How soon after a purchase is made is the seller required to ship the merchandise?

Question

house*of*paws · Answer

Hi @greram_7977

eBay requires that sellers set a â€˜handling timeâ€™ of anywhere between 1 and 30 days.

The estimated delivery date in the listing narrows it down to when you are able to open an â€˜Item not receivedâ€™ case â€¦ but NOT exactly when the item will be shipped.

gosimus · Answer

@greram_7977 < How soon after a purchase is made is the seller required to ship the merchandise? > That can vary by whatever handling time the seller sets, but it really doesn't have any practical significance. The important spec is the Estimated Delivery date/range. If the ED date passes, and you still haven't received anything, then you can open an Item Not Received dispute for a refund.

eburtonlab · Answer

That depends on the seller's chosen handling time.

If the seller does not get an acceptance scan of the tracking number from the shipper by the end of the handling time, eBay considers the shipment late. But not all sellers necessarily use tracking or care about their "on time" metric.

For the buyer, the relevant date is the last estimated delivery date. After that date, the buyer can file an "item not received" case.