How do others deal with the improper estimated deliver dates that eBay provides to its buyer?
My dilemma is that I sell low cost decals/stickers. Because of that, I use "economy shipping" a stamp and envelope with no tracking. If I were to purchase a shipping method with tracking, many of the items I sell would result in me actually paying more than I received on the sale or only pennies of a profit. I've accepted that it's a risk that buyers can turn around and claim they never received an item for which I'd be required to issue a refund or receive an infraction and forced a refund. But the pathway that the buyers have for that, is where the problem lies.
The main issue is that eBay is telling the buyer that they'll receive the item anywhere from 1-6 business days, despite me choosing "economy shipping 1-10 business days". It gives the buyer a false expectation of when they'll receive the item. The buyer then thinks the seller isn't fulfilling their part of the transaction if they don't receive it in a handful of days. For one, economy shipping will never arrive overnight, so using 1-10 business days is already completely misleading. Secondly, USPS, themselves, state that this method of shipping is estimated to arrive between 3-10 business days but that it's not a guarantee and can take longer in some instances. Why then, is eBay misleading the customer, thus setting sellers up for failure?
I, 100% of the time ship orders out the day it's received or the next business day. However, the estimated delivery dates have resulted in me receiving several opened cases against me for item not received, before they even reach that 10-business day threshold. Fortunately, I've been able to reach most of those buyers and explain the situation, which results in them understanding and giving it a couple of more days to where they receive their order.
But, what happens when you can't reach the buyer to explain the situation? The latest one is for an item not received just 6 business days after purchasing it. The buyer will not respond to my attempts at communications, 3 messages and two voicemails. So, in the end, I'll be left with having to provide a refund or receive an infraction and forced a refund. The kicker is that the time that I've been given to resolve the case would take it to 9 business days from their purchase, which means, I'll have to refund the buyer for an item not received when it hasn't even been a full 10 business days, which is the estimated shipping time that I specifically choose when setting my listings. So, the buyer will receive the refund and still likely receive their product after the case has been resolved, thus providing the buyer with free product.
I've spoken to eBay and suggested the following: (Which I know they'll never change)
(1) Estimated shipping times should be based on the actual USPS estimated delivery of the type of shipping you're using. (Economy, for instance, should estimate 3-10 business days to the customer with a footnote stating that it's still just an estimate and not a guarantee)
(2) Buyers should not be able to open a case against a buyer for item not received until it's been at least 1 week past the ETA. We all know how inconsistent the USPS is, so proving that window would allow the buyer a fair chance at their customer receiving the item prior to them actually being able to open a case.
(3) If a buyer opens a case against a seller and the seller has documented proof of trying to communicate in order to resolve the matter, yet the buyer does not respond, the case should automatically be closed in the seller's favor.
The above parameters would not eliminate the fraudulent buyer who knows how to manipulate the system for free product and their refund, but again, I've accepted that there will be a small percentage of those. What it will help with, however, is to eliminate those false expectations to the buyer and prevent cases from being opened up prior to an adequate amount of time passing for the item to be received. In many of the cases opened against me for item not received, the buyer ends up receiving the item within just a few days later.
This isn't a case of me being upset at any particular negative feedback incident, as I currently have 100% feedback, but a lot of that has to do with me having to track down these buyers who open cases and plea with them to realize this isn't a seller issue.
Anyone else selling low-cost items that have to deal with this and if so, how do you handle it? Any others with suggestions that can help?
