Misleading Advertising

[sterling_hardy]

I am dealing with a seller on eBay who won't process an order for 5 business days and then ships using FedEx ground which is very slow.  He mentions the 5 day business hold in fine print, literally.

My questions is this:  On Sunday, December 18, his post for an item he is selling states that delivery is estimated between Thursday, December 22nd and Thursday, December 29th. If you put an order in today (December 18th) and the seller advertises  "5 business days handling time", then the earliest it would go out for delivery would be December 23rd (5 business days).

Isn't this misleading advertising since the item would not be shipped out until December 18th and then you also have to count in the shipment days?

[wooden_flower]

eBay considers the seller's actual shipping history in estimating the delivery dates.  So if he often ships in 3 days, it would cause you to see the earlier estimated date.

There is nothing a seller can do to change it.

[sterling_hardy]

Apparently, this seller has a few neutral ratings that complain of the same thing - longer than usual delivery times.  The seller puts it in fine print '...includes 5 business days of handling...'

For example, I just though it was misleading that if you specify that you only ship AFTER 5 business days and an order is placed on 12/19, how could you post an estimated delivery date of 12/22 when you won't ship anything out until 12/26 (5 business days)?

I had no idea this was some kind of algorithm that eBay is employing.  Thank you very much for your insight and help!  Merry Christmas!!

[wooden_flower]

Thank you.  Merry Christmas!