I brought an item from a UK seller on the 3rd March, I just enquired when they would ship it and they said 19th March. This a long time to wait? But possibly its an estimate.
@digital*ghostwrote:
@springyzonewrote:
That's why i said if a seller takes 16 days handling time to post out a normal stock item, I think their days on ebay may be numbered, or else if they want to stay, they'll be forced by ebay to tighten up.
That isn't what you said, though. You said that if a seller can't post within a week to 10 days, they shouldn't be on eBay.
I know I'm going to come across as pedantic to some or that I'm over-analysing, but the choice of words there mattered and gave an immediate impression without trying to go over it with a fine tooth comb like the following will suggest, and is what I took issue with, maybe others as well.
By which I mean "can't post" means there's a reason they can't post sooner, so it's not a choice, and "shouldn't be on eBay" comes across as a personal opinion on the matter, like when people say things like "a seller should leave feedback first". It's a statement that seems to suggest what a person's personal opinion on something is, should apply to everyone.
I don't mind pedantic, I'm that way inclined myself.
It probably is a bit of a personal opinion as well. I'm not advocating that every seller should have things in the post immediately, but I do think that in the normal course of events (and for most normal ebay products that don't have to be specially made etc) there is not usually any reason for a delay longer than 10 days. The main reason there is for some sellers, I believe, is because they won't have the items, they are the middlemen. (or is the term middlepeople these days).
I don't think ebay is keen on sellers who don't have the items or who turn around and may have to cancel sales etc.
I don't believe most customers 'choose' longer delivery times. I think sometimes they accept it because they want a product but I don't think michelle's attitude is totally atypical. Her decision to order & cancel might be, but her whinge about a 16 day handling time would be entirely typical.
I can't think of anything at all that i have bought in the last couple of years On ebay or elsewhere) that has had a handling time longer than a few days. That's the typical ebay experience, and I do think if a seller can't normally do better than a 16 day handling time, then there's something wrong & they're giving ebay a bad look.
I think I'm probably the typical type of customer.
@springyzonewrote:
@digital*ghostwrote:
@springyzonewrote:
That's why i said if a seller takes 16 days handling time to post out a normal stock item, I think their days on ebay may be numbered, or else if they want to stay, they'll be forced by ebay to tighten up.
That isn't what you said, though. You said that if a seller can't post within a week to 10 days, they shouldn't be on eBay.
I know I'm going to come across as pedantic to some or that I'm over-analysing, but the choice of words there mattered and gave an immediate impression without trying to go over it with a fine tooth comb like the following will suggest, and is what I took issue with, maybe others as well.
By which I mean "can't post" means there's a reason they can't post sooner, so it's not a choice, and "shouldn't be on eBay" comes across as a personal opinion on the matter, like when people say things like "a seller should leave feedback first". It's a statement that seems to suggest what a person's personal opinion on something is, should apply to everyone.
I don't mind pedantic, I'm that way inclined myself.
It probably is a bit of a personal opinion as well. I'm not advocating that every seller should have things in the post immediately, but I do think that in the normal course of events (and for most normal ebay products that don't have to be specially made etc) there is not usually any reason for a delay longer than 10 days. The main reason there is for some sellers, I believe, is because they won't have the items, they are the middlemen. (or is the term middlepeople these days).
I don't think ebay is keen on sellers who don't have the items or who turn around and may have to cancel sales etc.
I don't believe most customers 'choose' longer delivery times. I think sometimes they accept it because they want a product but I don't think michelle's attitude is totally atypical. Her decision to order & cancel might be, but her whinge about a 16 day handling time would be entirely typical.
I can't think of anything at all that i have bought in the last couple of years On ebay or elsewhere) that has had a handling time longer than a few days. That's the typical ebay experience, and I do think if a seller can't normally do better than a 16 day handling time, then there's something wrong & they're giving ebay a bad look.
I think I'm probably the typical type of customer.
Or, as mentioned, they knew they were going to get snowed in by the 'Best from the East' and adjusted their handling time accordingly.
Or they have to go to hospital for a week.
Or there are personal reasons, so they went in and bulk edited a longer handling time to cover them until they get their life sorted.
Or...
wrote:
I don't mind pedantic, I'm that way inclined myself.
It probably is a bit of a personal opinion as well. I'm not advocating that every seller should have things in the post immediately, but I do think that in the normal course of events (and for most normal ebay products that don't have to be specially made etc) there is not usually any reason for a delay longer than 10 days. The main reason there is for some sellers, I believe, is because they won't have the items, they are the middlemen. (or is the term middlepeople these days).
I don't think ebay is keen on sellers who don't have the items or who turn around and may have to cancel sales etc.
I don't believe most customers 'choose' longer delivery times. I think sometimes they accept it because they want a product but I don't think michelle's attitude is totally atypical. Her decision to order & cancel might be, but her whinge about a 16 day handling time would be entirely typical.
I can't think of anything at all that i have bought in the last couple of years On ebay or elsewhere) that has had a handling time longer than a few days. That's the typical ebay experience, and I do think if a seller can't normally do better than a 16 day handling time, then there's something wrong & they're giving ebay a bad look.
I think I'm probably the typical type of customer.
Personally, I think buying an item with a long handling time and then complaining about the handling time isn't accepting it at all (that is, I view acceptance as an "ok, I'll just wait" attitude, not a "darn it, this really sucks, now I have to wait, what a bad business practice" attitude) - more likely the case is people buy either without looking at the handling time first (not the seller's fault), or buy in the hope or expectation it will be shipped out faster, anyway (also not the seller's fault - both are false expectations, the former being willfully uninformed, and the latter being willfully ignorant. I can freely admit to doing the former on a couple of occasions, was a bit annoyed with myself but they certainly weren't urgent purchases and I only had myself to blame for it).
I will just maintain here that I believe the reason for a long handling time is irrelevant - it doesn't matter to me if it's because it's impossible for the seller to post earlier, or they just don't want to. It's something that is the seller's choice, and they don't need to justify that choice simply because many others are doing differently and buyers have gotten used to it. If that choice harms the seller (with fewer sales, pestering buyers, frequent cancellations etc), then they can either live with it, change their practices, or leave, but it doesn't harm anyone else except the person who doesn't look, and then refuses to accept responsibility for that. (And even then, I wouldn't call "waiting for fidget spinners [or whatever] to arrive in the mail" genuine harm). The practice of sellers sourcing items post-sale can often be a problem, but I think it's a separate issue to handling times, and one that is addressed under other eBay policies.....as effictively as many of their other policies, of course.
I think there's at least a sliver of possibility eBay will limit long handling times to specific circumstances, but it would harm a lot of sellers just to pander to impatient buyers who don't want to check information before buying - it would be typical of them, of course, to do that, rather than put banners or notices where relevent to say things like "ships within 10 days". As I mentioned in another thread recently, eBay want buyers to purchase confidently without having to think too much, and JMHO that is a dangerous route to take. There can be a lot of problems with trying to apply common practices of some retailers as all-encompassing standards, especially on a site where there are sellers from all walks of life. I know a lot of people who believe that their common experiences = industry standards, and quite often they are very much ill-informed as they don't realise how limited their experiences actually are.
For now, eBay has gone with an alternative (i.e. the guaranteed delivery program). Search results can already be filtered to just show guaranteed delivery items to within a few days, so sellers with long handling times or who can't / won't guarantee delivery, will be eliminated from the search results if a buyer decides fast delivery is important.
I'm not sure a lot of buyers look at handling time. I'd think most look at the estimated delivery date and if it is a long, long way off (on a local purchase) probably do a double take and wonder why.
My own experience has been when it's a long delay, it's usually drop shipping or something like it.
My own experience (not that I am an industry expert but I'd say I'm a typical shopper) is that long delays & handling times on ebay are actually pretty unusual. By that i mean anything over 7-10 days.
I was recently talking to someone else who is a regular, professional seller on ebay with a shop (I think). He was saying that he doesn't list things till he has actually taken possession of them. Even though he may have bought them and knows they are coming, he doesn't list till he has them as too many things can go wrong.
I don't know that a lot of ebay buyers use the filters religiously. I remember talking to a man who was actually a fairly regular buyer and seller and he had no idea you could look up completed listings, for example. Not saying that is a seller's fault, just that that is the way it is, lots of buyers will be typing in a search word or two and looking at those results across the board.
I suppose in short (not that I usually am) what I am saying is the issue of very long handling times on ordinary items is pretty rare nowadays on ebay. I think ebay policies over the last few years have had a lot to do with that & i can't see ebay getting any easier on sellers any time in the near future.
@davewil1964wrote:All of which ignores the fact that Michelle knew about the long handling time as she cancelled an order with the same seller for that reason last year.
So wilful ignorance seems to be the reason. Plus RDS.
Not to mention that vitamins would surely count as foodstuffs (given they are ingested) and probably shouldn't be imported without a licence anyway.
I'm not defending the tactic of a person ordering then changing his/her mind and asking for a cancellation, unless there were mitigating circumstances.
As to whether the vitamins would make it through customs, I couldn't say without knowing the product. I bought something similar once from USA and customs obviously had opened it and checked (which is good, it's what you want them to do) but then sent it on its way, so i think the odds are high it probably would be okay if it just has your ordinary ingredients in it.
But what I think is entirely typical in the transaction is that your average buyer would think a 16 day handling time was unusually long. And in ebay land, it does stick out as it isn't the norm.
I'll just show you a quick screenshot of feedback for a seller I bought from a while back. i gave positive feedback but this seller has not just one or two negs & neutrals, they are in the hundreds and quite a few of them mention long wait times. Now, those buyers knew they would have to wait, the ETA is upfront.
So did the seller deserve some of these negs? No.
The interesting thing is a lot of the feedback is not from newbies either.
But to me, (if i were ebay) I'd be flagging these sorts of sellers(mainly dropshippers I suspect) as problems to be tackled.
And it's not just this seller-every seller I've dealt with who has a long, long handling time gets much the same. Not always fair I know, but what keeps ebay ahead of some of the competition is they have more browsers & buyers and ebay probably wants to keep it that way.
