Dear Ina,

I've been (successfully) ordering lots of cheap stuff for crafting from TEMU for nearly a year. But this email pretty much cancels that relationship. 

For example: I order 8 things directly from TEMU. ....and have to track the items coming in from 8 different vendors (potentially) Not going to happen!

Dear Ina,

You want to learn some bad news about USPS Ground Advantage? I ship about 300+ parcels a month, and 49 of 300 are showing up late. I wish these 49 parcels were only a few days late. This is not the case. Unfortunately, about 30 of the 49 took about 5-7 weeks to get to its location even if it's only a state away. About 5 of them never arrived. The others were about 2-3 weeks late. 

I've used the postal service for over 20 years and I've never had such poor service until Ground Advantage was created. 

This puts small business sellers in a ... Read More

Dear Ina,

Thank you for all you do! I saw your offer to contact you regarding Etsy if I am finding I must spend more and more to advertise. After being on Etsy for 10 years, I spent the last 2 heavily focused on promoting my shop and increasing sales. 

I had a good year last year after finding what I believed was the "sweet spot" in advertising $ spent. Then in February 2024, sales fell off a cliff. I mean, almost no action whatsoever in visits, views, or sales. I did a short test and increased my ad budget for ... Read More

Dear Ina,

I saw some info on your site about Chargebacks and how to fight them. I now have my own issue and wondered if it was of any interest or if you had any advice.

I had an undelivered item that was worth $1000. I'm in (US), the buyer is in the UK. The tracking shows that the item did not arrive. The buyer opened a case for non-receipt, but he opened it after 60 days and the USPS insurance had expired. eBay agreed that the error was his and found in my favor. The buyer then went to his bank (Barclays) and filed ... Read More

Dear Ina,

Just got back an eBay return that I paid $8.80 for original UPS 2 lb. shipping. It was a no fault return, so buyer paid for return label.

It came back USPS Priority Mail, which would've normally cost about $24, even with discount. That includes a $15 overlength surcharge. I checked with the buyer...he paid $9.95.

Something doesn't add up...either eBay ate $14, or they get a sweetheart deal on overlength packages that they choose not to pass along (whole or partial) for a regular Priority Mail shipping label.

Or...it's a sweetheart deal just for returns, in which case USPS is taking a beating at the expense of their ... Read More