eBay

betus-uh20c4 · ‎04-10-2018

On Monday, I sold an item and the buyer paid very quickly. After receiving payment, I get this message:

"Please ship this out tomorrow w/ tracking, and do not include the receipt with the package. Thanks a lot."

I only offer 3 day processing time because this is just a way for me to make a bit of extra money for school aside from my other job. I tell the buyer as much:

"I will not include the packing slip as requested, however, I do not guarantee one day handling time. All orders will be processed within 3 business days as stated in the product description."

I don't hear anything back from him at first, then today I get this message:

"What is my tracking number? If you were not able to ship today, please at least buy shipping online and send me the tracking number today, and then drop the package off tomorrow. Thanks a lot."

Any of you buying shipping labels through eBay know you have 24 hours to print off the label after purchasing or you have to void it, wait up to 3 weeks for a refund which could potentially be denied, then buy another one. I don't own a printer and am not able to visit the print shop every single day so I wait until I am already in town with items that need to be shipped out all boxed up and ready to go before I purchase shipping labels and then send them out the same day. Keep in mind that this was purchased on Monday and eBay states that the item needs to be shipped by Thursday. Though the buyer didn't respond to my last message, I just sent them another trying to explain the situation:

"As I stated previously, I do not guarantee one-day or two-day handling time. The handling and processing time is within three business days as stated on the item's listing when it was purchased. I don't buy the shipping label immediately because it must be printed then within 24 hours of the purchase or it will have to be voided and printed off again. My shipping labels are printed off at a print shop so I purchase the shipping labels immediately before shipment."

Since they didn't respond to my last message I have no idea if they are even checking for correspondence from me. I will not be able to visit the print shop and ship the item until Thursday, which is again the guaranteed sent by date from eBay based on the handling time I promised when the item was sold. I am concerned though since I am not a large seller and have very little feedback that if this person decides to leave negative feedback that I will find it very difficult to sell anything else. Is there anything I can do in that situation? Like I said they don't seem to be answering me, I don't even know if they're reading my responses

betus-uh20c4 · ‎04-11-2018

I didn't expect to see all these responses, thank you everyone for your help. To clear things up, I know I can print out a shipping label and then ship it the next day if I select that from the drop-down menu, but the seller was demanding the product not just have a tracking number but also be shipped by Wednesday, which I knew would not be feasible due to my schedule. Even if I were to save the label as a PDF I knew the product would not ship within the buyer's requested time limit.

I actually didn't know that the seller's handling time did not appear within the product page by default, but it is on my seller page and as many of you have pointed out it does default to being within 3 business days unless otherwise stated, and this buyer had enough transactions on their account as both buyer and seller that I feel they would know this, or as someone mentioned, if they had a special request they could have contacted me before purchase and I could have cleared this up very easily. From now on, I will state handling and processing time within item descriptions explicitly to avoid confusion.

In the end, I feared that the buyer would still purchase the item and then leave poor feedback since I wouldn't be able to accommodate their request, but they finally responded to my messages and we just agreed to cancel the transaction, they received a refund, and I relisted the item. It is a bit of a pain but nothing too terrible to deal with in the end.

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dougsue123b · ‎04-10-2018

I would have printed the label right after he paid, it doesnt take much effort to do that. As for mailing it if you can do it sooner you will probably avoid problems down the road.

theredwoodshop · ‎04-10-2018

Sound to me like it may be a seller who sold something that they no longer had/lost/or was out of stock, and need a replacement FAST. Considering they asked for you not to include the receipt and keep requesting a tracking number thats my first thought. They most likely have a quick turn-around on their sales and need a tracking number to input before they receive a defect.
If you have a 3-day handling time, and you stay within that time frame then you have done nothing wrong. If the buyer really needed it ASAP then they should have messaged you before purchase to ask if you would ship sooner.

sam9876 · ‎04-10-2018

"Any of you buying shipping labels through eBay know you have 24 hours to print off the label after purchasing or you have to void it"

False.

nobody*s_perfect · ‎04-10-2018

@sam9876. I think that one's true.

@betus-uh20c4. If you want buyers to know that you have a 3-day handling time, you should state that clearly in your Description, since eBay's policy is to NOT mention the handling time unless it's same-day or 4 days or more. Just apologize to your buyer and tell him that you cannot ship it before Thursday. It sounds to me like he is using you as a drop-shipper for an item that was out of stock.

chrysylys · ‎04-10-2018

ALWAYS include a packing slip with YOUR sellername/store name, your return address and the item number.

Forget keeping up with the Joneses. Be the Finklegrubers!
OK kids, time to get the Dodge loaded up again. I hear 'Poppy's By the Tree' calling. This trip might be a long one too.

sam9876 · ‎04-10-2018

There is no requirement to print a label within 24 hours.

mycarolinavintage · ‎04-10-2018

I doubt it, if you didn't have a printer.

mycarolinavintage · ‎04-10-2018

It sounds like you did everything right. I don't think you needed to explain yourself to the community or the buyer. The reason you have a three day window is not relevant. If it states in the listing that shipping will be within three days then so be it. If the buyer leaves unwarranted negative feedback, all it will take is a phone call to ebay and they will remove it. Keep all messages between you and any buyers or sellers you deal with. Those are your records. Ship it within your three days and don't worry about it. The buyer should have contacted you BEFORE purchasing. Be very specific in your listings, follow through and don't let people run your business. Welcome to the selling side of ebay.

livadia · ‎04-10-2018

@sam9876 wrote:
"Any of you buying shipping labels through eBay know you have 24 hours to print off the label after purchasing or you have to void it"

False.

Actually, that's true. Once you purchase a USPS label from eBay you have 24 hours to print or re-print it. After that, the label isn't accessible and has to be voided and the postage re-purchased. There's also restrictions as to how many days can elapse once you purchase and still can void.

From eBay's Help Center:

livadia · ‎04-10-2018

@theredwoodshop wrote:
Sound to me like it may be a seller who sold something that they no longer had/lost/or was out of stock, and need a replacement FAST. Considering they asked for you not to include the receipt and keep requesting a tracking number thats my first thought. They most likely have a quick turn-around on their sales and need a tracking number to input before they receive a defect.
If you have a 3-day handling time, and you stay within that time frame then you have done nothing wrong. If the buyer really needed it ASAP then they should have messaged you before purchase to ask if you would ship sooner.

Yep, @theredwoodshop. Exactly what I think as well.

annsattictreasures68 · ‎04-10-2018

If you sell quite a bit,wouldn't your"problem" be solved by purchasing a printer? As fr as the buyer,simply re-state your terms as listed-done!

dtexley3 · ‎04-10-2018

@annsattictreasures68 wrote:
If you sell quite a bit,wouldn't your"problem" be solved by purchasing a printer? As fr as the buyer,simply re-state your terms as listed-done!

If the seller is only able to get to a USPS dropoff every 2 or 3 days a printer isn't going to change that. Of course the seller might be able to schedule pickup by USPS but if they have an uncooperative carrier that can be an adventure of a whole nother stripe.

Member of the Grumpy Old Man crew

dtexley3 · ‎04-10-2018

@sam9876 wrote:
There is no requirement to print a label within 24 hours.

For someone claiming such a large selling history you sure spread a lot of mis-information. Once you purchase an eBay label you have 24 hours to print it, otherwise you have to void it and purchase a new label.

However, once printed you don't have to get it to USPS in 24 hours to ship.

Member of the Grumpy Old Man crew

luckythewinner · ‎04-10-2018

Any of you buying shipping labels through eBay know you have 24 hours to print off the label after purchasing or you have to void it

I regularly print labels and then drop them off at the post office 2-3 days afterward. In the past decade, I've never had to void and re-purchase just because I did not mail the package within 24 hours.

wait up to 3 weeks for a refund which could potentially be denied, then buy another one

I suppose it could "potentially" be denied, but I;ve voided dozens and the USPS has never failed to refund.