Late Shipping Ding

[joawar]

Hello all, longtime eBay Seller here since 2008.  I just sold an item that the Buyer has asked me to hold off mailing until years end, as they're moving.  I'm happy to do this to facilitate the Buyer.  However, I DON"T want to be dinged by eBay for a 'Late Shipment'.  Is there any way to note that this buyer ASKED for a later shipment?  I'm a Top Rated Seller and don't want to hurt my status due to a late shipment. 

-Any ideas?  Thanks in advance!

[ryry-jj]

Nope, you need to ship within your handling time frame to avoid a late shipment ding.

You can have the buyers request to cancel and relist & buy at a later date

[jbbowers12012]

We here in New Jersey also once faced this situation.  We explained everything to our buyer who was very understanding & had his purchase held at his Post Office until he would be home to receive it.  This may also be an option.

[broto_64]

I believe you have more to worry about than a late shipment ding, the red flag here is that the time to ask these questions is before making payment (and not after) but to give your buyer the benefit of the doubt you should try and work this out with the buyer first by letting them know "buying on lay-away" isn't a service you provide and see if they're willing to allow you to cancel the transaction (at which point you can do so for reason "buyer asked.")
If the buyer isn't amenable to your request you should know you're not required to agree to any extras or changes from the terms of your listing. If a buyer is making demands that are not a part of your original listing (such as making alternate shipping arrangements), you will be protected from negative feedback and defects when you either deliver the item purchased by the buyer according to the original terms of your listing, or cancel the transaction.

Ref: Abusive buyer policy

To help ebay identify buyers who are engaging in unacceptable buying behaviors, please report the abusive behavior.

Reason: The buyer demanded something that wasn’t offered in the original listing.

[jdbelt1960]

Your problem is going overboard to facilitate the buyer.  The buyer should have thought about that before purchase. If the buyer paid you must ship according to policy.

[bonanza125]

I would advise to message the buyer specifically tell them you can't hold onto the package. Ebay requires you to ship so immediately as @ryry-jj suggested cancel and then the buyer purchase the item later. Tell them to make sure they change there shipping address on file to whatever new address whenever they decide to purchase again. This has happened to me multiple times. Some buyers don't realize Ebay has a deadline for shipments.

[fern*wood]

I'm no fan of buyers doing this, and if given the chance, I advise them it is best to have their purchases held --- blah blah blah.  Having said that, it happens occasionally where they buy and ask later.  Since ebay allows some wiggle room on the shipping metrics to remain top rated, I have held a package without any harm to my account.  You will receive a hit to your metrics, but if you have no others, you should be fine.   

[le-5262]

If it were me 

and I was feeling invested like that

best case scenario 

I would offer to take my listing down

until a certain date.

I'm not understanding why they wouldn't just ship during your timeframe...

shouldn't be all that complicated to get your mail transferred.

[jonathanbrightlight]

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@jbbowers12012 wrote:

We here in New Jersey also once faced this situation.  We explained everything to our buyer who was very understanding & had his purchase held at his Post Office until he would be home to receive it.  This may also be an option.

---

I second this suggestion. We have several times suggested to buyers who asked for this that they have the post office hold their mail, and it has always worked out well they did.

[12345jamesstamps]

As far as I know you can mark an item shipped and ship it whenever and then add tracking later if you use ship it through a post office using post office stamps or their label or not even add the tracking.

I have a great seller who does this with no repercussions 

Using an eBay label of course you cannot do that.

[sonorap]

Just adding, I have done this when I have good buyers that would like to buy several items at a time , but are waiting on me to get listings done or to finish posting a lot Im currently sorting. I just do another shipping label off ebay. This may mess with ebay protections so I would not do it with high priced items, or with buyers with bad ratings

[golfingaddict]

This is a buyer problem. 

Ship as indicated and let the buyer deal with it.  They need to take responsibility for their own actions.

If they can't receive a package until the end of the year they need to stop buying until the end of the year. 

[hotwheelsbum]

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@joawar wrote:

Hello all, longtime eBay Seller here since 2008.  I just sold an item that the Buyer has asked me to hold off mailing until years end, as they're moving.  I'm happy to do this to facilitate the Buyer.  However, I DON"T want to be dinged by eBay for a 'Late Shipment'.  Is there any way to note that this buyer ASKED for a later shipment?  I'm a Top Rated Seller and don't want to hurt my status due to a late shipment. 

-Any ideas?  Thanks in advance!

---

I don't get this.

Our Maine Goods

99.7% positive feedback

20K items sold

859 followers

Location: United States
Member since: Oct 30, 2008
Seller: joawar

Top Rated Seller

And you actually asked this question?

Ummmm....OK. 

I think. 🤔

[gurlcat]

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@12345jamesstamps wrote:

As far as I know you can mark an item shipped and ship it whenever and then add tracking later if you use ship it through a post office using post office stamps or their label or not even add the tracking.

I have a great seller who does this with no repercussions 

Using an eBay label of course you cannot do that.

---

Including tracking AND having the label scanned within the seller's handling time is required.  I would be furious if I bought on a platform where so-called "Top Rated" sellers could just mark "Shipped" and then sit on my item indefinitely, without any threat to their elite status.  

[christworks]

What is all of this bending over backwards for buyers? This is their problem.  Here is what I would say:
"Dear Customer, thank you for your purchase. Unfortunately, I am not allowed by eBay to hold orders. I have a X-day handling time by which I must ship your order or I will receive a defect on my account. I appreciate your understanding. 

There are a couple of options. First, you can ask the carrier to hold your package at their facility. Second, you may cancel this order and repurchase the item at the then current price when you will be able to receive it, assuming the item is still available.  If the order is not cancelled, the item will ship on X-Day. 

Next time don't do dumb stuff like this because I don't like having to hand hold buyers. 

Sincerely,

Bob

Okay, that last part are my inner thoughts. Don't add that. 😁

No way would I offer to pull a listing and hold an item for, what 2-1/2 weeks? I cannot even speak to my thoughts on that poor advice. You have ZERO guarantee they will come back to buy it. If I were desperate for sales I wouldn't do that.