When I see the message "... marked as posted" it appears to come from eBay itself and I was wondering how it was generated and did the seller actually have any input. I now know the answer. To all who answered my query on this, thank you for your time.
I am happy with the replys but other comments need addressing from a Buyers viewpoint.
Unfortunately there are many, many casual Sellers, people who probably wouldn't know there is an eBay forum. who won't see this, don't sell regularly, and are difficult to tease any info from; they just couldn't be bothered I suppose.
To the laid back Seller I am replying to, I can say I don't harrass Sellers. I ask for information when I feel an item is overdue even allowing for designated postage times. When that happens I rightly start to get concerned. With sometimes hundreds of dollars "on the line: I feel my concern is warranted when I hear nothing from the seller even after a polite "Hello?" through the messaging system.
From me, a mostly Buyers perspective, if sellers want the top stars for postage times, they need to get the item to the PO sooner rather than later. From where I sit, if a seller has the attitude that he or she only posts on Wednesdays and Fridays, then they are locking themselves into mediocre postage ratings.
This all came about because an expensive item I bought and posted in Australia was way overdue while several other items had arrived from the same state and further afield several days prior to me querying the Seller. If the Seller had posted when I received the "... marked as posted" message, I would have recieved the item on time and there wouldn't have been any drama.
Also when I requested the tracking number I got silence. So of course I am going to suspect that the item was not posted when stated.
If more Sellers took the time to insert the tracking number on the item they recieve from AP when they actually post an item, they might get less querys from concerned Buyers. Unfortunately this good system implemented by eBay isn't being used enough, at least for me. This instance is a good example of why the tracking number should be listed by the Seller in evey case.
The system as it is now is that a Seller posts an item and marks the item as such somewhere in eBay. A message is generated which the Buyer recieves. At that time a tracking number should be listed by the Seller. A Buyer can see that the item is posted and can direct any questions to AP and not the Seller and isn't that what a Seller wants?
Fair enough so far? Unfortunately, why this system falls down is because a Seller can mark an item as posted and it is still sitting on the bench. Also there is no compunction to insert a tracking number on the item on eBay. One that he or she may not even have yet. If there is a query from a Buyer the Seller might say it's been posted so . . . just wait.
I have noticed that businesses that have a presence on eBay do list the tracking number. Maybe they are just used to the "paperwork" have regular posting times or because they are being paid to do it. Dunno.
If anyone is interested, my ratings for postage are based on APs times for Australian-based sellers so if an item arrives according to APs times plus the 2 days eBay allow, the seller gets 4 stars. If the seller Express posts for a reasonable postage fee or even "Free" they would get 5 stars. Chinese sellers are in a class of their own but I usually give 3 stars as it appears it's the Chinese postal system that is at fault. A few Chinese items have shown up within 10 days. I give 4 stars when that happens (not often enough though).
phil
