How to manage delays in shipping due to absence. CYA question.

[superdupler]

This is just a CYA question, just want to make sure I am covered. Most people seem good, but you never know, there are those few.... So I have more items to post for sale & usually I check the shipping within 3 days. That gives me plenty of wiggle room in case I forget to check my mail one day & am very busy the next. But now here is my potential problem. I am now back in the 'States and looking for a job. I have a few short contract jobs that will last 1-2 weeks, and interviews sometimes in other states that may take me away for a week. What if someone buys something just a few days after I leave? I would normally just send the buyer a message & explain what's going on, usually they are okay to chill until I get back. But what if they aren't? Can and would Ebay penalize me for failing to ship within my stated 3 days? Should I just change my listings to say shipping within like 15 days to be safe? If I did, would that turn off potential buyers? How is the best way to handle potential sales if you may be out for a while? Not just for my examples, but maybe you are going on vacation, or a sudden family thing, or your cousin's wedding, or something. There is a very convenient relisting feature which I like, but I worry about what may happen if something sells & I'm not here to ship it. Thanks!

[nobody*s_perfect]

Yes, eBay will penalize you if you don't ship within your stated handling time.

Yes, one common strategy is to revise your handling time to reflect your actual anticipated shipping date. BUT some buyers will overlook that and get impatient.  And anything more than a week is just asking for trouble.

For longer absences, most sellers just end their listings, then relist when they return (or just before they return).

[dhbookds]

Can and would Ebay penalize me for failing to ship within my stated 3 days?

Absolutely Ebay will.  You will get late shipment dings....and those can add up.    You can change the handling time to whatever you feel will cover you.....but understand people may not buy with long handling times. 

[lex-talon]

Most buyers expect their items to arrive in a timely manner. Having a handling time of 15 days will not help any, it will put off buyers and they will look elsewhere. 

Better to end your listings before leaving and relist when you come back. 

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi, i travel often and since i don't have a store to use the vacation mode, I end my listings using "Error in the listing" reason. Then i relist upon my return. (I am considering getting a basic store just so I can have the vacation setting, but as a small seller I'm weighing the change.) The reason I select "Error in the listing" is so anyone checking my ended items or has one of my items on their Watch list, will know the item has not sold. There is no appropriate reason available out of the 4 choices eBay gives when ending a listing, so I have to wing it. 

Leaving my listings up is not an option in my case. Too great a chance I will sell something and then not be there to satisfy the order. Or someone may have a question about a listing, and I won't be able to answer because of a delay in seeing the query, or they may want information about an item that requires me to physically handle it, like additional measurements.  Since I have one day shipping, and follow Best Practices to give my listings a boost in Search, I do not think extending the handling time is a good idea. But some sellers do it successfully and if it's short-distance travel, some set up auctions where the end time corresponds with their return. 

[patd3283]

Fashun, you know you can cancel the listings by clicking on the box to the left of ones you want to cancel then click on Actions above.  Hit the end and in a short time, it will cancel the listings.

I notice when ending individually and going to relist that I get a msg about be 'out of stock' or whatever my reason was.  Also noticed pictures missing.

[mam98031]

Your problem isn't just going to potentially be with buyers being upset, but Ebay will give you defects for late shipments.  And on a new selling account, it could cost you dearly.  Ebay will sanction you if you get too many defects.  It just isn't a good thing to do and will dramatically affect the health of your account.

Since you don't have a store, you can't put your stuff on vaca hold.  But there is another option for you.  You can go to your site preferences and in inventory you can select the OOS function [out of stock].  

When you know you are going to be out of town or otherwise unavailable, you can edit your active listings, bring the quantity down to zero and then no one can purchase from them as you don't have any inventory listed.  But your listings remain active and any listing fees for renewals would be charged for up to 90 days with a zero balance.

Once you return you can edit your listings again and put in your quantities.

Now if that is too time consuming, then you should just end your listings BEFORE your final day that you are available to ship stuff.  When you come back, you can post them again.

Good luck on your job interviews.  I hope you find a GOOD one!!!  

[nobody*s_perfect]

---

@fashunu4eeuh wrote: ... I am considering getting a basic store just so I can have the vacation setting .... 

---

The "Starter" level store costs far less than the Basic store subscription.  It lacks some of the benefits of higher store levels, but it does have access to the vacation settings.

[superdupler]

Wow so many good responses, thank you!!!! Learn something new everyday... A few new questions though, fashunu4eeuh, patd3283, & mam98031, The only way I can see is the first one mentioned by fashunu4eeuh, ending each listing. I assume none of these options will give you a problem with Ebay right? You say you travel often so it makes me feel better knowing this is a common issue. Mam98031, is there a fast way to do that? I assume you just go in and revise listing, is that where I will find the quantitiy? Total noob questions I know, just have never used any of this other stuff before. And lastly, Patd3283, yours sounds great, checking a box seems like I could cancel several (or all) listings at once, and that would be great, but I don't see any boxes to check. Maybe I'm looking on the wrong page. Looking in MyEbay > Active, to the left I see the menu items, selling, sold, buying, drafts, etc, then the picture of my item, then description, then to right is "Sell similar" with menu arrow (which gets me to Fashunu4eeuh's suggestion about ending the listing) and below it are the views, watchers, and bidders. I don't see any boxes to check. Where would I find them? And for all of you, do any of you have any problems relisting when you return? Is it just paused? For patd3283, were those issues about out of stock and missing pictures common after doing what you do, or were they problems doing something other that what you do? Thank to everyone who responded, I really REALLY appreciate it!!!