Home › Forums › How Can eBay Improve? › How can eBay improve the Packing Slip?
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07/28/2020 at 3:48 pm #80085
Hi all,
eBay is planning on making changes/improvements to the Packing Slip and I would love your feedback on what changes you would like to see (keeping in mind packing slip can include invoice, warranty info, coupons, returns, logo, etc.).
Thanks!
Malinda
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07/28/2020 at 4:44 pm #80086
i would love it if 2 invoices could fit on one sheet of paper, so i could save paper. right now i use an entire 8.5×11 sheet to print invoices w/ address slips (should just be one thing). i do love invoices, it lets me know what i’m packing, where it’s going and what type of postage the customer paid for. and if something happens to my shipping label, the info is inside the package. but yeah, i would love to use less paper every year.
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07/28/2020 at 5:31 pm #80091
Each invoice only uses 1/2 sheet of paper. After one prints, I just fold it, cut it in half and load the 1/2 sheet of blank paper in the printer for the next one.
If you wanted to, you could also print one side, flip it upside. down and print the other side, then cut it in half.
I agree, it would be easier if you could just print 2 on a sheet without the extra steps.
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07/28/2020 at 7:19 pm #80096
i feel like my invoices are slightly larger than half a page, but i’ll give it a go tomorrow! thanks for the tip.
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07/28/2020 at 7:53 pm #80099
Ryanne – You are using the term “invoice” – that’s something different from a packing slip. Do you actually mean packing slip?
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07/28/2020 at 8:05 pm #80104
on the print page ebay calls it ” Invoice / Packing slip”
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07/28/2020 at 8:09 pm #80108
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07/28/2020 at 8:08 pm #80107
and then there is also the option of “Address labels and invoice / packing slip ” which puts an address label (to and from addresses) up above the invoice.
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07/28/2020 at 8:14 pm #80110
We must be doing things very differently, b/c I never see anything like what you’re talking about. On the Orders page, I select “Print Shipping Label” for an item I want to ship, and then on the next page there is a link to print the packing slip (see the 2 different imgur links I posted). The term “invoice” is never used, except when the packing slip states that it is not an invoice.
Are you doing bulk printing of shipping labels? I never do that, so I wouldn’t know what that looks like and could be the cause of my confusion.
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07/29/2020 at 9:13 am #80119
just an update on this (sorry @mallybills), my newest brother printer does duplexing (prints on both sides when i tell it to) and i set my invoices to print on both sides and “flip on the short side” which allows me to cut in half and have an invoice on each side on opposite ends of the paper. this is awesome and will save me so much paper. thanks for the advice @so-cal-joe
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07/28/2020 at 6:28 pm #80094
I have noticed the changes to the packing slip in the past few weeks. Normally, when I have more than one item to ship, I’ll use the pick list, and then cut that up for small packing slips. More recently, since sales have slowed down, I will have only one package to ship, so I use the packing slip instead.
I do like the customization that they have added, but I don’t see anyway of adding your own messages. Is there a way to do that?
I really don’t care to make mine particularly fancy, but I can see how some sellers would like to see their store graphics added in addition to the ebay logo.
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07/28/2020 at 8:05 pm #80101
ebay recently made some changes to the packing slip which I like. I’m using the “message to the buyer” feature. As Sharyn mentioned, it would be nice to add my own custom message. But not a big deal for me.
I wish they would bring back the price information which they took off a while back. Not a big deal, just prefer it the old way. There could be a “gift” option if you don’t want the prices on there.
I think that there are a LOT more important things to be working on than the packing slip, though. That would be my main message back to product and engineering managers.
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07/28/2020 at 8:07 pm #80105
Really? Huh. Mine doesn’t say that.
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07/28/2020 at 8:07 pm #80106
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07/28/2020 at 8:12 pm #80109
this is what my page looks like
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07/28/2020 at 8:18 pm #80111
What do you click on to get a page like that? I’ve NEVER seen anything like it. I just tried to do bulk shipping labels, and I still don’t see that, but maybe I didn’t go far enough in the process – I didn’t actually *want* to purchase the labels in bulk b/c I check the weight individually as I ship each item and select appropriate shipping for each one individually (I may have listed something as Parcel Select, but will ship as Priority if it works out to be cheaper).
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07/28/2020 at 8:41 pm #80114
In the bulk shipping page, you can change the weight, switch between parcel/priority, and so on just as you can do with each one individually.
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07/28/2020 at 8:18 pm #80112
mallybills,
Thanks for asking us. I’d like to see the Packing Slip made into a Marketing Tool (for those who want to use it as such—so I envision this as customizable , sellers could choose to use these options if they wanted to, or not. I’d like to see:
The ability to add a discount coupon code, so I can use the Packing Slip to offer my buyer 10% off her next purchase (or some other offer).
The ability to add a thumbnail of the item enclosed with the packing slip.
The ability to add a short “catalog” on the otherwise never used bottom half of the page— let’s say I could add 1 to 6 thumbnails (with item titles) of other items I have for sale that might be of interest., all “subject to prior sale” of course.
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07/28/2020 at 9:35 pm #80115
I much preferred the old packing slip that had the price and editable text box. The new packing list with only a few canned messages is really annoying and has created more work for me to hand-write my preferred text. Pain point!
And the canned messages take up more paper. I shrink the print job to 70% so that it is a small slip of paper (and cut the paper to re-feed a single sheet to make multiples) because I sell mostly smalls and some postcards where using a whole sheet of paper can take me over the next postage increment. Being able to print multiple packing slips on one print job, stacked so that several fit on a single sheet, would save me time.
That’s what I need. As for nice-to-haves, I had never thought of the uses MyCottage mentions but those are really great ideas.
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07/29/2020 at 12:07 pm #80126
Thank you all for your comments so far. Great ideas and I had never thought of printing two per page, but now I’ll try and do that as well. I’d LOVE to save some paper myself!
If you have any other thoughts, keep them coming!
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07/29/2020 at 12:44 pm #80129
How about an (optional) QR code that links to our store home page or a non-store’s landing page? Yesterday Jamie said that the majority of transactions take place on the app….If a buyer opens the package, likes the item, he might want to go back to the seller’s store to look at more stuff, but might not want to take the time to type in a seller’s ID….if he could use the app to scan in a QR code and be taken directly to the store, the seller might be able to make some more sales. (Come to think of it, if I provide the buyer with a discount coupon, maybe it could be both a code and a QR, for those who can scan it quickly.
I think anything ebay can do to empower sellers, to provide tools we can use to try to increase our sales velocity, would be a good thing. That’s why I like SIOs…frankly, I send out a lot of offers and don’t get many sales back from the offers , but at least I have a tool I can use that increases my chances of making a sale. And I’m always happy when I do get a sale from a SIO.
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07/29/2020 at 1:22 pm #80133
@mycottage, I love that idea!
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07/29/2020 at 10:37 pm #80164
Thanks Malinda….would love to see some of these ideas actually become reality!
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07/29/2020 at 7:33 pm #80147
I love MyCottage’s ideas of a discount code and a thumbnail. I don’t like the idea of the catalog at the bottom of the page though. It’s too tempting for eBay to populate it with their own items. They already advertise other seller’s items on the same page as ours!
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07/29/2020 at 10:41 pm #80165
Amatino, Thanks! And, to be clear, my idea is the seller creating the packing slip gets to populate the catalog at the bottom of the packing slip. I know ebay has confidence in its AI and all that stuff to figure out what to show the buyer, but this should be about seller empowerment….I might make poor choices to show the buyer, but they are MY choices….and hopefully they’ll mostly be good choices….
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07/29/2020 at 10:48 pm #80168
Umm…. I never print or include a packing slip. Is that a problem?
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07/30/2020 at 12:00 pm #80192
Pikapop,
No, there is no requirement to use one. Some sellers do, some don’t. (I think Amazon requires one, but I imagine even then, not all sellers include one.) But on eBay, it’s definitely each seller’s choice.
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07/29/2020 at 11:02 pm #80171
I hope any additions to the packing slip will be optional. I don’t want to waste toner on what, IMHO, almost noone is going to look at.
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07/30/2020 at 1:01 am #80175
Currently packing slips don’t include sales tax collected by eBay, and they really should. The slip is being sent to the buyer, so the total needs to match the amount they paid.
But I agree most people probably never look at packing slips, or else I’d be getting more queries from people about why they were overcharged.
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07/30/2020 at 1:55 am #80176
Margana, So your packing slips still show amount paid (minus sales tax)? Mine haven’t included that for a long time. I remember someone saying that they heard from ebay that they took the amount paid out of the packing slips to deal with gift situations. It was meant to be non-optional only temporarily, but that’s never changed for me . Was this removal of dollar amounts not rolled out to everyone? Perhaps this is another difference between bulk shipping and non-bulk shipping?
Before they roll out new features, they should clean up things like this, as well as the discrepancy between printing “This is not an invoice” on the packing slip, but calling it a “invoice/packing slip” in the bulk shipping UI.
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07/30/2020 at 5:15 am #80177
I use the packing slip that you get by selecting the orders on the “Manage orders awaiting shipment” page, choosing “print shipping labels or invoices,” then selecting “invoice/packing slip.” I just looked at the other one you described, which looks totally different. When I print that one, it doesn’t have either my address or the buyer’s on it—I guess that’s a bug, since there is a checkbox to hide the “ship from” address, but checking it makes no difference. Anyway, printing packing slips individually for each order is too cumbersome for me—I want to do them all at once before I start shipping.
It’s wild that there are two completely different documents called a packing slip and we’re just using whichever one we each happened to find, without realizing there’s another option.
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07/30/2020 at 8:24 am #80185
Thinking about this some more, before taking any of my suggestions, eBay will need to look at what the USPS permits….would a mini-catalog violate some postal rule about what can and cannot be enclosed in certain classes of mail? That’s not something I researched….
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07/30/2020 at 8:28 am #80186
Margana, Personally I’m glad there are two ways to print packing slips (I’ve known about this for a long time). This sort of redundancy isn’t a bad thing. If the regular packing slip is glitchy, I can use the other one as a back-up. But I agree, it is kind of odd that they are not basically the same layout….
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07/30/2020 at 12:49 pm #80194
Right – The problem is that discrepancy in terminology and layout, not that you can print different ways. Different ways is great – I may try the other way now and see if that works better for me – I hadn’t realized you could do that outside of bulk shipping.
But I actually do see the two addresses on the individual packing slips that I print – not sure why they’re not coming up for Margana. Yet another reason for ebay to do some cleanup work before adding new features.
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07/30/2020 at 12:55 pm #80195
So I just tried the bulk printing way, and those look more like invoices (and are called that in the UI except in one place) and not at all like the nicer looking packing slips I’m used to using. My request to ebay is to allow bulk printing of packing slips.
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08/29/2020 at 10:27 am #81087
Hi all,
I wanted to thank you all for your ideas on what you would like to see in a newly designed invoice/packing slip. I shared your feedback with the eBay Product Manager and the PM has the new design ready for review. He is interested in finding some sellers that would be like to review the new design and provide feedback.
If you are interested in participating in the review, can you please reach out to me at malinda.bills@gmail.com with your email address and eBay user ID and I will forward it on to the PM and he will be in touch.
Thanks!
Malinda
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08/29/2020 at 10:42 am #81088
Hi Malinda, Just sent you my info. Thanks!
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08/31/2020 at 4:16 pm #81163
I would love to check it out too!
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09/01/2020 at 12:34 pm #81194
I’m not so particular about the packing slip format, I think most buyers don’t do more than glance at them to make sure everything is right for their order (I know I don’t as a buyer). For me, packing slips are more of a final quality check before adding the label and sealing the package.
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09/01/2020 at 1:11 pm #81198
@ryanne, I’ve shared your deets with our PM. Thanks!
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09/01/2020 at 2:38 pm #81204
I normally use the bulk shipping page, so I print out the pick list and cut out the slips. However, if I have only one item or have items shipping with FedEx, then I print out the packing slip. So, like Old Dad, I am not particular on the contents and just use the bare minimum it provides.
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09/15/2020 at 6:46 pm #81586
Hi Malinda, Want to thank you for the invitation…..I had to reschedule, but finally had my Zoom meeting today with your co-worker. I must say, I was very pleased with the mock-ups he showed me. It seems pretty clear that ebay really is trying to make the process easier, and is listening to sellers. I’ve always liked ebay, but , along with many others, it seemed to me that ebay had lost its way somewhere along the way. I am beginning to feel that new management really is going to turn things around, and improve the platform. I am very encouraged! Thanks again!
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09/15/2020 at 7:10 pm #81588
MyCottage,
Did you get any sense of whether the mock-ups you were seeing were for
a) the packing slips that you print out individually on a per-order basis from the shipping label purchase page, that currently say “Not an Invoice” at the top, and don’t show any prices
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b) the sheets that are called “packing slip/invoice” in the current UI when you go to print them out in bulk for all your orders, and show prices
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c) both a & b – which would provide a single consistent packing slip format?
I hope the answer is (c).
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09/15/2020 at 7:41 pm #81589
@MyCottage, I am so glad to hear that! I hope they incorporated some of the feedback that I passed along from this group. 🙂
I’ll keep passing along opportunities as they become available as I think it is super useful for eBay to get input from sellers like us.
Thanks again for participating!
Malinda
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09/15/2020 at 8:02 pm #81591
They are definitely aware that, at the present time, there are at least two different packing slips, depending on where you go to get your packing slip. That will change, so that the packing slip will be uniform. Pricing information will be present by default, but you will be able to customize it so that that information does not show (for example, for gifts). You will also be able to add a personalized message.
I wasn’t told that what I saw was confidential, but I’m not sure how much I can talk about? Malinda, am I sworn to secrecy?
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09/15/2020 at 8:32 pm #81592
That’s great news! Thanks for the info, MyCottage.
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09/16/2020 at 8:25 am #81601
Malinda,
Yes, I think they did incorporate some suggestions from this group. Again, I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say, but I really liked what I was hearing, not just about the packing slip, but other initiatives as well. My main hope is that at least some of this stuff can be released in time for the Holiday shopping season.
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09/16/2020 at 4:51 pm #81608
Hi @MyCottage, Amit says you are free to go ahead and talk about it. He said just don’t share any screen shots if you grabbed any from Zoom. 🙂
So, share away!
Thanks.
Malinda
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09/16/2020 at 4:51 pm #81609
By the way, he said thank you again for the valuable feedback! He found it very useful, @MyCottage. Appreciate your help!
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09/16/2020 at 5:14 pm #81610
LOL! Tell him not to worry about me sharing screen shots…..that was my very first Zoom session, and I’m still not sure how I manged to not screw it up on my end. Grabbing a screen shot is way beyond my current abilities LOL
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09/16/2020 at 7:32 pm #81616
Hi Malinda,
I just had this happen today, and as a result, have a suggestion for Amit (if his team is the right one). I shipped a package (item cost was $27.00) Priority Mail to buyer (who lives in an upscale neighborhood). It was a birthday gift for her 82 year old Mom. USPS delivered, and, seconds later, as she watched from her Ring, a guy stole it from her porch. She notified me, and we have gone back and forth about it. She asked why I hadn’t included Signature Confirmation, and I explained that ebay requires it for $750 plus packages, and that I do not routinely add SC to all packages. I told her if she had requested it, I would have added it.
Now, here’s where the suggestion comes in: she says there is no place in the purchase flow for a buyer to add that they want Signature Confirmation. I can understand that some people would want it, and , as I told her, many people don’t want it because it is a hassle for them. I think it would be a good idea to provide something in the purchase flow (maybe at checkout) which would allow the BUYER to select (and pay for) SC if they want the added protection. If the seller has already selected it, this could be grayed out in some way.
What do you think? Is this worth passing on? As a seller, I’m perfectly happy to get signature confirmation on higher dollar items, but I’m not going to add it to every package just because the box might be large. But I’m happy to do it if the buyer requests it.
And what do you other guys think?
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09/16/2020 at 7:49 pm #81617
I think that’s a fantastic idea.
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09/16/2020 at 8:10 pm #81618
Thanks sonia!
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04/06/2021 at 11:08 pm #87292
Thought this thread could use an update….I like the new packing slip, and it appears some of my suggestions made the final cut (not actually taking credit, I’m sure others probably made similar suggestions). I like that it is quite customizable. I think it’s live for everyone now?
One way to get to it is in Seller Hub > Orders >Awaiting Shipment, use the drop down on the left and choose “Print Packing Slip and More” (which will give you the Packing Slip, Order Receipt, and Pick List)
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04/06/2021 at 11:25 pm #87293
I print my packing slips one by one from within the shipping label page and that one hasn’t changed in a long time.
Once I get some more orders in, maybe I’ll check out the other one you are referring to. My biggest wish remains for all of the versions of the packing slip to be identical, which it sounds like still isn’t the case.
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04/06/2021 at 11:35 pm #87294
Right now, the one I’m talking about and the one you access from “Purchase Shipping Label” are indeed different. I believe they will be making them the same, with the new one the default, but I’m not 100% certain of that. I know it’s something Amit and I talked about. If you just want to check it out, you can go to a recent shipped item in your orders and click on the same thing…..
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04/07/2021 at 12:51 am #87296
Thanks for the tip – I see it now. I like it! Looks more up to date and professional than the one I’m using.
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04/06/2021 at 11:45 pm #87295
One thing that isn’t there yet, but will be “soon” is the ability to print your coded coupon directly on to the packing slip. That was a big thing I’d ben asking for, that the packing slip should a marketing tool (for those who want to use it that way). I’m looking forward to the packing slip/coded coupon union….
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