_collectables decided to cancel and relist the items, expressing frustration over the complexity and ineffectiveness of eBay's system for offering a seamless delivery experience.
I'm a private seller. I offer free postage and I use eBay Simple Delivery. A customer has bought three items in one evening and has paid for them - individually, I think, as due to the free postage there was no need for an invoice. They are two books and a boxed vintage toy. eBay said in an email I could combine the three items in Seller Hub. In Seller Hub messages kept popping up saying I could combine them into one order, but actually trying to do so has proved impossible. After a lot of scouring eBay Help I found the advice to print off one of the three address labels and then copy and paste the tracking number to the remaining two items. So I spent a considerable amount of time carefully packaging the three items in one box. I then printed off the address label for the vintage toy (by far the most valuable item of the three) but eBay will not let me paste the tracking number in the details of each of the two books. I really want to take the package to the post office tomorrow (Monday 28th September) but I am concerned that the two books will not be covered by the insurance and that eBay will think I have not dispatched the two books. The package is also larger and heavier than it would have been if it had just contained the vintage toy. It seems to me that there needs to be a proper easy-to-use option in Seller Hub for combining a customer's multiple purchases into one single order, but it seems there isn't. It has occurred to me that I could print off the postage labels for the two books and have three postage labels on the one parcel, but I strongly suspect that would cause problems for Royal Mail and tracking. What can I do about this? Due to the time and effort already spent I do not wish to repackage the items as three separate packages. That would also seem rather silly.
tressygirl
Mentor1 week agoThere is a way, but it has to be done befire purchase, that is the buyer needs to place the item in their basket first, then the postage for ' like' items is com bined at checkout for them.
This hasn't happened so you cannot now add any new tracking, eBay suggest sending the buyer a message with those tracking details. If a case is opened later for item not received, you will be able to add those tracking details.
A refund is sent to whoever paid for the SD label:
If you selected 'Buyer pays’ when you created the listing, your buyer will automatically be refunded for any Simple Delivery label that isn’t used after 30 days
If you selected ‘Seller pays’ and offered free postage on your listing, you'll need to fill out the Request a refund for Simple Delivery form for the label that wasn’t used. Make sure to send your request within 14 days of your item selling.
Payment for the ' untracked' items may be held for 14 days.
Or, you could with the buyers agreement cancel the order, refund, relist for the buyer to buy the relisted item with the correct one postage charge. Here you select for cancellation.... ' Buyer Requests to Cancel' , so it does not affect your seller performance.
@cosmosis_collectables
cosmosis_collectables
OP1 week agoThis what I have decided to do. It doesn't really make for a good buying experience, though does it? So much for "simple delivery". When I explained the situation to the customer I thought he would probably think I was a nutcase. Ebay really needs to make combining purchases a lot simpler. The current situation is embarassing.
papso22
Mentor1 week agoGiven that you presumably built the cost of the postage into the item price, you should have sent three packages. That's the only way to prove delivery of all three and to get seller protection.
cosmosis_collectables
OP1 week agoThis really is absurd. Ebay seriously needs to make it easier to combine purchases. I'm now going through the process of cancelling the original purchases and relisting them as one item and hoping no-one else beats him to it! So much for "simple delivery".
cosmosis_collectables
OP1 week agoThat is ridiculous. I'm not blaming you personally, but if you sell multiple items to one customer at one address within, say, a 24 hour period then there should be an option to combine them into one order, with or without the option to offer a discretionary discount. I had been impressed with Simple Delivery until now. Handling multiple purchases was definitely simpler in the past. Ebay take note!!!