Guaranteed Delivery 3 Day Delivery

[meliquidation]

I'm curious to hear from anyone who has opted in...

We havn't. I could probably do it for Brisbane Metro Area and possibly Sydney & Melbourne but it really depends on couriers and Australia Post. Every couple of months something invariably goes wrong and an item doesnt get delivered on time or gets lost. I just dont know how we could possible guarantee delivery within 3 days... And what happens if it doesnt arrive? You end up with an angry buyer and that's never good. And sometimes Ebay's delivery areas (ie surcharge areas) dont actually match up with courier surcharge areas so you'd have to go and select each suburb individually which would be a huge pain.


Our motto is under promise and over deliver - I can't see the guaranteed delivery working for us.

[digital*ghost]

I won't be opting in to guaranteed delivery, so I'm not the kind of responder that you're looking for, however I do think that the concept is being interpreted a little too narrowly (which is largely eBay's fault, because they are not really advertising what happens when a delivery is later than the 'guaranteed' timeframe). 

Most guarantees are not a promise that X is 100% certain, no exceptions, rather it is a promise that X is almost certain to happen, but if it doesn't, the business will do Y. (Take Australia Post's Express Post delivery guarantee for example - the slogan is Guaranteed next-day delivery*, but when you look at the fine print, it's only between specific areas, and if posted by a certain time, plus they reimburse the postage cost or provide a free satchel of same value if the package isn't delivered the next day when the conditions have been met. In other words, they acknowledge that the guarantee isn't met 100% of the time, but offer compensation in those cases). 

In the case of Guaranteed Delivery, the promise is that delivery within 3 days is almost certain to happen, but if it doesn't, the buyer's postage costs are refunded (paid for by the seller), or if postage was free, they get a $10 eBay voucher (paid for by eBay).

[the4masters2013]

I will not opt into this little circus at at all. Not one of ebays most well thought out plans.

I can't see this working for anyone unless you live in a capital city and you only post to other capitals in Australia.

Otherwise, as Digital*Ghost says.

[springyzone]

I know of one person who has opted in. But only about 1% of his stock is ever posted, mostly it is pick up, so he doesn't face many problems.

With the items posted, he has a courier service he regularly uses and he only opted in to 3 delivery areas (I think it was) to be eligible for 3 day delivery. All of those areas are metro areas where he knows his courier has routinely delivered within 24 hours in the past.

I think if I used Aust post or didn't have a reliable courier service, I would not opt into guaranteeing anyone 3 day delivery. I don't actually like the system anyway-would prefer guaranteed postage within 24 hours, with a comment that goods under the banner will then normally be delivered within 3 days.

[tangledstitches]

The odd person has said in the forums that they've opted in, but only for specific areas.

There are sellers who only ever use express post and I think for a lot of them it'd be good. I'm in country Vic (outside the express zone) and I posted an express satchel on Friday to another country Vic town and it was there early this morning. I'm not in the express network but I'm told the PO puts express items in a separate bag and as soon as the truck gets to Geelong (by about 8pm the day I post) the bag joins the express network. My buyer isn't in the express network either and they're about 80 kms north-west of Bendigo, yet when I tried the tracking before it arrived it showed that it was expected to be there the next day.

[enigmabear]

I would'nt touch it with a plastic one 

[tangledstitches]

I just had a look at AP's  list for their express network and all of Victoria is included in it, with expected 1-day delivery from Vic to Vic, but no 'guarantee' for rural areas.  The guarantee used to mean that if it wasn't delivered within 1 day you'd get your postage money back, or something along those lines, but I don't know what it means now.  It appears that express post has definitely improved to all areas, while standard post is generally slower.

What I found interesting was that they now have "express post metro satchels" for Sydney and Melbourne where you can send an express parcel up to 1kg for $8.85 within the same metro area - only 35c more than a standard 500g satchel, but considerably cheaper than a standard 1kg satchel.  A lot of the slowest parcels seem to be the ones going to a different suburb in the same city so this would be a really good alternative for those who already use 500g or 1kg satchels, and definitely worth opting in to 3-day guaranteed delivery.

https://auspost.com.au/expresspostmetro 

This gives all the details and maps for the areas in Sydney and Melbourne that are covered by the Express Post Metro satchel.  It doesn't apply to me but I thought it might help a few others.

[imastawka]

I wouldn't touch it with yours.

[countessalmirena]

A circus indeed.

I would not wish to be a seller providing a delivery guarantee which is the purview of Australia Post or other delivery/courier service, and having to refund postage cost if the deliverer doesn't do his/her job by the promised timeframe.

As a buyer, I certainly hold sellers to their guaranteed or promised despatch time and despatch method, but I would think it ridiculous to expect a seller to guarantee me a delivery time. When I get delivery updates, it's AP / Fedex / UPS / DHL etc who notify me by email or SMS - not the seller.

[ejholdenguy]

Is it even running yet? I have opted in as I’m curious to see how it works but there seems to be very little information on it. Questions to EBay go to their international Centre who haven’t got a clue about it.