eBay

mixmansc · ‎08-16-2019

So I noticed when I bought a couple of items the other day that both showed "Guaranteed Delivery by Fri Aug 16". I actually took a screenshot. Now today it says "Guaranteed Delivery by Mon Aug 19".

Both items were bought and paid for with immediate payment. The first screen shot did not state anything about if they had shipped.

It just rubs me wrong that I was "Guaranteed" delivery by today and now I'm "Guaranteed" delivery by Monday. It cannot be both and I just feel that changing that date is somewhat disingenuous. If the date is subject to change than it was never really "guaranteed" to begin with and the term is really just a flat out lie if it can be changed.

Maybe I'm just not sure how the program works as a buyer though. Regardless - if it was never guaranteed by the date it shows to begin with than it should never say that it was. I also just noted that the emails are HTML that pull data from the website (the same way and item is ending soon email actually counts down and will change to ended) so now the emails are even changed. This is pretty misleading. Going by the change I could not even claim late delivery unless something gets delivered after whatever arbitrary date it gets ultimately changed to.

Also of note - the one items does still show today but I will wager that it will not get here today. I also am right in a major metro area so no odd rural delivery issues or anything like that.

From 08/14

mixmansc · ‎08-18-2019

A somewhat interesting update. Since the second item still had not shown up yesterday I went ahead and did the "report late delivery" and got a $5 voucher. This morning that items "guaranteed" delivery date has now been changed to Monday. I wonder if it does not show up tomorrow could I report late delivery again?

ersatz_sobriquet · ‎08-18-2019

I have seen this guaranteed delivery date change also on my purchases. I think ebay was hoping buyer's wouldn't notice when it changed. Now with this thread it's exposed. The buyer sees a fantastically quick delivery time when viewing the listings before purchasing, that information changes instantly once the type of postage has been paid for and the far more likely and realistic data has been calculated, which may also change once again as tracking is updated.

mabar_1865 · ‎08-18-2019

I've had the same problem with E-Bay changing the Guaranteed Delivery date on me. I always use PayPal and pay for the item as soon as I use the Buy It Now option. I've never had this problem before, not until this week. On two different items they changed the Guaranteed Delivery date on me. One item was marked for delivery on Thur 15, then they changed it to Fri 16. The item came in on Sat 17. When I tried to get a $5 refund, they said the item had made the Guaranteed Delivery Time. No E-Bay, that's not how it works!! That's nothing but a scam!!! You are ripping off your buyers. You better fix this problem fast!!!

te_1556 · ‎08-18-2019

@Anonymous wrote:
While the estimated delivery date may change based on the current status of the shipment, accounting for delays or other issues, the Guaranteed Delivery date should not be updating.

Or SPREADING a range of dates:

Guaranteed Delivery Aug 21 to Aug 22. What does that even mean, guaranteed?

oldcolt45 · ‎08-19-2019

I had the same thing happen recently. Guaranteed delivery on a Friday and then when it didn't show up I went to check it out and suddenly it said Tuesday.
I take a shot of every guaranteed delivery screen now.

Anonymous · ‎08-20-2019

@mixmansc wrote:

So I noticed when I bought a couple of items the other day that both showed "Guaranteed Delivery by Fri Aug 16". I actually took a screenshot. Now today it says "Guaranteed Delivery by Mon Aug 19".

Both items were bought and paid for with immediate payment. The first screen shot did not state anything about if they had shipped.

It just rubs me wrong that I was "Guaranteed" delivery by today and now I'm "Guaranteed" delivery by Monday. It cannot be both and I just feel that changing that date is somewhat disingenuous. If the date is subject to change than it was never really "guaranteed" to begin with and the term is really just a flat out lie if it can be changed.

Maybe I'm just not sure how the program works as a buyer though. Regardless - if it was never guaranteed by the date it shows to begin with than it should never say that it was. I also just noted that the emails are HTML that pull data from the website (the same way and item is ending soon email actually counts down and will change to ended) so now the emails are even changed. This is pretty misleading. Going by the change I could not even claim late delivery unless something gets delivered after whatever arbitrary date it gets ultimately changed to.

Also of note - the one items does still show today but I will wager that it will not get here today. I also am right in a major metro area so no odd rural delivery issues or anything like that.

From 08/14

Hi @mixmansc, I just wanted to update that I've heard back from our tech teams on this issue - we've identified an issue with the estimated delivery dates provided between August 12th and August 19th. This issue has been resolved, but we are still working to fix the transactions that were impacted so any Guaranteed Delivery dates are corrected. Buyers who received items later than the Guaranteed Delivery date that was originally provided are eligible for the appropriate compensation, and once we have repaired the past transactions the option to request compensation will appear as it should within the buyer's purchase history. Keep an eye on the options available to you on the site for the earliest update on this issue and I will be sure to touch base once I have more details to share.

ralen53 · ‎10-01-2019

I have recently purchased a couple of items with guaranteed delivery date and when the item doesn't arrive by that date, I click report delivery issue. Ebay says item delivered on time. I go back and check the listing and the date has changed. Ebay doesn't want to give you the $5 voucher.

Anonymous · ‎10-01-2019

@ralen53 wrote:
I have recently purchased a couple of items with guaranteed delivery date and when the item doesn't arrive by that date, I click report delivery issue. Ebay says item delivered on time. I go back and check the listing and the date has changed. Ebay doesn't want to give you the $5 voucher.

Hi @ralen53, this sounds like a serious technical issue. Have you contacted Customer Service about this? I am happy to look into this for you and ensure any necessary vouchers are issued. I can have any potential technical issues reviewed as well, no problem.

sincitynovelties · ‎10-01-2019

I had this issue recently. Buyer paid on Friday the 20th, I shipped Saturday morning on the 21st, he messaged me the following morning freaking out that it was now going to be late for an event at Disneyworld.
When he purchased it, it stated it would arrive on the 26th, and now it was showing estimated arrival on the 30th. This was for a first class item that should only take 2 days to get to his zone.
I assured him that there was a mistake in the system somewhere and it arrived on the 23rd lol.
Talk about a rollercoaster ride. He can skip any of those at Disney now 😄

dasarock · ‎10-01-2019

@oldcolt45 wrote:
I had the same thing happen recently. Guaranteed delivery on a Friday and then when it didn't show up I went to check it out and suddenly it said Tuesday.
I take a shot of every guaranteed delivery screen now.

I screen shot the listing page showing gd date and system time and date. then again in the 'basket'. again after purchase and then the orders' details. again when the gd changes and the package is late from the original date. no way is ebay getting away with changing the date in system to their benefit when I was supposedly guaranteed. this practice is just plain sleezy!

Anonymous · ‎10-02-2019

@dasarock wrote:

@oldcolt45 wrote:

I had the same thing happen recently. Guaranteed delivery on a Friday and then when it didn't show up I went to check it out and suddenly it said Tuesday.
I take a shot of every guaranteed delivery screen now.

I screen shot the listing page showing gd date and system time and date. then again in the 'basket'. again after purchase and then the orders' details. again when the gd changes and the package is late from the original date. no way is ebay getting away with changing the date in system to their benefit when I was supposedly guaranteed. this practice is just plain sleezy!

Hi @dasarock, the estimated delivery date will change based on the current information being provided by the courier, but Guaranteed Delivery protections are still applicable based on the original date that was shown. If anyone is running into an issue, they just need to contact Customer Service to have this resolved.

systmh · ‎10-03-2019

I mean this is almost certainly deliberate. I think the new strategy is to claim software glitch (I've worked as a programmer and this seems like a designed feature, not a technical issue) and then make people call technical support on a case-by-case basis to get the guarantee. Obviously that's going to weed out a lot of people and statistically reduce the money ebay has to pay.

I wonder what the calculus is for how much a boost in sales this provides versus how many people claim the guarantee voucher versus how much blowback there will be when people start thinking it's a cynical dark pattern.

Happened to me, too, by the way. But going through customer support seems like too much of a hassle for five bucks, and I'm in no particular hurry. I just thought it was shady.

If the guarantee depends on when the seller is able to ship the item, it should just say 'guaranteed shipping after processing' on the for sale page with no specific date figure, then update it with a real and accountable number once the item ships. That would probably reduce people's buying impulse though, so I'm not holding my breath.

Please don't be evil and cargo cult amazon. I know ebay wants to offer competitive features, but without distribution centers (a good thing to be without, imo) it doesn't really make sense to offer a guaranteed delivery date before it's actually in the hands of the courier. There's too many variables. Shifting it around and telling people to call and go on hold is too deceptive.

teenyteenyc · ‎11-23-2019

It's strange. On my listing, I give 3 shipping option for domestic.

1st-class, Priority and Priority Express.

However, the guaranteed delivery date is all 12/3/2019.

The express should be faster than the 1st-class.

Why all 12/03?

anneecakes · ‎11-24-2019

@teenyteenyc --
It's 11/24/19 and you added your issue/response to an older post about (what I think is) a slightly different topic. I think you may be having the same issue I am and that is that (as a seller) weirdly lengthy dates are being displayed as estimated or guaranteed next to your listings (specifically with Priority and Priority Express in your case).

My buyers are seeing weirdly long (First Class) dates, too, and I'm trying to decide if I have enough energy to call customer service over it. It's too long of a "thing" to explain here, but I can see that something else with delivery dates displayed is wonky, too. I came on the boards to see how much of a "thing" all of this is (late November 2019) and that's how I came across this thread. Good luck. I will try to write you if I end up calling them.

21bgunz · ‎01-07-2020

I just had this same issue happen with my order. Projected delivery date was January 8th but eBay GUARANTEE delivery date was January 9th. Now I am being told there was a delay on the sellers end and guarantee delivery date is now Jan 10th. I took off work the 9th for the delivery and scheduled to have the tires in the order installed. Luckily I took a screenshot of the Jan 9th guarantee for proof.