Christmas delays and inevitable losses... advice please :)

[michelleandmickey]

Hi Everyone,

I was just curious, how do people suggest sellers handle Christmas post delays?
I post within the one business day rule, but know at Christmas things without a doubt take longer!
Is it best to do a BULK adjustment to listing descriptions, and list something at the top of all listings that you delete later, suggesting there may be longer postage delays than usual around Christmas.

I would like to say it seems like common sense, however, I am learning that a few valuable skillsets can be missing from buyers... common sense, fairness, honesty, reasonableness and so on LOL 🙂

Do you all just leave it, and just answer complaints of items not arriving with "Please wait longer"?

Any wisdom shared would be fab, thanks!

[jensmanchester-australia]

Yep emtee - basically according to that chart for remote Tasmania and parts of NT and Qld I basically have to be sending parcels out in the next couple of days for Christmas Delivery if using regular post.....scary isn't it.

[digital*ghost]

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@jensmanchester-australia wrote:

DG - just look at some of these dates for Christmas delivery that Australia Post have put out - it is quite scary how long parcels take around Australia.

Hopefully this link works

 http://sellercentre.ebay.com.au/sites/default/files/landing_pages/AU_Post_Deadline_2014.xlsx

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If eBay left sellers to their own devices, and didn't impose ETAs on our behalf, then I would have no choice but to suggest it's the seller's responsibility to keep customers informed, but since they've taken it upon themselves to provide them (all the while telling sellers they agree to take all responsibility for the content of a listing), the least they can do is base it on actual info from the company doing the deliveries. 😞

[viewmont1071]

I also use a cut off date at Christmas time on some accounts ie. this year it is the 15th December for NSW, Vic and Qld.

For WA SA NT and Tas it is the 8th december as I am situated in regional NSW

After those dates I do not promise pre Christmas delivery to any buyer. I use the words "may" for purchases after that date. If

you include like terms in your description then it is my experience that ebay will remove feedback that relates to late

delivery if the customer orders outside of those parameters, expects delivery pre chrissy but it does not occur.

If you are in an Express post parcel/enevelope acceptance area then your delivery times may be less than mine but you

should also take into account the buyers address and whether the delivery address is part of the express delivery

network.

[allsafetysolutions1]

Also, don't put a message in your long description. I put in a bulk listing on my 900+ items that we were on stocktake and deliveries will be delayed. When I went to remove them in bulk, mmmm, can't do that in bulk, have to delete the message one by one. Took me over 2 days to remove every single one. I know I would have missed some (sight kept crashing).
Spoke to ebay CS, and they had no idea and would get someone from technical dept to call me...........still waiting

Just giving you all a heads up.

[pennyforum14]

alley, to remove info from listings in buk, put the sentence you want removed in the top box on the bulk description editor, then leave the second box blank and save the changes, worked for me with a message I used recently to advise of an upcoming price rise.

[allsafetysolutions1]

Hey Penny...are you serious. I did that exact thing and it didnt work. When I rung Ebay, they said it cant be done.

Maybe I should charge them for my time to manually do each and every one.

Thanks for letting me know though, i'll keep it in mind for next time

[outdoorhunting1]

"Yep emtee - basically according to that chart for remote Tasmania and parts of NT and Qld I basically have to be sending parcels out in the next couple of days for Christmas Delivery if using regular post.....scary isn't it."

Makes people realise just how big this country is !!!

I have found that IF you can fit the items in 500gm, 3kg or 5kg EXPRESS Post bags, it speeds up delivery to some of these remote areas - Remote NT and FNQ (Weipa) are two examples where I have had stuff get there in 2 - 4 days. It seems the first part of the Journey - Melbourne to Brisbane or Melbourne to Darwin - is done by air and then road takes over from there but it certainly speeds up the whole process.

[michelleandmickey]

I might heed your warnings etc and test an add and removal on 5 or so listings 🙂

[allsafetysolutions1]

Good Idea. Let me know how you go.

[i-love-my-sheep]

I generally send interstate buyers a message, regardless of time of year, letting them know roughly how long their item will take. I'm in Central West NSW, so for WA, NT, Tas and FNQ, I advise them to expect it to take up to 3 weeks. Remote WA I will even go as far as 4 weeks. SA I say 2-3 weeks, Melbourne or Brisbane a week, regional Vic or Qld 1-2 weeks and NSW  2-7 days, depending on their location. I've never had any issues with complaints of items taking too long to arrive.

I don't normally offer express unless a buyer asks for it, but it might be worth offering it in the lead up to Christmas. I'm not sure if I'm 'in the network', but I think it is still quicker than regular post at times. 

Thanks for the reminder about Christmas delays, I didn't even give that a thought. This is my first time selling in the lead up to Christmas.