What to do if Buyer asks to wait 5 days to send item

[time4david5d28]

Ok, so Buyer accepts an Offer on a Buy it Now/Best Offer listing.  Then in a separate message writes they would like me to wait 5 days to send the item.   I have a 1 day turn around in my listing.   Am I obligated to send in my time frame in the listing or obligated to perform as buyer instructs?    If I wait 5 days, does that action count against me as I miss the EBay's expectation of the listing of 1 day turn around and therefore probably miss the expected receive date.   Do I go back to buyer and say what?      Ask to cancel transaction due to buyer wanting me to wait 5 days to send?    Ask buyer why I need to wait?   What do I do or not do?

[vintagecraze50]

There seems to be no way to correct this if the buyer wants the shipment to go out later. Once they pay you are on the time line. Some people want shipments delayed becuase they might be out of town.  Tell them you will pay to have it signature tracked so that they can pick it up at the local post office where it will be held for them securely until they can pick it up. The P.O. I believe holds items there for a few weeks before they are forwarded back to the sender.

[vintagecraze50]

Yes, ask them why they want the delay to be sure what you need to do.

[pburn]

This has been discussed a number of times on the discussion boards. I'll try to find a couple of threads and post the links here ASAP.

In the meantime, the consensus of the board posters was that you should not risk receiving a defect for a late shipment. Several options were put forth, such as:

You could politely and professionally suggest that your buyer:

--put their mail on vacation hold (assuming shipment is via USPS);
--have a friend, neighbor or relative monitor tracking and pick up the package when it arrives;
--request that the transaction be cancelled (i.e., buyer requested cancellation) and you will relist it when they are available to receive the package.

I don't think buyers have any idea that this seemingly innocuous request presents a problem for the seller in regard to their seller metrics. If you explain that (again, politely and professionally), they will probably agree to one of the above.

[pburn]

Here's the thread I referred to. (I could find only one.) It may have some good ideas in it for you.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Buyer-Paid-but-Wants-Me-to-Hold-Shipping-His-Purchase-for-5-Da...

[femmefan1946]

How many Defects do you have now?

How many can you accumulate before --whatever happens when you have too many defects?

Could you mail on time using a slower service?

If you mark the parcel 'DO NOT SAFE DROP' will it go back to the Post Office for pickup and how long will th PO hold it before returning it?

As a non-US seller  I operate under different standards, and have no idea how USPS handles undelivered parcels.

You might also ask if the buyer has an alternate address for delivery on his PP account.

[ekmadonna]

Just wait the 5 days, what is the big deal? I have 100% tracking uploaded and validated, I have had maybe 2-3 customers a year ask to hold off on shipping thier item. 1 or 2 or even 3 cases of shipping a package after payment and not in your stated handling time means nothing percentage wise. Do you want a HAPPY CUSTOMER and RETURN BUSINESS. It's good customer service to oblige your customers request. And again a late shipping ding is nothing unless your in the habit of shipping things out late.

[castlemagicmemories]

Ebay has said they will remove a defect if you have a message from the buyer, but I don't know that they actually have done that.

You can tell the buyer you are obligated by Ebay to ship within your handling time, and ask them if they want to cancel.  You would use buyer requested if they do.  You can relist it when five days has elapsed.

Or you can explain that you have to ship according to your handling time and ask the buyer to have their mail held.  It's easy to do and they can do it online.

Your call.

IF they haven't paid, you can just tell them to pay in five days.  Turn off your unpaid item assistant if it is turned on.  Then the shipping clock starts in five days when they pay.

[labs118]

I would never turn away my customer , I have done & will continue to do this for them if asked  .
ebay has 2 metrics Late shipment rate & Tracking uploaded on time 
Yes I have called & had only the Late shipment removed .

As long as you have the email asking you to hold it for 5 days you can have the late shipment removed but they can't remove tracking upload 
As I ship & upload ontime it would never be worth it to me to turn away my customer because of ebay .

So if it was me & you have a good tracking upload & shipment rate I would just do
this for them. 
 

[flyinhawaiiangirl]

Plus late shipping defects fall off after 3 months not one year

[time4david5d28]

Thanks for everyone's input. I contacted EBay and the Representative said that they do remove such defects since I have the message request from the Buyer . . . however it might take a while to remove since it is a 'system' automated process and they have to go into the system and change information in different 'departments'.

To answer other folks questions . . . yes, the Buyer already paid. I have sent the Buyer a message concerning the issue of time frame and whether they would like to cancel and just buy next week at the agreed price. However, no response yet.

Since I don't ship late, I certainly don't want to have a blemish on my record. I don't Sell as a 'Business' as it is not my a source of income to me to provide food on the table. So, I don't have hundreds of items I sell at a time. I might sell 10 items in a month on average. So every little defect or ding does count to some extent.

Of course there is this in the details of Ebay's Guaranteed Shipping:
"* The delivery date is not guaranteed until you have checked out using an instant payment method. If your Guaranteed Delivery item isn’t on time, you can (1) return the item, for a refund of the full price and return shipping costs; or (2) keep the item and get a refund of your shipping costs (if shipping was free, get a $5 eBay voucher). Attempted delivery on or before the guaranteed date will be considered a timely delivery.See Details"

So since this buyer has paid, even if they have asked me to hold the item and send 5 days after the fact, they still can ask EBay for a refund based on not getting the item in a timely fashion AND obtain free return shipping . . . Before I have the chance to argue with EBay that they requested a delay in shipping?

[lost-lizard-trading-company]

Paranoia much?  Jeez.  Most people are honest.  Take a chance.  

Honor the buyer's request.  Don't hassle the buyer with questions and requests to get a neighbor, place a hold, put on vacation, etc.  Life happens and there may be a very legitimate reason. (I used to travel for work and order some rather pricey items.  I would rather have them arrive when I was in town, and often asked for a shipping delay.)

Don't get too wrapped up with what customer service tells you about removing defects.  Even when they say they will, they often don't.  Keep evidence of the request which should be made through eBay's communo system.