eBay

mr_lincoln · ‎11-20-2023

Here we go again with a Customer making a purchase followed by a message asking me to delay shipping ... this time they asked to wait to ship until after Thanksgiving ... like 5 days from now and I offer 1 Day Handling.

Customer's message:

Hi Mr_Lincoln,
I just purchased your (train car)
Order number: (XXXXXXXXXXXXX)

Please do not ship it until after Thanksgiving.

Thank you and have a happy Thanksgiving!

(Customer's name)

If we had the PAUSE button that I brought up before and have mentioned on more than one occasion I would be able to "Enhance the Buying experience" (eBay's phrase) with this reply:

Sure (Customer's name),

Absolutely no problem at all. Have a safe Holiday!

Sincerely,

Mr. L

But since I don't have the PAUSE button to suspend the transaction from the Late Shipping defect Seller metric I would have to take the hit OR hope the Customer replies to this message that I sent them:

Hi (Customer's name),

Unfortunately, I can't do that because of eBay's Rules for Sellers. I offer 1 Day Handling which means if I do not ship within 1 Day of your purchase date (which was Sunday) my account will get a late shipping defect. You need to message me back and request that I Cancel the transaction so I can cancel without getting a strike on my account. If I don't hear from you by this afternoon (Monday afternoon) I will cancel using the reason Problem with address ... once canceled, I can Relist it for you after Thanksgiving and you can purchase it again at that time.
Again, these are eBay's Rules NOT mine ... Sellers get really frustrated when they can't work their own deals with their customers so I am thanking you in advance.
Regards,
Mr. L

Give Sellers 10 Transaction PAUSES per year if there are concerns with the feature being abused, that would cover my needs. When used, eBay can review the Customer's message (if they feel the need to) to confirm that a delayed shipment was requested or there is a need for a PAUSE ... like a Buyer purchasing some BIN items but is also bidding on an Auction that ends in a few days and wants Combined shipping or other legitimate reasons I haven't thought of.

And oh by the way, the cancellation reason "Problem with address" DOES apply based on the Customer's request ... I can't ship to the customer's address when eBay expects me to because the Customer doesn't want me to ... that is a PROBLEM. At times the inflexibility of the venue causes unnecessary extra work for Sellers and the delayed shipping request by Buyers is certainly one of those scenarios.

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

mudshark61369 · ‎11-20-2023

@mr_lincoln,

The only solution I can come up with would be to reply to the buyer and ask them to contact the USPS and place a delivery hold on their mail while they are away since you ship using USPS. Tell them they can file the hold online on the USPS site. That way you can ship on time and the buyer will receive the item when they return home. If you want to try and explain eBay's late shipping metric to them as the reason for not delaying shipping, that's up to you.

"THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FOOLPROOF, BECAUSE FOOLS ARE SO DARNED INGENIOUS!" (unknown)

mr_lincoln · ‎11-20-2023

@mudshark61369

I thought of that but it means asking the Buyer to do something they shouldn't have to.

It would also mean asking another unnecessary question and waiting for an answer in time to avoid a late shipping defect.

I grew up in a neighborhood where the homes had mail slots in the front door, packages were placed on the porch. I'm not sure if JUST packages can be held at USPS or if one has to hold everything ...

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎11-20-2023

I agree with the need for a streamlined approach to buyer requested shipping delays.

I have agreed with it for years now.

Unfortunately, getting ebay to implement such ideas is the problem.

mudshark61369 · ‎11-20-2023

@mr_lincoln,

The USPS would pause all deliveries between the days the buyer selected. Ex: stop date Wed, Nov 22, restart date Mon. Nov. 27. The sooner they schedule the Pause the better the chances of there not being a mistake on the carrier's part. All they have to do is search online for "Pause deliveries USPS", they can fill out the pause time frames there.

Having never lived where mail slots are used, I cannot say if mail that fits through a slot would not be delivered during a delivery pause. I'm pretty sure all mail deliveries are stopped during a Pause.

I would never ask a buyer to request cancellation since it could cost a sale and possibly a repeat customer.

"THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FOOLPROOF, BECAUSE FOOLS ARE SO DARNED INGENIOUS!" (unknown)

mudshark61369 · ‎11-20-2023

Sorry about the Best Answer as I was scrolling down to read the post before my last one I sneezed and accidentally clicked the the best Answer Reply. I wish they would remove that.

"THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FOOLPROOF, BECAUSE FOOLS ARE SO DARNED INGENIOUS!" (unknown)

mr_lincoln · ‎11-20-2023

@mudshark61369 wrote:
Sorry about the Best Answer as I was scrolling down to read the post before my last one I sneezed and accidentally clicked the the best Answer Reply. I wish they would remove that.

@mudshark61369 Just sent you a PM about that ...

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

jrkirk · ‎11-20-2023

Not a perfect solution, but much better than what we have now.

jk

fern*wood · ‎11-20-2023

Ebay has a little leeway built into our shipping metrics to cover this type of request, unless you already have some against you it shouldn't be an issue.

mr_lincoln · ‎11-20-2023

@jrkirk wrote:
Not a perfect solution, but much better than what we have now.
jk

@jrkirk Exactly, one little issue at a time to make things easier for all involved. Buyers don't know all the Seller rules and regs nor should we have to explain them to them.

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

mr_lincoln · ‎11-20-2023

@fern*wood wrote:
Ebay has a little leeway built into our shipping metrics to cover this type of request, unless you already have some against you it shouldn't be an issue.

@fern*wood Thank you for the reply and yes that thought crossed my mind but if enough Buyers make that request around the Holidays then its a big problem. So in basic terms it is not a solution.

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

jrkirk · ‎11-20-2023

For sure. Been awhile since we had one of these, but it is always frustrating when it does happen.

mr_lincoln · ‎11-20-2023

@jrkirk wrote:
For sure. Been awhile since we had one of these, but it is always frustrating when it does happen.

@jrkirk Per individual Seller it may be a low occurrence but with 1.7 BILLION listings on eBay I am sure overall it happens enough that a PAUSE feature would be justified.

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎11-20-2023

@mr_lincoln

You need to come up with a way for ebay to make ad revenue from such a change....Maybe, when the seller sends the notice that the delay has been approved, he must pay to include "Delayed Shipping Ads" with the message.

The siren song of ebay Ad Revenue seems to be the only way to get ebay's attention these days LOL

mr_lincoln · ‎11-20-2023

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
@mr_lincoln

You need to come up with a way for ebay to make ad revenue from such a change....Maybe, when the seller sends the notice that the delay has been approved, he must pay to include "Delayed Shipping Ads" with the message.

The siren song of ebay Ad Revenue seems to be the only way to get ebay's attention these days LOL

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques

Not a problem, the Buyer would be charged an "Inconvenience fee" for making a request that could negatively impacts a Seller's metrics ... even if they are not aware of Seller Metrics. In addition, the Buyer would be restricted to only leaving Positive FB for the Seller on a PAUSE transaction.

Regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor