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It’s frustrating when post office issues add stress to running your business. Based on our similar experience, we found a great solution: try dropping your packages off at a different, nearby post office branch.
The post office for our specific zip code had (and still has) this problem, with items not showing scans until the next day, even when the packages are left on the counter area designated for drop-offs.
Beginning durng the pandemic, we started taking all our packages to a different post office location that is still close by for us. We typically ship six days a week and average three or four packages per day.
This much friendlier post office does a remarkable job with prompt scans of packages left on the counter and has friendly clerks who accept and scan items right away when there is no line. You might find a much better experience if you check out some of your other closer post office branches. You can use the official USPS Location Finder to view other branches near you.
I hope there is another branch convenient for you. And even better, you may find some new thrifting locations near it.
Unfortunately, it seems that eBay US will move to the European model for promoted listings after the holidays. This means that if you have a promoted listing, eBay will almost certainly collect promoted listing fees, no matter who buys your item.
“Starting January 13, 2026, for items listed on ebay.com, ebay.ca, and cafr.ebay.ca (and currently for items listed on ebay.co.uk, ebay.de, ebay.com.au, ebay.fr, ebay.it, and ebay.es): eBay will report an Attributed sale from a general campaign when a buyer purchases the same item that was featured in the ad that was clicked on by any buyer in the most recent 30 days.
“The ad fee is charged when a buyer purchases the promoted item from a general ad that any buyer clicked on in the most recent 30 days. The item must be promoted at the time of click and the time of sale. The ad fee is based on the ad rate in effect at the time of the sale.”
Read the stealth announcement.
Since Jan 1, 2025, I sold a half-dozen baseball caps offered since early 2020 and 2019. Seems that all were for sale over 5 years. The hats have been canceled and relisted/sell similar numerous times with prices changes.
Vintage Tin Can Navy Patch Baseball Ball Adjustable Snapback Cap Hat Navy Blue,
Prestonwood Country Club Titleist 2015 Fall Gray Golf cap Baseball hat Polyester,
Roma Italia Rome Italy Souvenir Baseball Hat Cap Red Adjustable Embroidered,
Pitt University of Pittsburg Adjustable Embroidered Baseball Cap Cotton hat Tan,
Distressed Denver Broncos NFL Adjustable Baseball Dad Cap Hat Khaki Beige Cotton,
and one other.Most hats sold for $23 plus shipping. One was $15 plus shipping.
@mycottage: My eBay store focuses on used computer parts, with most items just a few years old and about 10% or so considered vintage—over 20 years old. There are nearly 900 active listings. The large majority of my listings are fixed price without best offer, etc., and no auctions. I end and relist approximately 90% of the inventory every 30 days – typically with no changes made. SixBit software helps me with this.
I promote very few listings: only 8 listings, that are Good-til-Canceled and are my loss-leaders and/or feedback builders.
There is not really any chance of an item having gone viral. I don’t use any social media. The eBay report shows increased impressions across most of my items. Further examination is underway to see what triggered this.
This discussion reminded me of the old Listing Quality Report that eBay used to offer. It no longer appears to be available to me.
One metric I always found interesting in that report was GMV — Gross Merchandise Value across one’s listings. I always thought that positive changes in GMV might have a positive influence eBay’s search algorithm.
While digging through my eBay dashboard in search of the report, I noticed a surprising 600% spike in impressions for the last several days. Sales are not much affected.
Maybe I’ll figure out how to post a screenshot to share what I’m seeing.
Effective October 5, 2025, through January 18, 2026, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is implementing temporary price adjustments for select package services. These adjustments affect USPS Ground Advantage, Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, and Parcel Select services. Retail and Commercial rates will both be impacted.
For USPS Ground Advantage commercial rates, there will be specific increases based on weight and distance (zone). For packages weighing 0-3 pounds, the increase will be $0.30 for shipments to Zones 1-4. Shipments of the same weight tier traveling to Zones 5-9 will see a $0.35 increase.
@the_seam_store: Thank you. I have a basic understanding of shipping policies although I am not using those. Is the ‘order discount’ tool part of that or found elsewhere?
I am familiar with ‘shipping preferences’ and ‘promotional shipping’ settings. So basically, you have that set up such that any purchases of 2 or more items result in totally free shipping? I suppose it can be two from the same item listing or from any 2 separate listings?
@the_seam_store: That sounds like a really well-thought-out system. Could you share some details on how you’ve set up your flat-rate shipping, combined shipping / multi-item promotions within eBay’s platform? I like your approach.
@jaepete, If the item has been safely delivered to the eBay Shipping Hub, then it is not your problem to solve and the buyer should contact eBay directly.
In such a case, this is what I tell my customers:
Hello and thank you for your purchase.
Your item was shipped using eBay International Shipping.
eBay provides me with a US domestic shipping hub address. (This is where I ship your item.)
From the US shipping hub, eBay manages the international shipping and customs process. And eBay works with the buyer to resolve all issues.Since your item has been delivered safely to the US shipping hub, you must contact eBay directly for answers to your questions.
@retro-treasures-wv: I read the Pirate Ship help files on this and got the impression that you just file a dispute with USPS, like on eBay.
I was an early user of Pirate Ship mostly for USPS Cubic a few years back; but don’t use them for day-to-day shipping. Perhaps I should make the switch.
I ship mostly small packages and they are usually under 4 oz. The cost adjustments have not been for dimensions but rather for weight.
In both cases, I paid for 4 oz Ground Advantage; USPS said one weighed 11.2 oz and the other 12 oz.
For the one they said was 12 oz, I have a counter receipt for mailing showing 1.1 oz. This was an eBay-branded 6×9 bubble mailer with only the smallest product inside.
A dispute is directly with USPS and they don’t give any method to upload a copy of your receipt.
Retro:
I’ve been crunching my year-end numbers and wanted to reply. eBay fees claimed 11.01% of my annual sales revenue. Most of my items are small and ship via USPS Ground using eBay’s shipping service. I benefit from the eBay shipping discount and occasionally use PirateShip for shipping. After factoring in eBay’s cut, I made a $601 profit on shipping. Yay!While this look greats at first glance, a deeper look reveals that eBay’s cut was nearly $500 commission on my shipping charges alone.
