Shipping Required timeline
The fact that ebay has a requirement that sellers ship the item in a timely manner is a joke !
I currently have (6) items I bought and paid for on 10/31/23 and 11/01/23. They all show this information:
Order shipped
Order date:Oct 31, 2023
When you click on the track package box it shows: A tracking number was provided.
Go one step further and click on the actual tracking # to go to the carrier website and you see:
Pre-Shipment
Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item
So 5-6 days after my required immediate payment the sellers look like they are in compliance because the order shows 'Shipped'
Ebay - LISTEN - there is a major difference between a seller creating a shipping label and a seller shipping the item
PLEASE DO SOMETHING TO FIX THIS - IT IS IRRITATING
16 comments
booji_girl
·2 years agoIf the actual acceptance scan doesn't show up (eventually, sometimes especially recently this has been delayed w/ USPS) within the stated time frame, the seller IS punished. Even uploading a tracking number proving you've done everything early can get you dinged if you neglect to attach that # fast enough to the order, but the amount it affects your account is less severe. As others have said, the seller sets their handling time and it's visible on every listing; the day 1 count starts the next full day 12:01 am (in their time zone-which can make a huge difference) and ends each day at 11:59 pm, excluding whatever days they have unchecked as a "working day" in their settings. It's also not supposed to count weekends and postal holidays by default, but I and others on these forums have noticed that not working consistently/at all. The only exception to all of this is if they offer same day shipping on the listing you bought.
Judging from my own experience and those of many posters on these forums, most of these sellers are not smugly pulling a slick trick, they're stressing about their metrics going down because of things out of their control. The only sellers I've encountered who seem to do this for kicks are super high volume so the number of sales dilutes the strikes and they aren't worried about losing a single case and ending up having to pay someone for the privilege of owning their item, which the buyer has no obligation to return whenever it arrives even if the refund has already been forced by eBay. Also, just as they count the label being printed as "shipping beginning", they use that date as the basis for all the timelines for complaint cases and for their new, now penalty laden revised estimated delivery date, which means there is an added disadvantage that it gives the seller and benefits the buyer. If tracking is not generating revised delivery estimates, pushing them out to ebay, and ebay reflecting them in the tracker, a seller can lose an INR case even though the carrier updated the likely delivery to be far in the future for whatever reason.
What ebay could do to fix this for everyone is make the delivery estimates more realistic (or at least adhere to their own stated method of calculating it, which is misleading at best and demonstrably false at worst). They surely have the data for approximate averages from place to place via various shipping methods, and they already wrote the rules, they just need to implement that in their code so that buyers and sellers aren't being misled and paranoid everyone is lying and scamming everyone, customers aren't dissapointed their item didn't come in time for Christmas or whatever, and sellers aren't worrying about paying people to own their inventory.
jbbowers12012
·2 years agoHello My Friend, I know how trying that this situation can be for many buyers. But, please try not to be too hard on your sellers. It is actually eBay sending you that "shipped" message & IMHO they really shouldn't. Often times a seller will wait until they have a few orders ready to ship before they go to the P.O.. As long as they "ship" their items out to their buyers within the stated handling time & can show a tracking acceptance scan to verily this - all is well........ Also, filing an INR case the day after the estimated delivery date may not be a great idea. Give it an extra couple of days. Remember that this date is estimated & it is estimated by eBay. Good Luck With Everything & Hang In There! (J.B.)
simba6
·2 years agoSellers should ship in their stated time. However, many are not full time business and have to find time. Buyers should expect delays when shopping in venues like this.
mudshark61369
·2 years ago@mike_bibby,
"So 5-6 days after my required immediate payment the sellers look like they are in compliance because the order shows 'Shipped'".
Immediate required payment may be on a seller's listing for auctions or offers, because ebay opted them into it without them knowing. Your listings with best offer may be requiring immediate payment. Go check your Buyer Requirement page and look below the standard ones for the new payment options. As far as there being 5 days since a label was created, several of the replies have given you reasons why that can happen. There is nothing you can do, or get ebay to do until the last estimated delivery date has passed.
"Ebay - LISTEN - there is a major difference between a seller creating a shipping label and a seller shipping the item... PLEASE DO SOMETHING TO FIX THIS - IT IS IRRITATING".
eBay stopped listening to its buyers and sellers within a few days of J.D. becoming the CEO in 2008. Actually, he didn't listen to his then Top 100 sellers who he met with, and explained the changes he wanted to make, before it was announced he was taking over for Meg. Only 2 of those sellers still have a presence on ebay.
Anyone complaining about the policy changes made after that was called "noise" by him, and his more or less hand picked successors have followed the party line ever since. Unfortunately, that is just the way it is.
fern*wood
·2 years agoThis rant really surprises me coming from a seller with your experience. Has the tracking never reflected the same thing you are complaining about on any of your items?
yuzuha
·2 years agoSince we're sharing anecdotes here, for the past week or so my local post office's scanner system has been having issues connecting to the main USPS system, which means that even when I get something scanned at the counter and get handed the receipt for it, the acceptance scan might not show up in the system for 24 hours or more after I mailed it. It's in the mail and on its way, it just takes time for the system to reflect that fact.
buyselljack2016
·2 years agoYou being a seller................. you know that the seller must ship within the stated handling time or get a ding on their account.
Some don't do what they should do, but sometimes status lags for others.
I have had packages travel afar before getting a second scan. I am fortunate that my carriers do their job, and scan when picking up, or it would look like I was failing.
I printed a label last night (Sunday) because I had to be on my way early this morning. On Sunday it said "shipped" even though when purchasing the label, it was done for Monday, and had Monday's date on the label.
Status of the item in my hub is "shipped" on the 5th................ Sunday.
eBay is not changing things. WE know how it works. We have to live with the way it is. eBay is "listening", but it falls on deaf ears.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoI don't know what you buy or where you buy (countries).
I currently have another shipment coming from the Netherlands again. Tracking currently shows label created and its shipped. I know it is in shipping. Can't get tracking when the item is in an airplane from one country to another...and also then customs doesn't always show it is there.
Or item is in an airplane from one state to another state. Or if someone didn't scan the item doing tracking.
I get items from Macao(China) all the time. I only see a label created. eBay and I do not see tracking but it's there's somewhere and I always get my packages on time.
And your items might be coming from another country but seller says he is listed in the USA with a USA address.
There are a lot of factors to be sure....what is going on.
As long as you receive you items per "eBay estimated date of arrival"...who really cares?
soh.maryl
·2 years agoYour last sentence has always been my mantra as far as shipping goes.
But there are apparently many of us here that disagree.
12345jamesstamps
·2 years agoThere will always be some people in society who are never happy and their way of life is complaining.
wastingtime101
·2 years agoAssuming the seller hasn't shipped isn't my first thought. Six orders from 10/31-11/1 all showing the same thing? Could be many reasons including a seller that's shipping from China that will have the package transferred to USPS down the line. You won't necessarily see tracking 'til the package is with USPS even though it already shipped. Too little info to go on to confirm if that's what happened.
albertabrightalberta
·2 years agoYour sellers might have a long handling time.
As for the "shipped," that's ebay's wording when a label is purchased. IMHO, ebay should change their wording from "item shipped" to "shipping label purchased." Once the item is actually shipped, tracking will show movement.
Note that even if you purchase an item on Friday and if seller prints the label that night, one-day shipping won't start counting until Monday. (Saturday and Sunday don't count as business days.)
Another consideration is that not all package show tracking. Some don't show anything until delivery so it's very possible that your items are on their way to you even though it doesn't appear as such.
mtgraves7984
·2 years agoSo 5-6 days after my required immediate payment the sellers look like they are in compliance because the order shows 'Shipped'
@mike_bibby
It is a bit irritating for both buyers and sellers. One thing for sure, your seller can't get past the Estimated Delivery Date on the order. Keep an eye out and open an Item Not Received claim one day past that for the items you still don't have. Good luck.
mike_bibby
OP2 years agoThe problem with opening a case is once you do that you cannot leave the negative feedback that the irresponsible person deserves.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoActually, I believe you could, but you couldn't mention that you had to open a case to resolve the issue, so what would be the point?
mtgraves7984
·2 years agoConversely, the problem with not opening a case is that you give your money to the irresponsible person for nothing.