For the record, I have not yet seen any actual impact on my delivery estimates not being met as a result of the rotating strikes but that may be a combination of pure luck and also that my area has been hit only once thus far by the strikes themselves.
Complicating matters, however, is that this is the time of year where every year since I began selling here, I add a section to all my listings stating Canada Post deadlines for holiday delivery to and from the different areas for different levels of service so that buyers are not taken by surprise when they are shopping. For example, last year I wrote on all my listings under Payment Instructions:
CANADA POST DEADLINE FOR 2017 HOLIDAY DELIVERY: WITHIN CANADA EXPEDITED PARCEL is DEC 11 and CANADA XPRESSPOST is DEC 20 / USA TRACKED PACKET is DEC 12 and USA XPRESSPOST is DEC 16 / OVERSEAS (INTL) TRACKED PACKET is DEC 1 and INTL XPRESSPOST is DEC 8. PLEASE SELECT YOUR SERVICE WISELY
I would like very much to do the same for 2018 but I am worried this might be over-promising matters. We already know that Canada Post is not offering any Delivery Guarantees or Your Money Back during the labour action (it's stated in their terms and conditions that they do not honour these duding labour unrest and that's fine) but more to my concern is the manner in which ebay promises 'delivered by' dates as opposed to a number of business days estimate.
My question is for tyler@ebay, then please. Tyler, what will ebay.ca and ebay.com and ebay.co.uk be doing on or with ebay.ca-created listings to better reflect (and not over-promise) delivered-by dates during the rotating strikes? I think sellers in Canada would be reassured to know that ebay is at least contemplating how to protect us while adequately managing buyer expectations at this time of year where shopping and selling is so critical and also time-sensitive.
In the past, I've been upset because the Estimated Date of Delivery on items shipping as far as Australia are under-estimated by ebay by as many as two businesses days sooner than what Canada Post says is possible for that service although I am pleased to report the glitch with Tracked Packet promising overnight delivery to France and the UK appears to have been fixed. But, obviously, even promising an item is delivered two business days sooner than Canada Post says is possible is going to create a live-or-die problem for holiday shoppers. As Christmas approaches, ebay also begins to very specifically promises delivery-by a certain date on even ebay.ca listings. So what's the plan for this year, assuming rotating strikes (or worse) will still be a factor?
Background:
Hi @momcqueen - I know that we are working to set buyer expectations due to the rotating strikes with announcements as well as altering and adjusting estimated delivery dates accordingly if the impact continues or worsens.
Estimated delivery date issues are still being reviewed and corrected where they are too aggressive. As dynamic as the mail stream can be, it's something that's going to continue to be a bit fluid, but we do want to make sure that buyers are well aware of the possible delays.
Thanks!
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