eBay should ask Buyers, before leaving feedback, to not blame Sellers for USPS delays

[sportsposterwarehouse]

Everyone who ships a lot of packages knows: USPS has been a mess in many parts of the country over the past 12 months or so. Indiana, Illinois, Georgia, Kentucky at times, Louisiana now, Missouri always, are just some of the problem areas. I believe eBay should add a note to buyers before leaving feedback, something to the effect of:

"Please be aware that USPS has had major operational issues that has made transit times variable, and often far longer than you have come to expect over the past 20 years. Please do not blame your Seller for poor USPS service on your order. We recommend you contact your Congressman to complain, and judge your seller on the merits of the transaction outside of USPS' delivery problems."

Who's with me?

[wrestlingandhorror]

This happens constantly and as a seller. You tell ebay and despite paying a small fortune in fees to them, they don't really care at all that it's completely unfair to you. 

[sakic92710]

Plenty of sellers will comment here that it is ONLY the seller's responsibility to make sure the item(s) arrive in a timely manner.  eBay doesn't care, either. Even if tracking shows a package is en route, if it doesn't arrive by their estimated time, they WILL refund the buyer & you are on your own to try & get your money back when the package does arrive later.

[chapeau-noir]

eBay would consider that editorialising and outside their purview - what they WILL do is alert for actual identified natural disasters, but outside of that, we're on our own. 

[simply-the-best-for-you]

I agree.  I just got my first INR b/c of these issues 😞  I shipped it the day she bought it!  I cannot possibly ship any faster than same day! 

[mam98031]

@sportsposterwarehouse 

Sellers are protected against buyers claiming an untruth about tracking in their feedback.

We remove neutral/negative feedback when the buyer is referencing:

• A delivery issue where tracking shows us that the delivery or handling time expectations were met
• A delivery issue where a natural disaster or unexpected event caused a carrier delay
• A customs or tax issue outside the seller’s control that we could identify

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/feedback-policies/feedback-policy?id=4208

[kalyoth]

End of the day - you are a seller with a chosen delivery service. The carrier is indeed part of the purchase experience. If you fear how a carrier operates, do not offer it or use it. Only reason USPS is offered is because it's cheapest option for many. Cheap has consequences.

[mine-to-yours]

I agree 100%! I just received neutral feedback today because the buyer said item took too long to be delivered. I shipped the item the very next day after the customer bought it (even though I have a handling time of 4 days).  It's SO unfair that sellers can receive neutral/negative feedback based on the timeliness of the delivery service, yet sellers can't give buyers anything other than positive feedback.     

[kalyoth]

As a seller I wish I could be with you. However, I refer back to the transaction listings that list USPS as the carrier. That is a selection of service by the seller to transact to the buyer. In many, but not all, there are no options for shipping offered. I myself use USPS & seem to be lucky enough to not encounter the issues many are frequently encountering.

The service is contracted by the seller. We are responsible for the service provided having chosen that service. I used to offer a choice. I stopped as buyer never chose those other options. You don't want to face the issues from USPS, don't use them is your only option.

[donedonedonehasta]

No offense but that's bullcrap. If tracking shows a seller ships an item our job is done. Ebay is an ecommerce platform, they provide shipping labels therefor if you use their shipping labels they are 100% involved and responsible for protecting sellers when the carriers are in possession of our items. We are taking all the risk. The least ebay can do is stop pawning off all responsibility onto us. They made 10.3 billion in 2024 off the hard word and inventory that we provide yet they provide us with literally no assistance and 1000 different rules. 

[donedonedonehasta]

100% agree!!!

Ebay is an ecommerce platform, they provide shipping labels therefor if you use their shipping labels they are 100% involved and responsible for protecting sellers when the carriers are in possession of our items. We are taking all the risk. The least ebay can do is stop pawning off all responsibility onto us. They made 10.3 billion in 2024 off the hard word and inventory that we provide yet they provide us with literally no assistance and 1000 different rules. 

[jonathanbrightlight]

eBay doesn't "provide shipping labels".  They let you purchase the shipping label through their interface at a discount.  They're not responsible for it, you are. By law.

[kensgiftshop]

Comments from a buyer like this will make the buyers want to contact the seller.

"but the customer service during that was AWFUL. They were rude, demanding, belittling and demeaning. Comments like "write your Congressman" and "you will wait" were said by then."

[kensgiftshop]

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@donedonedonehasta wrote:

No offense but that's bullcrap. If tracking shows a seller ships an item our job is done. Ebay is an ecommerce platform, they provide shipping labels therefor if you use their shipping labels they are 100% involved and responsible for protecting sellers when the carriers are in possession of our items. We are taking all the risk. The least ebay can do is stop pawning off all responsibility onto us. They made 10.3 billion in 2024 off the hard word and inventory that we provide yet they provide us with literally no assistance and 1000 different rules. 

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Wrong, a sellers job isn't done until the item has been delivered to the buyer and they are happy with it.

[ltldpr]

Hate to break it to ya, but contacting congressional reps didn't do much good when the Houston facilities were having to hand-sort mail and pkgs a little over a year ago. Sure, they brought more media attention to the situation, but none were allowed to even tour either facility as far as I know. 

USPS doesn't seem to have to answer to Congress, despite what we all might think. 

I suppose they could call for a Congressional Hearing, but even that just has the big cats sitting in a room blaming everyone but themselves for what their policies and their implementation of useless ai have done to a once reputable and dependable organization. 

I do agree though, that eBay shouldn't punish sellers for delivery times if we ship within our window. eBay also uses artificial idiocy (ai) to create the estimated arrival times which are often unrealistic even for the old, dependable USPS of the past. Plus, when sellers fall below standard due to refunds caused by USPS delivery times, they get to charge higher fees. They have a financial interest to NOT care.