@*tippy*toes* wrote:
EBay don't seem to care about good customer service. Mark the items as posted within your handling time, then post when the buyer has requested. As long as no tracking number is uploaded, you won't get an auto defect. Tell your buyers that's what you are doing and the reason why. Let them know that when you do post them, you will send them the tracking number via a message. Don't then upload the tracking number into eBay.
When the buyer goes to leave feedback they will see the message asking if the item arrived within the estimate. Ask that they either tick yes, or just don't tick it.
Tippy... doing this alone will not work, sorry. Ebay do not accept the marked as posted date as any kind of proof of postage date.
All they will accept is if you have a lodgement scan event on your tracking that is within your specified handling time, or the delivery scan event is showing delivered inside their estimated delivery date (EDD). Other than that the seller will take the late delivery hit.
The whole situation might be treated as for a large letter if, as you said, you do not upload tracking information onto the order, but do it thru messaging. But you would have to make sure you made your buyer acutely aware of the consequences for you of a NO answer to the late delivery question so that they say YES regardless.
Of course, if you are indeed using large letter that has no tracking then you can mail it any time you like when the buyer requests this. But it will be up to the buyer to answer the delivery date question with YES even tho they will have received it outside the EDD at their request. If they answer NO then the seller will still take the late delivery hit.
I would suspect (hope!!) tho that if a buyer does make such a written request via messaging then you should be able to phone them and ask to have the hit removed on the grounds of the messages between you and the buyer. You would think that in the interests of good customer relations they would do this for you.
