eBay's "Fast N Free" estimation causes lots of confusion

[gizmoclearance]

my seller ID is a top seller.

ebay somehow automatically put a badge "fast N free" on all my listings and suggest items can be delivery in 2 working days.

lately buyers keep complaining items arrived late.

my free postage items are for regular shipping only (1-5 days), I do have express option but that costs extra.

today I have a buyer going extreme. he purchased an item for $13 including postage on Saturday. it's Wednesday today and he's totally pissed off. he says he does not care whose mistake it is but the listing shows he can get it on or before Tuesday.

Australia post picked up on Monday and it's  impossible to deliver on Tuesday for  interstate with regular postage...

I know It's worthless arguing with this kind of as*****. so to save time I just issued a full refund and he shut up.

the problem is ... how to avoid this happening again? 

[digital*ghost]

I have seen the option to opt out of Fast N Free a few times, but now I can't seem to locate it in site preferences. :_|

It's not really the logo that's the problem, though, it's the often unrealistic delivery time frame, and that remains whether the logo shows or not. As I typically post within 24 hours, having a 2-day handling time seems to give a relatively accurate date range. I almost always charge for postage separately, though, so FNF rarely shows up on my listings. 

[chezzy]

OK, I will go ask ebay directly - wish me luck - I haven't listed items for a few months so I am bracing myself for all kinds of surprises.

[calsof]

I have a 2 day handling time, have never offered Express post as an option, but when I have used free post and looked at my own items, the Fast N Free logo appears. 

Express post will usually come up as "Get It Fast" if the buyer has to pay for it. Fast N Free means the free service (whether it's standard or express) is supposed to arrive within 4 business days after the buyer purchases it. Quite often that's the optimum time-frame, though, not the real one, and I think it's a bad move to display it like a promise. Also why I keep my handling time at 2 days - I now get FB comments occasionally about items arriving before the "due date". ;\

If that's the case, all the more reason for eBay to get it right! It's ludicrous to even promise 4 day shipping from one end of Australia to the other! The thing is that, if you want your items to be seen, you have to offer free post on eBay 😞 

[calsof]

OK, I will go ask ebay directly - wish me luck - I haven't listed items for a few months so I am bracing myself for all kinds of surprises.

Good luck! REALLY 🙂

[salesbayau]

We had a lot of same issues too. The problem is delivery time is beyond our control and will affect by many factors, and Australia Post is not really on time delivery service so at the end of day, sellers take all blame from confused buyers. Really wish ebay can think a better and realistic method to tell the buyer about the delivery time.

[rosiegrinsel]

I had the same thing happen to me  !!

All of my BIN items are free postage, but each one I make individually, so sometimes I need extra time.

(I understood that one day postage and handling is supposed to be an 'estimate', and then for regular post delivery add one to six business days after that.)

Then one day the Fast and Free Logo mysteriously appeared on all of the items I had one day handling on.

From that time on, I had quite a few upset buyers, who felt that they should have received their items practically the next day !!!

It got to be such a problem, that I requested Ebay take off the 'Fast and Free' logo.

So, if you CAN, contact the help desk (which I can't at the moment... see my upcoming post) ..they will, in a coupla days, remove it for you.

I did not have any troubles after that with delivery times and all of my buyers seem to be really happy with the time purchases get to them, since then ( see my feedback ) .

Hope this helps and best of luck with your sales!!

[best.buys]

wonder if this could backfire on ebay, if sellers start to charge postage to opt out of the program. then ebay will loose the extra fvf on the postage.

I prefer when buying to pay postage and for accurate [realistic] delivery times.

[i-once-was-bump]

I used to have one day handling but the delivery estimates were so ridiculous that I have changed mine to 4 days just to overcome the ebay inserted nonsensical time frame.

[davewil1964]

I've always had 2 days. If somebody buys something after about 2200, I am unlikely to wander out the back to retrieve the item, especially if it's -3 degrees. If I don't get home until after 1800 the next evening (which happens often) then it don't get posted until the day after. 2 days according to eBay (although I would posit that anything paid for after 1700 means it was sold the next day). And don't offer express.

[amythyste**rose**]

Hi I totally agree that it is ludicrous for ebay to promise 4 day shipping from one end of Australia to the other. I am in W.A. and can only order the items I like from the East Coast. Unfortunately it usually takes 2 weeks before I get them. Not the sellers fault, they usually post with tracking and they send the items never longer than a day or two from when I've bought them.

I find "with tracking" confusing. With the tracking number, I can see on Aus Post website, that the parcel tracking number has been scanned at it's original sending destination, however in between when it leaves the Eastern States and when it gets to the closest parcel clearing centre, nothing shows. I have no idea when it left the Eastern States or when it arrived in W.A. The only time I can see where it is, is when the delivery to me is the day before it's delivered. So for 2 weeks, nothing. I thought "with tracking" it would mean that at each parcel clearing centre e.g. the original town in Brisbane, then Brisbane, then Perth, then the next clearing centre closest to where it will be delivered. etc.

I still don't understand why things take so long from one side of the country to another.