EBAY FIELD INFORMATION KIT
"The World's Online Marketplace™" has a new "Post
Office."
On February 13, 2004, U.S. Postal ServiceŪ shipping
services became fully integrated into eBay, the most popular shopping destination on the Internet, with 94.9 million
registered users at the end of 2003 and nearly a billion
items posted for sale last year alone.
Integrating postal shipping solutions into the high-
traffic web site makes it easier for eBay members to use
the Postal Service™. Now millions of small and -
based businesses can:
• Print Priority MailŪ and Express MailŪ shipping
labels directly from the eBay web site, and pay
postage by debiting their PayPal accounts. Starting
in mid-March 2004, they will be able to print shipping labels for First-Class MailŪ parcels, Media Mail
items, and Parcel PostŪ items.
• Arrange for the postage indicia on the labels to
show the exact postage paid or not to display the
postage value by simply stating "US Postage Paid"
along with the appropriate weight, zone, and any
surcharge or special service for the shipment. The
option not to display the postage value on the label
is a feature that is very important to customers.
• Let the system do the work in creating shipping
labels. The eBay shipping interface, called "Online
Postage," automatically fills in for the seller the buyer's shipping address and package information.
• Track their shipping expenses easily and quickly
using their PayPal accounts.
• Confirm delivery of each shipment from their eBay
or PayPal accounts.
• Access Carrier Pickup (where available) from their
eBay web site to request next-day pickup. Carrier
Pickup is available in many locations nationwide
and allows shippers to get their Priority Mail and
Express Mail packages picked up by the letter carrier at no additional charge, thereby saving a trip to
the Post Office™.
eBay has chosen Pitney Bowes as its designated
shipping label provider. See page 18 in this Postal Bulletin for sample
labels. Since these labels carry postage paid with PC Postage indicia, the sender
is "known" to the Postal Service, so acceptance restrictions do not
apply. Mailers can give these packages to the letter carrier, have them collected
via Carrier Pickup, place them in a collection box, or drop them off at a Post
Office facility. Like all other mail paid with PC Postage indicia, the revenue
is reallocated to the originating ZIP Code™.
For proper acceptance procedures of articles with online labels, refunds, and short-paid items, see the instructions outlined in the September 23, 2003 memo from
Chief Operating Officer Patrick R. Donahoe and Chief
Marketing Officer Anita J. Bizzotto. Standard operating
procedures for online labels can be found on the Delivery
and Retail web site at http://blue.usps.gov/delivery/cs_retail_online_labels.htm.
For more information about online postage on eBay,
visit the eBay web site at http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/shippingcenter9.html.
This eBay Field Information Kit contains the following
items:
• Fact Sheet - eBay Online Postage.
• Employee Stand-Up Talk.
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
• Sample labels.
• Starting February 13, 2004, postal shipping solutions are fully integrated into eBay, "The World's
Online Marketplace™." The eBay shipping interface, called "Online Postage," provides postal access and convenience on the most popular shopping destination on the Internet.
• Now eBay sellers can calculate and pay postage
from their PayPal accounts, and print Priority MailŪ
and Express MailŪ shipping labels directly from the
eBay site. Starting in mid-March 2004, they will also
be able to print shipping labels for First-Class MailŪ
parcels, Media Mail items, and Parcel PostŪ items.
• The postage indicia on the labels may show the exact postage paid or may not display the postage
value by simply stating "US Postage Paid" along
with the appropriate weight, zone, and any surcharge or special service for the shipment. The
option not to display the postage value on the label
is a feature that is very important to customers.
• The proper acceptance procedures of articles with
online labels, refunds, and short-paid items are
outlined in detail in the September 23, 2003, memo
from Chief Operating Officer Patrick R. Donahoe
and Chief Marketing Officer Anita J. Bizzotto.
Standard operating procedures for online labels
can be found on the Delivery and Retail web site at
http://blue.usps.gov/delivery/cs_retail_online_
labels.htm.
• Postage refunds for Express Mail service failures
are given at Post Office facilities. All other refunds
or questions must be handled through the PayPal
web site.
• Through eBay, users have the advantage of printing
professional-looking postage-paid shipping labels
with one click. Here's how it works.
- The seller posts an item for sale on eBay. From
the "View Item" page, prospective buyers can
learn about the product and calculate shipping
costs by entering their ZIP Code™.
- When the item sells, the seller collects a shipping fee from the buyer. The seller selects the
appropriate shipping method, prints the appropriate shipping label, and pays the appropriate postage from his or her PayPal account.
• In many locations around the country, sellers also
can access Carrier Pickup from the eBay web site
to request next-day pickup of their Priority Mail and
Express Mail packages at no extra charge, saving
themselves a trip to the Post Office.
• "Fast, affordable, and reliable shipping services are
essential to eBay buyers and sellers alike," said
Meg Whitman, President and CEO of eBay. "We are
very excited about this relationship because the
Postal Service is committed to working with us to
deliver more value to the eBay community."
• "`The World's Online Marketplace' needed a Post
Office, and we delivered," said Postal Service Chief
Marketing Officer Anita Bizzotto. "The eBay partnership is yet another example of our commitment to
improving access, convenience, and value for our
customers, already the benchmark for the shipping
industry. No one else comes close to matching the
Postal Service's presence across the nation. We're
everywhere our customers live, work, and shop."
• Visit http://pages.ebay.com/services/buyandsell/shippingcenter9.html.
[Please read this stand-up talk to
all employees. Show them the sample shipping labels (see page 18 in this Postal
Bulletin). Make copies of this standup talk and the sample shipping labels
and post them on official bulletin boards.]
"The World's Online Marketplace™" has a new "Post
Office." And it's getting a lot of business!
On February 13, 2004, the Postal ServiceTM finished
integrating its shipping services into eBay, the most popular shopping destination on the Internet, with 94.9 million
registered users at the end of 2003 and nearly a billion
items posted for sale last year alone.
Installing a "virtual Post Office" on eBay's web site
makes it easier for eBay's millions of members - many of
whom are small and -based businesses - to ship
their items.
Now they can print Priority MailŪ and Express MailŪ
shipping labels directly from the eBay web site, and pay
postage by debiting their PayPal accounts. Starting in
mid-March 2004, they will be able to print shipping labels
for First-Class MailŪ parcels, Media Mail items, and Parcel PostŪ items.
Members of eBay can print those labels with the exact
postage paid or use shipping labels that do not show the
postage value directly. The latter labels must have the
phrase "US Postage Paid" along with the appropriate
weight, zone, and any surcharge or special service for the
shipment. The option not to display the postage value on
the label is a feature that is very important to customers.
Either way, the postage has been paid.
Printing labels through eBay is easy.
The eBay shipping interface, called "Online Postage," automatically
enters the buyer's shipping address and package information for the seller.
Sellers can track their shipments and expenses and confirm delivery easily and
quickly from their PayPal accounts.
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