Item Shipped! ...except it didn't.

[preciouschaos]

Is there any guideline on how long a seller can take between printing a shipping label, which generates an automated email saying the item has shipped, and when they actually ship the item?

There's still time to get here in the delivery window,  but it seems shady to print a label to mark it as shipped, when the carrier hasn't received the item yet five days later. With Amazon Prime 2 hour delivery to my house, and all the shady sellers and Chinese knockoffs, and location misrepresentation on eBay, I think I'm really done here unless they start regulating some of the shady practices being abused here.

[creekcoyote]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

@creekcoyote The message generated when you print a label has changed.  It doesn't say it has shipped anymore.  It says it is BEING shipped or that the seller is preparing to ship.  This was changed some time ago.

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Shows how often I buy anymore. Hah.   Either way I honestly think that E-bay is setting up buyers for dis-appointment when the item doesn't come quickly every time they buy.

[creekcoyote]

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@preciouschaos wrote:

Strange that I felt an obligation to do what I was paid for well? That I held myself to the same standard I expect from others? I don't think that's strange at all. I was a good seller, and when I tired of being a good seller, I stopped selling rather than make a business of disappointing and dissatisfying people. But, again, I guess that's just personal preference.

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This site is made up all types and kinds of sellers.  Some are able to ship quickly and it, normally says so in their descriptions, etc.  Others life situations don't always allow for them to ship as quickly as others.   They have a longer handling time and that is perfectly acceptable.

I really wish that people would quit comparing this site to Amazon.  They are two different entities with two different business plans.   Amazon  has its own fulfillment centers that are staffed constantly.  They have Amazon Prime, which, of course, not all buyers opt in to.

E-bay is composed of individual sellers with individual business plans.  Many of them are one-person staffed.  That staff is the seller.   There is no fulfillment center here on E-bay.   E-bay sells nothing but space on a venue to a multitude of different people.

The main reason that many buyers are dis-appointed is simply because they do not read the sellers Terms of Sale and have expectations that conflict with those TOS.

Sellers are not responsible for fulfilling a buyers expectations.  The sellers job is to sell their items under their Terms of Sale and E-bay's policies.

Their responsibility is to make sure that the buyer gets the as described item as per the sellers shipping policy.

[preciouschaos]

Aw, I was agreeing with all of your points until that last one. Now this is definitely just a matter of opinion, but I believe that anyone, on eBay, Amazon, or on the side of the road, that has a product or a service for which they are compensated, and for which they expect to continue being compensated, does have an obligation to at least try to meet the expectations of the customer, especially if they are reasonable. That's the difference between good business practices and bad. If I can't be bothered to drop something in the mail over the course of 5 entire days, (for the sake of argument, let's say 3 in case it's a weekend, even though 2 of the 3 major carriers operate on the weekend,)...If I can't be bothered to drop something in the mail the same week I take the time to print the label, I think I ought not be an online merchant.

[creekcoyote]

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@preciouschaos wrote:

Aw, I was agreeing with all of your points until that last one. Now this is definitely just a matter of opinion, but I believe that anyone, on eBay, Amazon, or on the side of the road, that has a product or a service for which they are compensated, and for which they expect to continue being compensated, does have an obligation to at least try to meet the expectations of the customer, especially if they are reasonable. That's the difference between good business practices and bad. If I can't be bothered to drop something in the mail over the course of 5 entire days, (for the sake of argument, let's say 3 in case it's a weekend, even though 2 of the 3 major carriers operate on the weekend,)...If I can't be bothered to drop something in the mail the same week I take the time to print the label, I think I ought not be an online merchant.

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Since, as a seller, I describe my item, I give my handling time and what the shipping will be.    When someone buys the item, as a seller, my expectations are that the buyer is in agreement with my terms.   I have no way to know just what they might be expecting.   If the terms of sale are not agreeable to a potential buyer, they should not buy it and expect something that is not stated in the listing.  Why would they buy if the terms are not to their liking?

If I state in my listing that my handling time is five days, then I would expect the buyer to honor that handling time and not complain about how long it took to ship.  If I state the shipping cost and the buyer buys, I would expect them to honor that shipping cost and not complain.

In all of my buying I would never think to complain about the seller's terms.  If I didn't like them, I would simply move on.  If I decided to buy, I would keep my mouth shut about anything that I didn't like that was stated in the sellers terms.

As long as the seller follows their terms, I have no reason to complain.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@preciouschaos wrote:

Strange that I felt an obligation to do what I was paid for well? That I held myself to the same standard I expect from others? I don't think that's strange at all. I was a good seller, and when I tired of being a good seller, I stopped selling rather than make a business of disappointing and dissatisfying people. But, again, I guess that's just personal preference.

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We look at things differently.  No, I meant strange that you expect immediate shipping when as you say, you stopped selling because you did not want to ship so fast. 

You are entitled to expect what you do, but I prefer to take into consideration the fact that nothing here is that crucial that I need to get upset over when a seller gets an item in the mail as it is their choice and may be the best their schedule allows.  After all, I can see the estimated delivery timeframe and know about when to expect it.  Also, the item may not have been scanned as accepted but may indeed be on its' way to you and you may receive it as indicated.  If it is past the estimated dates, then it is time to be concerned.

The thing is, you can have your standard and hold yourself to it, but you don't have the right to decide someone else's.  Again, taking longer to ship than you would does not make that seller bad.  

I am not condoning fakes or item location misrepresentation.  But I know to do my best to verify the authenticity and how to check the seller's base country as the item may ship from there instead of the item location as listed.  You seemed to lump both sellers who take longer than you are happy with and counterfeits and false item locations in the same category as unethical and shady.  

You say you stopped selling because you didn't want to disappoint or dissatisfy people.  However, there are many who would have had no problem with your taking more time to ship.   You were the main one who would be dissatisfied.  You are assuming everyone feels like you do, and they do not.  

Your high standards lead you to burn out.  Perhaps taking a bit more time would have been less stressful and you might have kept on selling successfully.

In any case, you have to do what you think best, and I have no problem with that.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@creekcoyote wrote:

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

@creekcoyote The message generated when you print a label has changed.  It doesn't say it has shipped anymore.  It says it is BEING shipped or that the seller is preparing to ship.  This was changed some time ago.

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Shows how often I buy anymore. Hah.   Either way I honestly think that E-bay is setting up buyers for dis-appointment when the item doesn't come quickly every time they buy.

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It all depends on the buyer's expectations.  Many have no problem with it~transit takes time.  Scotty doesn't have a transporter for this!

[castlemagicmemories]

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@creekcoyote wrote:

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@preciouschaos wrote:

Aw, I was agreeing with all of your points until that last one. Now this is definitely just a matter of opinion, but I believe that anyone, on eBay, Amazon, or on the side of the road, that has a product or a service for which they are compensated, and for which they expect to continue being compensated, does have an obligation to at least try to meet the expectations of the customer, especially if they are reasonable. That's the difference between good business practices and bad. If I can't be bothered to drop something in the mail over the course of 5 entire days, (for the sake of argument, let's say 3 in case it's a weekend, even though 2 of the 3 major carriers operate on the weekend,)...If I can't be bothered to drop something in the mail the same week I take the time to print the label, I think I ought not be an online merchant.

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Since, as a seller, I describe my item, I give my handling time and what the shipping will be.    When someone buys the item, as a seller, my expectations are that the buyer is in agreement with my terms.   I have no way to know just what they might be expecting.   If the terms of sale are not agreeable to a potential buyer, they should not buy it and expect something that is not stated in the listing.  Why would they buy if the terms are not to their liking?

If I state in my listing that my handling time is five days, then I would expect the buyer to honor that handling time and not complain about how long it took to ship.  If I state the shipping cost and the buyer buys, I would expect them to honor that shipping cost and not complain.

In all of my buying I would never think to complain about the seller's terms.  If I didn't like them, I would simply move on.  If I decided to buy, I would keep my mouth shut about anything that I didn't like that was stated in the sellers terms.

As long as the seller follows their terms, I have no reason to complain.

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Well said.  I agree.

[preciouschaos]

I just responded to you both and my "authentication ticket" was "invalid"...whatever that means and my response didn't post. The gist was about courtesy, which I admittedly make the mistake of thinking is common, and the feedback system. And the fact that I have just as much right to be irritated with the seller's lack of urgency as they do to take all the time in the world to ship an item. But if I found I couldn't possibly drop something in the mail, or get one of the major carriers to pick it up for free the next day, knowing that the buyers get these notifications that result in what are actually pretty reasonable assumptions, I might just let the "handling" time pass before I took the time to print out the shipping label to save them the stress. It doesn't matter though. I'll never know you people beyond this conversation tonight and it will have very little impact in my life after I hit "Post", so what's the point in trying to change your perspective. You've both made valid points, but we all failed to change each others' minds. Valiant efforts were made by all though. Happy bidding and take care.

[castlemagicmemories]

The ones who need 5 days to put something in the mail after they've marked it as shipped are just lazy and slow, but not shady 😛

With all due respect, that is just your opinion, based on no knowledge of the circumstances of those seller's lives that drives their decision regarding handling time.  You aren't factoring in what they sell, the size of their orders, their work schedule, their family obligations, their health or physical limitations, their location, etc.

[castlemagicmemories]

The ones who need 5 days to put something in the mail after they've marked it as shipped are just lazy and slow, but not shady 😛

With all due respect, that is just your opinion, based on no knowledge of the circumstances of those seller's lives that drives their decision regarding handling time.  You aren't factoring in what they sell, the size of their orders, their work schedule, their family obligations, their health or physical limitations, their location, etc.

[readabouthorses]

Dropping something in the mail or having it picked up isn't always that simple. I live on a private dirt road where the Post Office won't even come to deliver or pick up mail so I have a PO Box in town which is a 12 mile round trip. UPS and FedEx charge a fee to come here and pick up packages ... I guess I could add that cost into the shipping but buyers are already not liking high shipping.

I have my handling time set at 4 days and when I print labels I do choose the correct shipping date but I don't know if eBay even gives that information to the buyers. I like to print my shipping labels at least the day before I'm going to make the trip to town to mail just in case the printer doesn't work ... the internet is down again ... the computer doesn't want to play nice.

And speaking of Amazon and being quick ... I've had nothing but slow slow shipments from Amazon. One book took 10 days to get here (I could have ridden my horse to the Amazon warehouse and gotten it quicker). Some clothing items I purchased took 7 days when the vendor was 50 miles from me.

If a buyer needs something quickly and asks me in advance I will do all I can to get it to them. Otherwise I will probably take at least 3 or 4 days to ship.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@readabouthorses wrote:

Dropping something in the mail or having it picked up isn't always that simple. I live on a private dirt road where the Post Office won't even come to deliver or pick up mail so I have a PO Box in town which is a 12 mile round trip. UPS and FedEx charge a fee to come here and pick up packages ... I guess I could add that cost into the shipping but buyers are already not liking high shipping.

I have my handling time set at 4 days and when I print labels I do choose the correct shipping date but I don't know if eBay even gives that information to the buyers. I like to print my shipping labels at least the day before I'm going to make the trip to town to mail just in case the printer doesn't work ... the internet is down again ... the computer doesn't want to play nice.

And speaking of Amazon and being quick ... I've had nothing but slow slow shipments from Amazon. One book took 10 days to get here (I could have ridden my horse to the Amazon warehouse and gotten it quicker). Some clothing items I purchased took 7 days when the vendor was 50 miles from me.

If a buyer needs something quickly and asks me in advance I will do all I can to get it to them. Otherwise I will probably take at least 3 or 4 days to ship.

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I thought of you in connection with the pop it in the mailbox the next day statement, but you are not alone.  Others are rural as well.