Lettermail delivery from Cda to International- unrealistic -EBay ignoring my complaint

[wwos1840]

I’m looking for Canadian Sellers who typically use Lettermail to send items out internationally and have had problems with expected delivery time that EBay presets. I may have to escalate an issue.

[wwos1840]

Here’s my complaint, when you create a listing and get to International service and choose Lettermail International (non US) Ebay fills in right below it says 4-7 days. The seller can’t adjust that and that timing is absurd!!!
I have one sale claim on this issue, I don’t care really but it could affect my seller status. It was Mailed Aug 12 and the buyer in the UK was expecting itAug.19th!!
Google confirms that it take 7-12 business days or possibly longer for this service.
I spent 2hrs on chat with 8 different reps and none of them would acknowledge EBay is spewing false and misleading information to the Buyer and putting undue hardship on the Seller by committing to that Lettermail delivery time frame.
IF you have had your status affected by this or had to give refunds due to this , I want to hear from you!!!

[femmefan1946]

Okay- technically goods which were sold are not eligible for international LetterPost shipping. They have to carry customs information which is not part of the LetterPost service.

So with that out of the way...

You can adjust the timing by adjusting your handling time. Make it five days "handling" and the delivery date will be extended.

Always put a blue Air Mail sticker on the envelope.

And put the "letter" into the mailbox with the earliest pickup you can find.

My (city) boxes closest to my house are 9am, and those a few blocks away are 3pm. The POs are both 3pm. Since the pickup is not a guarantee, a letter posted at 4pm may not be picked up until nearly noon the next day.

YMMV.

But keep in mind that when we ship internationally at letter rates, we are breaking the rules and our shipment may be returned for more postage.

[ypdc_dennis]

Use flat rate shipping and the generic choice of "Economy Int'l Shipping" 

[wwos1840]

If it’s illegal then why does EBay even have it as an option? I’ll look into that. If I sell a postcard, I’m sending it as Lettermail. Thanks for your reply.

[edubb101]

Hello,

I also had this problem with unrealistic delivery time expectation to the USA.   The problem was that ebay was not recognizing the adjusted handling times even if you put like 30 days.  It still showed that it was possible for the customer to get their item within the 30 day handling period.  I did call and was given a run around answer on how the estimated time was/could be correct.  I just gave up and stopped shipping to the USA back in the middle of July.  Turns out this was going to happen anyway so in a way it was a blessing in disguise.  I just sell to all my great Canadian friends from coast to coast.

All the best

[byto253]

It's a whack-a-mole question 🙂    

And you can extend handling time.

[wwos1840]

Ok I’ll try that approach. Doesn’t messing with handling time discourage interested Buyers to purchase from you?

[femmefan1946]

You'll notice that you cannot print a Lettermail label through eBay.

But you can at the PO counter.

Because eBay knows that if you are using the site it's to ship goods you sold.

Which are dutiable.

And don't assume that your buyer reads the information on shipping, handling, or delivery time.
Most don't even read the description.

[byto253]

That is a legit consideration.   The first thing though is to change shipping method as @ypdc_dennis suggested to "Economy Int'l Shipping" .  I think that should provide plenty of leeway without adding to the handling time.

If you want to keep the lettermail option, then extending the handling time would do the trick.  I don't think you need to do both.

In either case, there is the potential impact on sales as the delivery time is extended.  That is the cost to getting a sufficient time buffer for letter mail.    

[dinomitesales]

There is a very simple solution to this problem; as others have said, just change the shipping option to "Economy Int'l Shipping". No need to extend any handling times.

Boom, you now have several months to get the item to the buyer before they can open an Item Not Received claim. Possible downside: the buyer will see an expected delivery date several months out and will be less likely to buy your item. These are the risks you face when shipping eBay sales via Letter-post (which, as has been mentioned already, is technically not allowed).