Shipping Deadline Policy Change
As both a seller and buyer on eBay, I’m frustrated by what feels like a loophole in how shipping timelines are enforced.
As a seller, I clearly state that I ship within two business days—and I always do. If I'm approaching the 48-hour mark, eBay promptly reminds me to ship.
But when I’m the buyer, I experience a "bending of the rules". I often choose sellers based on estimated delivery dates, which I assume are based on their stated handling times. Yet after I make a purchase, I’ll get a notification that a shipping label was created—only for the seller to hold onto the item for a week or more before actually handing it off to the carrier.
Technically, the seller has “followed the rules,†so eBay doesn’t flag the delay. But this loophole feels deceptive and unprofessional.
I strongly urge eBay to revise its policy: shipping deadlines should be based on when the carrier scans the package—not when the seller prints a label.
worldcoinauctions
·10 months agoI shipped a package about 4 days ago. My postman picked it up and stuck it in his bag without scanning as usual, it was a busy day and he was stressed. I didn't worry about that figuring it would be scanned at the PO. Nope, first scan was in the destination's sorting hub so it looked like I didn't ship it for about a week, even though it was in the hands of the USPS.
Another thing I note is that our PO now only has 1 truck a day to the sorting hub. You order something today, I toss it in the mail and the PO has it, but tomorrow is Saturday and they are not going to take it, it will go to the hub on Monday so the first scan will be visible sometime Monday afternoon. When does ebay say it will arrive? The short date is Monday!
tobaccocardyahoo
·10 months ago60 percent of all post offices have only one truck a day to the regional hub. That is all post offices which are 50 miles from the hub. And that percentage was provided in the press release by USPS when they implemented this change.
So your experience is not atypical.
I have dealt with the issue of delivery time by increasing my handling time and lowering expectations. I exceed expectation almost all of the time, and I'd rather not get the order from someone who has time critical need than disappoint that buyer.
Of course, nothing I sell is a necessity, or even a likely last minute gift.
momtoabeautifuldaughter
·10 months agoNo loophole, they have to receive a scan within their handling time not just print a label within their handling time.
babyers88
·10 months agoThe rule is 100% dependent upon the sellers self selected handling time, which is not revealed unless it is set to a extended period. in which case there will be a notice on the listing page, similar to time away.
kensgiftshop
·10 months agoJust creating a shipping label isn't enough, the seller has to have an acceptance scan within their handling time.
wastingtime101
·10 months agoYou assume incorrectly. eBay ignores actual handling times and goes based on "historical" handling times. So if a seller has 3 biz day handling, but typically ships in 1 biz day, eBay will use 1 biz day. The seller is allowed to ship within 3 biz days.
But that's not the real problem.
The real problem is the front end of the EDD window. For example I sell something on Mon 27th, ship it on Tues 28th, it's headed cross-country via Ground service. Chances are it won't arrive before Mon Nov 3 or maybe Sat Nov 1 on the early side and that assumes zero delays whatsoever. What EDD does eBay show the buyer? Oct 30 - Nov 3.
When you buy an item, look at the tail end of the EDD, not the front end of the EDD. The front end is not realistic - often not physically possible.
That said, if you're constantly running into sellers that wait a week to ship, it's possible it has to do with the sellers themselves - like how shopping lowest price can bring up a bunch of drop shippers that don't have the product in hand.
When it comes to "late delivery" performance, eBay looks at the item shipping (getting a scan) within the seller's handling time, not when they print the label.