Customer paid by echeck, waiting for it to clear...

[venus_lavoy]

So a customer paid by echeck and I'm waiting for the payment to clear before shipping.  Are DSR's for shipping calculated based on when payment clears or when payment is made?

[amcdc79]

In this case, it is good to keep the customer in the loop, first by thanking them for paying, and let them know that you will ship as soon as the echeck clears. When it does, and you have shipped their item, let then know it's on the way.

The shipping DSR's now are set by the buyer, so the more info they have, by letting them know you can't ship until the echeck clears, the better.

[reallynicestamps]

DSRs are left by the buyer and reflect whatever was floating through his brain at that moment.

So when you recieve an echeque it is a very good idea to let the customer know that you are just waiting for it to clear, at which point Paypal will allow you to print his shipping label. And then add some smarm about thanks for his confidence.

I understand that eBay will be deflating the importance of the DSRs after the Christmas rush and all those nervous and scatty customers have trashed their sellers because they expected a Christmas Eve purchase to arrive on Christmas morning.

[rose-dee]

Yes, I agree with the others, completely.  In a situation where an eCheck is involved, it's crucial to immediately contact your buyer, with thanks for the purchase, and explain that you will need to wait until the eCheck clears before shipping.  

You can explain (very politely, in case they didn't know) how an eCheck works, since honestly many buyers, especially those who are fairly new to using Paypal and eBay, aren't even aware that their Paypal payment has gone through as an eCheck and will be held up until it clears.  Many don't understand that it works in exactly the same way as a personal cheque, i.e. that the receiver's bank must confirm the funds are available from the sender's bank before releasing them.  Others don't know that they made an eCheck payment because they didn't link a credit card to their Paypal account.  

In any case, as 'reallynicestamps' mentioned, since DSRs are entirely, 100% subjective, and based on what the buyer is thinking or feeling about the transaction as a whole, the more you can impress such a buyer with your friendliness, helpfulness and professionalism, the better. 

And yes, come February 20, DSRs will no longer be counted in eBay's evaluation of seller performance.  However, they will still be displayed to buyers, as now, and I think many buyers check those numbers before purchasing, so we sellers can't afford to be completely cavalier about DSRs even after February, 2016.  

[pjcdn2005]

eBay will base the estimated arrival on the time that seller received payment. There's no way to know what the actual buyer will base their DSR decision on but that's why it is a good idea to keep them in the loop and as others have said...explain how an echeque works and that you will ship once it clears.