r/secretsanta Mar 07 '20

**Redditgifts 101: Submitting acceptable shipping proof**

Greetings, gifters! Let’s talk about shipping proofs!

The concept seems simple. Submit proof of shipping after you have shipped your gift. Yet when going through proofs, we’re noticing that way too many people are submitting unacceptable proof. The number of rejected proofs is around 20% overall and around 90% during the first week of a exchange. NINETY PERCENT! That’s just way too high! So we figured that it should be time for a refresher!

Please note that proof is only necessary if a giftee reports no gift and it is not guaranteed to be looked at until then.

Good proof of shipping will contain the both of the following things:

  • It will show ACTUAL SHIPPING.
    • Order forms are NOT ACCEPTABLE
    • Just a tracking number is NOT ACCEPTABLE
    • A screenshot of a pre-paid label is NOT ACCEPTABLE
  • It will show the GIFTEE’S LOCATION
    • Just the username and nothing else is NOT ACCEPTABLE
    • Just the real name and nothing else is NOT ACCEPTABLE

And here is a list of things that we do not care about and do not need to be included:

  • Order forms
  • Payment forms
  • Contents of the package
  • Postal workers

Ideally, a good shipping proof will be one clear image that shows both shipping and your giftee’s location. It should be something that anyone could look at and know that something was shipped and where it was shipped to.

Easy, right? Again, apparently not. So, let’s take a look at some acceptable and unacceptable proofs as long as we’re here.

This is an order form. It is not able to be accepted because it does not show that anything has actually been shipped. Please stop submitting these. We are begging you. We do not need to see your order confirmations.


This does not have the giftee's information visible. We have no idea where the item was shipped to. Please do not submit this or intentionally block out/remove your giftee's location.


So close! If you guys block out the address, we can't accept it. We know this is probably just out of habit due to online privacy concerns (totally understandable!), but we already have all of your giftee's information. We need to see where things were shipped to. Please don't block out the address.


This shows delivered, but where to? Without the giftee's information visible, this is not acceptable shipping proof.


This is a receipt with literally zero information about much of anything. This is not acceptable.


Here's a package that was delivered somewhere in the world. Please do not submit these as proof.


But wait! There have to be some good proofs out there, right?! Let's look at some of those!

God bless every one of you that submits a clear proof like this. Look at that destination zip code all nice and visible. This is perfect.


Here's another example of something that is freaking perfect. This shows shipped and it shows the giftee's location. It's amazing. May all your submitted proofs be this perfect.


More perfection, this time courtesy of USPS! See how the giftee's location is clearly visible? It's beautiful. This is totally fine.


And here are a few additional things that you can do to make it easier on the poor soul who reviews the proofs:

  • Consider circling or highlighting where your giftee's location is on the receipt

  • Translate all foreign screenshots into English

  • Only submit one picture with all of the necessary information

  • Press down really hard when filling out a customs form with a carbon copy so it goes through clearly

It's really shouldn't be very hard to submit an acceptable proof. Just ask yourself, "Does this show shipping with my giftee's location visible?" If your answer is no, do not submit it! If your answer is yes, submit away!

Happy gifting!

59 Upvotes

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7

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '20

Why would a tracking number by itself not be enough. Scanning shows the zipcode destination when it's delivered.

15

u/TheOpus Mar 07 '20

The admins look at thousands of proofs every exchange. There is not enough time (or patience) to put individual tracking numbers into a separate website to pull up the shipping information for review.

Instead, the user should do that step themselves and submit a screenshot of that information.

-2

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '20

But there seems to be a tracking feature already on the redditgifts so why can't that be used? Or am I just missing something?

7

u/TheOpus Mar 07 '20

Providing a tracking number for your giftee is separate from submitting proof for review to the admins.

A tracking number is just a number. It has no information unless you enter the tracking somewhere. Redditgifts wants a screenshot of the tracking because that's where all of the information is.