Handling Time question

[somany]

Went to 2 day handling a month or two ago. I normally still ship the next day but did it to allow me some leeway when I go to visit my sister, which I am doing more of (to help with various things around the house). But I am having trouble deciding what two days means. For example, I sold something early in the day on the 23rd and packed it tonight to go to the post office tomorrow, the 26th. Am I outside of my 2 day handling since I'm not getting it to the PO until tomorrow even though I printed the label tonight?

[val2525]

Isn't now that the first scan has to be within your handling period? Meaning a sale before end of day on Monday would be due to PO by end of day Wednesday? (I really don't know, just guessing here.)

[Pantlandia]

May 26, 2016 3:31:11 GMT somany said:

Went to 2 day handling a month or two ago. I normally still ship the next day but did it to allow me some leeway when I go to visit my sister, which I am doing more of (to help with various things around the house). But I am having trouble deciding what two days means. For example, I sold something early in the day on the 23rd and packed it tonight to go to the post office tomorrow, the 26th. Am I outside of my 2 day handling since I'm not getting it to the PO until tomorrow even though I printed the label tonight?

It doesn't matter what time of day it comes in; early, middle, late. Simply count two days after that day and get it out by Midnight of that day.

Monday - Wednesday
Tuesday - Thursday
Wednesday - Friday
Thursday - Monday
Friday/Saturday/Sunday - Tuesday

[Deleted]

Ebay has thrown a lot of people off with that 'before midnight' business. The day your package is due to ship it needs to be put in the hands of the carrier so it can be accepted into the system before the close of business. Whether that means you're handing it to a clerk or putting in a collection box. So if you have a sale today, Tuesday, you need to have your package at the PO before close of business or in a blue box before the last pickup time on Thursday.

For me, 7 PM is the latest I can ship because that is the last collection in the whole city - a blue box in front of the main PO. Some of our POs have 24 hour kiosks, but the last pickup of the day may be 5 PM. So mailing there at 8 PM is going to make me a day late; my package won't go into the system until the next day.

This is from eBay's Q&A
"It’s up to you to get your packages to your carrier so that they can be scanned while the carrier is still open for business. Be sure to check your shipping carrier’s business hours and cut-off times to ensure your package is scanned before 11:59:59pm."

ETA: I don't know if there's still a rule about uploading tracking before midnight, but that only means just what it says - uploading tracking. Let's say I purchase my postage at the PO counter and I have one day handling. I have a sale on Monday. I  have to be at the PO counter before close of business on Tuesday to purchase my postage and send that package on its way. I have until midnight to upload the tracking, but not to print the label. If I print the label at 11:59 PM it's going to come up with a default ship date of Wednesday. Making me one day over on my handling time. This caused a big problem with some sellers when eBay first started using that phrasing. Their handling time compliance scores were going down and they didn't know why. They weren't differentiating between the time they had to upload the tracking and the time they had to print the label.

[Pantlandia]

If anyone has a PO near an airport, I've found that a lot of them stay open much later than other branches. Our Airport branch used to stay open until Midnight, now it's open until 10:00pm (last I checked). It's nice for those last minute mailings.

[Deleted]

I wonder how it works shipping that late - or rather printing the label that late. There's a certain time of the day that the software defaults to the next day's date and it can't be changed. I'm not positive, but I want to say it has to be somewhere around 9-10 PM Eastern. I say that because I've noticed it (that the date had already changed and I couldn't go back to that day's actual date) and I rarely print a label after 10 PM.

[Pantlandia]

When I print after 5pm in eBay it defaults to the next day. I've dropped packages off with the next day on it with no problems.

[Deleted]

For me pick up is at noon so I have to have everything at the PO before noon or it doesn't go out until the next day. This is why I have a 3 day handling then I don't have to worry about it, it gives me cushion to print it and drop it off and the same or next day and the PO to get it scanned in when the reopen.

[SA]

Handling times were just mentioned in my most recent Seller's Digest email earlier this week:

pages.ebay.com/sellerinformation/build-your-business-online/deliver-great-service/handling.html
Handling time is measured in business days—weekends and major holidays don't count. Remember, the handling-time clock begins once you receive payment from your buyer and ends at the time your shipping carrier scans the package. Be sure to check your shipping carrier's business hours before drop-off, so your package can be scanned before 11:59:59 pm PT that day.

Use the chart below to know when your package must be scanned in order to meet your stated handling time*.
(see link for handling time chart examples)

[SA]

peek, it only has to be scanned--it doesn't have to leave the PO to meet your handling time requirement.

[Deleted]

Jun 1, 2016 10:49:39 GMT SA said:

peek , it only has to be scanned--it doesn't have to leave the PO to meet your handling time requirement.

Our whole PO shuts down then too so either way it has to be there at noon. It's a small town lol

[SA]

Holy Moly! The PO shuts down at noon?
I hope it opens at 3 am!

LOL!

That's just crazy to me. But we have to do what we have to do, right?

[jandsknight]

Our little country P.O. is open from 8-12 on weekday mornings only.

[zoesam]

May 31, 2016 23:29:43 GMT Pantlandia said:

If anyone has a PO near an airport, I've found that a lot of them stay open much later than other branches. Our Airport branch used to stay open until Midnight, now it's open until 10:00pm (last I checked). It's nice for those last minute mailings.

IDK if this is still true, but when I was travelling every week (not doing Ebay tho'), many big cities airport PO's were open 24 hours a day. I used to use them all the time b/c I was at airports all the time.  

[Deleted]

I live close to an airport which is almost empty after about 9PM (at that point I guess not many are flying out; it's just arrivals). So it wouldn't be a hassle for me to go there late at night. But it doesn't look like their collection box, and they must have at least one, is showing up on the usps locator. I'll have to investigate that later because I would rather run over to the airport late on a Friday night than have to ship Saturday. The closest boxes to me pick up too early on Saturday.

[Pantlandia]

Jun 1, 2016 16:52:54 GMT zoesam said:

May 31, 2016 23:29:43 GMT Pantlandia said:

If anyone has a PO near an airport, I've found that a lot of them stay open much later than other branches. Our Airport branch used to stay open until Midnight, now it's open until 10:00pm (last I checked). It's nice for those last minute mailings.

IDK if this is still true, but when I was travelling every week (not doing Ebay tho'), many big cities airport PO's were open 24 hours a day. I used to use them all the time b/c I was at airports all the time.  

Yeah, I know a few were or are 24 hours. I *think* ours used to be, then they went to midnight, then 10:00PM. I vaguely remember going there really late/early a long time ago and they were open at like 1AM or so. There still may be quite a few that are open 24 hours.

[Deleted]

On our airport's website it says their collection boxes have PU times of 5PM weekly and 1:45PM Saturday, no shipping time extension for me there. But when I went to usps and looked at a map in that zip code of all the collection boxes, none show at the airport location.

[Deleted]

From what I have seen those post offices that have 24 hour kiosks still only scan the packages as accepted during regular business hours. Then exception might be an airport post office where there is an actual person manning the station to scan the items. Ours has a sign that states mail dropped off after business hours will be scanned in as the next business day.

It's funny but there is actually a tiny country post office that puts a sign on the door closed and goes to lunch. This is a one person operation, it's tiny and I would say that's a good example of why I think Long Island is the country compared to Brooklyn & Manhattan.. The post offices here do not have any glass to protect the workers and they actually have supplies out in the open where people can help themselves even the ones that you pay for. It's pretty surprising. It took me a little while to get used to it, in fact the first time I walked into The regular post office here I actually asked how they could sit there with no glass in front of them. Luckily the manager was from my old post office in the city and she actually recognized me and we got a good laugh. Somehow, I just assumed it was a federal thing and they needed the glass for protection, like banks.

[chapeaunoir]

I live in metro Seattle and have never seen glass in front of post office tellers in any USPS station I've used, and supplies are always out front. That includes the big post office downtown unless they've revamped the entire thing in the last few years since I've used it.

ETA: This isn't a mellow city, either - it's over-crowded, people get cranky and there's a high suicide rate.

I see the glass stuff in London, though - exactly like tellers.

[val2525]

I've never seen glass at PO teller stations in any city I've lived in and I've lived in a lot of large cities. Even Miami didn't have glass (although that could have changed). Same for materials - they've always been out in the open.

Our latest open PO isn't at the airport, it's downtown. It's easy to get to, but even so, latest pickup in blue boxes outside is only 7 pm on weekdays.

[kritter]

No glassed in windows here either and all supplies right out in the open even when the counter is closed.

[Deleted]

I've been to 2 POs in Pittsburgh that have glass, both in low-income/high-crime parts of town. One is in an area that's starting to become gentrified -- will be interesting to see if the glass stays up, or perhaps all the millenial-yuppie-techies moving into that area have no need for the USPS.

(Glass: I think it's more like thick plexiglass or acrylic -- strong enough to stop bullets and humans, and dingy/filmy enough to give the whole place a depressing aura.)

[Deleted]

Jun 4, 2016 2:37:22 GMT @ahrncitygal said:

I've been to 2 POs in Pittsburgh that have glass, both in low-income/high-crime parts of town. One is in an area that's starting to become gentrified -- will be interesting to see if the glass stays up, or perhaps all the millenial-yuppie-techies moving into that area have no need for the USPS.

(Glass: I think it's more like thick plexiglass or acrylic -- strong enough to stop bullets and humans, and dingy/filmy enough to give the whole place a depressing aura.)

I was in line behind a millennial techie once. Apparently he'd generated his label online but didn't print it. He was showing it to the postal clerk on his phone and couldn't understand why she couldn't do anything with it.

[Deleted]

Best post office story ever.

[Deleted]

You can't make this stuff up.

[Deleted]

LOL No Val our PO opens at 8:45, closes at 12, so we have a 3 hour window to make it to the PO if we want to drop anything off at the desk.

Oh wait just checked online and it shows they extended hours and they close at 12:45 now so woohoo we have an extra 45 minutes. Saturday is 10-12 so you have to be fast on Saturday. I tend to just use the blue box they are awesome about making sure everything is cleared out daily and scanned in so I dump everything in there. They said they don't care if I fill it up and block it where no one else can use it, that is what it's for, cram it full. They aren't pissy like the last post master he hated me using the box for Ebay stuff because he said other people wouldn't be able to put their items in there if I used it. He would unlock the door for me and take my packages if I went by before hours on my way to take the kids to school so it wasn't a big deal.