Got a defect because Post Office

[b86fiero]

I understand why so many sellers are furious with the eBay system of punishing sellers who do their job of shipping on time only to be deemed DEFECTIVE because the item arrived ONE DAY after the estimated delivery date because the USPS could not handle the holiday shipping volume.  This is the USPS not delivering.

WT....??????

How is this my fault????????????

What a hateful thing to do us!!!

[b86fiero]

Hi fern*wood,

Thank you so much for your help.  I could not attend the Weekly Chat due to a doctor appointment.  I really appreciate what you did for me!

I have exchanged messages with Brian and am thrilled to say all is well and the defect is gone.  (Thank you again Brian!!).

I also want to thank everybody again for your comments, suggestions and support.  What a great community!

Have a blessed holiday season,

BJ

[fern*wood]

Happy to see it worked out for you.  It just bugs me when I read about something like this.  If I have to abide by the rules as they are set up, then by golly, I feel that ebay should too.

[rustictrollop]

You chose to jump through the hoops, knowing that ebay glitches, punishes and the PO has a poor history of 100% scans.  All for a badge, a few scheckles and false promises ebay makes.

I ship at the counter - I almost never enter tracking and I have been above standard for years now and never get late defects.  Mostly because ebay has no idea if I am shipping late or not.

Saves me a huge amount of stress, frustration and anger.

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@retrose1

I have a quick question about what you've said...something I've wondered about.  I thought it was an imperative that the tracking information is entered (honestly don't remember how I got that notion).  The estimated delivery date on the eBay 'sold item' page only disappears once that info is entered.  Am I to understand that this is not actually a requirement?  I always provide the tracking info in a message to buyers once I've shipped...but I probably don't need to do that either....right?

Should I be entering the tracking number on PayPal rather than eBay?  Your methods sound like a good way to eliminate some extra steps and worry.  Thanks!

[Anonymous]

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@b86fiero wrote:

I understand why so many sellers are furious with the eBay system of punishing sellers who do their job of shipping on time only to be deemed DEFECTIVE because the item arrived ONE DAY after the estimated delivery date because the USPS could not handle the holiday shipping volume.  This is the USPS not delivering.

WT....??????

How is this my fault????????????

What a hateful thing to do us!!!

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Hi @b86fiero, I'm not seeing any late shipment defects recorded for you. Is it possible you saw something recorded while our system was updating and this has since been removed. It can take up to 48 hours at times to receive carrier information, but I can assure you that as long as you ship within your stated handling time, your item is delivered by the estimated delivery date or your buyer confirms on time delivery there will be no defect recorded. Only one of the three components needs to be met for you to meet this metric.

Additionally, I do want to touch on the points you raised about your chosen carrier not meeting expectations and this falling on the seller. The courier you employ to deliver your items is a part of your business model and subsequently falls under your responsibility, as you have decided on a service that meets the expectations you are providing to your customer. If your shipping service regularly does not uphold their agreement to delivery safely and within a certain timeframe, you may need to explore alternative options. If this is a one-off or infrequent occurrence, then just remember we do not expect 100% compliance with these metrics. 

[lookng2015]

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@b86fiero wrote:

Dugg - your opinion has value and I appreciate hearing it.

I believe much of the eBay hype encourages unrealistic expectations in buyers.

The good thing for me is my buyer was completely happy with her purchase and has no quibble about the post office delaying delivery.

Since the defect damage has already been done to my account, should I contact my buyer and tell her to complain so she gets the $5 eBay coupon?  Isn't that part of the guaranteed delivery program?    

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One of my IDs has a couple of late shipping dings (mainly because eBay relisted something I'd already sold the year before) because I had to wait to get a replacement, and I figured a late shipping ding was better than an OOS defect (NOT caused by me).

Buyers were informed, didn't care, were happy as long as the items got to them in a reasonable time. Even with the late shipping they were delivered only ONE day past eBay's ETA.

I totally believe most buyers couldn't give a rats as long as it's within a couple of days of the ETA, and it's all in eBay's mind.

[b86fiero]

Hi Trinton,

Brian assisted me with getting the defect removed.  I am very grateful.

I posted that info in my reply to fern*wood above.  This is a long thread so you probably missed that.

Thanks for reaching out to me.  I truly appreciate you!!

Have a peaceful and safe holiday season,

BJ 

[sodelight]

I'm sorry this happened to you.

The guaranteed delivery is crazy. And, YES, when seeing it on listings or in the search filter I'd surely think they mean I'll have the item within 3 days. Why would a buyer want to sort items by those that simply ship within 3 days.....how is taking 3 days to ship an item a benefit! If that's what it's referring to, it's extremely misleading. Everything I've purchased lately has always shipped within 2 days at the most, it's after it leaves the sellers hands things slow down due to carrier slowness.

I've read that USPS has processed over 100 million MORE packages this holiday season vs last year! That's an astounding volume of pkgs, apparently they weren't prepared for it. Which is why nearly every pkg I've shipped or purchased since Thanksgiving week has arrived late. This shows the huge increase in online sales and why b&m stores are facing a tough time and closing.