Royal mail tracking not updated in ebay

[subminman]

I posted 4 Royal Mail tracked 48 parcels on Monday, Ebay shows no tracking activity on the sold items but if I check on the Royal Mail "Track your item" page all show that they are in transit showing up to date details.  Has the link between Royal Mail Tracking and Ebay failed? 

[twin--turbo]

it will most likly have been sent with an untracked serivce so there will be no tracking number. After the due date if it has not arrived you open an "item not recived" case and as it appears the seller has not got a tracking reference they can't provide any delivery evidence and will need to refund.  

[buffster1963]

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@netay_75 wrote:

No wonder! I’ve been checking the “consignment number” for days…Then what should I do now? Can I still get the tracking number instead of the consignment number?

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How was the item sent? It sounds like its the 16 digit number that only shows when delivered as on first or second class parcels. Ebay classes it as a track number even though it does not actually track. Three days is way too early to worry about a parcel not arriving. 

[twin--turbo]

baffles me why tracked 24 is cheaper than 1st class signed.. Makes no sense. 

[dfernand101]

I've just tried my 'fix' for this problem again and it worked today Saturday 18th Jan 2025 with two orders sent today, the lengthy explanation is in  my post above following the steps but in a nutshell all you have to do on the same day create the Royal Mail Tracked label code and at first DO NOT enter it into Ebay when you do so but instead first go to the Royal post office to drop it off and wait until the Royal Mail tracking website has marked the parcel as received (you should see a 'We've Got it !!' message on their web page), when you see this message on Royal Mail go to the ebay order page and update the tracking code with the Royal Mail tracking code and then in about 2 hours or so you will at least see your item as Posted To Buyer' and it wasn't even showing that 2 days ago on many orders and still doesn't.

But I wouldn't get your hopes up too high as I'm looking at something  on Ebay which I posted tracked Royal Mail on 13th Jan 2025  and Ebay registered as so (i.e. 'Posted To Buyer') and on the Royal Mail Website it is showing 'Delivered' on 14th Jan 2025 but on the Ebay website it's showing as only 'Item Received' with not even a 'Out For Delivery' stage marker - so the system I think is still totally broken.

Something interesting I noticed is that I created a Royal Mail tracked code today 18th Jan 2025 and typed it into Ebay around 1pm  UK timeand ebay is stating on the order progress that I entered it at 5:41am  !!!! so I wonder if there's something wrong with the system clock on one of their computer servers or it's pointing to a U.S. server or something.

That's all I got; the real trouble will start if they haven't fixed this by 4th Feb 2025 when it switches over to the new 'we don't pay you until it's delivered otherwise wait 14 days for your money' new policy at ebay.

[subminman]

I had something to despatch today, bought the tracked 48 postage at RM online, updated the item with the tracking number, took it to the post office and they accepted it.  Went home and the eBay tracking had updated to "accepted at parcelshop" with the correct details.  So that one worked normally.  

The ones I posted on monday are still not correct so maybe it is fixed but not retrospectively. 

Only time will tell.......

[sawjuggler]

One problem with delaying marking as despatched is that under the new buyer protection regs, the buyer can cancel right up to the point of despatch. 

So technically you box the item, travel 20 minutes to PO and send. If in that 20 minutes the buyer cancelled. They get refund and item. Seller looses both postage and item.

I usually mark mine as despatched before leaving the house to prevent this.

[dfernand101]

That's a very good point. Although even though the buyer has the right to cancel, it still does and will ? on the Feb 4th 2025 show as a cancellation request not a mandatory cancel ?

Otherwise this would be an exploit that unscrupulous buyers will try for, particularly if they get to learn your dispatch times patterns.

[redwimp]

I’ve got 3 with exactly the same issue from

the same day as you.

[deselby3]

Can anyone clarify if this is only an issue with tracking entered manually? 

I haven't had a problem with tracking showing up when the label was purchased through Ebay but do now have a problem with one parcel where I entered it manually and to make it worse it's a GSP parcel.

I purchased the label through Ebay but annoyingly I miscalculated the size so at the Post Office I purchased a separate label. The buyers details and the Ref code were untouched. I uploaded the new tracking number to the order and sent the cancellation request for the other label (of course RM have not processed that yet.

It's infuriating you can't edit the tracking properly when it's a GSP order. So it shows 2 separate taking sections on the order - both are unmoved and still as if I have the parcel yet when you follow the new RM link it was delivered to the Hub next day. On Ebay it doesn't show received at Hub and now I don't really know what to do or who to contact.

A few years ago I used to do it manually all the time, even GSP orders, and never had a single issue...

[twin--turbo]

gb shipping on gsp should be automatic.

which courrier did you use to send to gsp hub?

[deselby3]

I used Royal Mail. When you click the tracking number I uploaded in the order details and go directly through to Royal Mail website it shows as delivered. But that does not show in the tracking on the order details. So it doesn't show 'arrived at hub' and any processing...

I sent another package to GSP at exactly the same time but that Royal Mail label had been purchased through Ebay. That arrived at the GSP Hub at exactly the same time and has already been processed and dispatched to buyer.

I'm now worried the first package is stuck somehow and I'm not sure who to contact to try and resolve or at least see that it has been processed at the hub and moving.

Never had this issue before with a manually uploaded tracking number. Even stranger, I sent another package yesterday where I manually entered the Royal Mail tracking and that is showing in the order details perfectly fine...

[redwimp]

Does sound like a good plan to force you to use Ebay bought postage, don't update anything bought elewhere...

[deselby3]

It's crazy. It was still a Royal Mail label as well. I spoke to Customer Service by phone and they can't tell me anything. They said they are looking at the same information I have and we just have to wait for the tracking to maybe update.

I said it can't be possible that you are unable to check if a parcel has been actually scanned into the GSP centre, and the fault is actually just some tracking glitch. But they said 'sorry nothing we can do to check and if nothing happens after 10 days we can consider the parcel lost or the buyer can open a not received case'. They told me 'don't worry because once it's with GSP it's not your problem'. But that's the whole issue... Royal Mail say you have it but Ebay, GSP and Pitney Bowes tracking does not say anything other than 'Sender preparing item' and now my buyer is asking question.

I get Ebay doesn't really care about sellers but I'm now trying to help a buyer 'have a good experience'. Ebay's answer... we don't care, you just have to wait and see what happens.

Who knows what's going to happen in February with Simple Delivery and all the rest. I am trying to clear stuff in the next two weeks then maybe stop and see what happens.

[the-layer-laboratory]

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@sawjuggler wrote:

One problem with delaying marking as despatched is that under the new buyer protection regs, the buyer can cancel right up to the point of despatch. 

So technically you box the item, travel 20 minutes to PO and send. If in that 20 minutes the buyer cancelled. They get refund and item. Seller looses both postage and item.

I usually mark mine as despatched before leaving the house to prevent this.

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Luckily, this is simply not the case. Refunds for cancellation requests are not automatic and are made at the seller's discretion.

[dfernand101]

21st January 2025 it seems to be working again for me as before so  I can enter the Royal Mail UK tracking labels immediately go to the Post Office a few hours later and then return home in 5 minutes and 20 minutes later the 'Posted To Buyer' status is showing for all parcels.   Thanks to the I.T. people at Ebay who fixed this whoever you are.

[deselby3]

Yes, something seems to have been fixed yesterday as I got my Posted to Buyer emails last night.

Looked at the tracking for the item I was concerned about and it seems now they’ve added another number but it has full history from arriving at the hub last Thursday. 

As you say, thanks to IT who have sorted this. eBay really should have put a guidance note out though instead of leaving sellers to field messages from buyers who thought items hadn’t been dispatched!

[cheekysnoopy]

I have always used RM on the 8th I posted 2 parcels 1 been delivered and showing been delivered the other 1 is showing its still at the post office where they scanned it and on the 29th still showing at the post office now the buyer as opened a case I have already filled a form in with RM for lost parcel but no update where do I stand with this if anyone can give any advice please. And my funds are on hold

[twin--turbo]

Why are people adding tracking manualy??

[a45heaven]

Because they sensibly buy postage from the Post Office, who are part of the shipping process, rather than a party who do nothing in the mailing process, just reap a profit.

Oh and operate a platform very prone to unreliability.

[twin--turbo]

I don't use any ebay shipping service , but the intergrations work fine. As soon as I but a lable on inPost, P2G, the tracking updates. 

Tracked 48 Via P2G is £3.39
Tracked 48 on Rm website is £3.39

P2G at least have a chat service and on-line claims process, and the tracking updates in Ebay, the tracking is automaticaly updated on Ebay ( at lesat in terms of the number going to the item)