ESUS Tracking Still Extremely Unreliable

[stori3d_past]

Hi. I still don't know if eBay ever hears any of these posts, but I wanted to put this here for the record.

The ESUS tracking system is still far too unreliable, and it causes headaches for sellers because buyers look for a package and it often seems like we sellers haven't even bothered to ship the item. When we have.

I spent weeks digging for "Best Practices" for shipping, and I'm doing them all:

1: I print ESUS shipping labels directly onto envelopes, so there is no tape getting in the way.

2: The envelopes are 4 3/4" x 6 1/2" and I scale the printing so the shipping codes are within 1/2" of the upper right corner. (See photo)

3: What I ship is coins. I fold the coin into the packing slip, center the wrapped-up coin in the envelope, and even affix it there to the inside of the envelope with a small piece of tape so the coin won't move.

4: When I seal the envelope, I put a protective piece of clear packing tape over the back seal, which protects the envelope and also smooths out any rough spots from the coin holder.

I literally can't do any more than I do, yet most weeks at least one of these envelopes is not being scanned by the USPS distribution center. This week I had light sales and only had two coin sales. BOTH failed to be scanned. So I have reached out to the buyers to let them know that, yes, I actually could be bothered to get off the couch and get their purchases to them & no I wasn't being lazy. Because if a buyer relies on tracking numbers to see where their purchases are, WAY too often it looks like we sellers simply don't care.

What makes this worse is that eBay then sees the tracking data, also thinks I didn't send the items on time, and dings me & threatens to reduce my seller rank -- and reduce some of the benefits. It is an actual financial hit to sellers when the USPS doesn't do its job.

That's not a viable system, eBay.

-- Harry

Stori3D Past

[wastingtime101]

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@stori3d_past wrote:

3: What I ship is coins. I fold the coin into the packing slip, center the wrapped-up coin in the envelope, and even affix it there to the inside of the envelope with a small piece of tape so the coin won't move.

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The coin should be off to one side, not in the center @stori3d_past . The center of the envelope is the part that needs to be the most flexible. Coins are problematic with ESE to start, and centering them will cause issues with the more sensitive sorting machines.

[stori3d_past]

Thanks I'll try that. Unfortunately that advice is opposite to other advice that I've read, where balancing the envelope was considered most important! But the logic of what you're saying makes good sense. So should the coin be on the side of the QR/bar code? Or should it be on the opposite side, away from the code? Does it matter? Does anyone actually know or is this kind of everyone taking their best guesses? (No disrespect meant to best guesses -- we're all doing our best here.)

In the end, if a seller has to jump through ever tinier hoops in order to hope against hope that the system will work right, then the system doesn't work right!

- H

[wastingtime101]

For a coin, I'd put it on the left while the label goes on the right. But there's another seller here @onefootflippers that says he alternates every other envelope - right / left.

[12345jamesstamps]

.

ESUS is "metered mail" and not "stamped letter"

And a stamped letter will arrive quicker than a "metered mail"

Tracking takes longer.

I use a .68 stamp and never had anything lost last year or this year by the USPS.

Because my item arrives faster than ESUS I have a nice crowd of "repeat buyers" who want their items in 2-5 days max. Because there is more items with tracking and metered mail stamped letters arrive quicker.

Just my own opinions.

[wastingtime101]

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@12345jamesstamps wrote:

ESUS is "metered mail" and not "stamped letter"

And a stamped letter will arrive quicker than a "metered mail"

Tracking takes longer.

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USPS divides mail into 3 classes for sorting: Letters, Flats, Packages

ESE is metered mail, with the same physical requirements and classification as a letter. It does not have tracking in the traditional sense; it cannot be scanned by a hand scanner. ESE travels at the same speed and on the same sorting machinery as a stamped letter. No preferential treatment is given to letters with a postage stamp vs letters with a metered barcode.

Items kicked out as non-machinable because they're too thick/rigid will take longer, but the same applies whether it's metered or has a postage stamp.

Watch the process in this video, scroll forward to the 2 min mark.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

As other posters have said, you can experiment with how you pack your items,

It probably will still not yield a reliable result. What works to one destination will not work to another, And the USPS workers who are ticked off by the problems will not help avoid delay.

The equipment processing these letters is of varying ages and not necessarily maintained to the same standards everywhere in the country.

It is probably never going to be replaced.

This is a scheme by USPS to replace some of the traffic loss by the effective demise of First Class Letters.

USPS is required to continue to deliver FC letters 6 days a week, and lose money on every one of them, in spite of rate increases.

The long term future of Ebay sellers who sell very cheap products which do not justify the cost of tracked shipment is debatable. And Ebay has taken advantage of this service offered by USPS. If it fails to work, it is only the sellers who will suffer. Their only choices are  to go back to stamped or metered letter or use tracked services and raise their prices or shipping costs if they want to consider selling these low value items.

[12345jamesstamps]

Sorry but some of my stamped letters have been arriving 3-4 days cross country.

Please, can anyone here say ESE arrives at the same speed?

Then I will give in there is no difference.

But receiving positive feedback from buyers in 3 days from shipping items out...and getting multiple quick shipping feedbacks from the buyers I cannot change my tune at this time.

Plus I never had anything lost last year and this year.

Anyone with ESE using for 2 years...please let me know how you are doing?

[wastingtime101]

I don't want or expect you to "give in" to anything. All I did was provide some facts about how ESE is sorted and processed at the same speed and on the same machines along with regular stamped mail.

I only ship ESE on my personal account, not my biz account, so my numbers are pretty low for that service in terms of volume. So far I haven't had any ESE packages lost or kicked out as non-machinable in the past 2 years. Delivery time average is approx 5 days. Range is 3-7 days.

This one I printed the label Feb 13, I shipped it Feb 14 and it was delivered in 3 days on Feb 17 to zone 7.

I've had mixed results with stamped letters. Last month I mailed a birthday card and it took 9 days to be delivered to zone 5. No inserts, nothing unusual about the card.

[1786davycrockett]

@stori3d_past 

As both @12345jamesstamps  and @wastingtime101  have pointed out, the ESE is treated as regular business metered mail by USPS -- and the most reliable method to mail regular business metered mail is by dropping the ESEs into the "metered mail" slots available in the lobbies of most post office lobbies.

At the end of each business day, this pre-sorted metered mail is shipped to the USPS Distribution Centers, where it is immediately transferred to the automatic, high-speed sorting machines, where the first "scan" is received.  That first "scan" is critical for eBay's transaction defect rate on your Seller Dashboard, as well as to ensure that your ESE will be covered by eBay insurance (not USPS insurance!) should an ESE become "lost."

According to the experiences of other individuals from other threads,  alternative methods of mailing the ESEs may not be as trustworthy for receiving that initial USPS "scan".  Those alternative methods have included mailing the ESEs from home mailboxes and/or business mail services; dropping the ESEs into the USPS "blue-boxes; and handing the ESEs to USPS delivery carriers and USPS counter employees.

I've been dropping my ESEs in the "Metered Mail" slots for over two years now, with NO problems, and NO complaints from buyers -- plus receiving (at the very least) the initial USPS scans.

Perhaps you might consider this option, as well.

[wastingtime101]

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@1786davycrockett wrote:

According to the experiences of other individuals from other threads,  alternative methods of mailing the ESEs may not be as trustworthy for receiving that initial USPS "scan".  Those alternative methods have included mailing the ESEs from home mailboxes and/or business mail services; dropping the ESEs into the USPS "blue-boxes; and handing the ESEs to USPS delivery carriers and USPS counter employees.

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It really depends on one's local service. Every one of my ESEs has shipped either through carrier pickup or by handing a bins of packages over at the PO. Never had an issue with ESE.

Just like transit time is going to vary based on service at the to/from locations, and stop points in between. It's why I can ship something to zone 5 and it takes 9 days, or ship something to zone 7 and it takes 3 days. It's not based on stamp vs metered printout. It's based on service levels at those facilities, whether they're backed up, the way the sorting machines have (or have not) been maintained at those facilities, etc.

[goodnu9]

I mail baseball cards under $20 using ESUS. Most of the time I have no problems but this week has been horrible and I even dropped off my ESUS envelopes at the town PO! 8 showing no scans at all and you can imagine what it does to my "Top Rated Seller" rating. Why should I be charged with defects when it's a third party who is screwing up? I notify eBay every time this problem happens and will continue until this is corrected.