eBay displays same estimated delivery window to buyers for USPS Ground Shipping & USPS Priority Mail

[masterblasterplanet]

I always offer two shipping options to my customers, but eBay displays an identical delivery window for both options, even though one is slower ground shipping and the other is expedited Priority Mail (air). It doesn't matter what the zip code is. Has anyone else noticed this?

I've contacted eBay support numerous times over the past two years to report this problem. I've explained to them what the customer/buyer sees in terms of the delivery window and they take a look at it and they always agree with me that there's a problem, but they never fix the issue.

For example:

Standard Shipping (USPS Ground Advantage®)   Estimated between Fri, Mar 8 and Tue, Mar 12 to 32751

Expedited Shipping (USPS Priority Mail®)                Estimated between Fri, Mar 8 and Tue, Mar 12 to 32751

[gamersbaystore]

The problem is ebay uses AI to determine the estimated delivery dates, while ignoring sellers shipping policies, handling times, as well as the actual delivery estimates USPS and others provide.

An order that just came in shows the estimate provided to the buyer as March the 12, and it tells me to ship by March the 11th. How is the buyer going to receive the item by March the 12th if it isnt being until the 11th?

The say reality is that ebay doesn't care, and despite years of sellers complaining about this crap, ebay refuses to do anything about it.

Anytime I have to refund over INR's, I tell ebay to pay up, and I dont stop calling until they do. I am not losing money over ebay's incompetence, nor the garbage delivery estimates they pulled out of some draconian computer program.

They call it "Artificial Intelligence" for a reason, because its NOT intelligent, hence the term Artificial. Leave it to ebay's clueless executives to make sellers lives a living nightmare.

[klhmdg]

Thats why it is an "estimate" - Estimate is not a guarantee.

When did people stop understanding what an estimate is? Even USPS doesnt guarantee delivery dates.

Once the item has a shipping label the "estimate" changes.

I have never had to refund for an INR.

[stainlessenginecovers]

1st- you are looking at your own listings, so they are showing FROM your zip code TO your zip code

2nd- per USPS- Ground Advantage is 2-5 Days; Priority is 1-3 Days...so BOTH could easily be the same

3rd- ebay uses a secret algorithm that makes items 'appear' to deliver 'sooner' than 'later' so they can compete with Amazon while completely ignoring the 'handling time' that a seller shows. 

4th- therefore, quit worrying about it.

The 'estimated delivery date' is JUST THAT- an ESTIMATE. An 'ESTIMATE' is French or Latin or .... for 'ABOUT'- so an Estimate of 9th to 14th and gets there on the 18th is Perfectly OK as long as you....

5th- SHIP OUT (showing 'received' by carrier) within your 'handling time. 

[buyselljack2016]

that's your zip code.................  what would you expect to see?

[gamersbaystore]

Its not an estimate when ebay guarantees the buyer the item within that estimated time frame, and then forces the seller to refund them and let them keep your item.

The estimates are not correct and never will be as long as ebay ignores the estimates provided USPS and others.

I have a 3 day handling time, yet I am forced to ship everything the same day, otherwise nothing arrives anywhere near the garbage estimates ebay provides to buyers.

As I stated earlier, an order that came in today states I must ship by March the 11th, yet the buyer is told to expect their order by March the 12th. Where is the logic in that?

[gamersbaystore]

I've had to refund over INR's many times over the years. My rule of thumb now is somebody finds my money, or the buyer gets reported for mail fraud and USPS makes them find it. I'm done playing these games with ebay. I don't work for free and I'm not in business to give away product for free.

You buy something through the mail you have an obligation to pay for it, otherwise its mail fraud.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

For nearby destinations, the delivery estimates may be identical because the delivery time is identical for Priority anf GA. There is no air travel.

For nearby destinations, Media Mail is sometimes a day quicker than Priority Mail because Priority Mail may route to a more distant sorting center while media routes from the initial sorting center to its destination.

This topic appears to lack the experience that smaller sellers who babysit their shipments have.

[masterblasterplanet]

eBay displays the exact same estimated delivery window going from our location in FL to customers in California for USPS ground shipping and expedited USPS Priority Mail. 

[masterblasterplanet]

eBay displays the exact same estimated delivery window going from our location in FL to customers in California for USPS ground shipping and expedited USPS Priority Mail. 

[masterblasterplanet]

The reason I brought this up, is because a customer in California purchased an item as a birthday gift and needed it quickly. When the customer looked at the estimated delivery dates, USPS Ground Shipping showed the exact same delivery dates as USPS Priority Mail. The customer is unable to make an informed decision because this info is incorrect. 

[kensgiftshop]

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@buyselljack2016 wrote:

that's your zip code.................  what would you expect to see?

---

It's not just their zip code.

I'm seeing the same dates on all their listings.

[robbie31415]

eBay provides some of the worst estimations.

I use generic services (Standard, Expedited, Economy) etc.

I look at a few of my listings and the generic economy show a smaller delivery expectation than the standard and expedited.

It makes literally 0 sense.

[masterblasterplanet]

"This topic appears to lack the experience that smaller sellers who babysit their shipments have".

What a lame comment. We're a 20+ year seller with a fair amount of feedback and tens of thousands of items sold. I'm just going to leave it at that.

Like many sellers on eBay I sell items that customers buy as gifts as well as components to get their bikes usable so they're eager to receive their items. So when the customer looks at the shipping options, and eBay shows them the same thing in terms of a delivery window, they make a decision based on that info. It's erroneous and should be fixed by eBay. One of the main things eBay does for sellers is manage buyer expectations. If they're displaying incorrect information such as this, they're falling short for the buyer and seller and need to correct it.

Our zip code is 32751 (FL)

The buyer's zip code is 92691 (CA)

This is what eBay displays to the customer:

*Standard Shipping (USPS Ground Advantage®) Estimated between Sat, Mar 9 and Wed, Mar 13 to 92691

*Expedited Shipping (USPS Priority Mail®) Estimated between              Sat, Mar 9 and Thu, Mar 14 to 92691

[masterblasterplanet]

Our location/zip code: 32751 - FL

Standard Shipping (USPS Ground Advantage®) Estimated between  Sat, Mar 9 - Wed, Mar 13 to 92691 (CA)

Expedited Shipping (USPS Priority Mail®) Estimated between                Sat, Mar 9 - Thu, Mar 14 to 92691 (CA)

1. From FL to CA eBay displays the same delivery window for different shipping options.

2. One option is ground the other is expedited Priority Mail. The definition of the word "expedited" is to make something happen more quickly. Priority Mail is typically much faster than Ground Advantage based on actual statistical data.

3. Not relevant here. The USPS sets standards for estimated delivery windows, not eBay. The USPS clearly states there's a difference because there is one. Obviously when a package ships in close proximity delivery times are similar and in some cases the same. However that's not what I'm talking about here. Instead of talking about what if scenarios eBay just needs to be factual.

4. You could say, "quit worrying about it" on almost every post in this forum. It's an erroneous situation that customers rely on and it's wrong and should be corrected. eBay should provide correct info with these delivery windows so the customer can make an informed decision based on how quickly they need the item. Let's face it, if it says $6 for USPS Ground Shipping in 3-5 days and it shows $12 for expedited shipping with the same 3-5 day delivery window of course the customer is going to trust eBay and pay the cheaper shipping cost based on the info posted.

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