topic Re: eBay estimated delivery dates in Selling

eBay estimated delivery dates

letscleanupmycupboards — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 14:49:34 GMT

Where does eBay get its so called estimated delivery dates?

I've just moved to a remote isolated community which is a 150km drive from the nearest town with normal mail delivery in/out. Mail only comes and goes Tuesday and Friday. I'm concerned that when I start selling again I may receive more than the average "slow to post" ratings or defects. I will of course detail my location in the listings but it does make it hard when buyers leave feedback and it asks if it arrived by a predetermined date.

My previous location was also isolated but not to the same extent and it used to tell me that parcels from interstate were 2-4 days delivery estimate when the reality was more like 7-8 days. Even the average non priority letter is 4 days now. I never left adverse feedback for delivery times as I knew it was my location that caused any delays but should I be concerned as a seller?

Re: eBay estimated delivery dates

typhoon4u — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 15:15:32 GMT

Yes, you probably should be concerned.

Buyers are increasingly impatient. We seem to be in a buy now/ have now society and they generally have no idea of the postage/ mail systems.

You may need to send everything EXPRESS just to get normal delivery times.........

I'm country WA, but not remote, and feel the pressure as most of my customers are eastern states based.

Re: eBay estimated delivery dates

phorum_junkie* — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 15:41:08 GMT

Just increase your handling time to 4 or 5 days, ebay say you will not be 'as visible' unless you have one day handling and free post but most sellers who post on the boards and have increased their handling time say it has made no difference to their sales.

Re: eBay estimated delivery dates

letscleanupmycupboards — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 15:50:16 GMT

I think a lot of buyers (at least I do) search by the keyword for what they want. I tend to sell some quirky stuff so hopefully shouldn't affect it from that side. Given that I'm 2000km by road from Brisbane and outside the express network it probably won't gain me much. Plus I can't justify adding the extra cost to the item.

I guess if I try to make things transparent when I lost it should go a long way. Communication seems to be the key.

Re: eBay estimated delivery dates

letscleanupmycupboards — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 15:52:41 GMT

List not lost!

Re: eBay estimated delivery dates

chameleon54 — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 23:42:01 GMT

I agree with PJ. I have copped several defects for slow postage recently and are pushing my handling time from two days to five days in response. I add a note to the listings saying I usually mail within two business days of payment clearing. It hasnt affected sales yet. I also give "regular post" as my mail option but send many items express.

Re: eBay estimated delivery dates

black*poppy — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 01:26:27 GMT

On the fb group there's a highly regarded ex-staffer who has stated that ebay do not penalise sellers in Search Results for increased handling time. Also, within the new policy of late delivery 'defects' where if you have too many, ebay will work with you to consider your handling times - ie increase them*. So it seems to be more about managing customers' expectations.

*Note I'm not discussing browsers.

Re: eBay estimated delivery dates

ozstockman — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 01:31:24 GMT

@letscleanupmycupboards wrote:
Where does eBay get its so called estimated delivery dates?

I've just moved to a remote isolated community which is a 150km drive from the nearest town with normal mail delivery in/out. Mail only comes and goes Tuesday and Friday. I'm concerned that when I start selling again I may receive more than the average "slow to post" ratings or defects. I will of course detail my location in the listings but it does make it hard when buyers leave feedback and it asks if it arrived by a predetermined date.

My previous location was also isolated but not to the same extent and it used to tell me that parcels from interstate were 2-4 days delivery estimate when the reality was more like 7-8 days. Even the average non priority letter is 4 days now. I never left adverse feedback for delivery times as I knew it was my location that caused any delays but should I be concerned as a seller?

You may want to check that your items all have correct location set in the item description. I had the sane problem and found out after moving interstate that same items still had a wrong location set even after I did a bulk update for all of them.

Re: eBay estimated delivery dates

k1ooo-slr-sales — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 01:41:32 GMT

@letscleanupmycupboards wrote:
List not lost!

no need for a correction post as you have around 5 minutes to edit a post. Just hover over the "options" link for your post and scroll down to edit. Then make your correction and hit "post"

Re: eBay estimated delivery dates

letscleanupmycupboards — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 14:17:00 GMT

Can't on a phone by the looks of it.

Re: eBay estimated delivery dates

k1ooo-slr-sales — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 14:53:38 GMT

@letscleanupmycupboards wrote:
Can't on a phone by the looks of it.

just scroll to the bottom of the page on your phone and select "Full" rather than "Mobile" view and you can then edit your post. Once edited you just scroll to the bottom of the page again and select "Mobile" to get the view back again.

Re: eBay estimated delivery dates

*tippy*toes* — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 15:32:09 GMT

I'm not in the express network, so it takes 2 days instead of overnight. I tell buyers that's the case so they don't worry when it's not there the next day.

I increased my handling time to 5 days ages ago. It has not affected my sales one bit. In fact, sales are booming. The big difference I noticed with the increased handling time is a lot more happy customers. I get so many messages thanking me for getting it to them before the first estimate date. It's also reflected in my feedback how impressed they are getting their item before the first estimate date.

The trick is to still post same or next day. Obviously that's not possible for you if you only have 2 mail runs a week. In view of that, I'd be increasing my handling time to 10 days, but still post on the next available day. That should insulate you from most things. If you still find things are still arriving late, increase it to the next increment.

If you post with tracking and you post within your handling time, you are insulated against postage defects. If you get one for an item arriving after the estimate, eBay will remove it by calling them.

Re: eBay estimated delivery dates

lane-ends — Sun, 10 Jul 2016 23:45:32 GMT

You seem to sell a collection of unique items, sales suffer kless due to increased handling than commonly available items that may be more competitive. It is therefor just important that your handling time accurately covers you for actual and that items are lodged with a scan.

Your biggest inconvenience with only biweekly pick ups is that you cant afford to miss one, yo can put all the explanations you want in the listing but the auto carrier reporting wil cause you issues. Defects aren't always a result of buyer dissatisfaction. It is a roundabout way of Ebay pressuring sellers into providing full point to point tracking.

Re: eBay estimated delivery dates

letscleanupmycupboards — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 12:34:49 GMT

I know for a fact out here there's no facility for signing for parcels on pickup. There's no household mail delivery, everything goes to the local pickup point for collection. So even if someone sends a signed for parcel there's no delivery scan and no signature on delivery. I'm hoping there is for outgoing mail.

To put it in context we sent our daughter a postcard Monday last week and it was delivered today. So 7 days for a letter to Brisbane.