Packlink - Automatic label with incomplete address Pickup point Fermopoint
Summary: The discussion concerns problems with Packlink's automatic label, where the address for the Fermopoint pickup point is sometimes incomplete. Several participants express their difficulties and work together to solve these technical issues, apparently without reaching a definitive solution in the thread shown. There are no specific details about each participant's contributions.
Good evening,
I printed the automatic label via EBAY service - Packlink and carrier Poste Delivery Business standard, but the label had the recipient without the street address.
The package has been shipped and today the post office was unable to find the destination because the recipient's address is incomplete and it is necessary to contact support.
I checked that the buyer correctly selected the 'Fermopoint pickup point' complete with address, but the printed label is missing the address line itself.
What can be done in these cases?
Should a report be opened with eBay or through this address?
https://support-ebay.packlink.com/hc/it/articles/360014270579-Delivery
cleoni_it
·1 year agoSame thing happened to me today too: "via R. Chiodelli (number)" comes out as just "via R.".
Poste parcel sent with eBay shipping.
Another issue: my phone number appears (and not the recipient's) in the recipient section.
I tried to fix it by adding a label with the correct and complete address and the right phone number taken from the eBay order details.
This problem had already happened to me, I think two years ago; I hadn't noticed it, the courier called me (obviously because my number is printed), I didn't know where this Post Office pickup point was, and the shipment ended up being sent back.
I ended up disabling shipments to pickup points, at the expense of the effectiveness of the listings.
Rare example of badly made and poorly tested software. After two years the problem is still there... Evidently it's too much work for them to make software work properly.
heavenwelkin
·1 year agoHi cleoni_it
The operation you did, namely adding the recipient’s full address, is the same procedure I use and it has always worked for me.
Some say that the data on the label, even if they don’t appear, are visible to the courier, but I don’t agree with that hypothesis because the problem lies in the fact that the characters available on the label are limited.
That’s why the address got truncated.
As for the seller’s phone number instead of the buyer’s, it’s a bug because the system doesn’t always manage to take the buyer’s number.
In this case you need to edit it yourself by hand.
I can’t remember right now how many characters are available on the Poste Italiane label; I don’t know whether it’s 45, 50 or 60 characters.
If you want to be sure the address doesn’t get truncated, you need to stick to writing everything within the available character limit.
Unfortunately the Packlink system lets you write longer addresses that exceed the available characters, but when you go to print the label you realize that it comes out with an incomplete / truncated address.
Best regards.
ortofantastico
·1 year agoOr if I have an address with 120 characters and the label only holds 40, once the label runs out the system could add (at the bottom, outside the label) FULL ADDRESS: 120 CHARACTERS. But whoever manages the software to give the seller the label is using a body part different from the brain. 🙂
ortofantastico
·1 year agoI DON'T THINK packlink complies with the characters made available in the labels... because if the fields are 40 and the address doesn't fit .. another 35 characters are made available in the notes where the remaining part of the address could be automatically entered.. just to give one example 🙂
sarapolazzi1997
·1 year agoSame exact problem happened to me today. I've been trying to fix it for hours.
Bottom line, a waste of time and money for nothing.
technopartsbay
·1 year agoWriting the data "by hand" is almost pointless: the data the carrier sees are the ones recorded in the system and it’s (very) unlikely that the operators will read the label.
In the case of Poste/SDA, you can find the data held by the carrier in the QR code (for privacy reasons, though, phone numbers are not included).
The alternative, to avoid problems, is to fill out the LdV manually, i.e. make a "clean" shipment with the data present in the customer’s order (still accessing it through eBay’s partner link: the financial terms are the same).
il_buon_libraio
·1 year agoThis is very useful to me. Thanks.
mocer-75
·1 year agoThanks for the advice, that was actually a possibility I hadn't thought of, I think I'll leave it active, hoping I don't run into any problems.
heavenwelkin
·1 year agoThis is already the second or third time this has happened....
The buyer wants to send the item to the pickup point but can’t because I have disabled the service
Then the buyer gets a flash of inspiration and decides to change the shipping address and put the one for the pickup point 😂🤣
The PROBLEM is that the pickup point doesn’t work for free...
I usually check the addresses before shipping and can see whether it’s a pickup point or not.
mocer-75
·1 year agoBut I didn’t put in the possibility of shipping to some pickup point, but I have had orders delivered to some ecp, so much so that one of the last ones I shipped had: eCP: XXX
In my listings I couldn’t find the option to remove the ecps, am I doing something wrong?
heavenwelkin
·1 year agoYou have to go into your account settings (I removed the pickup point in 2021 or 2022)
mocer-75
·1 year agoThanks for the tip, I found where you can disable it:
Home > My eBay > My account > Settings > Pickup point
They hid it pretty well 😄
heavenwelkin
·1 year agoGreat 👍
I didn't remember anymore since at least 2 or 3 years had passed
heavenwelkin
·1 year agoThe pickup point is undoubtedly a CONVENIENCE
And offering a pickup point certainly helps a professional seller.
In the case of private individuals selling used items, in my opinion, it can also be done without.
I use the pickup point myself, there are two pickup points in my area that are professional and well organized, and let’s say I trust leaving packages with them.
Let me tell you what happened to me recently....
Having removed the pickup point, a buyer thought it would be smart to bypass the system by entering a pickup point without the eCP code generated by eBay.
Basically, they entered this address by hand:
Pickup Point Name
Street and ZIP code of the pickup point without entering either their name or the eCP code
I, who am no newbie, printed the label exactly as eBay gave it to me
Then I also printed the CORRECTED address, namely
FIRST NAME LAST NAME (of the buyer) c/o PICKUP POINT
And the pickup point address
Then I also took a photo of the package with both addresses clearly visible.
I suspected they would take advantage of the situation (the pickup point)
And indeed that’s what happened.
The package is duly delivered (visible from tracking), but when the buyer goes to pick up their package they are told that nothing has arrived.
I gave the buyer instructions on what to do, I sent them the photo of the package I had taken, and then I told them to send it to the pickup point, pointing out that if the package didn’t turn up, a report would be filed.
Long story short, after a few days the package magically reappeared 😂🤣
They told them it was the courier’s fault for not delivering it to them.....
heavenwelkin
·1 year agoA bit of unsolicited advice:
If an item buyer suddenly sets a pickup point themselves, avoid shipping and cancel the sale
First, because there's a risk the pickup point will take the package.
The second is because at that point the pickup point could ask for money for the pickup, given the absence of the eCP code, which is the code the pickup point needs to collect the commission.
I shipped it anyway and risked ending up in a dispute because it was a low-value item and I didn't want to cause the buyer any inconvenience.
Usually, if you ship exactly to the address provided, in the event of a dispute you should be in the right but...... there is no absolute certainty and you risk losing both the item and the money.
marathonbike
OP1 year agoFor the benefit of anyone who may have this problem, I solved it by contacting packlink via the web and providing the new address.
The label printing error was due to an incorrect selection of the delivery type when choosing the courier. If the shipment is with posta restante (pickup point), you must not choose the courier with home delivery.
anleona20
·1 year agoGood evening marathonbike
I’m piggybacking on your post so as not to create another one that’s basically identical.
I’ve been shipping through Ebay shipping (and other platforms) for a long time, but I’d never run into a problem like this before.
The same thing happened to me, but I don’t remember changing anything when generating the label.
Packlink customer service writes me the same explanation you do, but honestly I don’t even know how to change the delivery type...
I remember that I log in to ebay shipping with the recipient’s address already prefilled, and the only option I have is choosing between the post office or the courier, adding insurance if desired, and proceeding with payment....or not? In any case I don’t think everyone knows about this "option": when I saw the address on ebay shipping I didn’t pay attention to the FP-CP wording etc...but since it was the full address I generated the label.
I contacted packlink right away but they weren’t able to put the parcel back out for delivery, so it’s being returned.
The post office confirms that packlink is causing several problems for these reasons, confusing sellers and undermining the successful completion of sales.
And, forgive me, but in any case there’s no way a label should be generated without the full address.
Can I open a complaint with Ebay about the packlink service?
marathonbike
OP1 year agoYou can ask eBay support to call you. At the bottom of this page: https://www.ebay.it/help/selling/managing-returns-refunds/gestisci-le-restituzioni-gli-oggetti-non-ricevuti-i-rimborsi-venditori?id=4079&st=10
anleona20
·1 year agoI just spoke with them, and they tell me they are noting the service issue but that I cannot file a complaint with them because they are not responsible for problems generated by packlink (...!!)
I obviously find this explanation absurd because if a platform offers a "third-party" service, it is still co-responsible for the problems that the service may generate.
The same operator also acknowledges that generating a label without essential details, as in our case, is a problem, regardless of the type of delivery the buyer chooses. In short, she already knew about this problem and agreed that the generation process must be simple and must not lead the seller to make mistakes by offering choices that can clearly compromise the shipment.
At any rate, today I am waiting for the package to be returned, and then I will file a complaint with packlink because, as I also read from your very useful suggestion, the label-generation process is not so straightforward in the case of an address with parcel hold.
anleona20
·1 year agoI’m replying to my post because the system doesn’t let me edit it.
I just received Packlink’s reply:
Ilaria (Packlink eBay)
17 Oct 2024, 11:29 CEST
Dear Anna,
As indicated in the previous email, the shipment is being returned to sender due to an incorrect/incomplete address
For this shipment you requested a home delivery service while the buyer had requested delivery to a BRT FermoPoint. You can verify this from the address where the FP and eCP abbreviations are present (copy-past recipient address + BRT FP link).
In this case reimbursement of transport costs is not предусмотрено as there is a violation of eBay Selling Rules, but we can offer you a discount voucher to use for your next shipment
Kind regards,
Ilaria
Support Associate
eBay Shipping powered by Packlink
Violation of Ebay selling rules??? Can you tell me what this is about?
I’m starting to understand the terrible rating on Trustpilot...
daxsisko
·1 year agoyet another example of why it’s NOT recommended to give buyers the option to pick up from a FermoPoint......
anleona20
·1 year agoBy now it’s clear to me, but do you understand that it’s a perverse mechanism? If I buy, I should be able to indicate a pickup point for obvious reasons of availability, but if it works like this and creates this kind of problem, I understand your point. I’ll advise future buyers against it.
And to give useful information to other users, the post office assured me that if you ship directly with them to a pickup point there are obviously no problems because the return instructions are faster... We’ll see..
sika700
·2 years agoTry reading here:
How do I contact Packlink Customer Service? – Packlink Help Portal
Best regards.