Winter Storm Fern Seller Protection Announcement ... hmmm? | Selling

7" where we live (southeastern PA) ... the last few hours we had sleet so that kept the accumulation of snow down ... the all snow line was just north of us. No freezing rain so we did not lose power ...

lakefor94

·8 months ago

@mr_lincoln wrote:
7" where we live (southeastern PA) ... the last few hours we had sleet so that kept the accumulation of snow down ... the all snow line was just north of us. No freezing rain so we did not lose power ...

@mr_lincoln Overnight, Saturday night, we received mainly sleet, about an inch or so. Started as freezing rain then switched to sleet.

I can tell it was mainly sleet by looking at the cedar trees. If it was mostly freezing rain, the cedar branches would be touching the ground with some breaking.

Inspection on Sunday did not show any damage.

mr_lincoln

OP8 months ago

@lakefor94 wrote:
@mr_lincoln wrote:
7" where we live (southeastern PA) ... the last few hours we had sleet so that kept the accumulation of snow down ... the all snow line was just north of us. No freezing rain so we did not lose power ...
@mr_lincoln Overnight, Saturday night, we received mainly sleet, about an inch or so. Started as freezing rain then switched to sleet.

I can tell it was mainly sleet by looking at the cedar trees. If it was mostly freezing rain, the cedar branches would be touching the ground with some breaking.

Inspection on Sunday did not show any damage.

@lakefor94 Glad is changed to sleet, freezing rain is the worst ...

dhbookds

·8 months ago

1700 View listings

without damage to the wipers

When we are going to get snow, Better half always pulls the "eyebrows"......wipers.... out so they stand away from the windshield.

ten_o_nine

·8 months ago

7554 View listings

I have to ship 6 items tomorrow, I hope I can make it.

6c684a74-0d8c-4318-a2d3-13a059117712.jfif

12345jamesstamps

·8 months ago

8861 View listings

Amazon will...so why not you?ðŸ˜†

Personally, eBay should drop all shipping timelines for a week to be fair...so no one gets hurts.

lakefor94

·8 months ago

@ten_o_nine wrote:
I have to ship 6 items tomorrow, I hope I can make it.

Looking like a rough go for the home team.

I cleared 4 vehicles today with an inch of ice on them. Took awhile to accomplish without damage to the wipers.

ten_o_nine

·8 months ago

7554 View listings

@lakefor94

lol, I actually cleared a path to the truck this morning to get the items, then I had to do the walkway, then I had to let the dog out, he was having fun. Anyway, all the streets around me have a foot of snow right now, you can't go anywhere even if you got out of the driveway.

lakefor94

·8 months ago

@ten_o_nine

Our auto-ship soft cat and dog food did not make it Friday.... I was thinking of making a store run tomorrow and on 2nd thought, not going out.

They have enough for tomorrow and after that we can let them eat cake...

sin-n-dex

·8 months ago

12255 View listings

@lakefor94 wrote:
@ten_o_nine
Our auto-ship soft cat and dog food did not make it Friday.... I was thinking of making a store run tomorrow and on 2nd thought, not going out.

They have enough for tomorrow and after that we can let them eat cake...

I needed printer ink to print eBay labels and ordered it yesterday when I realized I was going to run out... they said Monday... but it showed up at my house first thing this morning. The neighbour rang my bell because the package was just sitting there on the porch. (We don't have many porch pirates here).

But the snow started here at 10am, so that's probably why they hurried up to deliver...

C.

lakefor94

·8 months ago

@sin-n-dex just in the nick of time. Labels are quite important.

12345jamesstamps

·8 months ago

8861 View listings

I wonder how much time and effort goes into sellers getting 'dings' removed from late shipping and bad feedbacks and getting refunds from items not yet delivered.

I guess a lot of sellers will be busy in the coming days?

evry1nositswindy

·8 months ago

3480 View listings

14" of snow on the ground and still snowing like the dickens here in southwest Ohio.

sin-n-dex

·8 months ago

12255 View listings

@evry1nositswindy wrote:
14" of snow on the ground and still snowing like the dickens here in southwest Ohio.

Holy carp, I'm not that far away from Ohio... we only have about 2-3" so far, but it's not so cold (-11C according to my phone, but my skin isn't freezing within 30 seconds of being outdoors). Wouldn't want to be out longer than necessary, but not the bitter cold we had Friday night.

C.

lakefor94

·8 months ago

@mr_lincoln AMZ sends email directly to the sellers:

Hello,

We understand that Winter Storm Fern may impact your business operations. As of Friday, January 23, 2026, emergency declarations have been issued in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Your safety and business continuity are our top priorities.

If you send seller fulfilled orders, you can refer to the following updates and recommendations:

Update your listing status: If youâ€™re unable to send orders, we recommend that you set your listings to inactive. For instructions, go to Listing status for vacations, holidays, and other absences.

Adjust your handling time: If you expect that carriers will need additional time to pick up your orders because your ship-from location is in an affected area, you can adjust your handling time to Manage your delivery time. If carriers are picking up on time, no action is required. Weâ€™ll automatically update the transit time.

Change shipping settings: If you use Seller-Fulfilled Prime, we recommend disabling Prime offers when unplanned events limit your Prime fulfillment capability at one or multiple warehouses. For more information, go to Disable Prime offers and control Prime order volume.

Contact buyers: You can advise buyers of any delays via Buyer-Seller Messages.

Account Health: You may receive automated warning emails about Late Shipment Rate, Cancellation Rate, or Order Defect Rate metrics for seller-fulfilled orders. If youâ€™re prompted to appeal any account restrictions related to order performance, include a brief description of how the winter storm affected your business and our team will review your case.

If you sell with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), we'll communicate with customers about any delivery delays caused by the winter storm. You may experience delays or carrier reschedule notifications for inventory shipments in transit to our fulfillment centers in affected areas. For the latest updates on your shipment status, go to FBA Inventory.

The Amazon Services team

mr_lincoln

OP8 months ago

@lakefor94 wrote:
@mr_lincoln AMZ sends email directly to the sellers:

Hello,

We understand that Winter Storm Fern may impact your business operations. As of Friday, January 23, 2026, emergency declarations have been issued in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Your safety and business continuity are our top priorities.

If you send seller fulfilled orders, you can refer to the following updates and recommendations:

Update your listing status: If youâ€™re unable to send orders, we recommend that you set your listings to inactive. For instructions, go to Listing status for vacations, holidays, and other absences.
Adjust your handling time: If you expect that carriers will need additional time to pick up your orders because your ship-from location is in an affected area, you can adjust your handling time to Manage your delivery time. If carriers are picking up on time, no action is required. Weâ€™ll automatically update the transit time.
Change shipping settings: If you use Seller-Fulfilled Prime, we recommend disabling Prime offers when unplanned events limit your Prime fulfillment capability at one or multiple warehouses. For more information, go to Disable Prime offers and control Prime order volume.
Contact buyers: You can advise buyers of any delays via Buyer-Seller Messages.
Account Health: You may receive automated warning emails about Late Shipment Rate, Cancellation Rate, or Order Defect Rate metrics for seller-fulfilled orders. If youâ€™re prompted to appeal any account restrictions related to order performance, include a brief description of how the winter storm affected your business and our team will review your case.
If you sell with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), we'll communicate with customers about any delivery delays caused by the winter storm. You may experience delays or carrier reschedule notifications for inventory shipments in transit to our fulfillment centers in affected areas. For the latest updates on your shipment status, go to FBA Inventory.

The Amazon Services team

@lakefor94

That's great but it seems venues are more concerned with their Seller metrics than customer satisfaction ... meaning most people with half a brain know deliveries can and often are delayed during inclement weather like large storms. The venues won't shut down nor will the sky fall if they just turned their Seller metrics OFF until the storm passes ... I mean comparing a week or two of sales with the other 50 to 51 weeks a year is it really going to kill the venues if they basically ignore the metrics?

Many people are in their homes during these events and I suspect many are shopping more then they normally might. '

What makes MORE sense is for the venues to post big banners for the Buyers telling them their purchases may be delayed in shipping because of bad weather ... sorry but for me that makes more sense than having Sellers turn their listings off just to avoid subjective Seller Metrics ...

lakefor94

·8 months ago

@mr_lincoln wrote:
@lakefor94 wrote:
@mr_lincoln AMZ sends email directly to the sellers:

Hello,

We understand that Winter Storm Fern may impact your business operations. As of Friday, January 23, 2026, emergency declarations have been issued in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Your safety and business continuity are our top priorities.

If you send seller fulfilled orders, you can refer to the following updates and recommendations:

Update your listing status: If youâ€™re unable to send orders, we recommend that you set your listings to inactive. For instructions, go to Listing status for vacations, holidays, and other absences.
Adjust your handling time: If you expect that carriers will need additional time to pick up your orders because your ship-from location is in an affected area, you can adjust your handling time to Manage your delivery time. If carriers are picking up on time, no action is required. Weâ€™ll automatically update the transit time.
Change shipping settings: If you use Seller-Fulfilled Prime, we recommend disabling Prime offers when unplanned events limit your Prime fulfillment capability at one or multiple warehouses. For more information, go to Disable Prime offers and control Prime order volume.
Contact buyers: You can advise buyers of any delays via Buyer-Seller Messages.
Account Health: You may receive automated warning emails about Late Shipment Rate, Cancellation Rate, or Order Defect Rate metrics for seller-fulfilled orders. If youâ€™re prompted to appeal any account restrictions related to order performance, include a brief description of how the winter storm affected your business and our team will review your case.
If you sell with Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), we'll communicate with customers about any delivery delays caused by the winter storm. You may experience delays or carrier reschedule notifications for inventory shipments in transit to our fulfillment centers in affected areas. For the latest updates on your shipment status, go to FBA Inventory.

The Amazon Services team
@lakefor94

That's great but it seems venues are more concerned with their Seller metrics than customer satisfaction ... meaning most people with half a brain know deliveries can and often are delayed during inclement weather like large storms. The venues won't shut down nor will the sky fall if they just turned their Seller metrics OFF until the storm passes ... I mean comparing a week or two of sales with the other 50 to 51 weeks a year is it really going to kill the venues if they basically ignore the metrics?
Many people are in their homes during these events and I suspect many are shopping more then they normally might. '
What makes MORE sense is for the venues to post big banners for the Buyers telling them their purchases may be delayed in shipping because of bad weather ... sorry but for me that makes more sense than having Sellers turn their listings off just to avoid subjective Seller Metrics ...

Yes @mr_lincoln , if we think eBay is bent on Seller Metrics, you outta see what AMZ does. I won't get into it but they are twice as stringent as eBay. They are all about ontime delivery, no exceptions. Tow the line, get it done, or feel the shoe.

mr_lincoln

OP8 months ago

@lakefor94 wrote:
@mr_lincoln wrote:
@lakefor94 wrote:
@mr_lincoln AMZ sends email directly to the sellers:

The Amazon Services team
@lakefor94

That's great but it seems venues are more concerned with their Seller metrics than customer satisfaction ... meaning most people with half a brain know deliveries can and often are delayed during inclement weather like large storms. The venues won't shut down nor will the sky fall if they just turned their Seller metrics OFF until the storm passes ... I mean comparing a week or two of sales with the other 50 to 51 weeks a year is it really going to kill the venues if they basically ignore the metrics?
Many people are in their homes during these events and I suspect many are shopping more then they normally might. '
What makes MORE sense is for the venues to post big banners for the Buyers telling them their purchases may be delayed in shipping because of bad weather ... sorry but for me that makes more sense than having Sellers turn their listings off just to avoid subjective Seller Metrics ...
Yes @mr_lincoln , if we think eBay is bent on Seller Metrics, you outta see what AMZ does. I won't get into it but they are twice as stringent as eBay. They are all about ontime delivery, no exceptions. Tow the line, get it done, or feel the shoe.

@lakefor94

I wonder how many sales they lose when and if Sellers take their items down for a day or two or longer (for fear of having an adverse affect on their selling accounts), same with eBay if the advice is to use Time away, etc. The lunacy to me is they are pushing in the wrong direction, holding Sellers accountable for naturally occurring weather events is really senseless and those decisions are void of common sense.

lakefor94

·8 months ago

@mr_lincoln wrote:
@lakefor94 wrote:
@mr_lincoln wrote:
@lakefor94 wrote:
@mr_lincoln AMZ sends email directly to the sellers:

The Amazon Services team
@lakefor94

That's great but it seems venues are more concerned with their Seller metrics than customer satisfaction ... meaning most people with half a brain know deliveries can and often are delayed during inclement weather like large storms. The venues won't shut down nor will the sky fall if they just turned their Seller metrics OFF until the storm passes ... I mean comparing a week or two of sales with the other 50 to 51 weeks a year is it really going to kill the venues if they basically ignore the metrics?
Many people are in their homes during these events and I suspect many are shopping more then they normally might. '
What makes MORE sense is for the venues to post big banners for the Buyers telling them their purchases may be delayed in shipping because of bad weather ... sorry but for me that makes more sense than having Sellers turn their listings off just to avoid subjective Seller Metrics ...
Yes @mr_lincoln , if we think eBay is bent on Seller Metrics, you outta see what AMZ does. I won't get into it but they are twice as stringent as eBay. They are all about ontime delivery, no exceptions. Tow the line, get it done, or feel the shoe.
@lakefor94

I wonder how many sales they lose when and if Sellers take their items down for a day or two or longer (for fear of having an adverse affect on their selling accounts), same with eBay if the advice is to use Time away, etc. The lunacy to me is they are pushing in the wrong direction, holding Sellers accountable for naturally occurring weather events is really senseless and those decisions are void of common sense.

@mr_lincoln

Mine are down now on AMZ. I hated to do that bit it was more than convoluted to change handling time because I let them do it, automatically. No where easy to flip a switch from 1 day to 3 days.

I have 308 listings with inventory. They are missing some items that only I carry and some buyers will be paying more for some items.

Just a minute drop in the AMZ bucket. (I know where I stand, lol)

I will probably be back on Monday.

broto_64

·8 months ago

@mr_lincoln wrote:
@lakefor94 wrote:
@mr_lincoln wrote:
@lakefor94 wrote:
@mr_lincoln AMZ sends email directly to the sellers:

The Amazon Services team
@lakefor94

That's great but it seems venues are more concerned with their Seller metrics than customer satisfaction ... meaning most people with half a brain know deliveries can and often are delayed during inclement weather like large storms. The venues won't shut down nor will the sky fall if they just turned their Seller metrics OFF until the storm passes ... I mean comparing a week or two of sales with the other 50 to 51 weeks a year is it really going to kill the venues if they basically ignore the metrics?
Many people are in their homes during these events and I suspect many are shopping more then they normally might. '
What makes MORE sense is for the venues to post big banners for the Buyers telling them their purchases may be delayed in shipping because of bad weather ... sorry but for me that makes more sense than having Sellers turn their listings off just to avoid subjective Seller Metrics ...
Yes @mr_lincoln , if we think eBay is bent on Seller Metrics, you outta see what AMZ does. I won't get into it but they are twice as stringent as eBay. They are all about ontime delivery, no exceptions. Tow the line, get it done, or feel the shoe.
@lakefor94

I wonder how many sales they lose when and if Sellers take their items down for a day or two or longer (for fear of having an adverse affect on their selling accounts), same with eBay if the advice is to use Time away, etc. The lunacy to me is they are pushing in the wrong direction, holding Sellers accountable for naturally occurring weather events is really senseless and those decisions are void of common sense.

I don't lose sales on Time Away because there is an option to allow sales during this time, and I am open and honest in my message to buyers during my time away as to the reason behind it.

jetdreams

·8 months ago

8085 View listings

Because eBay is in California and are clueless to the perils faced by us due to winter storm Fern. They don't care. I would suggest putting you store on vacation mode to extend the shipping time because fighting with eBay is like fighting with stupid.

evry1nositswindy

·8 months ago

3480 View listings

@wastingtime101 Ready to sled! There is Suicide Hill but I also have the perfect hill for those of us who are less adventurous. 12+ inches of snow sounds fun but the negative temperatures with wind chills do not.

fullers_uk

·8 months ago

2629 View listings

Need to check the user agreement.

Section 934:

Sub Section 42:

Paragraph 6:

You will only be offered 2 winiter storms delivery protections in an one year except in leap years consitsing of 366 days then the seller will be entitled to 2.5 winter storm protections in any winter season west of the austrian alps measured from the nearest ebay office foyer at 23.59 EST.

itsjustasprain

·8 months ago

2352 View listings

@mr_lincoln wrote:
I am a bit surprised that there has not been an announcement posted yet on extended seller protections for Winter storm Fern ...

Ferns???

my-cottage-books-and-antiques

·8 months ago

3657 View listings

Fern is the name of the storm. They name them now, just like hurricanes

stainlessenginecovers

·8 months ago

5572 View listings

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:
Fern is the name of the storm. They name them now, just like hurricanes

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques interesting as it started at my house in Nevada first of this week as just a seedling. Now it grew up into a full grown plant in 3 short days!

wastingtime101

·8 months ago

Fern is the name of the storm.

Hey, where ya at @fern*wood ? Time for you to blow in here like a storm.

fern*wood

·8 months ago

10652 View listings

Iâ€™ve been trying to keep my head down to avoid being blamed.ðŸ¥¶â„ï¸

wastingtime101

·8 months ago

Blame? C'mon, Fern ... you'll be celebrated for giving everybody a â„ï¸ day. @evry1nositswindy is hosting a sledding party and @kickin.assets is bringing hot toddies. I'm the boring but essential ðŸ¤– that told everybody how to use Time Away so they can relax and enjoy the snow.

fern*wood

·8 months ago

10652 View listings

Good point!!

aswegrow2

·8 months ago

21414 View listings

They really should considering how many without power and the other half may not be able to get out our houses. Should be issued when there is a State of Emergency issued.

hartungcards

·8 months ago

978 View listings

This is due to an annual increase in winter storm activity experienced during this period, which has caused processing delays.

wastingtime101

·8 months ago

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping/Seller-Protections-are-in-place-for-sellers-impacted-by-severe/m-p/35396427#M518122

Pinned to the top of the Shipping forum is a blanket statement:

eBay has not been posting announcements for every individual weather event; they put up a seasonal announcement instead and pinned it.

mr_lincoln

OP8 months ago

@wastingtime101 wrote:
Pinned to the top of the Shipping forum is a blanket statement:
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Shipping/Seller-Protections-are-in-place-for-sellers-impacted-by-severe/m-p/35396427#M518122

eBay has not been posting announcements for every individual weather event; they put up a seasonal announcement instead and pinned it.

@wastingtime101

Interesting, it is not at the top of my list of threads on the Shipping board ...

I had to Float it to the top of the list to see it but thank you for the link!

wastingtime101

·8 months ago

@mr_lincoln wrote:
Interesting, it is not at the top of my list of threads on the Shipping board ... I had to Float it to the top of the list to see it but thank you for the link!

Sure, happy to help! I remember you like to float your own topics, so my guess is you weren't seeing it because of your own customized view.

Anything you float will always display above whatever eBay pins, so it's good to keep that in mind. Every now and then check under your floats for whatever eBay might have pinned - or you could view on another browser (or same browser, private tab) while signed out to see what the rest of us see. ðŸ™‚

mr_lincoln

OP8 months ago

@wastingtime101 wrote:
@mr_lincoln wrote:
Interesting, it is not at the top of my list of threads on the Shipping board ... I had to Float it to the top of the list to see it but thank you for the link!
Sure, happy to help! I remember you like to float your own topics, so my guess is you weren't seeing it because of your own customized view.

Anything you float will always display above whatever eBay pins, so it's good to keep that in mind. Every now and then check under your floats for whatever eBay might have pinned - or you could view on another browser (or same browser, private tab) while signed out to see what the rest of us see. ðŸ™‚

@wastingtime101

Yep, I have to Un-float threads every so often ... I will float ones I am active on or want to check back on at a later date ...

wastingtime101

·8 months ago