How to delay a shipment without losing Top Seller status

[pagesrunnursery]

Hello friends.

I have been selling rare trees on eBay since 2007.   I mainly sell Japanese Maples and conifers.   I often get asked by my buyers if I can delay shipping a tree due to cold temperatures or some other reason (buyer will be out of town).   This puts me in a difficult spot, as I have to ship within 5 business days to keep my Top Seller status.   Is there a "work around" to delay shipping an item so that I don't violate the 5day shipping rule?     I have held shipments in the past at the request of buyers, only to temporarily lose my Top Seller status.   I show eBay that messages from the buyer requested the delay, but I lost Top Seller status regardless.  Thanks for any help.

Brian

[richard1rst]

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@pagesrunnursery wrote:

Hello friends.

I have been selling rare trees on eBay since 2007.   I mainly sell Japanese Maples and conifers.   I often get asked by my buyers if I can delay shipping a tree due to cold temperatures or some other reason (buyer will be out of town).   This puts me in a difficult spot, as I have to ship within 5 business days to keep my Top Seller status.   Is there a "work around" to delay shipping an item so that I don't violate the 5day shipping rule?     I have held shipments in the past at the request of buyers, only to temporarily lose my Top Seller status.   I show eBay that messages from the buyer requested the delay, but I lost Top Seller status regardless.  Thanks for any help.

Brian

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For those who ask in advance you addressed the problem nicely in your description.

We can hold this tree for several weeks if you cannot receive it due to cold temperatures. IF YOU NEED US TO HOLD A TREE FOR YOU, PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT PAYMENT UNTIL YOU ARE READY FOR US TO SHIP YOUR TREE. PLEASE ALSO NOTE, YOU CANNOT DO THE "BUY IT NOW" OPTION IF YOU NEED US TO HOLD A TREE. "BUY IT NOW" REQUIRES YOU TO PAY IMMEDIATELY

However, for people who buy and then ask, we all know that many people do not take the time to read the description and, further complicating that, eBay buries the description so far down the page that many do not see it.

If your buyer pays you are on the hook to ship per your terms.You could change your handling time to 30 days which would accommodate some of the requests but ship  quicker on all other orders. But I am not sure if that by itself would cancel your TRS status. But then, someone wanting it soon may be put of by 30 days.

There is a way around that but it is dishonest. In any event, just because something can be done I would never recommend doing it. Just because something can be done does not mean you should actually do it. I suspect that if you do it and eBay figures out what you are doing you will suffer sever consequences for cheating the system. No I will not elucidate because than I get in trouble for seeming to encourage the cheat. And it opens a whole 'nother set of problems.

[evry1nositswindy]

You need to explain to the buyer that not shipping within your stated shipping time earns a defect on your account, putting your selling in jeopardy.  eBay doesn't care if the buyer requested it.  They can purchase at another time when shipping would be more convenient or they can advise the PO to hold their packages. 

[pcobra93]

You lose Top rated for one late shipment? I thought we were allowed a few (dependent on the number of items we sell)? I am not concerned about the rating really as I have one or two a year for the same reason...buyer is away on vacation and wants to delay. I have one right now where he is an overseas buyer that is on "Holiday" and wanted me to hold it for a month. In the past I have cancelled and told them to contact me when they are back and I would relist it for a private sale to them only. The problem with this one is the VAT taxes they paid. I am told that it is difficult to get those refunded and is a long drawn out process at times. So I am going to eat this one but in the grand scheme of things it drops my "on time" shipment rate to 99.89%....so Ias I understand that, it does not really affect things. Someone correct me if I am wrong on that.

[fern*wood]

If you have a few of these, it will lower you but there is wiggle room provided by eBay for an occasional delay.  Your dashboard will show the percentages.

[janet9988]

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@pcobra93 wrote:

You lose Top rated for one late shipment? I thought we were allowed a few (dependent on the number of items we sell)? I am not concerned about the rating really as I have one or two a year for the same reason...buyer is away on vacation and wants to delay. I have one right now where he is an overseas buyer that is on "Holiday" and wanted me to hold it for a month. In the past I have cancelled and told them to contact me when they are back and I would relist it for a private sale to them only. The problem with this one is the VAT taxes they paid. I am told that it is difficult to get those refunded and is a long drawn out process at times. So I am going to eat this one but in the grand scheme of things it drops my "on time" shipment rate to 99.89%....so Ias I understand that, it does not really affect things. Someone correct me if I am wrong on that.

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The thing is, a buyer can file an item not received claim after the estimated delivery date passes.

While you might ship it out a month later the buyer can receive a refund AND the item because you failed to ship on time.

Vat would be the buyers problem, not yours.

[wastingtime101]

Is this a frequent buyer request @pagesrunnursery ?

You received a lot of good advice above about handling the occasional request. If this is something you deal with regularly, I would suggest using a 15 day handling time, even if you typically ship within 5 days. That way you'll have a built in cushion for extreme weather, especially as we approach warmer months.

You might also try experimenting with a handful of fixed price listings as that will allow buyers more freedom and not be tied to an auction clock. They can buy it today or 2 weeks from today if it's still available.

[pjcdn2005]

@pcobra93 

If you cancel the order the VAT will be refunded just like state tax would be.