How much time to ship a paid for order

[skinrule24]

I only buy on ebay and lately I have been having a problem with sellers waiting 4-5 days, sometimes even longer, to take my purchase to the post office and mail it after I have insta-paid for my item. For me, when I buy something off of you and pay you money I expect it to be shipped out the next day, two at the most. Bought something last friday, and the guy didn't ship it til late tuesday and only after I e-mailed him and asked why my item hadn't been shipped yet. He told me he had taken it to the post office already even though the tracking clearly said that he hadn't. Said the USPS was "slow" which is meaningless since they scan your item as soon as you walk up to the counter. About 3 hours later it popped up as rec'd at the post office. If I hadn't contacted him I'm sure he would have waited another day or two. What to you guys think?

[soh.maryl]

Maybe I am in the minority here, but, when I make an eBay purchase, I check the estimated delivery date and then never pay much attention til that date is close.

There is no eBay requirement that an eBay seller ship immediately or even within a few days.

That would depend on the seller's handling time.  The most important requirement is that the seller ship so that the last estimated delivery date is met or that it arrives soon after.

If that doesn't happen, you probably know what to do.  

[kathiec]

This "guy" thinks you're making the grave mistake of expecting a private seller to be Amazon. Most listings contain the seller's handling time, which can be between 1 and 30 days. Every listing contain the estimated delivery dates. You look at those before you purchase and determine if they meet your standards. If they don't, you hit the back button.

Personally I never pay attention to tracking unless an item is overdue. USPS is notorious for missing scans, particularly origination scans. 

Patience is a gift, one worth cultivating. You might try it.

[ryanrobyn]

there can be major reasons why a seller doesn't ship out right away. My daughter lived in small town where the PO was only open until noon and had no drop box and she was a schoolteacher. She decided that teaching children was a priority over sending out packages immediately. She had quoted a mail out time of 3/4 days. My PO is in a big city but vandals keep breaking the front window so the PO closes for the day resulting in my not being able to mail out items immediately.

[house*of*paws · Accepted solution]

Hi @skinrule24 

I think … actually, I know … that eBay policy permits sellers to ship anywhere between 24 hours and 30 days from date of payment.  

I also know that sellers are required to ship within the handling time stated in their listing … which may not conform with a buyer’s expectations.

It is important to check BOTH the seller’s handling time AND the estimated delivery dates BEFORE deciding whether to buy from them.

Your expectations of having items shipped over the weekend are unrealistic.  Your seller shipped within 2 business days.  Please don’t buy on eBay if you think there’s something wrong with that.  [I am a buyer only.]

[campanaelia]

---

@kathiec wrote:
Patience is a gift, one worth cultivating. You might try it.

---

Haha, tell that to the sellers requiring immediate auto-pay. Do they also get up to 30 days for handling time?

[buyselljack2016]

I have 3-day (business day) handling, and 3 working days a week.

If you buy from me today, Thursday (17th) my ship by date, "to meet the requirements set by eBay", is Wednesday (23rd).

If you had purchased from me on Friday, I would not need to ship until this Friday. 

I have that cushion for possible health/power/weather/internet issues. 

The estimated delivery should show that before someone purchases.

I do agree that a seller should meet the handling time shown in the listing. That handling time may not always meet the expectations of a buyer.

Not all offices scan "prepaid" packages when someone walks up to the counter. Some have a drop, and scan later. Some offices refuse to scan prepaid and let that 1st scan happen at the regional facility.

[buyselljack2016]

            yes, if that is the stated handling time        

[maxine*j]

I'm not a guy but if I may answer:  All I look at is the estimated delivery date for an item I want or need.   If that date works for me, I buy it.  If it doesn't, I look for the same item with an earlier estimated delivery date.  I don't care about when a seller ships it.  I care about when I can expect to receive it.

If the order doesn't arrive by the last expected delivery date, then I start checking tracking to see if I can figure out what's going.  on with it.

-

[tinsoldierunderground]

Some of your assumptions are questionable.  In particular, as kathiec has pointed out, origination scans can take hours to appear, and sometimes more than a day.  A seller that I buy from frequently in upstate NY, takes packages to the PO early in the morning, and most often the scans don't appear until late afternoon.

When you start questioning sellers about their slow shipping procedures,  you may find yourself on their 'Best Buddie List'.

[skinrule24]

I should have added vendor's post said item ship one day after cleared payment. Cultivate that

[skinrule24]

I forgot to add that the listing said items ship 1 day after cleared payment. Sat. and mon. are not unrealistic. Guess I won't be buying anything from you

[skinrule24]

Forgot to put in my original post the listing said items ship one day after cleared payment. My payment cleared immediately. 

[fab_finds4u]

One time someone said they left the seller negative feedback, and seller wanted them to revise it but they wouldn't. The seller cursed them and they wanted to report the seller.

Someone (maybe it was me) asked them did they contact the seller and let them know there was a problem and give them a chance to fix it before leaving the negative feedback?

They said the seller should ship it immediately and use a fast method because they paid fast, and they should get it fast, but according to the tracking they shipped it slow media mail 3 days after they paid!

I looked at the listing.  Plain as day 5 days handling shipped Media Mail. WTH?  Auction ended Friday. The seller mailed it Monday, the next business day. 

A lot of BuBBLe gum was passed around that day.

Listings should have a pop up  with the seller's handling time and the expected delivery date you must check you read it and agree before you can bid.

[skinrule24]

Again, listing said item ships within one day of cleared payment. I don't like giving negative feedback, still haven't done it although I have been tempted.