I go to the post office and the clerk says I can't get delivery confirmation on my package because it is not 3/4" thick. she says only packages 3/4" thick and more are allowed to get delivery confirmation. Well It was a rare photo that I was mailing and the guy that bought it from me on eBay paid good money for it. I was mailing it in one of those rigid photo mailers. I thought It would be best to get delivery confirmation to protect myself, just in case the guy claimed he never got the photo and then utilized the Paypal Buyer Protection plan to get his money back. Hey, its happened to me before. Anybody had any experience with delivery confirmation. I mean nice things can come in slim packages (less than 3/4" thick). Why should the thickness of a package matter? Why can't there be a Paypal Seller Protection Plan?
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I dunno, possibly they want DC tracking limited to packets that get kicked out of the routine letter stream due to thickness? I often use a bubble mailer and "fatten" it up with more bubblewrap if PPal's involved and I want the DC tag. How about putting the too-thin photo+mailer into a larger bubblemailer with more bubblewrap around it? There'd be very little additional weight that way.
Frankly, the whole issue of possibly dishonest buyers plus PayPal plus DC and/or postal insurance scares the bejeebers out of me. I've heard stories of PPal holding the seller responsible since the PO only recorded arrival at the delivering office rather than getting a delivery signature, and I've heard of a buyer insisting on refund from PayPal since there was no DC at all, but also refusing to cooperate with signing a statement for postal insurance which WAS carried.
None of those hassles has hit me yet, but I don't see why it's any of PPal's beeswax if the seller wants to require postal insurance and refuse any responsibility if it's not in effect. I get the feeling buyers just figure PayPal will cover them no matter what, so why bother with insurance? So is the seller supposed to say "Full insurance required for $X if PayPal is used"??
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Trust me there are dishonest people are out there. You know, when your an honest person yourself you want to trust everybody and you want to think everyone else will be honest back to you. The golden rule thing. However, after being burned a couple of times, reality teaches you that if you don't do things to protect yourself, then you will go broke. I wish there was a way to opt out of the Paypal Buyer Protection Plan. I don't want to offer it and since started, it has cost me dollars and frustration several times. I also don't like tagging extra shipping & handling charges onto my auctions, or making insurance mandatory because it is never understood by the seller and they just think that they are be gouged or your a mean person or something and won't bid on your auctions. The customer use to come directly to you, the seller and say where's my package, and you would tell them when it was mailed and ask for them to be patient. Then the package would normally show up in a day or two. Now they just go to Paypal, file a complaint, say they never got the package and you then have no choice but to remimburse the buyer or get kicked off Paypal. Then in a day or two the package arrives and they got your merchandise and your refund. So you loose the merchandise that you spent so long to find & what it cost you to purchase that merchandise & the time it took you to list the merchandise & the fees of listing the merchandise & the final value fees & the Paypal fees & the time spent adjusting your expenses, etc etc. The first time it happened to me it had only been 12 days since the package was mailed. The only option given to me was provide proof of mailing or give the person her money back.
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I suspect that it might not have been just the thickness but rather the choice of post options.
Did you do something to piss off the postal clerk or were they naturally nasty? They know they can use DC under the right circumstances and could have easily advised you.
Here is a snippet right off their own website at:
http://tinyurl.com/dzwy
You can use Delivery Confirmation with:
First-Class Mail® Parcels - Envelopes and small packages weighing 13 ounces or less. Applies only to boxes or envelopes measuring at least 3/4” at thickest point.
Priority Mail® - Cost effective delivery in an average of 2-3 days.
Package Services Parcels - Send small and large packages, envelopes, and tubes. Includes Parcel Post®, Media Mail®, Bound Printed Matter, and Library Mail.
Standard Mail Parcels - Items weighing less than 16 ounces can be sent at discounted presorted and automation rates. Available only for pieces subject to the residual shape surcharge and mailed at the Electronic rate.
Parcel Select® - Send large volumes of packages at a discount.
You can use Delivery Confirmation with the following Extra Services:
Return Receipt for Merchandise – Provides a mailing receipt and a return receipt with the date of delivery and the recipient’s signature.
Insured Mail - Insurance against loss or damage for merchandise and gifts.
Registered Mail™ - Provides maximum security and date of delivery or attempted delivery.
Collect on Delivery (COD) - Allows the postage and price of an item to be collected from the recipient by the USPS and given to the mailer.
Special Handling - Provides preferential handling for fragile or perishable items.
Merchandise Return Service - Your customers will appreciate the ability to return merchandise easily at no cost to them. When you have a Merchandise Return permit, you pay the postage and fees for goods sent back to you.
Return Receipt - Provides a postcard with the date of delivery and recipient's signature.
Restricted Delivery - Confirms that only a specified person (or authorized agent) will receive a piece of mail. Only available with Certified Mail, Insured Mail over $50, or Registered Mail.
The clerk could have easily said, I'm sorry this package cannot have DC as First Class only, however if you will send this Priority Mail, we can add DC, or if you will add insurance to the package, you can also add DC.
Don't things like this really add to the day's stress? Geez.
Don't give up, check their USPS site and know more than they do when they do things like this, and don't be afraid to file a complaint. And you might reward your regular clerks with a little something occasionally to keep them happy.
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The clerk at the post office was very nice about it all. She said she was just doing things according to the book. I can't blame her for that. She even pulled her computer monitor around so that I could see where it said that the package must be 3/4" thick for delivery confirmation.
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Hi,
We ship thin items on eBay ourselves and since we HAVE to have DC, we just put a couple of peanuts or wrap the item with tissue to make it 3/4 '
It works wonders and really it doesn't add to the weight.
DC has helped us so many times to win our PayPal buyer disputes.
Hope this helps.
Good luck.
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Originally Posted by Sai-Jin Hi,
We ship thin items on eBay ourselves and since we HAVE to have DC, we just put a couple of peanuts or wrap the item with tissue to make it 3/4 '
It works wonders and really it doesn't add to the weight.
DC has helped us so many times to win our PayPal buyer disputes.
Hope this helps.
Good luck. Thanks for your response. I feel if I added to the thickness of the package It would jeopardize the safety of the photo arriving without bends or other damage. Also I am using a quaility photo mailer, which is being sold for mailing photos. So why should the post office care?
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Hi,
What you can do is to put your photo in a reinforced / strong backing envelope.
Then add the peanuts or wrap with tissue to add the thinkness without adding weight in the envelope.
So it's Photo->wrap with strong backing->peanut (for thinkcness)->pack for shipment.
osu
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I wanted DC on a few items that were already in bubble wrap but still wasn't up to code (3/4" thick) so I taped a peanut on either side of the little item and it went through fine and didn't cost me any more.
I always use the DC and I email buyers when I ship the item and tell them it has DC. Amazing how all the packages now make it and don't get lost.
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We've already collectively examined PayPal's "smoke and mirrors" documentation on this issue:
here discussion thread: What is paypal up to?
here discussion thread: Buyer / Seller protection
mrpotatoheadd offered an accurate assessment (opinion, interpretation)
but stopped short, tossing in the qualifier "I don't think anybody knows for sure"
YOU NEED TO KNOW
(yes, I'm shouting)
USPS DeliveryConfirmation
does -=NOT=- fulfill requirement #2
for PayPal's Seller Protection Policy
Regardless what you 'think you know',
PICK UP THE PHONE and ask a PayPal rep, point-blank.
More importantly, after the rep tells you "No, I'm sorry, it does not"...
(that's the reality, so brace for it and be prepared to respond)
...if you ask them (increduously, or in my case INDIGNANTLY)
"So, then WHAT THE HELL DOES meet the requirement?
Which of the USPS confirmation services do I need to use instead?"
you can expect that the rep WILL NOT readily commit, will not provide a direct answer
!!!
Again, brace yourself.
Don't get emotional.
You NEED a direct answer.
PayPal is obligated to provide a direct, clear, and DEFINITIEVE answer
detailing what they require of you, toward meeting their SPP requirements.
PayPal Customer Service Agents are available to help you during the following times:
4:00 AM PST to 10:00 PM PST Monday through Friday
6:00 AM PST to 8:00 PM PST on Saturday and Sunday
Call us toll-free at: 1-888-221-1161 {----
We may only discuss an account with the account-holder.
Please have the following information available when you call:
- Your telephone number
- Your email address
- The last 4 digits of your credit card or bank account registered with PayPal
discussing any account-specific information.