.CA Economy Shipping Estimated Time Glitch. AKA Shifting Sands of Economy Shipping Times.

[byto253]

A .CA item sold Friday and the estimated Economy shipping time from Canada to the US showed up as 4 to 7 business days instead of the longer timeframe it showed before.  That was a shock, and when I checked my listings this was across the board for about 100 items.   

These items also had  Tracked Packet as a 2nd shipping option.   I experimented and tried the following  shipping options  with Tracked Packet as a 2nd option, and these ALL give an Estimated delivery within 4-7 business days.

- Canada Post USA Letter-post
- Canada Post International Air (Non-US) - Surface
- Canada Post International Parcel (Non-US) - Surface
- Canada Post Small Packets - USA - Air
- Economy Int'l Shipping
- Standard Int'l Shipping
- Expedited Int'l Shipping
- Standard Shipping from China/Hong Kong/Taiwan to worldwide

Then I tried Tracked Packet as the first option and Economy, etc. as the 2nd option and magically the estimated shipping time for Economy,  etc. changed to "Varies" with no estimated time frame provided.   Just deleting the Tracked Packet option and only having Economy, etc. as the only option changes the time to "Varies"

Another odd effect is that by putting Tracked Packet first the estimated time changed from 5 to 9 business days to 11 to 35 business days. 

Bottom line, is there is a .ca glitch if you put Tracked Packet as a 2nd option for shipping to the US.  I am not sure if this is also a glitch with any tracked option like expedited to the US but expect it would be.  

Clearly there are crossed wires in the .ca shipping time estimate coding.    

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

@byto253 

Current listing to USA - Calgary to 90210

3 to 6 Business days for US Small Pkt air   ??????????

3 to 8 Business days for Tracked

1-2 Days by Expedited. ?????????????

Varies for Xpresspost

USA to 20210

3 to 6 Business days for US Small Pkt air   ??????????

3 to 8 Business days for Tracked

1st listing 1 to 2 days for Expedited....2nd listing checked displays Varies by Expedited.

Varies by Xpresspost

Calgary to UK

6 to 14 Days Small packet international

Varies for tracked international

Calgary to Sweden

6 to 10 Days Small packet international

Varies for tracked international

Calgary to Italy

6 to 10 days Small packet international

Varies for tracked international

Cypus

Varies for Small packet international

No mention of customs delays like it can for USA sellers to Canada

Definitely different from past comparisons.

Economy Canada where offered does show 1 to 15 days so that one gets a check mark!!!

Only thing consistent with eBay as of late is the inconsistency.

-Lotz

[byto253]

The lack of consistency is causing problems and work for nothing.  I have 2 US lettermail shipments that are now supposed to be delivered in 4 to 7 business days, ha ha.  I emailed the buyers to explain it will be longer and offered a cancellation if that is to long.  

So yesterday I spent a looong time revising 100 listings to fix this.  But who knows how long this will be ok for until the next glitch pops up and messes with the delivery times.   Most of these are low dollar niche parts that sell slow so you just want to list em and leave em with no fuss.  

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

An FYI as per the eBay Labels Group:

"Delivery times vary depending on the selected service as well as the seller and buyer locations. These dates are determined based on a combination of factors including, historical data and carrier service level agreements."

Please take with a very large grain of salt!!!

-Lotz

[cdbasement]

Huge issue if you sell inexpensive items and ship by regluar mail to keep customer costs down - in my case music CD's. In 21 years selling I average 2-3 "claims" per year. The last 2 MONTHS I've had over 10 - all due to the B.S. delivery dates eBay shows. And... even if you email your customer to ask them to hang tight... they decide that they want their money back, strikes on your seller account. If you don't sell hundreds per month, the margin for error is miniscule! I have gone from respected top rated power seller to below standard in the blink of an eye. I've always treated my customers great and have watched my eBay "business" (it's not  - I've been selling off my own collection for years) go down the toilet. "Below standard" means search visibility has tanked, sales have fallen off a cliff and as far as eBay is concerned my account is in "pariah" status. Those freakin' donkeys should have the brains to realize that 2-7 days for delivery is nonsense. I can't mail across the street in 7 days let alone across the country!!! 

The real shame is that this will affect my sales for at least the next 90 days. Almost makes a guy want to pull his account permanently (21 years, over 200,000 items sold!)