Postage Delays

[natures_organics]

I think with postage delays as they are Ebay should at least announce buyers to be patient waiting for items..Buyers go by the Auspost times which we all know can be outrages at the best of times ..standard 2-6 days..Ive had customers getting their items 5 to 10 days late..Some buyers are oblivious to whats going on around them ATM and I'm tired of recieving emails saying why hasn't my items arrived only after 1 day over due the Aus post recommended delivery times which is no fault of mine but it always seems the case the seller cops the blame

[danieh_6]

They used to in my case, I am not sure if they still do now. My assumption was that they thought I was drop shipping but I wasn't. Because they kept asking for invoices from suppliers. At the time I didn't understand much in the sense of getting restricted so in the long run it would of been better just sending all the items out instead of refunding 100s.

[danieh_6]

Yes? because it arrives earlier and sent out 4 days earlier?

[danieh_6]

I agree with this a lot, ESPECIALLY in australia's post sense. unless you use express, regardless still not everything always arrives on time even if you use eParcel, ParcelPost or street box posting. I personally think after the pandemic ebay should at least offer an extra 2 business days for delivery. Its not fair if you get a NEG even if the item was sent on time, its out of sellers controll.

[glenbankloel]

Sorry to hear your problems it appears that there are still buyers out there that are clueless to how this Virus is affecting our lives in a practical way.

Although stopping selling international is one option, we have chosen to leave in place.

BUT, as soon as we get an international sale we advise the buyer that their item will be very very very slow to arrive.

So far, no one is worried, they have all recognised what is happening and are happy to wait.

Extending the handling time is also another way to help their expectations.

I received an update from Aust Post few days ago (on the 15th) stating that they are handling more than 2 million parcels per day, which is more than their busiest Christmas period.  Which explains a lot.

They have instigated several practices to help them get through this period but still a difficult situation to handle.

Don't know when it will get better so best to protect yourself as best you can.

Good Luck

[*tippy*toes*]

I only opened up international postage before Christmas, as a trial for 6 months. When all this virus stuff was escalating, like others, I decided to close international down. Yet, before I did, I had a sale from the US. I know I could have cancelled, but I went ahead and posted. I sent him a message saying it could take 6-8 weeks to arrive. I didn't get a reply, so hoping he got the message.

I posted on April 21 from rural NSW. It was at a Sydney sorting centre the next day, and had another scan on the 23rd at another Sydney sorting facility. April 24th, cleared and awaiting international departure in Sydney. Then nothing.

I'm guessing it could be going by boat. Does anyone know how long it takes on a boat from Australia to the US?

I posted a parcel to China in early March, and it arrived in 3 weeks! That was when they were in real lockdown too. 

[lyndal1838]

It is so long since surface mail between Australia and the US was discontinued that I doubt if there is a "usual" time any more.

Judging by surface mail from Canada it could be anything from a few weeks to 6 months....don't hold your breath.

[love_of_cars]

Check this out - one whole month for lodgement!

Cleared and awaiting international departure

MELBOURNE VIC

Fri 15 May • 10:06am

Item processed at facility

MELBOURNE VIC

Thu 14 May • 10:13am

Item processed at facility

MELBOURNE VIC

Mon 11 May • 7:13pm

Item processed at facility

MELBOURNE VIC

Thu 7 May • 12:53pm

Item processed at facility

MELBOURNE VIC

Thu 7 May • 7:30am

Item lodged

Thu 7 May • 7:29am

Item processed at facility

MELBOURNE VIC

Wed 8 Apr • 12:59p

[glenbankloel]

Doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to some of the delivery dates. 

Some seem to be getting through on a reasonable delay and others just seem to be going by "carrier pidgeon".

Will take some time for their new recruits, extra planes and sorting facilities etc to kick in and take up the slack.

The mere fact of just getting it up up and away seems to be a one of the biggest issues atm. Surely there must be some sort of practical system in place at all sorting centres to process parcels? Like perhaps Express, Priority, Then Oldest. Or perhaps by country.

However don't think that it is all AP's fault probably much is out of their control especially once the item leaves our shores.

Would hate to be trying to work out where this is all headed, one thing for sure- life has changed- the previous norm will not come back the way it was. Many areas will be different and our lives are destined to be changed forever, not necessarily a bad thing, some good some bad. 

One thing I do love is that Supermarkets, Restaurants and Cafes have never been so Clean!

Yup, this one is one of the good changes.

[*tippy*toes*]

---

@love_of_cars wrote:

Check this out - one whole month for lodgement!

Cleared and awaiting international departure

MELBOURNE VIC

Fri 15 May • 10:06am

Item processed at facility

MELBOURNE VIC

Thu 14 May • 10:13am

Item processed at facility

MELBOURNE VIC

Mon 11 May • 7:13pm

Item processed at facility

MELBOURNE VIC

Thu 7 May • 12:53pm

Item processed at facility

MELBOURNE VIC

Thu 7 May • 7:30am

Item lodged

Thu 7 May • 7:29am

Item processed at facility

MELBOURNE VIC

Wed 8 Apr • 12:59p

---

WOW! At least mine was cleared for departure in 3 days. Shame it hasn't moved since! I suspect I'll eventually have to refund my buyer. Thankfully it was only about $30 including postage. 

[love_of_cars]

I got a heap of updates via email from AP yesterday all at once.  Maybe a bottleneck has been cleared a little.

I had a sale yesterday to USA and the customer said eBay indicated it would arrive by the end of May.  Clearly eBay are not properly taking the impact of the virus into account and syncing it up with AP.  I do need to extend my handling time to help with this long term but I do worry how that will impact my ranking in search results.