Delay in posting Item.

[trishreid88]

Hi all. Long time since I posted here.
I have a question regarding delay in posting. Would you mark down stars for this?
Purchased an item from an Australian seller with item location listed as NSW. I don't really like the phone case that much but I bought it based on it being in Australia and the shipping information. With the idea that this case would do until other cases I purchased from overseas get here. One of the overseas cases arrived today, much quicker than their estimated delivery time. This made me wonder where the case I bought from the Australian seller was. Especially since I won't be needing it now.
Checked on bought history and found that even though I purchased the item on the 25th, it was only posted on 30th.
In their postage description it states.

We will ship your order within 48 hours upon Receiving Cleared Payment except Sunday and Public Holidays.

For shipping to Australia, it will takes around 3-8 business days, depending on regions.

Recently the Post announced that all items shipping by air are now subject to x-ray screening for regulated materials. This additional screening has cause delay in shipment. Please be aware that delivery may take a few days longer than usual. Your patience is greatly appreciated.

Now I understand that I bought this on a Saturday and they state they don't post on Sunday but feel a little let down that it took them until Thursday to post this.  I paid via paypal with credit card, is there a delay in payment clearance when paying this way?
If so whilst I do not agree with this business practice I will accept this is within the sellers terms.
If not do you think this delay in postage warrants a markdown on stars?
Item has not arrived as yet but if it arrives in good order I will leave +FB. Just trying to work out stars and what is normaly acceptable.
Thanks

[i-love-my-sheep]

If you'd read my reply correctly when I replied to the question on misrepresentation of location, I wrote:

2. No, because you can't give a star rating for item location. You can however, reflect that in the feedback, which I would do if it's not mentioned in the listing.

Unless a seller states that their items will be shipped from another country, I WOULD mention it in their feedback if it wasn't mentioned in their listing. I don't have an issue buying from Australian sellers who's items are shipped from overseas, as long as it is stated in the description.  So no, I don't think for one second that it's OK for anyone to hide the true location of their items.

The fact remains that you can't give a star rating for location. That part has to be mentioned in feedback if something isn't right.

[jensmanchester-australia]

Trish - a credit card payment through Paypal is instant. The seller would not have to wait for funds to clear.

If the item comes from overseas then IMO they have not provided an accurate description of what the buyer is receiving as they have incorrectly described the delivery service being used.

I certainly don't believe in buyers marking sellers stars down for a delivery which is a couple of days late however from what you have said the seller is deliberately listing a false item location which is one of the biggest complaints buyers have. It is also unfair for sellers who do follow the correct procedure.

[trishreid88]

Yes you are correct. My appologies I did mis read that part.
I don't have an issue with drop shippers either but when the item location states Australia and there is no other mention to state otherwise then yeah a bit ticked but only due to delivery times given in general (my experience) it takes longer for overseas items than Australian. In this particular situation I only purchased due to expected postage and delivery times based on their terms and conditions. If the delay is the fault of Aus post or other postage service then that is not the sellers fault and a different story all together.

I have been informed credit card payments via paypal clear instantly. The sellers postage terms stated they would post 48hrs after cleared payment unless it is Sunday/public holiday. I purchased this on a Saturday so would have expected it to be posted on the Monday or Tuesday at the latest, NOT Thursday 5 days after sale.
But like you have mentioned to know for sure I will have to wait for the item to arrive to determine if there truely was a delay in posting the item or just a delay in marking it as posted.

For the record it has still not arrived.

[trishreid88]

Thank you for your reply and understanding the question.

This is the only thing I have ever bought that I didn't really like and the ONLY reason I bought it was because of the stated shipping terms conditions and item location.

Now if the only delay is due to no fault of the seller then that is fine. That is the gamble I was willing to take. However if it was due to the seller not holding up their end of the bargain (there own terms) then I do feel I have a right to be ticked off. As do other sellers who would have got my business if this seller did not misrepresent item location.
Like I said i only asked the questions to gauge what is normal acceptable practice these days regarding star ratings.
I have since noticed they have negatives for misleading item location and items not arriving. So I guess others are ticked off too.

[dylan11235813]

If you ordered on a Saturday and they have a 48hr posting time that brings it to Tuesday at the absolute earliest, there is also no point in posting something at 12 midnight Tuesday.

I think some sellers may consider orders that take place on the weekend effectively take place on the Monday in which case they should have posted by Wednesday (Friday orders are posted by Tuesday), in which case it is one day late, and IMO not that big a deal.

[springyzone]

So really I have 2 questions.
1) Would you mark down a sellers stars if they don't post an item when they say they will in their listing.
2) would you mark down in stars if item location is false, listed as NSW Australia but comes from over seas? 

-----------------------------

Sheep replied

Not if it arrives in a reasonable time, no. Things happen.

2. No, because you can't give a star rating for item location. You can however, reflect that in the feedback, which I would do if it's not mentioned in the listing.

If the seller is a reliable seller, I wouldn't trash their stars unless they gave me a really good reason. Posting a few days late is not a reason for me to do it.

One thing to consider, if you trash a sellers stars for posting 2 days late, you won't be able to buy from them any more because they'll add you to their blocked list.

----------------------------------------------

Not sure if sheep is necessarily right. A seller may put you on a blocked list or may not, but it is not a given. From what I can make out here, lots of sellers don't even know how to do it or that such lists exist. Neither do some buyers.

My answers

1. Yes. If someone says they will do something and don't, I would definitely mark them down in their stars. No hesitation. That is what the star rating is there for. If they posted a day late, I might just give them a 4 star rating, but if they were several days late after expressly stating fast terms in their ad, well, 2 stars would be it.

2. Blatant lie, or else deception, even if they ship to an Aussie seller first. I would mention in FB I was disappointed to find item was coming from overseas when it looked like a local seller.

It sounds to me as if you are overall, not very happy about some aspects of this deal, so it is fair enough your star rating reflects that.

[trishreid88]

Thank you Springyzone.
It is looking more likely that the item is not located in Australia. Going back and reading their FB (should have done this before I purchased) I see many negatives due to not being located in Australia also a lot for non arrival.
It has been 16 days from sale and 11 days from when they said they posted. I doubt very much it is coming from NSW to QLD.

I will have to have a serious thought to FB and star rating given this is pretty much useless to me now other than for a spare.
But I will only know when it arrives, if it arrives.

Now I have a 3rd question if I may.
I leave to go overseas on 25th, how long should I wait for it to arrive before loging a claim so that I can have it settled before I leave?
Obviously I will give it more time but can't leave it too late. I will be away for 2 weeks.

[trishreid88]

Just to update.
Item arrived from OS. This explains the delay.
I contacted seller to explain my dissapointment.
They replied they did post on 27th but forgot to mark it as posted on ebay until the 30th.
They also explained that they ship from OS when out of stock locally. (seems to happen alot going by their FB)

After emails back and forth they did offer a partial refund. And appologised for not contacting me to let me know the item would be delayed due to being sent from OS.

I declined the refund as this was never about getting any money back.
I left positive but honest FB. Very happy with quality. Slight delay in postage from OS.
And I marked down communication stars for not having let me know there would be a delay.

I think that was fair.

[i-love-my-sheep]

You were more reasonable than I would have been!! Not once did they tell you they sometimes ship from OS until you challenged them. It should be stated in their listing that sometimes that can happen, or at the very least, told you before they shipped.

Sadly, only dinging their communication stars doesn't give them a defect :(. 

[trishreid88]

I told you I was a reasonable buyer sheep. lol
Also even though the seller was not to know this and they have done the wrong thing.
But.... remember I said I was going to use this case until the others from OS arrived but one of the OS ones arrived first.
Well I dropped my phone and cracked the plastic on that phone case and ended up having to use this one I didn't like until the other OS one arrived today.
So I guess fortuitously I ended up using this ugly case for a short time anyway and this influenced my FB even if I didn't think the seller deserved to completely get off the hook.