Around 12 September 2020 ebay
implemented a new system of transferring some internal data
into Royal Mail 2D barcodes printed using the online method of
purchasing postage via the ebay site. This was always a
clumsy system at best, offered few economies, and I have
difficulty believing that anyone who needed to print off more
than a few labels at a time actually used it. It used to
do this via a different system, and some research suggests
that this went wrong. Notwithstanding that, here is the
ebay announcement about what these codes are for:
___________________________
Royal Mail tracking and
delivery events on eBay from 1st Sep 2020
by uk_news_team eBay Employee 01-09-2020 1:03 PM - edited
01-09-2020 1:05 PM
eBay is adding a unique eBay code to orders to
improve buyers post-transaction experience by making it easier
for them to see any available tracking and delivery
confirmation* for the parcel’s journey.
This code doesn’t impact the delivery of your parcels. The code
will only be added to items posted using eligible Royal Mail UK
services and where there is sufficient room on the order address
to do so. In the future, this may extend to services
provided by other carriers.
The unique eBay code will be included at the
end of address line 2 in the eBay order and through a matching
process, eBay will use this code to obtain available tracking
numbers from Royal Mail.
The unique code will be in the format ebay1234abc
('ebay' + 7 alphanumeric characters) and for the majority of
customers, when you generate your Royal Mail address label, it
will automatically be transferred from the address into the 2D
barcode on your postage label. The unique eBay code will not be
printed as part of the address on the postage label.
*Only tracking and event data visible on the Royal Mail web site
will be shared with eBay and only eligible services will have
tracking and event data provided. For certain services, tracking
and event data will only be made available after an item has
been delivered.
What it means to you
Tracking and event data provided through the unique eBay
code will not automatically be included in your Late Delivery
Report.
If you are uploading tracking today, you should continue to do
so. Uploading tracking will provide you with additional
protections and give you access to the eBay premium service and
discount, as long as your listings meet the eligibility
criteria. By providing a unique eBay code, this will help to
identify the order as an eBay order and any available tracking
will be shown to your buyer.
There are cases where the unique eBay code may not be included,
for example, due to not having enough space in the address or if
the type of postal services you use are not supported.
eBay cannot guarantee the unique code will be on all orders and
such service may be altered or suspended at any time due to
different reasons. Therefore, if you upload tracking today, you
should continue to do so. If there is no unique eBay code
on the address, there will be no tracking events available.
What do you need to know if you use any of the Royal Mail services below:
Pro Shipping
If you use the Royal Mail Pro Shipping API,
the system will automatically remove the unique eBay code from
address line 2 and insert it into the 2D barcode on the label,
you don’t need to do anything.
If you have a system which reviews or modifies data before you
send to Pro Shipping and you remove the unique eBay code from
the address line 2, please place into Sender Reference Field for
v2 of the API or Shipper Reference Field for v3 of the API.
Click & Drop
Click & Drop linked to eBay account
If you use Click & Drop, the system will automatically remove the unique eBay code from address line 2, you don’t need to do anything.
Click & Drop CSV Upload
We recommend that you link your Royal Mail
Click & Drop account to your eBay account so the unique eBay
code is automatically moved.
Alternatively, if you import your orders via a CSV file, you
will need to remove the unique eBay code from address line 2 and
paste it into Order Reference Field before generating your
labels.
Click & Drop manual entry of address. If you log into
Click and Drop and manually enter your orders into the system,
you will need to remove the unique eBay code from address line 2
and paste it into Order Reference Field before generating your
labels.
Bespoke Shipping Solution (previously known as Customer Owned Shipping Solution (COSS))
If you have a Royal Mail Bespoke Shipping
solution with your own Royal Mail account, you will integrate
directly with Royal Mail.
Customers using the Royal Mail Bespoke Shipping Solution will
have access to Royal Mail’s marketplace specification changes
(issued January 2020) which described the changes needed to
support the unique eBay code.
PPI (Printed Postage Impressions)
Royal Mail will soon be withdrawing some of
their current unbarcoded letter products and replacing them with
the new Account Mail barcoded products. To move to the new
products, please click here
https://www.royalmail.com/business/barcodesavings
If you use Royal Mail PPI there is no requirement for you to
include the unique eBay code in the address, as there is no 2D
barcode and therefore, no means to provide tracking and event
data. The unique eBay code should be removed from address line
2.
Postage Stamps
If you use postage stamps and handwrite your
label, there is no requirement for you to include the unique
eBay code in the address as there is no 2D barcode and
therefore, no means to provide tracking and event data. The
unique eBay code should be removed from address line 2.
Thank you for selling with eBay.
Regards,
Your eBay Team
_______________________
Have you absorbed all
that? Basically, "If you print your own labels and stick
a stamp on like any normal person, screw you."
It appears to me that this is another case of the current, and
no doubt very cheap, children in charge of ebay software
systems not understanding the existing operations and
implementing a nasty kludge to fix it up. They could use
another unused address field, of which there are plenty, but
no. Even this is beyond their capabilities. If
that were done, I could easily modify my label printing system
to ignore that field. But no, ebay appends the
garbage data to valid data in address line 2, meaning that I
have to manually edit every UK address while printing my
labels. It used to work. It's been broken.
It's pathetic. It's worse than a backward step.
It's wrong. Not, I would claim, worth the substantial
ebay fees every month. While you might argue that
this is inconvenient rather than a critical failure,
it's yet another thing that has gone backwards and
wastes my time on a daily basis.
Being unhappy about the situation, I thought that I
would discuss the matter on the ebay Seller 'Support'
Telephone Line, and you can hear that call in full by
clicking on the link below:
Call
Summary
1) I'm put through to
the wrong person.
2) The call operative messes about for about ten
minutes.
3) Various attempts at platitudes, denial of the
problem, and lies occur.
4) I suggest that if Robert Hattrell VP of ebay UK was
put to such inconvenience when the system used to work
properly, that he wouldn't accept it.
5) I ask for Robert Hattrell to be informed.
6) I'm promised a call back.
