Buyer Asked to Have Items Purchased Shipped at a Later Date...
I had a buyer msg me and ask if he purchased & paid for multiple items that I could hold them & not ship them out until January 12th 2026. He didn't want to miss out on the items I just listed yet is out of town and does not want them shipped until then. I said sure no problem...He went ahead and purchased everything he wanted. What is the best way for me to move forward now? Do I just hold everything he purchased until the requested shipment date of January 12th and purchase a label then? I thought I may be able to purchase the label now and select a shipment date but it's not letting me select a date that far away...Any input would be appreciated
13 comments
tinsoldierunderground
·8 months ago@tmtt_26
I think @dryophelia brings up an interesting point here... Ball is entirely in your court, but I'd follow along the advice everyone has given.
dryophelia
·8 months ago@tmtt_26
I find it interesting that they want to wait 30 days, the last day to file a dispute with eBay.
These requests really irk me. Who goes away for a month and doesn't have their mail held? It's because they are up to no good. Don't sacrifice your good standing with eBay to a stranger on the internet.
fm2000
·8 months agoTell them they need to have the USPS hold their mail (if sending by USPS), or if shipping within your handling time is not acceptable, to cancel the order. Be polite and friendly, but firm. You must ship within your stated handling time, you do not want (or deserve) a defect because of something like a buyer wanting an item shipped out at a later date. Shipping items a day late can get you a defect, shipping an several weeks "late" can cause even more problems.
If the future, when you get these requests, just say, "I'm sorry, but eBay policy requires me to ship within <your handling time>, if that does not work for you please send a cancellation request. Another option is that you can ask the USPS to hold your mail while you are away, just ask them to do this at your local post office." etc.
evry1nositswindy
·8 months agoYou must ship within your stated shipping time, or you will get a late shipping defect on your account. Sorry, but you really do need to care about getting a defect on your account. Don't put your seller account at risk to accommodate one person. You must follow the rules set forth by eBay.
ryry-jj
·8 months agoAgain, we all have to work within the system. We cant make up our own rules and think it will function smoothly. If you don't ship within the stated time, you'll get dinged, your money may be held for a long period of time, you will suffer possible BBE, in this case multiple ones. eBay doesn't look at any individual agreement, we need to sell by the rules and policies in place. Even though you are trying to do the buyer a favor, they arent doing you one in asking you to operate this way
simba6
·8 months agoeBay has never had any lay-a-way and there is no way you can do that without getting a late shipping defect. Once the buyer pays, the fuze is lit and eBay will start getting yippy if you don't ship on time.
He needs to cancel the purchases and repurchase when he can accept the items.
cityslickercreations2004
·8 months agoKeep in mind the possibility of a return. The buyer only has 30 days after the estimated or actual delivery date unless you have a 60 day return window.
mamacassidy
·8 months agoI think you might have put yourself into a bad spot here.
Ebay requires you to ship within the handling time stated on the listing or you get a late shipment defect. The fact the buyer bought multiple items that you won't ship on time means you'll get multiple late shipment defects.
In this case, I'd probably ask the buyer to request to cancel the sales then hold them until the time they actually want them shipped. Then they can re-purchase them. I'd only make this exception because they already paid you, so you know they actually want the item.
But in the future, if someone wants an item held, you need to go into the listing and change your handling time to reflect the dates you are going to ship it out before they purchase it.
tmtt_26
OP8 months agoThe items were all purchased on one order...not separate individual orders. I honestly care more about catering to a customer than worrying about some defect ebay hands out.
If those items were all in one listing then yes you would only receive 1 defect. If you sold 4 items even if the order was combined it would count as 4 defects because those items were purchased from 4 individual listings. Too many defects can cause you to lose TRS. But if it doesn’t bother you go for it. But know that the defects will be on your account for 12 months.
tmtt_26
OP8 months agoThanks for the input. Not really sure what to do...Trying to help out a customer by simply holding the items until they are home to receive them can somehow turn around as a defect on my account seems ridiculous to me...but whatever. Thanks again
@tmtt_26
Simple solution ………..if your items ship USPS , you can let your buyer know you must ship within your handling time that he/she can have their local post office place a hold on their mail and packages until they either pick them up or the hold ends and items are delivered.
mamacassidy
·8 months agoOkey dokey, then.
Godspeed.