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I wonder if Paypal is going to add it to their system?
New "SCAN" form
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Interesting, Thanks for posting this.
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It was mentioned in another thread and all I could think of was-about time I think it's great.
I believe each package still has it's own unique code, but all codes are under one master code. So each ind. pacakge registers and that code can be used for paypal.
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I like the idea. I wish it was showing real time tracking along the way too. Also, wish they would come up with the labels so we could print them out and place them on the packages. Like UPS and Fed Ex does.
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This appears to be the answer to the written complaint I filed years ago about the online DC for Priority Mail not being shown as delivered to PO for shipping. The POs would not wand the online DCs in most POs as per their regulations not to do so. Some would. And if the package got lost or the customer went looking for it early, then the package showed up as "waiting for package at PO". I made a stink about this issue with the PO and asked the several thousand sellers on an eBay forum to complain at the same time. Most either didn't understand the issue, or were too busy to be bothered, or had a local PO clerk who didn't mind wanding their packages while ignoring the regs. Most sellers suffered no online DC label scans by the clerks who follow the regs.
The PO explanation about not wanding and tracking online DCs was that doing so would complete with and erode their more expensive Express Mail offering which does end to end tracking of the package online in the US.
Apparently the PO was worried some shippers would bring them dozens of boxes to wand and wanted a method that would group them all and accept them all at once. I wonder how the clerk will now make sure all the boxes are there - will they physically count the boxes to make sure all the claimed shipments are there? I can envision some abuse happening with this as a less than honest shipper brings items to ship and mixes some non-DC item in with the rest to cover the one they didn't bring, and thus showing a shipment that didn't happen, perhaps for insurance fraud purposes.
Anyway, I am pleased to see them correct this problem in some fashion even if it adds time and steps to the shipper.
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I used the SCAN form earlier this week and forgot to put the first 5 packages on the scan. We shipped a total of 32 packages and DH had to stand at the post office and figure out which 5 weren't on the SCAN form. Lesson learned and I am passing it on as my holiday gift to you.
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This scan form sounds like it mimics the FedEx Ground method of closing out the day and producing a recap list of the packages shipped that day and then their system marks all those in that list as "accepted for shipment".
I'd bet, having not used it yet, that the scan form is produced once a day meaning one trip to the PO. Is that the case? That is how FedEx Ground was set up.
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That's pretty much how it works.
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Rethinking this idea, I'm not sure that USPS knows where it's tail is. They can't get Shipping Assistant right but yet are promoting this? Has anyone else tried the new Shipping Assistant with any luck. I can't get it to resize on my screen (so I can read the text in the form). It appears not to be sized as the current S.A. is. Contacting them only got me the standard answer of reset your screen size. DUH dear Federal Employee... can we now go into any depth on the matter?
So, anyone else try it yet?
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Yes, I've been using it quite a bit. When mine comes up it covers the entire screen (19" flat monitor). So far I like it pretty well. There are a couple of things that I wish were different but all in all it's not bad.
I haven't tried the new Scan Form for multiple packages as they have to be paid for in advance to do that. As far as I can see it could only be used if you pre-paid on the USPS site, not PayPal or other site. And if you use SA3 then of course they are not pre-paid at all. There are a couple of things on SA3 that make me think that they may add pre-paid in the future (the insurance feature is not active now) but they may be positioning for it.
The other thing on using the new Scan Form --
Would that mean if you wanted it scanned that you would have to wait in line with all the pre-paid packages instead of just being able to put them on the counter and leave?