eBay

msmaggie060 · ‎12-04-2016

Either I'm not reading the dates correctly or the Economy International Shipping is showing 8 to 16 days again. Raphael said this was fixed and corrected to 11-23 days but when I check my items have changed back again. Can someone else check please. Not my items though, I have had to remove Australia temporarily from my items since I have already got a defect for late shipping from an Aussie buyer. Can't do anything about it either, it went Lettermail. Plus, can you image trying to explain that situation to a CS?

@rose-dee how about your items? I know you had the same problem with the dates a few weeks ago too.

rose-dee · ‎12-04-2016

Good grief! I just checked one of my listings for the international delivery estimate, and you're right -- it now says 8 to 16 days for Economy International! This would pretty much be a guaranteed defect for places like Australia, NZ and many other overseas destinations (possibly except for Europe).

Thank you for noticing this. I list most of my items now on .com and use "Economy International". I just checked all my listings a couple of weeks ago and re-set those that did not already have Economy shown. The delivery times were fine at that point.

I haven't checked my other listings, but I will spot-check a few more. The delivery estimates to the U.S. for "Economy" seem to still be OK (they are now 13-25 days).

This is totally unacceptable and a serious pitfall for sellers. If eBay expects us to adhere to their delivery standards, they need to make sure the displayed delivery estimates always reflect something close to reality.

It's ridiculous that we have to be constantly monitoring eBay's errors in order to protect ourselves. I'll put this on my list to bring up with Raphael on Wednesday. Although he's leaving, he may be able to pass the word along that this is an urgent problem.

msmaggie060 · ‎12-04-2016

Thanks rose, not sure I will be around on Wednesday myself. Have to ship 2 items tomorrow to Australia, if I get more defects for arriving past those incorrect dates I may be done here. I really can't afford to ship there tracked pkt instead of light packet. Do you think sending Lettermail would be faster? It's ridiculous, but I think Lettermail 101 to 200 gms to Australia costs more than Lt Packet!

rose-dee · ‎12-04-2016

@msmaggie060 wrote:
Thanks rose, not sure I will be around on Wednesday myself. Have to ship 2 items tomorrow to Australia, if I get more defects for arriving past those incorrect dates I may be done here. I really can't afford to ship there tracked pkt instead of light packet. Do you think sending Lettermail would be faster? It's ridiculous, but I think Lettermail 101 to 200 gms to Australia costs more than Lt Packet!

My understanding was that Light Packet had essentially the same delivery standards as lettermail, but you could try lettermail and see what happens if your item is thin enough.

I'll be sure to bring this up on Wednesday. In the meantime, until this issue gets resolved by eBay, you might want to temporarily lengthen your handling times.

If it's any comfort, as bad as this stupidity is on the part of eBay, you will only get a defect if your buyer answers the on-time question, i.e. leaves feedback. As ridiculous as it may sound, since the on-time delivery policy was introduced, I've actually stopped mentioning that I'd appreciate FB in the thank-you notes I include with all my packages.

It's ironic, isn't it, that my self-protection strategy has to include hoping that customers won't give me FB. I've never had a negative FB comment in all the years I've been selling, so the FB I'm discouraging is most likely positive. Sad state of affairs.

tobyshitzu · ‎12-04-2016

You won't "be done" over late shipping . Being your trs, you aren't close to being below standard on "late'. All they've said if people do fall below is they may force showing a different shipping method with a longer time. Worst case is paying an extra 1.8% in fees until some rolll off. I doubt it would make any significant difference between light packet and letter

msmaggie060 · ‎12-04-2016

Toby, unfortunately it was on one of my other IDs that I got the late defect and I don't sell too much on that ID and it did make a difference. Strange, I'm not selling as much to the US lately, more to Canada and Australia on that ID. I do list on dotCom in US$ so very strange. I wonder if located in Canada we are not being shown as much to the US buyers and more to Cdn buyers.

a52split · ‎12-04-2016

Mine are showing 5-16 days.

This is not a glitch or programming error. It is deliberate on ebay's part. They know that if they show the true shipping time (11-23 days), the buyers will fixate on 23 and add 4 (today's date) and get 27, too late to stick under the tree. Then they won't buy.

reallynicestamps · ‎12-04-2016

They know that if they show the true shipping time (11-23 days), the buyers will fixate on 23 and add 4 (today's date) and get 27, too late to stick under the tree. Then they won't buy.

Which might be a Good Thing.

Not all sales are worth having.

I got this in an email from another site which I no longer sell on.

Need an order delivered by December 24? Here's how and when you should ship.

Within Canada

•	Priority™: Dec 22
•	Xpresspost™: Dec 21
•	Expedited Parcel™: Dec 14

To the United States

• Xpresspost™ - USA: Dec 16

•	Light Packet™ - USA: Dec12
•	Small Packet™ - USA Air: Dec 12
•	Tracked Packet™ - USA: Dec 12
•	Expedited Parcel™ - USA: Dec 12

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-04-2016

msmaggie060 wrote:
Either I'm not reading the dates correctly or the Economy International Shipping is showing 8 to 16 days again. Raphael said this was fixed and corrected to 11-23 days but when I check my items have changed back again. Can someone else check please. Not my items though, I have had to remove Australia temporarily from my items since I have already got a defect for late shipping from an Aussie buyer. Can't do anything about it either, it went Lettermail. Plus, can you image trying to explain that situation to a CS?

@rose-dee how about your items? I know you had the same problem with the dates a few weeks ago too.

From what I remember the issue that was discussed was at that the time for ''economy shipping from outside the U.S" was showing incorrectly and I believe that is fixed. I don't remember international shipping being mentioned as being wrong at that time. The outside of the USA options do show a time frame on the syi form, the international options have never given a specific time on the syi form as each country is different. That makes it more difficult to prove that the times gave changed.

I don't remember any of the specific time frames that were showing on economy intl on my listings before but right now economy international shipping on .com does seem to have been shortened though it was even shorter a few days ago! I sold an item on nov 26 to Australia economy International shipping showing an arrival time of dec 5 - 15 which works out as 5 -13 business days even though it showed 7- 15 bus days. But that same day, that same listing and other listings with economy did correct to show an actual time of 7-15 business days which is how it is now. (1 day handling) . But I have a listing with standard int'l shipping that I forgot to change and it also shows 7-15 bus days to australia so the economy times are have definitely out to lunch.

Im not positive but I think eBay in the past eBay had 5-10 days for standard to some European countries and it still show that on the listings but with 1 day handling that means it is really 4-9 business days. According to CP xpresspost to the UK us 5 business days yet they consider standard as getting there faster? I don't know if standard has been changed but regardless, the times are ridiculous imo.

msmaggie060 · ‎12-04-2016

Hi pj, you are correct, it was "Economy shipping from outside the US" that was discussed and corrected. However, I am almost positive that the delivery dates were the same for Economy International Shipping. Can anyone confirm or am I having a senior moment? I mean, really, don't they mean the same thing anyway?

All I know is, there is no way even a letter can get to some of the Australian addresses in 8 - 16 business days. I know, I have relatives there. I have also had a few shipments that haven't gone by air even though I always put lots of airmail stickers on the envelopes. Probably went on the proverbial slow boat to China.

gwrocen · ‎12-04-2016

@rose-dee wrote:
Good grief! I just checked one of my listings for the international delivery estimate, and you're right -- it now says 8 to 16 days for Economy International! This would pretty much be a guaranteed defect for places like Australia, NZ and many other overseas destinations (possibly except for Europe).

Thank you for noticing this. I list most of my items now on .com and use "Economy International". I just checked all my listings a couple of weeks ago and re-set those that did not already have Economy shown. The delivery times were fine at that point.

I haven't checked my other listings, but I will spot-check a few more. The delivery estimates to the U.S. for "Economy" seem to still be OK (they are now 13-25 days).

This is totally unacceptable and a serious pitfall for sellers. If eBay expects us to adhere to their delivery standards, they need to make sure the displayed delivery estimates always reflect something close to reality.

It's ridiculous that we have to be constantly monitoring eBay's errors in order to protect ourselves. I'll put this on my list to bring up with Raphael on Wednesday. Although he's leaving, he may be able to pass the word along that this is an urgent problem.

This whole "delivery time" problem should not be an issue for sellers
and we shouldn't have to spend hours dealing with it.
eBay is going overboard on blaming sellers and issuing defects.
The Rating on eBay for "shipping time" should be changed to
"seller's handling time" or some such thing.
It should be about how many days or hours
it took for the seller to get the parcel to the mailbox (i.e. handling time)
not how long it took the Mailman to get it to the buyer's doorstep.

It is not possible for sellers to speed up the postal system’s delivery time.
Simple as that.

Anyone have any idea how to get eBay to correct their policy on this??

Here's a good example of a delivery we just had:
Sent a parcel AIRMAIL to New Caledonia.
Delivery time, according to Canada Post's delivery standard,
should be under two weeksnot the 6 weeks that it took.

Went by Air Mail - Canada to New Zealand in 5 days (October 12 – 17).
Sat in New Zealand for almost 3 weeks. (October 17 to Nov. 5)
Then took 18 days to go from New Zealand to New Caledonia
- a distance of 1125 miles ( or 1810 kilometers) (Nov. 5 to 23)
which would normally be an air flight of 2 or 3 hours.

Now, I would be pleased if the powers that be at eBay can tell us
“How the extended length of time it took for this delivery"
is somehow the sellers fault???

From Canada Post Tracking:

Date                          Time                 Location Description
2016/11/23 14:13   NOUMEA-CTC,New Caledonia Item successfully delivered
2016/11/23 14:02 Customs has released item to post office
2016/11/23 14:02 NCNOUA,New Caledonia Item has been sent to customs in the destination country
2016/11/22 10:34 NCNOUA,New Caledonia Item has arrived in foreign country
2016/11/22 10:34 NCNOUA,New Caledonia Item presented to customs
2016/11/22 10:34 NCNOUA,New Caledonia Item has been sent to customs in the destination country
2016/11/05 06:25 NZAKLA,New Caledonia International item has been forwarded onwards to destination
2016/10/20        09:44 NZAKLA,New Zealand Item has arrived in foreign country
2016/10/17 12:20 NZAKLA, International shipment has arrived in a foreign country
2016/10/15 08:43 RICHMOND, BC International item being forwarded to destination country
2016/10/14 21:58     RICHMOND, BC Item processed
2016/10/12 21:34   XXXXXXX, SK Item processed
2016/10/12 13:52    XXXXX, SK Item accepted at the Post Office

gwrocen · ‎12-04-2016

@msmaggie060 wrote:
Hi pj, you are correct, it was "Economy shipping from outside the US" that was discussed and corrected. However, I am almost positive that the delivery dates were the same for Economy International Shipping. Can anyone confirm or am I having a senior moment? I mean, really, don't they mean the same thing anyway?

All I know is, there is no way even a letter can get to some of the Australian addresses in 8 - 16 business days. I know, I have relatives there. I have also had a few shipments that haven't gone by air even though I always put lots of airmail stickers on the envelopes. Probably went on the proverbial slow boat to China.

This whole delivery problem should not be an issue for sellers

and we shouldn’t have to spend hours dealing with it.

eBay is blaming sellers and issuing defects for something

that is totally out of seller’s control.

The Rating on eBay for shipping time should be changed to reflect

seller’s handling time or some such thing.

It should be about how many days or hours it took for the seller

to get the parcel to the mailbox (i.e. handling time)

NOT how long it took for the Mailman to get it to the buyer's doorstep.

It is not possible for sellers to speed up the postal system’s delivery time.

Simple as that.

Anyone have any idea how to get eBay to correct their policy on this?

Here's a good example we just had:

Sent a parcel AIRMAIL to New Caledonia.

Delivery time according to Canada Post delivery standard

should be under two weeks (not the six weeks that it took).

Went by Air Mail Canada to New Zealand in 5 days (October 12 – 17).

Sat in New Zealand for almost 3 weeks. (October 17 to Nov. 5)

Then took 18 days to go from New Zealand to New Caledonia

- a distance of 1125 miles ( or 1810 kilometers) (Nov. 5 to 23)

which would normally be an air flight of 2 or 3 hours.

Now, I would be pleased if someone at eBay can tell us

“How the extended length of time it took for this delivery” is somehow the sellers fault???

From Canada Post Tracking:

Date Time Location Description

2016/11/23	14:13	NOUMEA-CTC,New Caledonia	Item successfully delivered
2016/11/23	14:02		Customs has released item to post office
2016/11/23	14:02	NCNOUA,New Caledonia	Item has been sent to customs in the destination country
2016/11/22	10:34	NCNOUA,New Caledonia	Item has arrived in foreign country
2016/11/22	10:34	NCNOUA,New Caledonia	Item presented to customs
2016/11/22	10:34	NCNOUA,New Caledonia	Item has been sent to customs in the destination country
2016/11/05	06:25	NZAKLA,New Caledonia	International item has been forwarded onwards to destination
2016/10/20	09:44	NZAKLA,New Zealand	Item has arrived in foreign country
2016/10/17	12:20	NZAKLA,	International shipment has arrived in a foreign country
2016/10/15	08:43	RICHMOND, BC	International item being forwarded to destination country
2016/10/14	21:58	RICHMOND, BC	Item processed
2016/10/12	21:34	XXXXXXX, SK	Item processed
2016/10/12	13:52	XXXXX, SK	Item accepted at the Post Office

ypdc_dennis · ‎12-04-2016

You had tracking on that. You could have gotten an INR claim because it took so long to arrive -- but you do not get a ebay shipping defect. The shipping defect is for "how quickly you shipped" -- and a tracked parcel shows that.

It only gets fun with untracked services -- eBay assumes you shipped late if the parcel arrived after their time estimate (and the buyer marks it as later than the eBay estimate). That's when you get a black mark.

-..-

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-05-2016

That's interesting as I just had an inr for package sent to NZ. I refunded a month after purchase but perhaps it was still in customs. She got a big snotty when I refunded and asked her to let me know if she received it later on so we'll see what happens.

But as dennis pointed out, the system really is based on rating sellers that ship within their handling time which is easy to show when you use tracking. The only time you are dinged for late delivery is if you don't have an on time delivery scan which many canadian sellers don't get because they don't use tracking.

Even if if there were no defects given for late shipping, it's important that eBay gives buyers a reasonable shipping time estimate. My recent buyer in Portugal probably expects their package to arrive around the 4 day mark that eBay estimated but they are going to be disappointed. I would rather that buyer be pleasantly surprised when their item is earlier than estimated rather than have them upset when it is later than predicted.

musicyouneed · ‎12-05-2016

That is so good that you have tracking info to show how long it is taking. I have loads of buyers from Australia but cringe each time I send something out with the ebay estimated date of arrival. There is no way that the parcels will get to their destination by the date ebay said they would. Do I stop shipping to Australia because of that?

I would really appreciate if you could show that to Raphael on Wed. Showing how long it is taking. I know that he can't do anything about it but maybe pass on the info to someone to show.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-05-2016

When I changed from standard to economy I don't remember if some or one of the countries showed 11-23 bus day time frame but I know for sure that different countries have always show different times. For example, your eta right now for the uk is different than for Australia and thats normal. But both estimates for economy are definitely not correct or the same as they were in the recent past. What a bad time to have a goof up like this.

pjcdn2005 · ‎12-05-2016

Does anyone remember what .ca showed for standard int'l shipping to the uk in the past? Right now I have a listing on .ca that shows delivery in 4-10 business days. Since I have 1 day handling, that means that they are seeing the travelling time is actually 3-9business days.

A .com listing with standard int'l to the uk shows 5-10 bus days. Shouldn't standard give you the same time regardless of which site the listing was done on?

There is an even bigger difference for Australia -- 7-11 bus days fot standard on .ca listing.7-15 business days for standard on .com listing.

rose-dee · ‎12-05-2016

@musicyouneed wrote:
That is so good that you have tracking info to show how long it is taking. I have loads of buyers from Australia but cringe each time I send something out with the ebay estimated date of arrival. There is no way that the parcels will get to their destination by the date ebay said they would. Do I stop shipping to Australia because of that?

I would really appreciate if you could show that to Raphael on Wed. Showing how long it is taking. I know that he can't do anything about it but maybe pass on the info to someone to show.

I'll be bringing this issue up with Raphael on Wednesday, and will be certain to include a link to this thread so he can read it (or pass it along, since he's leaving).

The long tracking times to places like New Caledonia aren't relevant in terms of defects as long as the seller ships with tracking and gets an acceptance scan for the shipment within their stated handling time. Although the seller might get an INR, they won't get a defect even if a tracked parcel takes 2 months to arrive, as long as the seller has the acceptance scan.

Although the shortened eBay delivery estimates for international economy shipping may cause problems with buyer expectations of delivery on tracked parcels, the big issue for sellers are defects that will result for non-tracked shipments as long as eBay leaves these shortened delivery times in place. Whether this is a glitch or deliberate, it really needs to be changed back quickly. It's especially bad for this to occur during the pre-Christmas period.

With respect to the long shipping delay between NZ and New Caledonia mentioned by the poster above, even though the flight may only take a few hours, I would make an educated guess that there are very few "mail flights" between the two destinations per month, especially if the planes are smaller and weight is a consideration. In many remote parts of the world mail for a particular destination is collected and one special flight is scheduled every so often to carry the mail there.

rose-dee · ‎12-05-2016

@msmaggie060 wrote:
Strange, I'm not selling as much to the US lately, more to Canada and Australia on that ID. I do list on dotCom in US$ so very strange. I wonder if located in Canada we are not being shown as much to the US buyers and more to Cdn buyers.

I've seen this phenomenon reported by quite a number of Canadian sellers lately, and it's certainly happening to me as well. I've had proportionately more Canadian and international buyers in the past few weeks than in all preceding years, and far, far fewer U.S. buyers than normal (U.S. buyers have always accounted for about 95% of my sales). They are so absent that it's not only noticeable, but bizarre.

I list mainly on .com as well. My theory is that it's the "Trump effect". U.S. buyers are nervous and avoiding any unnecessary discretionary spending until all the chips fall where they may, so to speak, come 2017. It could get even worse for all we know.

What I can say is that I have never, in all the years I've sold on eBay, had this kind of September through early December, which is historically my best time of year.

ricarmic · ‎12-05-2016

@rose-dee wrote:
@msmaggie060 wrote:
Strange, I'm not selling as much to the US lately, more to Canada and Australia on that ID. I do list on dotCom in US$ so very strange. I wonder if located in Canada we are not being shown as much to the US buyers and more to Cdn buyers.
I've seen this phenomenon reported by quite a number of Canadian sellers lately, and it's certainly happening to me as well. I've had proportionately more Canadian and international buyers in the past few weeks than in all preceding years, and far, far fewer U.S. buyers than normal (U.S. buyers have always accounted for about 95% of my sales). They are so absent that it's not only noticeable, but bizarre.

I list mainly on .com as well. My theory is that it's the "Trump effect". U.S. buyers are nervous and avoiding any unnecessary discretionary spending until all the chips fall where they may, so to speak, come 2017. It could get even worse for all we know.

What I can say is that I have never, in all the years I've sold on eBay, had this kind of September through early December, which is historically my best time of year.

Hi Rose!

I actually have an additional "Trump effect" effect.... in my (stamps) world in the olden before internet days, it was very hard to get US buyers to buy stuff from outside the USA, it was a very hard market for me to crack at least.

With the internet, and my own from the original days focus on reaching American customers, my US customer base was strong, and they seem to be much more comfortable buying from sources outside the USA now than they were 10 or more years ago.

However, one of the big election campaign things was market protectionism, bringing things back to "made in USA" kind of mode. It is possible that has percolated into a renewed "buy from USA first" mentality (much like we want/expect Canadian customers to buy Canadian first).

This could be another thing affecting as well.......