Buyer paid for item but wants me to delay shipping

[jlb2]

I just sold an item last night. The buyer paid in full through Paypal but asked me not to ship the item till Feb. 1st.

Should I wait to print the label till the 1st, or should i print it now and ship later?

Is there an expiration date for labels? How do I explain this to ebay since they expect the seller to print the label and ship the iitem within a day or so?

Thanks for any help you can give me on this.

[jamestowngirl52]

Wait and ship as they requested

[missjen831]

You need to ship NOW. Tell the buyer to have her mail held at the post office if she's going out of town. You are expected to ship the item now because the buyer paid. She should have contacted you first and asked to delay payment until 2/1. If you don't ship now, this will affect your seller status. 

[scga912 · Accepted solution]

HI @jlb2

From the FAQs on the 2015 Fall Seller Update:

What should I do if my buyer asks me to delay shipment because he or she is out of town?
We know this happens sometimes, and that you’re doing the right thing by adhering to your buyer's wishes.  Just make sure you have proof of your customer’s request through member-to-member communication...

I just had a buyer ask me the same thing - the only thing is they attached it as a note to their payment and not through eBay messages.  To make sure this was sufficient, I asked in the Weekly Chat with Staff:

http://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Weekly-Community-Chat-Jan-11th-1pm-PT-Gener...

You will have to call to have the late shipping mark removed OR the buyer (if they leave feedback) could answer the 'delivered on time' with a Yes.  I'm still on the fence if I'm going to ask my buyer to leave feedback (not a feedback leaver) or if I'm going to make the call to customer service.  I dread calling CS, but I think it's tacky to ask for feedback.

Labels expire.  Don't print it until you are going to ship it. 

[jlb2]

Thank you! I'll wait to print the label and call CS to tell them.

Fortunately the buyer did message me through the ebay system.

[scga912]

@jlb2

You migh need to wait to call CS until the late mark hits your dashboard.   It probably has to be there first before they can remove it. 

I'm not even considering calling until the package is at minimum shipped & delivered  - purchased last Wednesday and will be shipped this Saturday.

[jlb2]

OK, that makes sense. Thanks again!

I'm going to ask the seller to leave feedback and give me a 5 for shipping. I don't mind asking because she requested delayed shipping. Hopefully that will take ocare of it and I won't have to call CS.

Too bad there isn't a check box for this situation that the seller could mark to show that the buyer requested special shipping times.

Maybe it doesn't come up that often to warrent it.

I appreciate your relpy!

[scga912]

@jlb2

Just wanted to clear something up...

When the buyer goes to leave feedback, there is now a new question thas asks Was your item delivered on time or with the estimated delivery window?.  I'm not sure of the phrasing.  That's the one that has to be answered yes.  5 stars doesn't mean anything for the on-time shipping metric.

There are 3 factors that can make you 'on-time'

   1) Acceptance Scan within your handing time

   2) Tracking that show 'delivered' within eBay's estimated delivery time

   3) Buyer answers yes to the on-time question presented when they leave feedback.

If you're not a TopRatedSeller or plan on becoming one in the next year, on-time shipping isn't going to threaten your seller standing.  It can remain above average.  The only thing eBay can do is restrict your handling time options if you keep getting marked late.

I'll likely call because I don't want to look at it on my dashboard for the next year for something I didn't screw up   lol    but I could absorb one 'late' hit even with my low volume.

[vintagedragonfly61]

You need to ship now otherwise it will affect your account.  When the floods were happening I held an item....a request from the buyer and ebay dinged  my account, called them 3 times was told they will take off the late shipment ding, but they never did.  I won't do that again!