Stamps.com Offers Free "Holiday Shipping Best Practices" Webinar Sept. 22 2010

FYI all..I just got word that Stamps.com is offering a Free "Holiday Shipping Best Practices" Webinar. Here are the details:

Educational Webinar on September 22 Explores High-Volume Shipping Practices That Boost Profitability

LOS ANGELES, CA � September 16, 2010 � Stamps.com� (NASDAQ: STMP), the leading provider of USPS� postage online and shipping software to approximately 400,000 customers, is pleased to announce that it is offering a free, educational webinar for small businesses and e-commerce retailers to help them maximize the efficiency of their shipping processes in preparation for the busy holiday season.

What: Free webinar to discuss USPS shipping best practices for the busy holiday season

When: Wednesday, September 22, 2010, at 11:00 am PT / 2:00 pm ET

Where: Register at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/189058627

Topics Covered: With the busiest shipping and mailing time of the year just around the corner, small businesses and e-commerce merchants can boost their profitability by implementing the latest time-saving shipping tools and techniques. In this 60-minute webinar, Stamps.com shipping experts will discuss how to:

• Add a sense of urgency to increase early sales.


• Provide a hassle-free shopping experience.


• Package merchandise to minimize damage and returns.


• Test pricing and free shipping offers.


• Streamline shipping with batch processing

About Stamps.com

Stamps.com (NASDAQ: STMP) is a leading provider of Internet-based postage services. Stamps.com's service enables small businesses, high-volume shippers, enterprise shippers, and consumers to print U.S. Postal Service-approved postage with just a PC, printer and Internet connection, right from their home or office. The Company targets its services to small businesses and home offices, and currently has PC Postage partnerships with Avery Dennison, Microsoft, HP, Office Depot, USPS and others.

 

Stamps.com, the Stamps.com logo and PhotoStamps are trademarks or registered trademarks ofStamps.com Inc. All other brands and names are property of their respective owners.

 

Nightmare Postal Stories of eBay Sellers

 

I heard from a reader of my Yard Salers newsletter (yardsalers.net) about her worst postal experience as an eBay seller, which led to her only negative feedback. Read on:

Hi Julia!

I have an interesting story. The only negative feedback I have ever received on Ebay came from a guy in Pennslyvania mad about not receiving his Olsen Stelzer boots that were "lost" by USPS in April of 2008. (and he was really MEAN about it!)

Of course they were not insured, so Paypal took money from my account and refunded the guy. It cost me about $50 with the $12.95 shipping, not to mention the $5 I paid for the boots. This was a reminder to me to just automatically insure anything that goes for more than $30 on Ebay.

Well..... in June of 2010, my mailman delivered two Priority Mail boxes to my door. My first thought was, "Great, someone gave me an invalid address or is returning something without telling me first." The postman said, "No these are from us."

I was confused as I recognized my weight and note scribbling on the side of one of the boxes. Come to find the boxes contained those boots from April 26, 2008 AND a pair of shoes from Feb. 2 of 2008 that I did not know never reached the buyer! (I am in the process of remailing the shoes to the lady who never got them, hoping she is still at that address. She paid less that $12 including shipping for those).

Enclosed was a letter stating the mail was recently recovered from an abandoned storage unit in my hometown of Sioux Falls, used by a suspect in a mail theft case who had already been sentenced to one year in prison! Turns out he had stolen over 25,000 parcels and letters over 1.5 years. He was supposed to be driving the mail from the Annex where I frequently drop my packages if I miss the mailman, to the airport just 2 miles away. How's that for a surprise!

I finally relisted the boots and they sold for $39.99 just the other day with several other watchers but no more bids. I am assuming the suspect never got around to opening my packages otherwise they would have never known how to get them back to me!

Barbara

 

I asked Barbara if she could track them, and she said "Yes, I did have a tracking number but all it showed was the item was scanned here in Sioux Falls. I thought about sending the newspaper story online link about the theft to that guy and went thru all my old feedbacks to find the guy's user id but then thought he was so mean he wouldn't care anyhow. Most people are at least cordial when there is a problem. I guess tho, in retropect, USPS has only lost these two pkgs, maybe one more that was insured, and recently this year one flat rate envelope to Europe (which I did not insure and will make sure to do from now on).

There is a number I have to call (still haven't gotten around to that) where I think the PO will credit me the shipping expenses I paid, after all they got their money for it, I should be able to send the other item again at no cost."

I agree, USPS in general is very reliable, but when something goes wrong it is painful. I once had a buyer insist she did not receive the package, but my tracking info said it was delivered.

Another strange occurrence was what I called "The Strange Case of the Boomerang Shoes." A pair of Ferragamo shoes came back to me, returned, in the mail, weeks after I mailed them. I never heard from the buyer and couldn't track them down.

 

 

Stamps.com Introduces New Online Reports Feature

Stamps.com just released a new online reports feature...details are here:

"The new Reports feature gives you reporting on all your postage balances,
expenses, and prints. 

"Create tables showing your postage balance over time including postage printed, purchased, or credited."

More info here.

I use Stamps.com all the time for my business, along with the PayPal print postage feature. Another thing I love about it is that you can save the addresses of people you ship to frequently.

STAMPS.COM EXTENDS OFFER OF FREE SERVICE TO EBAY SELLERS

I use Stamps.com a lot for my eBay and online selling business. I think a lot of people don't realize this great service is out there, and I see people in line at the post office doing simple things like mailing a domestic package and buying postage for it. I always put my domestic packages outside my door with postage already on them. (I do go to the post office for international mailings).

 I just got this press release from Stamps.com that their batch shipping for eBay Stores sellers will continue to be free. Check out the details:

LOS ANGELES � April 13, 2010
� Stamps.com� (Nasdaq:STMP), the leading provider of postage online
and shipping software solutions
to approximately 400,000 customers, today announced that it will continue to
enable unlimited batch shipping from
eBay Stores without any service fees to new customers who sign up before October
1, 2010. Batch shipping with Stamps.com allows eBay sellers to print up to
1,000 labels at a time, and via all classes of USPS mail�including First Class Mail
International�.

�Stamps.com
enables thousands of eBay sellers to ship their orders quickly, reliably and
affordably,� said Stamps.com president and CEO Ken McBride. �The response to
our original eBay promotion was very positive, and we are pleased to provide
even more eBay sellers the chance to benefit from our world-class batch
shipping solution.�

Stamps.com
allows eBay Store users to retrieve order data from multiple sources�including
eBay, XML files and ODBC data sources�and automatically post order status
details such as tracking numbers and cost data back to their eBay Store.
Integration with the Stamps.com USB scale further decreases the need for manual
data entry by automatically importing package weight and calculating the
correct postage. Users also receive discounts on Priority� and Express Mail�,
cost codes to keep track of expenses, and Hidden Postage� which prints shipping
labels without displaying the postage cost.

Stamps.com�s
goal in offering a free eBay batch shipping solution is to introduce eBay users
to Stamps.com's product and encourage them to explore all of the additional
features which are available for a small additional monthly fee.  For instance, Stamps.com offers integrations
with additional eCommerce platforms such as Yahoo!� Merchant, and Google
Checkout.  These additional integrations
allow webstore managers to process, manage, and ship orders from virtually any
e-commerce source. Other features available to standard customers include the
ability to print postage directly on envelopes or on NetStamps� for convenient
mailing solutions. 

For
more information on Stamps.com's free service for eBay sellers, visit http://www.stamps.com/ebayfree5/

About
Stamps.com

Stamps.com
(Nasdaq: STMP) is a leading provider of Internet-based postage services.
Stamps.com�s
service enables small businesses, enterprises, advanced
shippers, and consumers to print U.S. Postal Service-approved postage with just
a PC, printer and Internet connection, right from their home or office. The Company currently has PC Postage
partnerships with Avery Dennison, Microsoft, HP, the U.S. Postal Service,
Interapptive, TrueShip, Auctane, Atandra, Webgility and others.

What to Do When Your eBay Buyer Says He Did Not Receive the Item

It's one of the emails we eBay sellers most dread. "I didn't receive my item yet..when did you send it?"

Thus ensues the frantic search for postal and, in some cases, customs receipts, the inputting of a tracking number, and the mystery of what the heck happened to your item in transit.

A recent email from a reader of my Yard Salers newsletter was about just this topic. This has also happened to me a few times...in one of the most nerve-racking cases, the item finally showed up in eastern Germany after some three months. I found there is some good news, however:

- If you have the proof of delivery/tracking number, you should be eligible for PayPal seller protection.  Here's what they say about it on the PayPal site:

"PayPal provides coverage to U.S. account holders for eligible transactions in the event of an unauthorized payment or item-not-received claims, chargebacks, and reversals.

To be eligible for PayPal Seller Protection:

- The transaction must be marked eligible or partially eligible for Seller Protection on the Transaction Details page.

- The item must be shipped within 7 calendar days of receiving payment to the shipping address on the Transaction Details page, and in accordance with our shipping requirements.

- In the event a buyer files a claim, you need to respond to our request for documents and other information in a timely manner.

- The item must be a physical, tangible good that can be shipped.

- Your primary residence, as listed in your PayPal account, must be in the United States.

What's not covered:

- Items picked up locally or delivered in person
- Services, intangible items, and digital goods
- Claims and chargebacks where the buyer says that the shipped item is significantly not as described."

Shipping requirements � "what documentation do I need?"

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/Marketing/securitycenter/sell/SellerProtection-outside

It's a good idea to insure any item worth more than you feel you can comfortably reimburse.  eBay no longer allows sellers to charge extra for insurance, however, so make sure you state in the auction that any insurance is included in the selling price, if you do insure it.

Also, and I really think eBay did the right thing with this, if a buyer leaves unfavorable DSR's (detailed seller ratings..the 5-star system) and they are international, those DSR's won't count against your overal DSR rating. This is a good thing because so many things can go wrong with international shipments which are outside a seller's control.

What have your experiences been with items that are reported not delivered? Or with the PayPal or eBay protection process? I'd like to know...I invite you to leave a comment here.