Paypal won't let me complete shipping label

Thomas Keesling

It's been a long time since I tried to use a small (6x4 inches) padded mailer that is about 1/2 inch thick. I know there have been changes, and the PayPal setup for creating and printing a shipping label has changed dramatically.

I am leaving the "Package Type" as "Custom Package." I'm entering the three dimensions and a weight of 0 pounds, 1 ounce. I am entering the insured value as $88. When I proceed to rate calculation and it gives me the USPS First Class Mail and USPS Priority Mail options along with the UPS and a couple of other USPS options. I was planning to use First Class Parcel option, but keep getting an error notice (without any explanation) that simply tells me to refresh or try again later. I tried using dimensions of 7" long by 5" wide, but still got the same error message. I tried using the USPS Priority Mail option and got the same error message.

Am I overlooking something or is this simply a system glitch that will go away someday?

Thanks.

Ted Tyszka

I just tried it and did not get any error messages. I think, for First Class Package, you just select First Class Postage. I ship comics all the time with packages of larger dimensions and weights, and the shipping options list still shows only First Class Postage, not First Class Package.

23 minutes later: I just shipped a comic order; while the shipping option I chose on PayPal was "First Class Postage," the label printed out with, "First Class Pkg," with the text above the indicia saying, "8 oz First-Class Parcel Rate."

Thomas Keesling

Thanks, Ted. I just discovered that each of my attempts last night resulted in deductions and credits to my account. However, each attempt to print a label was blocked by that error message that I got on each attempt. Contacting PayPal now to get that sorted out. Will try your recommendation to avoid the error message.

Thomas Keesling

Looked at my PayPal account this morning and found 19 entries for that single shipping label I was trying to create. All except three of the labels had been billed (but didn't get to the bank for processing) and were cancelled. I found the listing for the three remaining entries and cancelled two of those. From that same page I was able to print the active entry for the remaining label. I still don't know why PayPal was stopping me last night from automatically proceeding to the page where I could find the label I had created and then print it. In any case, the remaining label this morning has been placed on the envelope and will soon be on its way to the buyer.

I had contacted PayPal this morning before finding the page with the three active shipping labels. I explained the situation, but that was before I cancelled two of the three remaining active labels. They may be confused now or may recognize that I seem to have cleaned up the mess on my own. I suppose, in the future, I can simply ignore the error message I got on each attempt to create the single shipping label—if it appears again!!! Or try Ted's suggestion!!!

Ted Tyszka

Glad to hear it's all straightened out, now.

Bill O'Malley

I quit using PayPal for shipping a while ago when they went to ship station because it was messing up on me and not intuitive.
I now use Pirate Ship and have never had a problem and it is very easy to use with from what I have found sometimes better rate prices then other sites.

Thomas Keesling

Ted, I managed to find a way to fix that problem, but cannot yet say the error message problem won't rear its ugly head again next time.

Bill, thanks for your suggestion. It had been a while since I needed to print a shipping label, and this was the first time I had encountered Ship Station. I'll probably give it one more shot before looking for an alternative.