07-22-2021 11:00 AM
Oh for pity sake - eBay just updated all of my listings to state 4 Day Shipping.
I have 1 day handling which means all orders get shipped within 24 hours of payment received. Buyer pays after 1 p.m. item gets shipped next day. Buyer pays at 8 a.m. item gets shipped same day. (excluding Sat, Sun & holidays). That's 1 day shipping - not 4!!
My account setting states 1 day handling.
If I shipped an item to my neighbor across the street today 7/22, according to eBay they would not get it until 7/28. Good grief that's 6 days! What are potential buyers seeing as delivery dates in western states or the east coast?
I know the USPS can be extremely unreliable, and that some buyers want instant delivery, but good lord, stating 4 day shipping has got to be contributing to slow sales for many sellers.
07-22-2021 11:52 AM
@b86fiero wrote:I understand what you are relaying but:
My listings are showing 4 day shipping - and estimated delivery dates of 6 days or more to my home area.
Two different things.
It depends on the method of shipment. Mine say 3 - 4 day media / first class / priority depending on the item's method/carrier. I do agree 6 day for you at your address seems off, would call ebay and have a ticket for tech support made to look into it.
Side note, my TRP badge is back on my listings now.
07-22-2021 11:59 AM
4 day shipping means delivery in 4 days. I believe we're seeing the 28th because eBay is counting business days. ie: Saturday and Sunday are a weekend, so if you exclude those, then the 28th is 4 business days away. Could be wrong, but I'd put my money on this being the way it's programmed. Whether it's intentional or a glitch to count business days, I couldn't say. I do think that's how it's working, though, intended or not.
07-22-2021 11:59 AM
I used to state "same day or next morning shipping" in the body of my listing descriptions and "the average USPS delivery time of one to five business days depending upon your location" until USPS became so unreliable and buyer complaints increased over delivery estimates.
I decided I could not state something in my listings that I had no control over.
07-22-2021 12:02 PM
USPS has delivered for me on time or ahead of time and most my items ship media mail. But anyways, you can just state in description something like "all orders are processed and sent within 24 hours" not stating delievery in 3-4-5 whatever days, just that packages are sent within 24 hours or 1 day.
07-22-2021 12:05 PM
I'm just not getting this.
My listing states Free 4 Day Shipping. Under that it states Estimated Delivery Date 7/28.
That's not 4 day delivery.
07-22-2021 12:12 PM
More confusion:
If I ship today, Thursday, the item would already be in the postal system which works on Saturdays. So estimated delivery, using 4 day shipping / delivery that would be Tuesday, 7/27. Not 7/28 as it's showing.
I could see that example working if it was Friday night right now and I didn't ship on Saturday.
07-22-2021 12:14 PM
do you have same day handle time? The system is using your handle time to determine delivery date, so if you have one day then it would be 7/28 (system is saying delivery from 7/23 shipping)
07-22-2021 12:16 PM
If you want a definitive answer then you can tag one of the eBay guys to see if they can answer.
Note that above I said business days - not USPS working days. Those are 2 different things. Saturday is considered a non-business day.
07-22-2021 12:23 PM
As a Buyer looking at any listing where I was told 4 Day Shipping with an Estimated Delivery Date days beyond that, I would make my purchase elsewhere.
Unless it was something my life depended upon why would I buy something that appears to take 4 days for the seller to get around to shipping it?
The wording is confusing.
What is wrong with stating 1 Day Handling or 1 Day Shipping, or forgetting the Shipping statement altogether and just give the Estimated Delivery Date? A potential buyer could see they might receive the item in an estimated 3 days or 5 days without the confusing double speak.
07-22-2021 12:29 PM
Sorry, I did not mean to offend you. I was speaking of shipping today Thursday.
I know eBay allows sellers to choose if they want to ship on Saturday as eBay does not deem it a business day.
07-22-2021 12:31 PM
I'm off to an appointment and will check this post later.
Thanks to all who have responded and for the great info shared!
07-22-2021 12:33 PM
it is as I said also, confusing, but ebay seems to think this new way is "simplified" then the old way of stating the handle time. Don't know if it will affect sales, I have a lot of buyers who tell me they don't care just that they get it. But if it's confusing for sellers, then it no doubt will be confusing to buyers also, especially if they are not aware that ebay has made this change.
07-22-2021 12:46 PM
@b86fiero wrote:What is wrong with stating 1 Day Handling or 1 Day Shipping, or forgetting the Shipping statement altogether and just give the Estimated Delivery Date? A potential buyer could see they might receive the item in an estimated 3 days or 5 days without the confusing double speak.
1 day shipping would be immensely confusing, making buyers think they'll receive it within 1 day. Why? Because other sites like Amazon, Walmart, etc all state things like "2 day shipping" or "3 day shipping" and their definition is delivery in 2-3 days. eBay is following the standard practice of other sites.
Sure, they could say 1 day handling, but most buyers are more concerned about when they receive it, not when it will ship. The majority - not the totality.
Apparently, no matter which way it's phrased, someone will be confused. The bottom line is that eBay shows a specific date and I think that's good enough. Anybody confused can refer to the estimated delivery date as a definitive answer. Following industry standard on wording isn't a bad thing in this case. It caters to the largest number of buyers. My two cents.
07-22-2021 01:43 PM
@eunster1313 wrote:In eBay speak they are promising to the buyers if they buy it now
(it will be) delivered to them in 4 days.
Simplified shipping badges come to eBay
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/Simplified-shipping-badges-come-to-eBay/ba-p/31625712
This is the more tech-y version of that announcement.
07-22-2021 02:06 PM
I believe ebay stopped showing handling times several years ago. The estimated delivery times are shown now instead.