Ebay Sellers Delivery dates:

[jcut6405]

I recently had a purchase, where the seller had a estimated  delivery date which was not met, when I enquired I was informed they were away, and the Ebay ad had been flagged.

I looked at the Ad and yes there was a small print note high on the left hand corner of the ad, whilst the estimated delivery date was clearly evident in bold large print. below the item for sale

As a result I cancelled the order as instead of having to wait 7 days to receive it would have been 30 days.

This was an annoying waste of my time.

Why does Ebay allow absent sellers to list and item for sale with an Estimated delivery date prominently shown, when the seller has no intention of meeting this delivery time.

Why is a seller even allowed to list on Ebay at a time when they are away and cannot despatch the goods as advertised on the Ebay site.

I believe Ebay needs to have a look at this practice, if they wish to retain their buyers.

[performance_parts_clearance_centre]

I placed our store in "holiday mode" from Dec. 22 to Jan. 8, and extended the handling time to ten business days. The extended handling time pushing the estimated delivery date out until it completetly covered the period in question, even running a few days past the date we re-opened.

And I still copped a numpty complaining that the item he'd bought during that period hadn't been sent, threatening an INR case and negative feedback. No matter what you do, there are always some who just won't read what's right there in front of them - and will blame YOU for it.

You can spend all your time making something idiot-proof, and they'll just invent a better idiot...

[springyzone]

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@imastawka wrote:

Sellers get a defect for missing that delivery date.

It's in your own best interests to blow out your handling time to cover the time away.

Does ebay have to do everybody's thinking for them?  What does ebay care?

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Err, yes, if they can.

You can never make anything too simple, that's what I have found.

I'm just thinking of the seller here, who might forget to change the delivery dates. An automated system that kicked in if an 'away' banner went up would combat that human error.

I know there are still going to be buyers who will press the buy button then whinge because they had not read the delivery date & expected it to be sooner. The way I see it, that's on them, too bad;  the seller should be fully covered, no defects & no item not received claims possible till after the due arrival date.

It's hard to argue about buying something if the delivery date range was clearly set out in the ad. It just makes the buyer look a little bit silly if he does. But if the announced delivery date in the ad is not the 'real' delivery date range, then it leaves room for confusion or complaints. And if a buyer can find something to complain about, they often will.

Ebay should care. It hates having to answer queries, it hates buyers not having a happy experience. Sometimes I think it hates sellers too, but heck, do it for the buyers.

[performance_parts_clearance_centre]

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@springyzone wrote:

I'm just thinking of the seller here, who might forget to change the delivery dates. An automated system that kicked in if an 'away' banner went up would combat that human error.

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Absolutely - it should be automated into the process. Whatever the seller nominates as their "closed until" date should be the starting point from which the estimated shipping time and handling time are calculated. Doesn't seem to be at all difficult...

[wide-world-of-stamps]

1. Logical & simple solution

2. eBay system

Any connection between the above statements??????????

[enigmabear]

Nope. Somehow ebay changed a game of join the dots to hopscotch 

[imastawka]

Springy, when you list something it says 'seller is responsible for this listing'

Sellers need to accept responsibility - it's in the T & C's

It's not ebay's fault nor should it be.  

Like I said, sellers get a defect for late deliveries.

OK so the delivery dates are unrealistic? 

Make them work for you by blowing them out to cover the shortfall.

Then the buyer is happy when it turns up quicker than expected.

[brerrabbit585]

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@imastawka wrote:

Springy, when you list something it says 'seller is responsible for this listing'

Sellers need to accept responsibility - it's in the T & C's

It's not ebay's fault nor should it be.  

Like I said, sellers get a defect for late deliveries.

OK so the delivery dates are unrealistic? 

Make them work for you by blowing them out to cover the shortfall.

Then the buyer is happy when it turns up quicker than expected.

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If they automated it there'd be sure to be a glitch at the crucial time anyway, so best that sellers take responsibility for running their own business.  They're always telling ebay to keep their hands off and let them make their own decisions so they can't expect ebay to run their business for them while they take a holiday.  If they want a holiday and don't want to take responsibility for their shop while they have it, they should do the obvious thing and close it so people can't buy. 

If they try and have their cake and eat it too by having their shop open while they're on holiday, they can't blame anyone else when things go pear-shaped.  Can you imagine a b&m shop allowing people in to pay for items while the shop is closed but not allowing them to take the goods away with them?

[chameleon54]

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@performance_parts_clearance_centre wrote:

I placed our store in "holiday mode" from Dec. 22 to Jan. 8, and extended the handling time to ten business days. The extended handling time pushing the estimated delivery date out until it completetly covered the period in question, even running a few days past the date we re-opened.

And I still copped a numpty complaining that the item he'd bought during that period hadn't been sent, threatening an INR case and negative feedback. No matter what you do, there are always some who just won't read what's right there in front of them - and will blame YOU for it.

You can spend all your time making something idiot-proof, and they'll just invent a better idiot...

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GOLD !!!

[egglesdtp]

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@springyzone wrote:

I know some folks here will say-we can give a postage time but we can't guarantee a delivery date, that's out of our hands.
True. But ebay's problem is so many sellers prefer to post in envelopes without tracking. Ebay could certainly swing to a system where instead of a delivery date, sellers had to guarantee a lodgement date with proof of tracking. In fact i suspect they would like to see everything with tracking.

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Without me checking to see if you are a seller, I find it astonishing that a seller would write these (italicised) statements. If you are a seller, then obviously you don't sell low-priced items e.g. below $10, because if you did, you would realise that if you insisted on including tracking in your postage cost, you wouldn't be selling much.

So many sellers prefer to post in envelopes without tracking because that is effectively what buyers want - the buyers don't want to pay for tracking, as it would mean for low cost items that postage would be too high.

[enigmabear]

I am yet to have a message on anything I have sold without tracking asking for tracking

I have had many, many messages asking can it be sent without to make it cheaper (almost all of those where basic tracking has not even cost extra because it's been a parcel)