USPS Ground Advantage Delay to the Islands: Issue Regarding Ebay's Expected Delivery Estimates

[criticalhitgamingemporium]

I have an issue with ebay's estimated delivery times. They are merely estimations, and should not be hard expectations of when the buyer will receive the item. However, Ebay's refund policies conflict with this notion. I have an item being sent to Hawaii using USPS's Ground Advantage service. Ebay has an automated 5-7 day delivery estimate for all ground advantage deliveries except for international customers. This is an issue as for ground advantage specifically, they are shipped to the isles on containers. Got back with USPS's customer service earlier and their estimates for ground advantage only apply to inland stands. Hawaii specifically takes around 3-6 weeks on average.

So now the customer is expecting a delivery within 5-7 day timeframe which simply isn't feasible with the shipping service being offered. And when they don't receive the item within the time frame ebay estimates, they put in a hard time framed delivery or face penalties to your account. The automated time frames need to be updated, and customers ordering from the island using the specified shipping service need to be informed that their deliveries are coming in from shipping containers, so to expect later deliveries than what would normally be assumed. Now, I'm hard locked to get a delivery to a customer that simply doesn't seem possible because of the method of which it's being sent to them or have to refund them/face dings on my account for something completely outside of my control. Any advice or means to get ebay to update their methods in giving delivery estimates for instances like these or any rep can help resolve my issue regarding my order that I may be forced into refunding at no fault of my own?

- RJ

[kensgiftshop]

I stopped using ground to ship to Hawaii years ago because of the time it takes.

Not much you can do but hope you have a good buyer that will wait.

[lakefor94]

Now that you know you can be "hard locked" on delivery times, don't ship anything to Hawaii,  Alaska,  Puerto Rico or any other offshore place via USPS Ground Advantage. Use USPS Priority. 

If USPS Priority is not an viable option due to cost, you need to exclude those destinations or be responsible when a buyer files an Item Not Received case because the delivery method you paid for will not get it there in time.

[criticalhitgamingemporium]

I appreciate the attempt to help, however, "In Time" is relative to what ebay's estimates provide which is inaccurate to what is feasibly expected of the service. If a buyer pays for shipping with a specified service, then the estimates need to be curated to the expectations including the destination it is being shipped to and the method of which it's shipped. As stated, 5-7 days is only a given ESTIMATE from USPS in regards to inland states, and again, merely an estimate. It's not the seller's responsibility to meet a certain time frame, just to ensure that the delivery actually occurs. As long as progress continues to the desired destination, the package isn't lost/stolen, just taking longer to deliver than what is usual. Why should the seller be on the hook for ebay's inaccurate estimations? The ebay rep I talked to earlier even confirmed this. It's a given estimation and should not be an expected hard delivery date.

[criticalhitgamingemporium]

Yeah... I'm figuring that one out quickly. My issue is if ebay can even be bothered to address this concern or is it just going to be brushed off. It makes the seller look terrible when freight isn't delivered on the provided expected time frame that is completely outside of our control, especially when it's not even taking into account nuances like delivering to islands in particular.

[lakefor94]

Ultimately, the seller will be responsible for deliveries that are outside of the latest estimated delivery date provided by eBay. 

Does not matter if the eBay delivery estimate is not viable or if USPS has delays. 

EBay may or may not EVER make adjustments to the delivery estimates.  

The bottom line as a seller is knowing how long the delivery will take and choosing and paying for the correct carrier and service to complete the delivery without the buyer filing a Item Not Received case.  

May not seem fair, but that is the way it is. The seller will be responsible for late deliveries. 

You can argue all you want here on the forum, but it won't change a thing.....

[criticalhitgamingemporium]

You're correct..... The expectation won't change if you don't bring up flaws in said expectation. Hence the post. Nothing ever changes if you don't take action/bring your issue to the attention of others. It's an estimation and an very inaccurate one at that. The buyer choose the service, and ebay's estimates should reflect the buyer's preference in the shipping method.

[lakefor94]

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@criticalhitgamingemporium wrote:

You're correct..... The expectation won't change if you don't bring up flaws in said expectation. Hence the post. Nothing ever changes if you don't take action/bring your issue to the attention of others. It's an estimation and an very inaccurate one at that. The buyer choose the service, and ebay's estimates should reflect the buyer's preference in the shipping method.

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@criticalhitgamingemporium 

Incorrect, the seller presents a choice or choices for the buyer. If the seller allows a bad choice, that is on the seller.

On all my heavier items, I use UPS and on the listing, exclude islands and Alaska.

On the lightweight stuff, I may offer only USPS GA.  If an island or Alaskan buyer purchases, I pony up the extra few dollars to ship USPS Priority.  It is all about mitigating risk. 

[criticalhitgamingemporium]

Incorrect. That is a convenience you provide outside of what the BUYER HAS REQUESTED. Doesn't mean you should be held to account for something that you provided of your own good will instead of what the buyer paid for. It's not a 'bad choice', it's a bad estimate as to when to expect the package. Ebay is the one who had provided inaccurate details as to when to expect their goods. I simply provided the option by which I will be shipping it by. I did not give any time frame as to when to expect it to be delivered. If Ebay can extend their estimates for international shipping, then they should be able to do the same for nuance cases such as this. They have the details as to where the buyer is located before even making the purchase option, as well as past data regarding very similar deliveries.

[lakefor94]

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@criticalhitgamingemporium wrote:

Incorrect. That is a convenience you provide outside of what the BUYER HAS REQUESTED. Doesn't mean you should be held to account for something that you provided of your own good will instead of what the buyer paid for. It's not a 'bad choice', it's a bad estimate as to when to expect the package. Ebay is the one who had provided inaccurate details as to when to expect their goods. I simply provided the option by which I will be shipping it by. I did not give any time frame as to when to expect it to be delivered. If Ebay can extend their estimates for international shipping, then they should be able to do the same for nuance cases such as this. They have the details as to where the buyer is located before even making the purchase option, as well as past data regarding very similar deliveries.

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Here you are, back to blaming eBay for something that as a seller, you must control, regardless of what ebay's estimated delivery dates are. Don't forget to throw in blame for USPS as well as in your opening statements. 

You will always be in a situation of deflecting responsibility until shipping risks are mitigated by informed shipping practices. If you snooze as seller, you will lose. 

[criticalhitgamingemporium]

To prove my point, what does that say in the blue text encircled? if Ebay wants to provide time frames as to when to expect service completion and center their refund policy around that, it's on them to provide relatively accurate estimates based upon past data specified to the location of both buyer and seller as well as the capability of accomplishing said service in the time provided.

[stainlessenginecovers]

@criticalhitgamingemporium you are showing UPS, not USPS.....

[lakefor94]

Here you are, back to blaming eBay for something that as a seller, you must control, regardless of what ebay's estimated delivery dates are. Don't forget to throw in blame for USPS as well as in your opening statements. 

You will always be in a situation of deflecting responsibility until shipping risks are mitigated by informed shipping practices. If you snooze as seller, you will lose. 

Perhaps there will be some members that will happen along that will provide empathy for you. I can only help with solutions. Good luck with future shipping.

[criticalhitgamingemporium]

I'm placing the blame where it rightfully belongs. I gave no promises as to when the shipment would be completed. I had no collection of data before the purchase was processed. Ebay has the data points and is the one providing the time frames. I simply listed the method by which the item would be shipped, and the buyer agreed and paid for said service before I even knew where I was shipping to. I'm not deflecting responsibility. I'm making sure the package is being delivered as promised. Ebay is the one that provided the innaccuracies listed. Hence why I'm trying to resolve the issue by bringing it to their attention. As stated previously, nothing gets changed or fixed if not brought to the forefront. They knew the service method by which I was shipping and where it was going to. This was advertised before the sale even took place.

[stainlessenginecovers]

@inhawaii hey James- obviously you live in Hawaii and ship most your items Ground Advantage- it doesn't show 2-3 weeks 'estimated delivery' on your listings.. do you think it really takes that long? 

I was told that Hawaii and Alaska, when using GA, still goes by 'Plane' and not a 'slow boat'.....??