Changes Coming

[twyngwyn]

http://l.reply.ebay.com.au/YesConnect/HtmlMessagePreview?a=RjEkG-v1KRqyQIiNqoXBCzZW&msgVersion=web

[digital*ghost]

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@joethenuts wrote:

i understand your point but how is ebay going to know unless they have a crystal ball  as to when you posted the item 

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That's precisely the point, though. eBay don't know, so why should they assume the worst and punish a seller for it? That kind of logic is like someone coming home later than expected and having their partner standing there going "I don't know if that means you're having an affair, but because you're late, I'm going to assume you are so we're getting a divorce". It's just stupid. 

As I understand it, this is how it will work - tracking shows lodgement within handling time, and/or delivery by eBay's ETA, it can't be counted as a late delivery, even if the buyer ticks the 'no' box when asked the question. If there's no lodgement scan but tracking shows delivery after eBay's ETA, then it's a "late delivery" and will count against the seller. 

If there's no tracking and the buyer ticks 'yes', it's counted as an on time delivery. If the buyer ignores the question, it's not counted at all, if they tick no, it's a late delivery. 

[joethenuts]

have you ever asked yourself why ebay has est delivery times for.

lets see.prob. sellers not sending there items when they should of done .

making sure buyers recieve there items at a reasonable time frame

try to tell sellers to send tracking details as soon as posible 

try to cut down on sellers using envelopes ,when some sort of proof is not there.

[digital*ghost]

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@joethenuts wrote:

have you ever asked yourself why ebay has est delivery times for.

lets see.prob. sellers not sending there items when they should of done .

making sure buyers recieve there items at a reasonable time frame

try to tell sellers to send tracking details as soon as posible 

try to cut down on sellers using envelopes ,when some sort of proof is not there.

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I have, and it's not for any of those reasons. If it was to make sellers do certain things, it wouldn't be displayed to buyers as an advertising feature. It's there to give buyers a timeframe for delivery, to help inspire confidence in purchases and/or allow a buyer to see if a similar item from a different seller has a chance of being delivered earlier.

That's still not the point though - I've addressed yours, one day it would be nice if you addressed mine instead of using diversionary tactics, or going off on unrelated tangents :p.

Understanding why ETAs are there is one thing, punishing a seller because - for unknown reasons - an item doesn't arrive by the ETA is something else, and still wrong. 

[jfmgray]

" Understanding why ETAs are there is one thing, punishing a seller because - for unknown reasons - an item doesn't arrive by the ETA is something else, and still wrong. "

Spot on.  And as staed often in previous posts, sellers of inexpensive items who use large letters (ie CDs DVDs etc) do not have the option to ask buyers to pay for a trackable postage method - adding approx $4 for registered letter will mean that many items will not sell due to the total price.  

[joethenuts]

to dg   for a start you dont realy know the reason unless you are part of there board for a start just like i am guessing also.

how is the eta wrong . its estimate time of arival ,  were does it say estimate time of snail mail arival,  it does not mention aus post ,now its up to you what you are going to use as the carrier ,not ebay, if you want to use a donkey  and the items are not getting there before the eta ,try something different , i was looking at 1 the other day sydney to melbourne 4 or 5 days , i get it there under 20 hours with my carrier. look ebay wants things to be quick and easy they want tracking they want fast deliveries  they have a multi billion dollar business to run . 

[jfmgray]

Joe - to remain in business, many sellers of low cost items cant afford any other carrier option other than AP large letters.

[joethenuts]

thats fine ,but if things happen they happen, just get on to the next order.

[digital*ghost]

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@joethenuts wrote:

to dg   for a start you dont realy know the reason unless you are part of there board for a start just like i am guessing also.

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I am quite certain they feel it has a diverse range of effects, for buyers and sellers, but I'm not guessing, as such, I'm referring to some of eBay's own reasoning for having them there (just one quote: "Free shipping and fast delivery are often the final consideration for buyers when deciding to buy. To put these sales-driving services front and center, eBay has improved the way the estimated delivery date is calculated and presented....")

-But- that still is not the point. 

In fact, nothing you've written further discusses or addresses the point I am making, so is there any way at all I can inspire you to talk about the actual point? If not, let me know now and I'll simply give up the frustrating task of trying (after this post, anyway).

"look ebay wants things to be quick and easy they want tracking they want fast deliveries  they have a multi billion dollar business to run"

I understand that perfectly well, thank you. If you think I don't get that all this is more than likely intended to "encourage" sellers to use trackable services and always get lodgement scans, then you're very much mistaken. I'm not even saying I have a problem with eBay wanting as many sellers as possible to operate that way. Also, my business wouldn't be anywhere near as successful as it is if I dwelled on the problems rather than fix what I can and move on. That's just not what my posts are about though. 

My posts are saying that there is no justification for punishing a seller (to the point where they can no longer sell here), if some of their buyers tick "no" on the delivery question, yet no one can prove (that means neither eBay nor the seller) why the item didn't arrive by eBay's estimate. That is taking a guilty until proven innocent approach, and that is what I am saying is wrong. 

As a general aside, to those wondering why some handling times are displayed and some aren't, I suspect it has to do with the common practice of inflating handling times to pad out the ETA, despite posting items much sooner than the handling time. The system may learn that the 5 day handling time is not in line with the seller's actual postage time, and make adjustments, only displaying the handling time where it's more consistent with the seller's actual practices.

I read recently on the eCommercebytes site that eBay has confirmed they don't just use (supposed) carrier delivery time frames, but also look at how long it usually takes for an item to get from point A to point B, and adjust ETAs to account for that. For example, if a couple of packages only took 3 days to a specific area after posting, then the ETAs to buyers in those areas may well be affected and shortened, even if AP's delivery estimate remains at 6 business days or what have you. 

[everard6920]

The eBay changes are coming in approximately a month after the introduction of AP's new two-tier services, which means that a large number of buyers won't be familiar with the changes.

As others have said, I don't think a lot of buyers take notice of the date when something arrives, and "standard" postage service is going to be, on average, two days slower.

The latter is much more important to the buyer - they won't necessarily remember the date of the delivery, but they will remember if it delivery was fast or slow (in their opinion).

They're more likely to answer "no" if it was slower in comparison to previous deliveries (which it will be, because of AP's changes).

Maybe I'm making too many assumptions, but as I've said before, this is my primary concern.

[cathyjoyjoy]

Not always Joe.  That's why I made this comment here.  I've experienced 2 small regional POs (not agency, actual small POs) who were unable to give me a receipt as I did not actually purchase the stamps or postage for the parcels at that particular PO.  Items were already stamped and with tracking sticker and I was told that they would be scanned at the first sorting facility.