eBay

rww124 · ‎11-04-2021

I'm not sure if any other eBay sellers have expierienced this however I sold an item to a buyer in the Czech Republic where the buyer chose to have the item shipped surface from Canada. Due to not only the time it takes in the surface shipping but also additional delays due to Covid the buyer was unable to leave feedback as he was just one day past eBay's strict 60 timeframe (which used to be 90). eBay shows no flexability at all in taking into consideration any extenuating circumstances such as Covid delays, it's just a yes or no decission (if an item's destination is 20 miles or 2,000 makes no difference if you're past the 60 days it's too bad so sad) . I strongly believe eBay has really dropped the ball on this one as Covid has been delaying everything for two years now and they should have taken immediate action in extending the feedback time. Of course to do this it would cost eBay money so keeping in their greed zone did nothing. There are always updates to both buyers and sellers on how to improve their buying and selling experience however seems this is nothing more than talk as eBay does not seem to set by example and follow good business practices themselves. Guess as long as eBay is fattening their wallets they are content and don't really care about the buyers and sellers who made them rich. I have filed a complaint with eBay's corporate office and would encourage any othe eBay user who has had or anticipates having this same experience to contact their headoffice to question their policies. If I decide not to completly shut down my eBay account I will simply refuse to sell to foreign buyers which is not good business. On a final note if anyone out there has ever contacted eBay's customer service the first thing they say after asking your name is " I see that you have been an eBay member for said number of years, thank you for your loyalty". So where is eBay's loyalty to it's members? Loyalty goes both ways, at least in the real world where eBay has excluded itself.

femmefan1946 · ‎11-04-2021

It has been a long time since we could leave feedback for 90 days. More than a decade.

the buyer chose(sic) to have the item shipped surface from Canada. Due to not only the time it takes in the surface shipping ...the buyer was unable to leave feedback as he was just one day past eBay's strict 60 timeframe

When I saw that, I thought this was going elsewhere.

Even in the "before time" using Surface was chancy. And allowing the buyer to demand Surface was usually the preface to a scam, since Surface often took two to three months, plus time in the postal and customs system.

The buyer would have been refunded on a Not As Received and then a week or two later pick up his FREE purchase, paying only the import fees.

Don't ship Surface. Don't offer to ship Surface.

USPS no longer has an International Surface service, and Canada Post should drop it too, if only for Asia and the former Soviet Bloc.

Surface shipping is much too expensive.

And if the buyer can't afford to pay for Air shipping, he can't afford to buy internationally.

FWIW- Feedback is the equivalent of the supermarket cashier's "Have a nice day." It's pleasant to have, but it is not used by eBay to assess a member's account.

Nor can other sellers, since most of us use Fixed Price listings and only meet our customers when they purchase.

Very few buyers do more than look at the seller's rating and even then happily buy from sellers with 95% ratings.

I know it is hard to worry about a delivery for two or three months and then not even get a pat on the back after all that, but your buyer is pleased and the package got to him safely.

And you got paid.

msau4301 · ‎11-05-2021

As femmefan mentions I also thought feedback window was always 60 days (at least in the 8 years I've been selling).

I shipped with surface a couple of times when I first started selling internationally and buyers were balking about the price. I found out after a couple of times it was way too stressful for me. I once had to refund a buyer who asked for a refund (at about 60 days). Since she was a kind soul, she let me know a few days later it arrived and wanted to reimburse me, so I was able to send her a Paypal invoice (it was easier in those days!)

I also had a buyer last year (at the very start of the Covid craziness) in Slovenia who I sent a package to by Air Mail - she had bought from me a few times in the past and it would typically take a few weeks, she contacted me 4 months later to say how happy she was my package had arrived, she had thought it was lost. (She never opened a case or even notified me...."with everything going on I just thought it went missing". She couldn't leave me feedback either but I was thrilled that she had received it...she even apologized that she couldn't leave any and told me in a message how happy she was". I like seeing nice feedback too but getting a nice thank you message is just as nice!