eBay

maximus7001 · ‎02-14-2016

Ok recently have had a bunch of late shipping reports and INR claims like the rest of us.

Here is the reason:

This example is a music cassette that ships to more countries than we usually ship to.( *** = dont normally ship to)

These are the shipping durations to various destinations from Winnipeg using Canada Post lettermail with 2 day handling:

Canada 4-8

UK 5-8 ??**bleep**

Greece 5-9 ??**bleep** *** Not realistic at all. We stopped shipping there because it always took way more than a month.

Japan 5-10

Belgium 6-10

Czech 6-10 ***

Spain 6-10

Sweden 6-10

Italy 6-11 ***

Norway 6-11

USA 7-11 ?? **bleep**, why is this more than all the above, better yet why are the above less than this?

Switzerland 5-12

Poland 6-12 ***

Australia 7-13

Brazil 9-19

Changing the handling time is not going to help. As soon as it is marked shipped the clock resets and starts counting as if the handling was 1 day to begin with.

Whoever decided these dates is completely useless and should not have a job there.

sylviebee · ‎02-15-2016

@block36 wrote:
Thank you for your research and recommendations.

One question:
If I change my listings to 3 days handling but continue to ship within 1-2 days, will it be OK to mark ITEM SHIPPED on accurate day of shipment, i.e. earlier than 3 days. Or the clicking will start as soon as item is marked SHIPPED?
.

I've always assumed that handling time starts the second payment has been made and is completely independent of everything else.

For example: If a seller uses tracked packet with a 1 day handling time but ships one week after the buyer has paid, the seller will get an automatic detect because the item will arrive late.

I've assumed that shipping time is the number of days allotted for that method of shipping plus handling time.

Marking an item as shipped shouldn't change anything, or at least that makes sense to me.

block36 · ‎02-15-2016

I've always assumed that handling time starts the second payment has been made and is completely independent of everything else.

For example: If a seller uses tracked packet with a 1 day handling time but ships one week after the buyer has paid, the seller will get an automatic detect because the item will arrive late.

I've assumed that shipping time is the number of days allotted for that method of shipping plus handling time.

Marking an item as shipped shouldn't change anything, or at least that makes sense to me.

I am not sure how the SHIPPED mark influences the appearance of the defect.

Example: one person bought 4 postcards from me and paid separately, I have combined them and refunded shipping cost on three of them.

But the system was counting all this as separate transactions.

As usual for multiple purchasing I marked SHIPPED on one item and did not realize that three other items did not get the mark.

I noticed it only a couple of days later and did not want to mark SHIPPED then so the buyer won't be confused.

Everything went well - I received positive feedbacks and no defects.

sylviebee · ‎02-15-2016

I am not sure how the SHIPPED mark influences the appearance of the defect.

___________________________________________________

I was saying that I don't see how marking an item as shipped would influence anything.

I'm not sure what you mean by "the appearance of the defect." ?

The clock starts ticking at the moment of payment, or at least that makes sense to me.

(As far as I can tell, this is a system which has no place for payments not made on line.)

block36 · ‎02-15-2016

The clock starts ticking at the moment of payment, or at least that makes sense to me.

(As far as I can tell, this is a system which has no place for payments not made on line.)

May be your presumption is correct (too bad that eBay does not disclose this information to us), but at the same time we have an option "mark payment received" which appears on items that were not paid as yet. Couple times in my experience I had to mark as such when buyers were choosing wrong payment line (light packet International instead of light packet USA) and I had to refund them... Instead they were willing to buy something else to use the overpaid amount.

Generally speaking I guess I become paranoid towards most elementary functions and entries in view of recent changes regarding our promptness.

maximus7001 · ‎02-15-2016

As far as the clock resetting:

We also have a US account and buy with it shipping to USA and pick it up to avoid the GSP and shipping cost uselessness that is common with americans.

Example: buy an item that says standard shipping. Says estimated delivery within 17 days. Once marked shipped with USPS priority mail the estimated deliver changes to 5 days and has a date that is 5 days in the future instead of 17 days in the future like it said before it was marked shipped.

The above is just an example, dates are not exact but are based on general observation from dozens of purchases.

pocomocomputing · ‎02-15-2016

@maximus7001 wrote:
As far as the clock resetting:

We also have a US account and buy with it.

Example: buy an item that says standard shipping. Says estimated delivery within 17 days. Once marked shipped with USPS priority mail the estimated deliver changes to 5 days and has a date that is 5 days in the future instead of 17 days in the future like it said before it was marked shipped.

The above is just an example, dates are not exact but are based on observation from dozens of purchases.

In the ebay.com weekly sessions, this issue of changing delivery estimates was brought up and the ebay reply was that the adjusted delivery time was show to the buyer but the seller would be evaluated on the original listing delivery time. As to when the original delivery time estimate and when it starts I do not know. It would seem logical to start the time when the seller ships and bypass a long handling time.

hlmacdon · ‎02-15-2016

@pocomocomputing wrote:
@maximus7001 wrote:
As far as the clock resetting:

We also have a US account and buy with it.

Example: buy an item that says standard shipping. Says estimated delivery within 17 days. Once marked shipped with USPS priority mail the estimated deliver changes to 5 days and has a date that is 5 days in the future instead of 17 days in the future like it said before it was marked shipped.

The above is just an example, dates are not exact but are based on observation from dozens of purchases.
In the ebay.com weekly sessions, this issue of changing delivery estimates was brought up and the ebay reply was that the adjusted delivery time was show to the buyer but the seller would be evaluated on the original listing delivery time. As to when the original delivery time estimate and when it starts I do not know. It would seem logical to start the time when the seller ships and bypass a long handling time.

What would seem to make sense based on how it is described:

Buyer pays, establishing the initial reference date. How this is effected if seller partially refunds or updates the date paid field manually is an interesting question. I would assume they have accounted for this to prevent people gaming the system.
Acceptance scan used to validate if item was shipped "on time" (scan date compared against reference date and handling time "day(s)")
Chosen shipping service establishes the min and max days in combination with days added to represent the handling time, delivery confirmation scan used to validate if shipment arrived in that date range and is "on time"
If either is "on time", then whatever buyer answers to the late question is overridden.

Just to clarify on the "evaluated on the original listing delivery time" is the buyer presented with the original date range when answering if it arrived late, or any updated date they may be pulling from the carrier shipping API?

One thing that occurs to me that would he helpful would be to separate domestic handling times and international handling times as separate values, especially if the blanket suggestion of adjusting handling times as a workaround to the issue continues to be the guidance in lieu of better ways of shippers setting estimates.

sylviebee · ‎02-15-2016

Today is Family Day in Ontario.

I prepared my packages and drove to my regular depot to ship but found that the depots are closed.

It's not a holiday for the CPO so the day will be counted by eBay, but it is for the postal outlets making it difficult to comply with my 1 day handling time. (I didn't see that coming.)

I'm debating whether to drive across town to the PO (what a PITA) , or risk taking the hit because my packages will be scanned in one day late but could still arrive on time.

I wonder how that works?

sylviebee · ‎02-15-2016

To made the situation even more ridiculous: I called the PO and even if I get the packages there today nothing actually moves until tomorrow anyway.

If I don't drive to the PO three packages won't get scanned within my handling time and could result in 3 defects, and even if I do make that effort the packages won't move faster but I won't risk 3 defects.

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-15-2016

It is a USPS holiday today and since you list on .com I wonder if your delivery time automatically accounts for the U.S. holiday?

sylviebee · ‎02-15-2016

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
It is a USPS holiday today and since you list on .com I wonder if your delivery time automatically accounts for the U.S. holiday?

Another glitch I hadn't thought of.

How can an organization with all of eBay's massive resources come up with this convoluted mess of a system fraught with unplanned and unexpected twists at every turn?

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-15-2016

For anyone that is interested, there was a thread about a week ago that had a list of the different times and options as well as some shipping time suggestions from poco and other sellers. Some of the comments in both threads may be the same or similar but there might be some different idea in the older thread.

http://community.ebay.ca/t5/Seller-Central/Changing-my-shipping-times-comments-please/td-p/326245/pa...

sylviebee · ‎02-15-2016

I don't worry about it the way others do.

However, the fact that the CPO does not have a holiday while the postal outlets are closed presented a unique problem.

These 3 items went tracked packet and expedited so my 1 day handling time had me positioned me for 3 defects.

I eventually found an outlet that was operating on limited hours and snuck in before they closed.

pjcdn2005 · ‎02-15-2016

I'm surprised that any outlets would be closed. I'm fairly certain that they were all open here because all stores were open until at least 6 p.m.

This is just semantics but you don't actually get a defect for late shipping. I never really know what to call it though.

007steveb16 · ‎02-15-2016

Buyer from BC bluntly messaged me and told me his item has reached it's "Maximum" time for delivery.

It's been in the mail for 4 full business days.

It's people like these who will be the bane of our existence. To heck with understand the term, "estimated" either right.......

The customer is always "right" but understanding needs to be 50/50

sylviebee · ‎02-15-2016

I don't watch very closely, but when I do look I've noticed that my items with tracking often make it with no time to spare according to CPO estimates.

That's why I thought one day would matter.

I really don't know.

tobyshitzu · ‎02-15-2016

@pjcdn2005 wrote:
I'm surprised that any outlets would be closed. I'm fairly certain that they were all open here because all stores were open until at least 6 p.m.

This is just semantics but you don't actually get a defect for late shipping. I never really know what to call it though.

Depends on where you are and the nature of the store. ON has left it up to each municipality to set the rules on holiday opening. Kingston stores are fusiously lobbying as here they are allowed to be open on summer holidays but not now, while neighbouring muncipalities let them be open today. Pharmacies can open so most but not all Shoppers drugmarts are, but the tiny drugstore my close postal outlet is in is closed

izzame · ‎02-16-2016

FYI Nov 11th is not a stat. holiday in On. but it is a stat. for CP. The reverse of today.

tobyshitzu · ‎02-16-2016

Family day yesterday, now today the snow is so bad here the entire shopping center is closed. Even if you can find somewhere to take your mail, no in on their right mind would drive just to mail their ebay parcels that probably wont go anywhere anyway. Small area affected this bad so ebay will never adjust for the weather, and everyone at risk of being punished for "late"