Handling time adjustment - any benefits?

[jellybirddesigns]

For a few years now I've kept my handling time at around 5-10 days to allow for items to get to their destinations with time to spare.

About 40% of my orders go overseas so having a bit of built-in "padding" has been helpful.

However, is there a real benefit to having handling time of say 1 day?

Will my items get more exposure in search results?

Or, does one have to have 1 day handling PLUS free postage to get the best search result?

[kopenhagen5]

Will my items get more exposure in search results?

No.

Free postage will get you better search results when buyers use the refinement, Lowest price + postage.

A longer handling time if anything gives you a buffer to not get dinged for late postage.

The only down side is for those that check your handling time before they buy which IMO are very few.

[purplemon18]

My advice would be to change it and see if A) your sales go up, and B) people start complaining about delivery times. You can always change it back.

I post as many things as I can same day, and I never post anything longer than 1 business day later. Also, some red post boxes get emptied on Sunday night, so I post 6 days a week. I also post no later than 4pm to make sure that if the pickup is early, I don't miss it.

Another thing to mention is that you only need to offer free delivery in Australia, if you want to go down that path. You can still charge for international.

[digital*ghost]

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@jellybirddesigns wrote:

However, is there a real benefit to having handling time of say 1 day?

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In categories where buyers are more likely to make purchase decisions based on ETAs, maybe. Perhaps even with all other things being equal (identical item and price etc), and the only difference is one seller has a 5-day ETA while the other has a 10-day ETA, a buyer is likely to opt for the shorter ETA item even if there is no time-sensitivity to the purchase at all. 

Buyers can only filter results with regards to delivery timeframe by selecting to show only Guaranteed Delivery items, so in all other cases a buyer would need to manually review ETAs, compare them to other listings, in order for that to factor into a decision between one seller or another.

I do believe that having a handling time of 2 days does sometimes affect my sales - especially if it's an item required urgently because the ETA on express is still 2 days out, and I'm fairly certain some buyers have opted to buy elsewhere rather than buy from me and try to arrange for their purchase to be posted "earlier" (earlier in quotes because I always post same-day or next no matter what, but buyers don't know or see this unless they're a regular). I select "standard postage" as the default service, and that means a 1-6 day ETA, plus my 2 days handling, so buyers will often see an ETA up to around 10 days out - this increases the buy, pay, message seller to "post ASAP" scenario, which is annoying, but I try to take it on the chin and just move on - it would be interesting to see if that was reduced by shortening the handling time, but I fear the "where is my item?" messages / requests (if they increased, anyway) would be worse.  

[jellybirddesigns]

Thanks PurpleLemon,

I have about 65 listings where I was already offering free domestic postage as part of a clearance in the store so on those ones I've changed the handling time to 1 day and will see how things go.

I also post the same day or the next business day when possible, depending on what time the orders come in.

[chameleon54]

When I was full time selling on ebay I would mail every day and had a 3 day handling time. Now I have other fish to fry and only mail a couple of times a week with a 5 day handling time. On rare occasions I only mail once a week, usually sending items that sold several days ago express post at no extra cost to the buyer.

Has it made any difference - I dont believe so.

If items have not been mailed for 4 or 5 days I do get the occasional enquiry as to whether something has been mailed.  I explain my position and the fact that handling time is built into the estimated delivery date shown when buyers purchase the item. I also explain.the item will be sent express post at no extra cost, and have never recieved a complaint. ( I allow for some express post costs when setting my postage costs, so it doersnt actually cost me any extra. )  My stars are all 4.9, the same as when I mailed daily and lots of POS feedback stating fast mailing times.

My sales are still ticking along very nicely and actually increasing when I get time to list bulk lots of new items.

All up I dont think mailing and handling times has made a scrap of difference. It is also worth noting that some of my items are very handling time sensative, but in a lot of cases, the buyer cant get the item anywhere else.

[shoppingbag*]

I am just a private seller not a business.  I used to have a three day handling time, then the computer went down. Luckily I got it back fixed the same day, but it gave me a scare as I did sell something while it was out of order.  I then changed my handling time to 5 days, and then 10 days. I try to post same or next day, so lots of feedback saying I am quick to post.  Well computer broke down this week and was out all week, so I was glad I had the ten days. Finally got it back and working last night, and I had only sold one item one day before, so no problem.  I would never, ever, in a blue fit for any carrot dangled by eBay, not if there were diamonds in it, consider a one day turn around.  I only have one computer, and if it goes out of order, I have to wait to get it fixed.  The one day option might be fine for a business who may have extra computers. I believe in Murpy's Law, you know the one that says "anything that can go wrong, will go wrong" If the computer didn't break down then maybe some other disaster could happen to prevent me getting my parcels out.  There is no-one on this earth that could guarantee they wouldn't end up in hospital today for some reason or other, and the young and healthy are by no means exempt. Not meaning to be negative, but I like to cover all my bases. Get on the wrong side of eBay and you may get kicked out forever, or it may be a long path back to their good graces if it is even possible.  Me, I would rather err on the side of caution, every time, and if someone wants my item, then the turn around time won't worry them, and if they read my feedback they will see what others are saying, and they can also ask if they want it asap, so that I can explain.

[lyndal1838]

Most public libraries have computers so you can check your sales if your own computer is out of order.

[davewil1964]

Smartphones (which I consider a necessary backup for ANY online seller) also give you internet access. From your own home, or cafe. As long as its not a telco wide outage.

I realise using a phone is painful, but it does give an option to at least see what you've sold and where to post it. All without having to try to access eBay's app or mobile site. That's why I have my email accounts accessible from my phone.

[lyndal1838]

  I am not a seller and I don't have a smart phone so I was just offering a solution for someone who is not technically cluey.