I've sold items on eBay since 1999 and have been very fortunate over all. Most people pay me and have been great to work with. I ship a lot of custom kits. I try to make sure the kits are the best deal available and that may be one reason I have very few problems with payments. Still, from time to time, not often, but maybe a couple of times a year, someone would say they never got the package. Since I was paying for delivery confirmation at the post office it seemed to me that I could verify the fact that the package arrived. But for some reason, it didn't seem to carry enough clout to matter. I think the reason was that only the time of delivery and zip code showed up for the ones I got at the post office. So when that happened, I worked with the buyer and come to an agreement that was satisfactory for both of us.

It still bugged me because I knew the package had arrived. I love eBay and have met many wonderful people so I felt it was just not worth being unhappy about. My hubby says not to put my soapbox in my auctions or on my Me page. So I didn't change my policies.

Then PayPal started offering shipping. And I went for it immediately. The funds were right there in my account to pay for the shipping, making it easy to keep track of my operating costs. I get free delivery confirmation which is nice. The number is automatically sent to the buyer via email. I love that part. And there is exact delivery information about when and where the package is delivered including the address. 

But the nicest benefit is that all of a sudden, as if by magic, the claims of missing packages vanished. I have only gotten one email saying that the package never arrived. I cut and pasted the delivery confirmation info in a return email and said someone else in the house probably got it and forgot to tell them about it. Shortly afterward the buyer said it was found and ended up being one of my best customers.
Another nice bonus is that I don't have to stand in line at the post office any more. I print the packing slip. Print the postage. Peel and stick. And email the post office for a free pick up.

Since I have lots of eBay friends who still stand in line at the post office, I thought there might be other sellers who don't use the online postage option. So, I thought maybe I would write a little guide for anyone who is considering using online postage.

The USPS Postal Service has the same option and the funds come out of credit card charges. The different is that with PayPal you can ship first class, media, parcel post, in addition to Priority and Express Mail because they have a deal with Stamps.com at no additional cost (there is a little 18c delivery confirmation charge for other than Priority Mail but that is still a huge savings). The Postal Service only lets you ship via Priority or Express Mail. 

Life is a journey of many steps. Enjoy each one!