Hmm.. ok .. thanks for that 
so it maybe a system problem .. seems a little silly 
What do you concider a reasonable time to post an item? And what is "handling time? time to buy sticky tape? LoL
Ya, it is a relatively new seller (3 mths I think it was)
Maybe I should contact the seller?
@aussietastic wrote:Hmm.. ok .. thanks for that
What do you concider a reasonable time to post an item? And what is "handling time? time to buy sticky tape? LoL
Ya, it is a relatively new seller (3 mths I think it was)
Maybe I should contact the seller?
I think most buyers these days expect a post n handling time of within 2 days perhaps 3 at the most.
@aussietastic wrote:I purchased an item last week and within an hour I received a tracking number and the notification that the item had been posted. However, days went past and there was no change in the tracking information on the Aust Post track page. Aust Post said it is likely that the seller got a tracking number online but has not actually posted the item, they said contact the seller.
In answer to the thread title (Why Bother Having an Item Posted Button?), the very simple answer to that is because not everything on eBay, and / or that a seller does, is about the buyer. (And here I just hope this comes as a surprise to fewer people than I expect 
).
Marking an item as shipped, or uploading tracking to an order, certainly communicates information to a buyer, something which a seller can not stop unless they don't progress the order (or mark the progress of an order) at all. Speaking from a seller's perspective, I'd personally love it if we were provided with a better range of options to progress orders from "new" to "posted", without just having to pick from those two, because there can often be more stages than that in between. This leads sellers to using the tools they do have to mark or update the progress of an order before it's actually in the hands of Aus Post or any other carrier. (On another store elsewhere, I have "new" for orders that have come in and haven't been picked or processed in any way, "in progress", for orders I've started processing, "awaiting reply" for orders that need an answer from a buyer before they can progress, "cancelled" to shift orders that won't progress out of the other queues, and "completed" for orders that have been fully packed and either posted or awaiting carrier pick-up - two of these I was able to create for myself, because they are infinitely useful).
Get 100 orders a day on eBay and need to quickly determine which ones have already been picked, which ones have already have postage labels purchased for them or not? Can't do it unless you either laboriously add special notes to each and every order, one by one, or use the simple tools already there to batch update and create a much easier icon to act as easy to scan visual marker and remind yourself - or notify other staff members - of what has been done, and / or still needs to be done.
These are examples of how eBay tools are useful for the seller, it doesn't just mean only high volume sellers find them useful for one reason or another, and I also still recognise they are imperfect for both buyer and seller - the fact still remains that these updates can communicate incorrect information. It would be infinitely better if instead of "Your item has shipped" or whatever the notification says, as soon as a postage label is created or tracking added, the email just says "The seller has supplied tracking for your order, get more updates here:.... " or something like that. I also think some sellers do themselves a disservice by creating labels days before they'll be handing off the mail and uploading the tracking - we all need to be mindful of the information we are communicating with buyers, and to be honest if I wasn't sending the same day I provided tracking, I would be inclined to send the buyer a quick message about it.
As for handling time... I think I just outlined a few reasons why it's more than just "time to buy sticky tape". You know, some items actually take time to prepare for shipping. One of the items I sell is chain - I can't just grab it and whack it in a bag. I have to measure it out and wind it up again onto smaller spools. If I get several people buying multiple lengths in a day, I'm spending a lot of time measuring and spooling chain. Handling time also includes any other circumstances that mean the seller needs time to both prep and hand over the order to the carrier. Not all sellers can pop into a local post office at least once a day.
Some sellers need to prep all the orders that have come in, create shipment labels, submit them to a carrier and then book in a time for pick-up, which can't necessarily happen every day.
Some of these issues may or may not apply to your particular seller, but I wanted to post this info anyway, as it seemed like the two main questions I responded to were framed as rhetorical questions, when they absolutely have genuine answers.
Hmm… do you mean estimated delivery time shown? it does not say handling time on the main seller page that I can see
from postage tab-
"* Estimated delivery dates include seller's handling time, origin postcode, destination postcode and time of acceptance and will depend on postage service selected and receipt of cleared payment. Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods
Umm… it says "includes" handling time .. not specific alone .. so if it says 7 days estimated delivery time .. this includes handling (includes-comprise or contain as part of a whole) and the date listed was today .. not that that worries me 
ya sure .. if someone was going to post a cheque, I would say you wait until the cheque is cleared and then delivery time begins .. does anyone here use anything other than paypal? which is virtually instant .. it think you would be crazy not to .. over the years it has cost me nothing and saved me many times.
hmm.. "not system problem how it is set up" .. Sure, the functioning of the system is controlled by the setup (human input) .. I could be pedantic too tho and say code could be put into a program that would make it seem your computer operating system is faulty (system) not the program setup itself (setup). people make the system and the setup so I see them as one and the same.
train ticket? hmm.. interesting analogy .. however the process of buying the ticket and the validating of the ticket (showing it has been used) are two seperate events not combined into one
its not really about coronavirus or the time it takes Aus Post to deliver, it is more about a box being marked posted when it hasnt
