eBay

agun2355 · ‎04-17-2020

If you are a seller in a covid hot spot I would strongly recommend that you do not use USPS media mail. I am in New York and currently have 9 packages not moving that were shipped with media mail. One package that I shipped on March 31st has not been scanned since April 4th and the buyer has filed an INR case. I have launched a missing mail search but the buyer will not wait for the outcome. I sell mainly media, rare DVDs and CDs, and offered buyers a choice of media mail or first class shipping. The buyers overwhelmingly choose media mail so I have decided to eliminate that option and will now only ship first class. If this doesn't work I will be forced to shut down. The USPS has not been forthcoming with its customers concerning the massive delays with media mail that are now commonplace. I checked their alerts before shipping and found nothing to indicate the size of the problem. Sellers protect yourselves because no one else will.

futurespast1113 · ‎04-23-2020

At this point it is not just Media Mail taking as long as it would if it were on a slow boat from China. It taking just as long for most Priority Mail Packages and 1st Class packages too. I am a buyer here and live in the North East where the @#$^ is hitting the fan in a bad way. I ordered over 20 different things on Ebay since March and you would not believe how long my packages are taking.

For example before Covid19, 99% of my Priority Mail packages would take 2-3 business days to receive. Now the average has been 7-9 days with a few taking as long as 11 days. My 1st Class packages are taking an average of 8-12 days to arrive. It is crazy!! One of my 1st Class packages took 20 days to arrive from California to NY and to be honest I thought I was never going to get it because for 14 of those days all tracking updates stopped until the day it was delivered.

As a matter of fact most of my packages aren't even getting their tracking updated for days if not up until the moment they get delivered. I bet a lot of buyers are going to start filing items not received claims because when most don't see their package's tracking updated, they will panic thinking their package is lost. I'm not going to lie, I was just about to do that myself for one of my packages that was not updating for over 7 days and was 6 days late and way past the date eBay said it would be here.

What I think ebay should do is support their sellers and get rid of these shipping estimates or at least add a week onto the estimated delivery dates. They are really doing their sellers a disservice and should make it their priority to inform buyers that there may be delays.

terrycece62 · ‎04-23-2020

I ordered a book lot seller of course used media mail date shipped 3/30 I received pkge on 4/22
original estimated date 4/6
So I agree there r major delays I have had delays with other pkges but that has been the worst so far

bepksp1 · ‎04-23-2020

It isn't just USPS media mail that isn't being shipped. I have two items that were shipped USPS first class mail and they have been in transit since early April. Unless you use Expedited Package shipping that includes insurance, or you somehow purchase insurance using first class mail, you are not covered and will have to refund the buyer their money and just hope and pray that it shows up somewhere. EBAY will not help you, the seller in these cases....they only protect the buyer. EBAY won't even help you recover your item if the buyer receives it a later date.

I have decided that I will cancel any future sale to a buyer who lives in a COVID19 hotspot (NYC, Chicago, Newark, NJ) and refund their money before any shipping starts. Or, if they insist on the item, I will get them to accept additional shipping costs for insured shipping. I will not ship items that have a high likelihood of being lost in the system without some protection to me, the seller.

futurespast1113 · ‎04-23-2020

@terrycece62 wrote:
I ordered a book lot seller of course used media mail date shipped 3/30 I received pkge on 4/22
original estimated date 4/6
So I agree there r major delays I have had delays with other pkges but that has been the worst so far

Media Mail is the worst. Sometimes when I look at eBay listings and the only shipping method the seller shows is Media Mail, I hit the back button. Before Covid19, Media Mail was as slow as molasses, but now it is as slow as if it were being delivered by the Pony Express on horseback. Priority Mail and 1st Class is slow too now. It is taking as long as Media Mail to be delivered here on Long Island (New York).

bepksp1 · ‎04-23-2020

I hear you on this issue....I have packages missing in action too! I will not ship to any hotspots, or any addresses that have to go through a hotspot on its way to the final destination.

Ebay will do nothing for you the seller....only guarantee that the buyer receives their money back.

jomah2787 · ‎04-23-2020

yea i collect coins and have 22 packages at newark for at least 2 weeks that havent moved.about 8 in san francisco that are sitting there.

futurespast1113 · ‎04-23-2020

@bepksp1 wrote:
"It isn't just USPS media mail that isn't being shipped. I have two items that were shipped USPS first class mail and they have been in transit since early April. Unless you use Expedited Package shipping that includes insurance, or you somehow purchase insurance using first class mail, you are not covered and will have to refund the buyer their money and just hope and pray that it shows up somewhere. EBAY will not help you, the seller in these cases....they only protect the buyer. EBAY won't even help you recover your item if the buyer receives it a later date".

How will insurance cover you if the item is just late and does finally show up on your buyer's doorstep? I don't think you will be covered monetarily for late shipments by the USPS.

"Or, if they insist on the item, I will get them to accept additional shipping costs for insured shipping. I will not ship items that have a high likelihood of being lost in the system without some protection to me, the seller".

I don't think you are allowed to charge more for shipping that after a sale. I think it goes against ebay's rules.

bepksp1 · ‎04-23-2020

I have had media mail items deliver within days....its not media mail. First class mail is getting hung up too! It has to do with HOT SPOTS …..either delivery to NYC, Chicago or Newark, NJ, or use of a HOT SPOT distribution center. My shipments to AZ and other places have been completed on-time....it is my first class mail to a HOT SPOT that is hung up.

bepksp1 · ‎04-23-2020

HOT SPOTS = Long delays or lost shipments.

terrycece62 · ‎04-23-2020

yes I agree with u 100% I think sometimes the old west pony express method might get here a little faster

Stay safe and well

lja440 · ‎04-24-2020

@disneyshopper wrote:
Yes, media mail does travel on a space available basis, but NOT via air. They travel via ground. If those drivers come down with the virus, there would be fewer drivers to transport all of those ground packages.

Sorry Disney but Media Mail travels in space available be that ground or air. Beside working for USPS for the past 20 years I have been in the media category since 2004 Many times I have had packages go to and arrive from zone 8 in 2-3 days. my late hubby was a truck driver. a single driver can not log the hours that it would take per day to do that.

agun2355 · ‎04-25-2020

Shipping from one hot spot to another hot spot, like NY to Michigan, causes the longest delays. I currently have 3 very overdue packages, all media mail. The one bright spot is that two first class packages I shipped on Monday were both delivered within a week, including one from NY to Illinois, hot spot to hot spot. I'm hoping this is a sign that the backlog is easing up a bit and I can put my items back up for sale without too much risk. Shipping will be first class only, my items aren't expensive enough to justify priority mail. When I first started selling I only used first class but when the state sales tax kicked in I began offering media mail as an option and buyers overwhelmingly chose that service. The higher cost of first class will cost me some sales. The real kicker is going to be the massive USPS rate increases that will result from all of this. It will be so bad that many of us sellers will have to shut down for good.

evry1nositswindy · ‎07-29-2020

@simba6

It's a nice theory to avoid media mail, but it really isn't feasible for those of us who sell a lot of books. Most cannot go first class, but even that is twice the price. After that, we are left with priority. On a heavy book, that becomes very expensive. Whenever I have media mail free and the buyer can pay for priority, no one chooses that! Yes, it's slow, but there are no real alternatives.

evry1nositswindy • seller since 2013
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