eBay PLEASE stop giving buyers erroneous information and setting false expectations.

[blingfling123]

The recommended cutoff date for delivery by Christmas for Priority Mail by the USPS was Monday December 19. 2 days ago.

Today is December 21. I just sold 2 items. 

WHY are you estimating the delivery date for both as December 23 when these items were purchased today December 21 and will not ship until December 22? One is going from the bottom of the US to the top of the US.  The other is going halfway across the country to CA.  

This sets a BUYER up for disappointment, not to mention aggravation for a seller when it does not arrive before Christmas "because eBay said it would". 

[gtgeveryday]

I've been having this issue all week. I have buyers opening item not received cases before the item is even due to be shipped. I changed the handling time on our items to three days since shipments are often delayed this time of year. I wanted to try to avoid returns for items arriving late. I have items that were ordered on Friday the 16th that are due to be shipped today Dec 21st. The order is showing that estimated delivery is Dec 17th-21st. How do they expect items to be delivered before they are even shipped? It's also now nearly impossible to contact support. eBay is just trying to get some extra sales before Christmas to make their numbers look better for the quarter at the expense of sellers who will have extra returns and buyers who will be disappointed.

[shag182]

The answer my friend is just message your buyers and letting them know "that your package, item(s) "may" be running a bit late, due to the Holiday rush".... at USPS, UPS, FEDEX or whatever delivery service you used.   Be PROACTIVE and NOT reactive. 🤔

[blingfling123]

@shag182 

Yeah, because that always works.  Not.

Buyers do not care. They see a date, they expect it on that date, even if it is an estimate and has a range. 

There is no need to provide estimated dates that are outside of the recommendation of the actual carrier, not to mention physically impossible. 

[b86fiero]

That is a problem.  Buyers tend to see only the first date estimated and ignore the rest.

I had 5 sales this morning, already shipped them.  Two buyers messaged me they hoped to get them before Christmas for gift giving.  Neither was willing to pay for Priority or Expedited shipping.  They went first class package as stated in my listings. 

Another problem for some of us is last minute gift buyers search for sellers closest to them.  Two of my orders today were shipped to cities within 30 miles of me. Postmaster DeJoy closed the postal sorting hub near me so everything goes to the sorting facilities near Detroit, Michigan before coming back to Ohio for delivery.  The Detroit area facilities are well known for delays and lost mail.

Hopefully buyers are understanding.

Best wishes,

BJ  

[simba6]

Those expected delivery dates have caused unhappy buyers for years.  But, the "pressure" is on to keep the delivery time shown as short to make more sales.  Buyers want it yesterday.

[the-hook-and-the-loop]

At least eBay will remove the negative feedbacks caused by this. This is how you work harder and not smarter.

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@simba6 wrote:

Those expected delivery dates have caused unhappy buyers for years.  But, the "pressure" is on to keep the delivery time shown as short to make more sales.  Buyers want it yesterday.

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@blingfling123 

@simba6 

For anything going internationally there is also the concern that the eBay front page notes there may be customs delays where as when you check the estimate page (using calculator) does not. Unfortunately customs delays are BEYOND a sellers control. Just like seasonal overloads and miss sorts.

-Lotz

[gamersbaystore]

Yep, the unrealistic delivery estimates are part of the reason I'm closing my store for good in the next couple of months. Going to have some big sales and then I'm done with this garbage dump for an e-commerce platform.

[simba6]

All I said was buyers are unhappy about those expected dates.  Since there is no way to know the exact time a package will arrive.   And yes, people have been unhappy about it for years.   So no "erroneous information" was given in my post.

Buyers do want it yesterday too. 

 

[asset_liquidators]

Actually one could contend that doing that IS reactive, as sending that message is a reaction to the poorly displayed delivery dates.

Also, as soon as you open that dialogue you are then opening yourself up to possible attempted bullying from a buyer. They may see that as a sign of weakness and try to get a post-sale discount.

Best to just let the sleeping dog lie. Any "message" from a seller is not going to get a package there any quicker.

The real solution is out of our hands unfortunately and that solution is for ebay to not show a buyer an unrealistic delivery date.