GD Date Missed

[chrysylys]

I try to avoid ordering GD items, but somehow I missed it on this one.  On reviewing my Purchase History page, the GD date shown is yesterday 3/24.  USPS tracking shows "In Transit - Delayed"  with it now scheduled for Tomorrow.

What exactly is the guarantee?  Without affecting the seller who did nothing wrong, will Corporate refund any portion since this is their GD program?  This was a 'shipping included' item ( I want the term 'free shipping' abolished).

[mistwomandancing]

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@postingid2017wrote:

From the dates, it looks like it left before the recent storm.   Long Island was hit the hardest by this last one (we got very little so no shoveling this time).  And I don't know where the "MID NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER" is but it left there too before the storm.  The rest looks like what I saw for my package - mine was in a Kearny, about 2-3 towns over and never made it (or at least updated) to until Friday just like mine.  I know with the PO it is hit or miss - FedEx/UPS will make deliveries even in bad weather.  I even had one that was in my city (according to the tracking) that was held up for a week.  That one was free shipping and before GD.  The seller offered to resend, but I declined because I could see it was not the seller's fault. 

I try not to blame the seller because once it leaves the seller's hands, it is out of control.

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I don't blame sellers either.   If they ship promptly, I would never intentionally do anything to hurt them.  

Could most certainly be weather related in several parts of the U.S.   Yesterday we had the heaviest, wettest snowfall of the winter..  9½ inches deep, measured on my patio tabletop, after very few small snowfalls all winter long here.   Wet heavy snow!  

Finally at about 11:00 pm, the snowplow got down our street.   This morning, all that street mess was a frozen solid blockade at the end of our drive, shoved TWO FEET HIGH.   We had to take the sledge hammer to it this morning to break it into chunks to throw aside.   Now we two elderly folks are trying to get our heart rates back down.  

[chrysylys]

General reply regarding questions on Handling Time.

Order confirmation email received: Mar 20 at 3:26 PM
Ship Notice email received: Mar 20 at 3:30 PM

(Adjusted for Seller's Time Zone instead of mine)

From the post above, the carrier shows 'in possession'  at 5:15PM, so the seller shipped and it left their location within 2 hours.

I just want to be certain the seller doesn't get hit in any way if I claim the $5, or try to.

[chrysylys]

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@mr_lincolnwrote:

 Below is one of my favorite pictures ...

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Yes, but according to the Blues, it's the seller's fault for not making sure the USPS properly trains their drivers and maintains their vehicles.  And the seller is also responsible for the community not properly designing the roads.

[mr_lincoln]

@chrysylys

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@chrysylyswrote:

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@mr_lincolnwrote:

 Below is one of my favorite pictures ...

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Yes, but according to the Blues, it's the seller's fault for not making sure the USPS properly trains their drivers and maintains their vehicles.  And the seller is also responsible for the community not properly designing the roads.

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Correct, and it is also the Seller's Insurance Policy that is to cover the cost to repair the fence ...

[moo*cow*corner]

After you receive the package and the scan shows delivered, go to your Purchase History.

In the 'I'd like to...' drop down menu on the right hand side, find Report Late Delivery.

Click.

Ebay will instantly check the status and ask how you'd like them to resolve the problem. For a free shipping listing, they will immediately issue a $5 voucher code that you can use on a future ebay purchase. Other options will be available, follow the prompts to get to your preferred resolution.

I assume that if you do this for an item not in the GD program, the seller would get a late shipping ding.

Now that I think about it, this may be what's behind the sudden rash of late delivery ding threads from frustrated sellers.

Buyers are reporting late deliveries hoping to hit a $5 coupon lottery....

[chrysylys]

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@moo*cow*cornerwrote:

In the 'I'd like to...' drop down on the right hand side, find Report Late Delivery.

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That only appears for items in the GD program, so a buyer can't abuse it for non GD items.

[moo*cow*corner]

That's good to know. Went and looked, and indeed you are correct.

I did report 2 late deliveries (shipped together) and was surprised to get two vouchers instantly.

The vouchers spent just dandy too.

[chrysylys]

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@moo*cow*cornerwrote:

I did report 2 late deliveries (shipped together) and was surprised to get two vouchers instantly.

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Intersting because this is a two item order, both showing the option, but shipped in one package with one tracking number.  If I can hit Corporate up for $10 without harming the seller, so much the better.

[moo*cow*corner]

As far as I can tell, the only harm to the seller would be getting kicked out of the program if too many deliveries are late.

In my case, the seller missed his stated handling time, AND the package got stuck in a sorting facility for an extra day. Delivery was Feb 12, 2018, so relatively recent.

I waited until actual delivery to claim the vouchers, so have no clue if you'd be able to get them based on GD date of yesterday and the scan shows delayed, still in transit.

[*eponymous*]

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@chrysylyswrote:

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@moo*cow*cornerwrote:

I did report 2 late deliveries (shipped together) and was surprised to get two vouchers instantly.

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Intersting because this is a two item order, both showing the option, but shipped in one package with one tracking number.  If I can hit Corporate up for $10 without harming the seller, so much the better.

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That's a "nice" thought, but you will NOT know which option the seller is using for Guaranteed Delivery (GD in textspeak means something entirely different).  You could well be taking ten bucks out of the seller's pocket, if not now, then later.

In any event, eBay costs for fancy-schmancy stuff like this trickles down to sellers via increased fees.

[mistwomandancing]

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@*eponymous*wrote:

In any event, eBay costs for fancy-schmancy stuff like this trickles down to sellers via increased fees.

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Of course.   Ebay is NOT going to reduce their annual take for backing this and paying out on the times buyers want to be paid because the mail was slow.   This cost will be passed on to the sellers in one form or another.

Once something like this is offered, you know some buyers will take advantage of it, like using whatever excuse they can think up to make returns using SNAD instead of footing the return postage bill themselves.

Always sounds like a bright and helpful idea on the surface (or is presented that way *wink*) but in the end, it often seems to entangle sellers even more, and they are the ones who end up injured.    

[ted_200]

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@chrysylyswrote:

Quick search of the unHelp Pages finds:

How we'll make it right

If something goes wrong, you can select an option to let us know how we can make it right. Depending on the issue, you may be able to:

• Receive a $5 voucher to use on a future eBay purchase (if shipping was free)
• Get a refund for the shipping cost (if you paid for shipping)
• Return the item for free and get a full refund
• Let the seller know that you didn't receive your item

Once you've made your choice, you don’t have to do anything else. We'll process your request right away.

But I'm not sure who pays the $5 and I do not want it to come from the seller.  Corporate posted the false date, so THEY need to pay it.

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What a stupid program... they're guaranteeing delivery by some date certain, then they'll only cough up a $5 coupon to back their failed guarantee?   Talk about over-promise and under-perform! 

I know someone who is ordering hard to find car parts for their auto repair business, if they've promised the repaired car by some date certain, I'm going to guess they'll have a lot more headache to pay than offering the owner a $5 coupon toward a future oil change. 

Anyhow, yeah, I'm with you... I'd want my $5 coupon anyhow. 

[ted_200]

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@mistwomandancingwrote:

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@*eponymous*wrote:

In any event, eBay costs for fancy-schmancy stuff like this trickles down to sellers via increased fees.

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Of course.   Ebay is NOT going to reduce their annual take for backing this and paying out on the times buyers want to be paid because the mail was slow.   This cost will be passed on to the sellers in one form or another.

Once something like this is offered, you know some buyers will take advantage of it, like using whatever excuse they can think up to make returns using SNAD instead of footing the return postage bill themselves.

Always sounds like a bright and helpful idea on the surface (or is presented that way *wink*) but in the end, it often seems to entangle sellers even more, and they are the ones who end up injured.    

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I also think it leads to the unresonable expectations game with buyers, even for sellers who will go nowhere near the GD program.  And it does nothing but harm eBay's overall reputation with buyers.  The auto repair guy reports buying dozens of GD items, and not a one of them is meeting the guarantee.  Buyers will rightfully conclude any "guarantee" on eBay is mostly useless. 

[mistwomandancing]

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@ted_200wrote:..........Buyers will rightfully conclude any "guarantee" on eBay is mostly useless. 

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Or milk it to get their S & H back.  

Ya' just know that if this is embraced, it will end up being added to the weight that the small sellers here are already staggering under.

[chrysylys]

I get a kick out of this whole GD Notion to begin with.  That other place has their own fleet of cargo planes, trucks and local delivery drivers.  They have their own mega distribution centers in nearly every state.  They handle the entire process in many cases from stocking their faclities to processing orders to final delivery and even THEY can't get the delivery dates right.