Getting dinged for late shipping when the buyer requested to ship at later date for gift

[theparkwaterprincess]

Just curious, was dinged for a late shipping. The buyer specifically requested at purchase that I ship item (it was a gift and recipient was on vacation) on a later date. Just tried to have the ding removed but it was obviously looked at by AI and was denied - all they looked at was ship date and didn't check message, nothing else. If Ebay is so jacked about customer service why is this happening? It was a customer request.  It might seem small but I hate to lose top seller status over this. Any recourse to have a real person look this case over?

[theparkwaterprincess]

Seems simple, but nobody seems to pay attention to the little guys. Even though we are the backbone of eBay.

[iamalwaysright]

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@theparkwaterprincess wrote:

Any recourse to have a real person look this case over?

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No. Because many times buyers might request things that won't align with what ebay expects sellers to do. Ebay will also come back and tell you to cancel the sale with the buyer and tell them to buy it again at a later time. 

It's either that or cater to the buyer and eat the ding. Those are your only two choices. I've been in your shoes and honestly I just eat the ding. I'd rather take the bird in hand.

[iamalwaysright]

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@krazzykats wrote:

Why can't there be a simple option for the "buyer" to request a ship date if a delay is needed?  The buyer could request it during checkout.

It would also be a handy buyer option for those that want to purchase items while away from home, like when on vacation etc., but want to delay delivery.

Sellers then could provide customer satisfaction without getting dinged and the buyers can request sellers to hold packages.

Seems simple?

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Add it to the list.

[mam98031]

@theparkwaterprincess 

There is nothing in the rules or the Seller Protections that says they will allow a seller to do this and avoid a Defect.  This is just something sellers should not do.

It isn't like buyers don't have options, because they do.  They can have their mail held at their local PO for up to 30 days or they might have a neighbor pick up their mail.

[pastimpressions]

@chapeau-noir wrote:  "I work for my customers"

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 100% 👍

All metrics are reduced to just so much superfluous & hollow navel gazing sans clientele.

[mam98031]

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@pastimpressions wrote:

@chapeau-noir wrote:  "I work for my customers"

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 100% 👍

All metrics are reduced to just so much superfluous & hollow navel gazing sans clientele.

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Well except that the stats Ebay collects on sellers is how they evaluate us, rank us, decide if we need to be sanctioned for something, etc.  So sure you can say it doesn't mean anything, but the reality is that it does if you want to successfully sell long term on the site.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

all they looked at was ship date and didn't check message, nothing else

There is nothing in eBay policy that states that a buyer message waives the on-time shipping metrics.

I hate to lose top seller status over this

You cannot not lose Top Rated Seller status for one shipping ding. You would have to have more dings to go with it. 

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I don't think it was ever in policy, but it was stated on the boards by a high level employee & I believe on the podcast as well.  It also WAS true & it wasn't all that long ago.  I had ones removed b/c they were able to look at My Messages & confirm the buyer had asked me to delay shipping.  This was just a couple of years ago.  That's why I paged the eBay employees to see if it was still in effect or not.  They definitely DID honor this for awhile anyway. 

[zakstreasuretrove]

I get the idea that one ding won't mess you up metric wise and you should aim for customer service with common sense.  However, I'm not perfect and, though willing to take one ding, what if next week i make a mistake and incur a ding or two because of that?  Maybe this courtesy ding will now put you over the threshold to Sanctionville.

In these cases, I politely tell the customer that I am obligated by eBay to fulfill the shipping requirements laid out in the listing.  

Another poster commented about having the customer place their mail on hold while they are away.  This is the correct action and should be something that people do anyway when they are away.  If it's not practical for them to do, I offer to cancel the order if they wish, otherwise the item is shipped.   I think I'll start adding that.

In any case, I will let the customer know that I will usually ship at a certain time and if I do not hear from them about cancelling then I will ship the order as usual.

So far no issues with that system.  Occasionally, I'll have them request to cancel. but more times than not the sale goes through normally.

I also think that there should be an option to delay shipment at the buyers request.  Perhaps make it like a cancellation request where the seller has to approve it and agree upon a new date within a week or two.   Something along the lines of that.  That way there is a electronic record of it and both sides are aware of the amended shipping time frame.

[conservitvs]

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@krazzykats wrote:

Why can't there be a simple option for the "buyer" to request a ship date if a delay is needed?  The buyer could request it during checkout.

It would also be a handy buyer option for those that want to purchase items while away from home, like when on vacation etc., but want to delay delivery.

Sellers then could provide customer satisfaction without getting dinged and the buyers can request sellers to hold packages.

Seems simple?

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Sure. Right. Simple… but will they do it? Unlikely. 

Still no possibility to request combined shipping in any of the apps… an ongoing problem for years. 

The fake tracking scam still works because eBay looks only at the delivery zip code, rather than the full mailing address… an ongoing problem for years.

You expect them to do something about THIS issue that affects so few transactions?

[golfingaddict]

I list

They buy

They pay

I ship

There are seller issues that I own.  (ship on time, deliver what is promised)

There are buyer issues that they own (change of address, going on vacation, needing the item faster than promised in the listing)

I think as someone else noted, eBay gives us a cushion.

But I'll be danged if I am going to give that cushion away because some buyer wants to go on vacation.

I may need that cushion if my post office fails to pick up, or scan, or if I have an emergency and need an extra day for shipping.   

I'm just wondering if those buyers reach out to Walmart or Macys etc.. when they order and request that they "wait" to ship until they get back from vacation.  

[iamalwaysright]

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@simply-the-best-for-you wrote:

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@luckythewinner wrote:

all they looked at was ship date and didn't check message, nothing else

There is nothing in eBay policy that states that a buyer message waives the on-time shipping metrics.

I hate to lose top seller status over this

You cannot not lose Top Rated Seller status for one shipping ding. You would have to have more dings to go with it. 

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I don't think it was ever in policy, but it was stated on the boards by a high level employee & I believe on the podcast as well.  It also WAS true & it wasn't all that long ago.  I had ones removed b/c they were able to look at My Messages & confirm the buyer had asked me to delay shipping.  This was just a couple of years ago.  That's why I paged the eBay employees to see if it was still in effect or not.  They definitely DID honor this for awhile anyway. 

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Yea you’re probably right and I THINK I recall being honored this as well when asking a rep to look into it. I don’t think it’s worth the effort to make a call for tho. When I did it way back when it was an afterthought since I already had the agent on the phone regarding a more significant issue and I just asked him to look into it after he helped me with the first issue. It’d probably be case by case.

[buyselljack2016]

Why can't there be a simple option for the "buyer" to request

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Well, probably not a reason in the world other than eBay would have to do some coding.

(we know what happens occasionally when they do such)🤣

Would be a great option to have a spot for the buyer to ask and also leave it up to the seller to accept such a request or not. 

When it comes to coding, I'm in a world of "don't know a thing", but a multi-billion $ corporation IT person should be able to code such while standing on one leg, one eye open, and one hand tied behind their back.

Mail hold for the buyer. Great until you get to other carriers. I suppose they have something as well, but why complicate things for buyers/sellers?

[mam98031]

We use to have the option to safely change the ship to address with a message from the buyer in the Ebay system asking for it.  I don't remember what timeframe this was in place, but it apparently caused some kind of issue for Ebay and they changed it back to what it was before this and is currently.

[chariot_badges]

Sometimes, ya gotta tell people "no".

It's hard to do, but .... "no".

[jbbowers12012]

Hi,  Not really too much can be done now.  For the future though.  We here in New Jersey have faced similar situations in the past.  We have messaged our buyers explaining that to maintian our good eBay standing we cannot really deviate from our handling times or have an order tagged as "late".  We suggested to our buyer that he has his purchase held at his P.O. until he needed it - This seemed to work out A-Ok for all.   (J.B.)