Buyer asking for delay in shipment
I have a repeat buyer that is going away from 12/17/23 to 12/30/23. Buyer has asked I not ship item (s) until 12/30. How do I fulfill the wishes of the buyer and not get notice from Ebay that I am late in shipping the items out?
51 comments
sextons-sweet-deals
·2 years agoIf the buyer is going away, wouldn't they put a hold on their mail at the post office?
If you decide to ship, ship with signature required.
Don't get caught up in a claim of 'item not received' case.
rainbowcomicsandcards
·2 years agoI had someone do this to me too. I just advised it has to be shipped by X date per eBay's guidelines if that date does not work we can cancel the transaction and they can repurchase when they are able to receive it. I then would relist it and let them know that if it sells in the mean time sorry but you can not prevent it.
In my case they were suddenly ok with having it shipped right then.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoHa! Interesting. Thanks for your input
jerseyboymusic
·2 years agoI reply this way to such a request: "I'm sorry... I have a commitment to Ebay to ship out within (handling time). Please feel free to do a free mail hold through your local post office. They will hold your mail for you for free until you return"
lsugoat
·2 years agoSatisfy your customer. Take the ding hit and move on.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoThank you for your input.
deltilogical
·2 years agoCan you send it requesting signature - send it out in a couple days and then it will take 3-5 days to get there and it will wait at the local post office, supposedly, until called for.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoYa know, I think I will send it a few days before the 30th as you suggest. Makes a little more less complicated. Thanks!
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoI don't think so but thanks for suggestion
snoopwiz
·2 years agoIf it was a relatively inexpensive item (under $25) I would say thanks so much for your business and yes, yes, yes of course, happy to help. Mark it shipped. Wait until a day or so before their expected return and ship it. Eazy Peazy. YMMV
pjcdn2005
·2 years agoBut marking it as shipped doesn't stop a late shipment ding from happening if tracking shows that the item was mailed late OR arrived late. But it should stop the trs seller from receiving a ding on their tracking entered within handling time.
snoopwiz
·2 years agoBeing from Canada, we do not have the same criteria for on time tracked shipping as our neighbours to the south have. Hence my Canadian-minded suggestion.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoI understand. Thanks for your input.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoAh. Okay. Thanks
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoThanks for your input. Appreciate it.
dryophelia
·2 years agoI always wonder what these buyers are doing with the rest of the mail that will arrive while they're away and why they wait until after the sale to demand special treatment.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoI hear ya.
yuzuha
·2 years agoRight? When I go out of town and there's no one else in the house to pick up the mail, I ask my neighbors to get the mail for me. They do the same when they go out of town. We have an arrangement that both of us will get the other's mail and hang onto it until they get back.
Failing that, you can go online and request a mail hold. I had to do that once when I had a large international seamail package that arrived in the US and was going to be delivered right when I was out of town. I didn't want my poor neighbor to have to haul a huge box into their house and store it for a few days until I got back, so I just went online from my phone at the hotel to request that my mail be held at the PO until after I returned.
az93
·2 years agoI went through this last month when a buyer asked me to hold her package 2 whole weeks. I called ebay and was told to ship right out because labels expire quite fast when not mailed properly. When I told buyer I had to abide with my ebay commitment to mail within 2 days she said fine.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoThanks for your input. My buyer doesn't trust her neighbors tho. That is the main reason I guess for the request to delay shipment.
theteamsetguy
·2 years ago@jinglejingle2 ,
I would print the label and just hold the shipment. I would also message the customer and let them know you’re more than happy to do it this one time due to getting dinged by eBay for late shipment. Remember to thank the buyer for their repeat business.
Getting one ding is not going to be an issue unless you already have a bunch of them. Its more important to keep a repeat customer happy as bug.
rugerskick
·2 years agoI think if they are gone for 2 weeks like this person will be, suggesting they have usps hold their mail is the nicest suggestion to offer them because it will protect all their mail over this time period for them. Then you can ship out normally.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoIf I understand the request, the buyer is gone already (12/17). Thanks for your input.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoInteresting suggestion. How long is the printed shipping label good for? If there even is an expiration to them. idk. This is all new to me
inhawaii
·2 years agoTell the buyer you'll cancel the sale at their request and they can re-purchsee the item again when they're ready ... like they should have done in the first place.
mtgraves7984
·2 years agoI would hope your repeat buyer would understand the metrics 'thang', so I'd pick 'Cancel and Relist Later'.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoOk. Someone else on here suggested that very thing. Thanks. I will mull it over.
susanb1872
·2 years agoFrom the dates you provided it looks like the buyer has already gone out-of-town and may not have had their mail held at USPS. Another option is to cancel the sale due to "buyers request" and tell the buyer you will relist it when they come back.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoHmmmm. That is a strong possibility you suggest. Thanks.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoLast time I did a mail hold it was just a few clicks on my keyboard. Likely the same from a mobile device.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoI hear ya. But, I believe they are gone away already as of 12/17.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoThe mail hold does not need to be initiated from "home"
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoTo add. Some people may even choose to not put their mail on hold, not wanting to alert anyone (not even their mailperson) that they are away.
They could have a door mail slot, or some other secure place that the general mail (letters/larger envelopes) is delivered, and unseen once delivered.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoThanks for your input
hartungcards
·2 years agoShip the items right away and tell them they can't leave until their items arrive. You may also suggest they plan ahead a little better next time, because you're not running a rent-free storage facility.
bamorris
·2 years agoMaybe consider a break from the forums if you struggle offering helpful advice here...
Just a suggestion. Have a great holiday.
hartungcards
·2 years agoIt was just a suggestion. You have a marvelous holiday as well.
theteamsetguy
·2 years ago@hartungcards ,
Both great suggestions. Why can’t others come up ideas like that?
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoOh my! They don't trust their neighbors and are nervous about a box sitting at their door safely. Thanks for your suggestion.
janet9988
·2 years agoYou take the ding or ship out on time.
A buyer could easily win an item not receive claim if you cant deliver by the estimated delivery date.
So the buyer can easily get the item for free if they open up an item not received claim after you shipped it late.
rugerskick
·2 years agoNo they cannot, if there is am email trail of them asking you to delay shipment.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agobots do not generally read a message trail
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoThank you for your suggestion/thought. What is bots?
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoMy reply was to another poster that suggested that eBay could follow a message trail to see the request for a delay.
The "bots" would be a sequence of events following programmed coding. Bots likely are not coded to read messages relating to delay shipping requests. It has been posted by eBay that those messages, even when read, do not stop a late shipping ding. At one time such messages were a valid reason to delay shipping. Those days no longer exist.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoI see. Thanks for explaining. And thanks for your input
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoThank you.
umoraski
·2 years agoI had the same request a while back and called Ebay to find out if I could delay the shipment requested by the buyer. Ebay told me "of course" and they said they would make a record of my delay. Well I checked my dashboard a couple of months later, thinking I would have a clean record and did notice a ding from shipping that item late.
rugerskick
·2 years agoThis is exactly how I got my one ding on my account. Exactly the same way.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoOh boy. I probably have one "ding" as you call it already. I misplaced an item and was well over the "ship by" date per ebay. Buyer didn't care how long it took to find my needle in a haystack tho! I decided the other day to just refund the buyer and keep looking.
Thanks for your input
bamorris
·2 years agoTell them eBay measures your metrics on how fast you ship and they should consider putting their mail on hold with USPS. They can make the request on the USPS website to put their mail on hold.
jinglejingle2
OP2 years agoThanks for your reply. I understand.