eBay

sobergirl · ‎10-05-2023

When checking out I chose the FedEx carrier/delivery option but when looking at my informed delivery page and tracking on eBay, I see USPS. I double-checked and the price on my receipt shows the price for FedEx.

Why would the seller change without asking me?

What if any are my options at this point?

Thank you

lakefor94 · ‎10-10-2023

@richard1rst wrote:
@lakefor94 wrote:
I sometimes change the carrier if it is in the afternoon and the designated carrier in the listing has already picked up in my area and I can get the shipment out with another carrier.
I normally let the buyer know there was a change in the carrier.
Unfortunately, that can,on occasion, be risky and costly.

I have seen various posts on these boards from buyers who abhor one carrier or another. The reasons stated varied but, for the purposes of this post, whether they are real or imaginary and/or overly nitpicking they are irrelevant. They have made it clear they would never buy from a seller using the disliked carrier

So if you list a carrier the buyer likes and then arbitrarily change to the disliked carrier you run the risk of negative feedback.

If you are going to change the carrier it would be best to let them know ahead of time, not after the fact.

Forewarned - forearmed.

I hear ya on that though, most of my customers are business purchases. I make game time decisions on shipments in their/my best interests.

Yesterday I changed a shipment from USPS Priority to UPS Ground since USPS was not running. The shipment has already departed from a Dallas area distribution center as of last evening.

Buyer gets an eBay message as follows:

"Thank you for your purchase. UPS will pick up your order today, Monday. Best Regards, ---- Seller"

Nothing more, nothing less. Every buyer gets a message asap after the purchase. I just inform them of what is transpiring. I don't care that eBay sends a message as well. Buyers get that communication from me and they appreciate it.

I just let the buyer know. I don't inquire if changing carrier's is OK with them and waste their time and my time.

I also have a disclaimer in my listings that states, shipments over 3 lbs will likely be sent via UPS Ground.

This covers purchases where they might buy 5 of the same item and the weight and dimensions of the shipment increase quite a bit.

I dont have many persnickity buyers. They buy, I ship same or next business day at the latest. Occasionally I change UPS to USPS Priority if they buy on Friday evening or Saturday morning since UPS does not run out here on Saturdays. USPS picks up here 6 days a week. If it is not a big and heavy shipment, it goes USPS on Saturday.

Posting ID

eenus-56 · ‎10-10-2023

I'm not proud of it, but I've changed carriers without informing the buyer. On my selling account I list most items with USPS Ground Advantage. Normally I go to the post office 5 or 6 days a week to ship. But last month I got a bit lazy because I had just had some minor surgery and was still recovering. So I tried USPS carrier pick-up for the first time ever. I filed the request each evening. But it turned out to be too unreliable. My normal mail carrier would deliver my mail every day. But more often than not nobody would come to pick up the packages. I tried the pick-up feature about a dozen times, but the items only got picked up three or four times. I have a 1 business day handling time, so if nobody came to pick up the USPS packages by 8PM I would void the USPS labels, print UPS labels for the packages that were supposed to go out that day, and then rush to UPS to ship them before the 9PM cutoff at my location.

Needless to say, I've gone back to shipping them myself at the post office daily. But it's possible if a seller changes the shipment method without letting the buyer know it may be to cover for some screw-up they've made like me.

sobergirl · ‎10-16-2023

FedEx comes to my door; it was a huge box and no matter what USPS leaves them on the walkway even when it's wet and raining. I had the choice so I picked FedEx.

janet9988 · ‎10-16-2023

@mikeh880 wrote:
there ya go. thats the attitude to have.. as a seller whos much less experienced than you as a buyer ive been curious about this situation becauses on my end since day 1 i noticed when shipping it will show a shipping service and say buyer selected. and it seems to have no meaning on my end because i set my policies and it may say something different.... maybe you bought from me hahaha.. but it says something ive not even made a policy for and isnt listed as a shipping optioin for the item and is therefore not even paid accordingly. I have never had a complaint or a question from a buyer about shipping options. I can set multiple options on a policy but to me that complicates the process so i usually just end up selecting the best option. no i pretty much ship everything either USPSGround Advantage and thats anything with a Dimensional weight value below 24 pounds most anything over that goes fedex ground or home delivery. as a buyer ive never even been presented shipping "options" that ive noticed. i guess this will remain somewhat of a mystery.

Even if you only offer 1 service it will say buyer selected.

So you have never seen this when looking at a listing?

Again some buyers may only be able to have items delivered with certain carriers and it is never a good idea to switch without confirming with the buyer first.

For some......It seems wisdom has been chasing you, but you have always been faster.