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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

For the last few years I have offered "Same day free shipping" on orders before 9am Pacific and "One day free shipping" on everything else.

 

Then about two weeks ago eBay started adding Free 4 day shipping to all my listings... And this makes it look like I may not ship for up to FOUR DAYS. And this is misleading potential buyers which defeats both my and eBay's intention of selling product.

 

I have called eBay THREE times about this... The first two times they removed it... But it keeps coming back. I called 5 hours ago today but Free 4 day shipping is still there.

 

Where is it? It doesn't show in my ads but when a potential buyer uses "sterling silver spoon ring" in their search parameter in shop by category at the top of the page... There it is.

And Shop by category is where most my (our?) buyers start when looking for something.

Message 1 of 24
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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

Maybe we could all chip in and buy eBay a dictionary. ☺

 

Meanwhile I just changed my current listing titles

They all now end with - FREE 1 DAY SHIPPING.

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Message 9 of 24
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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

Yes, i posted about this last week - only I have a 3-day handling time in my listings (usually ship same day, but want the buffer due to USPS shipping snafus) and YES, I have changed my listings multiple times to multiple settings and it just keeps coming back.  It is some sort of e-Bay default and I have no idea how to make it go away.

 

Interesting - you have same day or 1 day and I have 3 day handling and we both end up with listings that state Free 4 day shipping.  Math must not be e-Bay's strong suit.  


....... "The Ranger isn't gonna like it Yogi"......... Boo-Boo knew what he was talking about!


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Message 2 of 24
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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

A while back, I was told that ebay does this because they review delivery dates and shipping speed, and they must have assumed that number as an average. Anyone father away would see a different number. Also, you might want to double check the Zip. It might show shipping speed for your zip code, I would play around with it.

 

And It's better to UNDER promise and OVER deliver than the other way around. Let them tell the buyer it will be 4 days, they then get their package in 2-3 and they're happy. If you tell them, however, that it will be there in 3 days...And it takes 4? They will most likely open an INR (Item Not Received) case

I am not an eBay employee but I sure feel like one sometimes
eBay Community Mentor Since 8-07-2023
Used to be panda75654
This is my only account. I do not own any other eBay accounts and will not ask for personal information. Stay safe!
Message 3 of 24
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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

They tried to use that as an excuse with me to...

I just asked them why they didn't just say Free 4 day DELIVERY then?

This seemed to get our conversation back on track but the problem still exists I've added "1 DAY SHIPPING" to the title line at the expense of other information I much rather have there for potential buyers.

 

Long story short... Shipping and Delivery are two different things.

Message 4 of 24
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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

That is Ebay's way of telling the buyer they will get the item in 4 four days. It's not implying 4-day handling time. I do think it's a little confusing the way they word it. A lot of their communication has been odd lately.

Message 6 of 24
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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

Nothing is simplified when eBay misleads potential buyers regarding your shipping time.

1 day free shipping IS 1 day free shipping...  It's not Free 4 day shipping 

 

Message 7 of 24
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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

I agree it should say 4 day delivery but Ebay probably won't change it.

Message 8 of 24
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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

Maybe we could all chip in and buy eBay a dictionary. ☺

 

Meanwhile I just changed my current listing titles

They all now end with - FREE 1 DAY SHIPPING.

Message 9 of 24
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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

     The only role eBay has in the shipping timeline is whatever the seller has setup in their listing as handling time, that is it. However, this is just another example of how eBay thinks it has some role in the shipping process when in fact it has none. Once the seller delivers the package to the shipper eBay is done and they, just like everyone else, are at the mercy of USPS, UPS, FedEx.............. EBay has NOTHING to do with how fast deliveries move through the system but they continue to think they do. 

     Most USPS priority mail has an estimated delivery timeline of 2-4 business days inside the U.S. and that is what eBay tacks onto the estimated delivery date. However that is an estimate from USPS. If the package is one day beyond the eBay estimated delivery date a buyer can open an INR case while the seller cannot open a case with USPS until 15 days after the package was shipped. Due to the shipping services problems during the holidays this caused a lot of problems with buyers claiming INR's based on eBay's fabricated estimated delivery date and eBay did little to help the sellers remedy the problem. 

     

Message 10 of 24
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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

It's crazy ! most of buyers will follow this delivery time send message ,may be open request ,it's too bad ,Increased a lot of unnecessary work

Message 11 of 24
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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

I have had a heck of a time. I am extremely sad over eBay doing this. It is misleading and my Sales drop. 

I work so hard taking  pics, describing my items, and then for 'Free 4 Day Shipping' to show up in Bright Green. I have just been trying to understand why eBay feels that this is good for anyone's Sales 

My heart ❤️ goes out to you. And me too.

Message 12 of 24
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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

I joined ebay the first yr they came out. Fees and shipping was cheaper , but shipping went up and so did fees. I just made a purchase for the first time in about a year. First thing I noticed was the 4 day shipping and was confused , priority is 3 day and regular postage can be up to 10 days so 4 day didn't make sense.

My suggesting is to add your same day / 1 day shipping in bold face in the listing description so the buyers will be aware of YOUR policy. 

Message 13 of 24
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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers


@smartbooks-video-music wrote:

I have had a heck of a time. I am extremely sad over eBay doing this. It is misleading and my Sales drop. 

I work so hard taking  pics, describing my items, and then for 'Free 4 Day Shipping' to show up in Bright Green. I have just been trying to understand why eBay feels that this is good for anyone's Sales 

My heart ❤️ goes out to you. And me too.

 

Same. Almost all of my listings have this now. Makes it sound like I’m sitting on my lazy ass for 4 days before I ship! When, in reality I ship everything next business day. “Fast N Free” was SO much better.


 

Message 14 of 24
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eBay's unasked for "Free 4 day shipping" is misleading potential buyers

Well mine says: Delivery in 3-4 days

Message 15 of 24
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