Seller marks an item as "sent" when they know they haven't sent it?...

[yarrumevets]

Hi all,

I've been looking through the seller policies, but I can't quite find anything related to this problem yet. 

Here's the scenario ...

1. I buy an item which is a pre-order from the seller and the seller declares in the listing that it won't be available for a couple of weeks - that's fine as I don't mind waiting a couple of weeks.  I pay for it right away with PayPal.

2. A couple of days later, the seller marks the item as "sent" but follows that up immediately with a message reminding me that it's not sent because I've bought on a pre-order and the item isn't in the seller's posession yet.

What would be the motivation behind this move from the seller's perspective?... and does it infringe any of the policies?...

I send a message asking why they've done this because now I won't get an alert that it has been posted when it really has, and it'll be more difficult to keep an eye out for it.  No reply as yet.

Regards,

Steve

[digital*ghost]

Marking an item as sent is a relatively arbitrary action. From the seller's perspective, they may mark as sent when an order has been processed in as much as possible so that they can more easily determine which transactions are awaiting certain actions on eBay, and there are no specific policies regarding marking an item as sent. 

As they have sent a follow-up message to clarify the order status, in as much as it might be a little annoying and/or inconvenient, it doesn't infringe any policies and it may be that they will continue to provide updates or let you know another way when the order has shipped. 

[yarrumevets]

Thanks for that - much appreciated 🙂
All the best,

Steve

[phorum_junkie*]

They may well prepare the satchel and label so it can be sent asap when it comes in and if they use click & send it is automatically marked as sent as soon as they pay AP for the label

[yarrumevets]

Yes, thanks mate - I've acted as seller a few times in the past, but not on a scale that would compell me to think about organising it this way. So, I've learned something 🙂

Thanks again,
Steve

[springyzone]

Maybe it is about organisation but all the same, sent should mean sent.

I'm with you on this one in that now you won't have a visual alert to show when it is really on its way.

Maybe they need another icon-prepared for posting-if sellers can't manage 'sent'.

[decoretrocollectables]

I don't believe an item should be marked as shipped if it hasn't been..

I think it's dishonest!