Why are sellers allowed to initiate a label to ship and then wait days to ship?

[salegall]

I am having this happen all the time now. Excuses on why they don’t get to the post office. Does it look like they shipped once they initiate a label? Is there a way I can notify Ebay that they actually haven’t shipped?

[mam98031]

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@salegall wrote:

The pitfalls of eBay ...lol 

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This subject is NOT a pitfall of Ebay.  It is sellers that are mis-behaving.  Ebay collects stats on all its sellers.  Any seller that is doing this on a regular basis is ONLY hurting themselves.  Ebay will see too many dings for late shipment and the seller will fall below standard and possibly into the penalty phase for FVFs as well as being dropped in the search returns.

It is as I said earlier, no good can come of this practice for any seller.

[7606dennis]

One problem is that if the seller buys his shipping label from eBay, the buyer receives notification that the item has shipped. 

[mam98031]

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@7606dennis wrote:

One problem is that if the seller buys his shipping label from eBay, the buyer receives notification that the item has shipped. 

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Ebay changed that email notification.  It says the seller printed the label.  Not that it was shipped at the moment the label was created.

[mam98031]

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@7606dennis wrote:

One problem is that if the seller buys his shipping label from eBay, the buyer receives notification that the item has shipped. 

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FYI

[Anonymous]

Yes has happened to me as well, I have had 3 this past month 2 where at a funeral and the other one was to busy at work and said would ship that day. 2 days later it shipped and not even the right shipping was Priority mail but shipped USPS Retail Ground, I also have 2 this week I am waiting on 1 is  a laptop bag Listing said priority mail . Tracking Number is media mail. 1 said free first class but is shipping Parcel Select Lightweight , I do not understand what is going on with the sellers as of late... I have 1 package with a tracking number 8401335048513729051 What kinda of tracking number is that? Listing says should ship First class.. Who Knows

[remote_controls_and_more]

Sometimes I package up orders and print the labels minutes after the sale but if it's late afternoon I don't take it to the post office until the next day. Or if its Saturday afternoon I don't take it until Monday. Sometimes I drop off packages after hours but they won't get scanned received until the next business day.

[juststuffisell]

I don't disagree with you, but eBay is partially to blame with the guaranteed delivery for items they are not having to ship.

I had an order come in late Friday. I don't make special trips to the post office for 1 package anymore, especially when I have already gone. I packaged it up, printed out the label with the intent of dropping it in the mailbox on Saturday. Didn't happen.

LONG story short, Father in law got admitted to the hospital AGAIN Friday night (he was just released last Sunday) and my wife and I were discussing all the family dynamics Saturday morning, if we should send the kids up to Raleigh to see him, if we needed to go up, etc etc etc. He's 81 and in very poor health and every time he goes into the hospital, we don't know if it will be the last time... so...… I forgot about the package.

It'll be going out today priority mail, which was how I was sending it anyway. My handling time is 3 days for a reason. I had an order come in Sunday, eBay says I have to ship it today despite my 3 day handling time.... I'll be making a call to them about that because it's **bleep** that they get to determine my handling time when they are not doing the packaging. I don't participate in their goofy rules because they have made it so you get absolutely zero benefit and buyer gets unreasonable expectations. At least, in the past, I got a 10% discount on my fees for being the type of seller they want selling.

Bottom line is, I have zero problems with any of the sites I sell on. If someone wants my item, they are going to buy it regardless of handling time. The Guaranteed delivery **bleep** simply creates the potential for "Unmet Expectations" outside of my control.... we all know about shipping delays with USPS, FedEx, & UPS and with Guaranteed delivery non-sense - all you get is a negative experience...such as this case.

Regardless, Yes - the package would have gone out today anyway, but that is aside the point. There is a reason I choose a 3 day handling time. I sell higher end items and I want time to evaluate a buyer and do my own fraud checks before shipping. I want the buyer to have REASONABLE expectations on when the package will arrive. If it arrives early, guess what that creates? A positive experience.

Cheers

[salegall]

Yep.and buyers are reasonable. I have an item that had an expected shipping arrival date of March 1st. I won’t get it until prob. the 6th or maybe the 7th. (We had a lot of snow). I prompted the seller to “please ship”. 

It’s not a big deal item, I won’t input negative feedback because I’m sure ebay will see when it arrives. It is an item I buy repeatedly. I just won’t buy it again with her.

[castlemagicmemories]

Why are sellers allowed to initiate a label to ship and then wait days to ship?

Because they need time to schedule a pick up from the carrier.  If they take packages to the carrier themselves, they may schedule a trip a few days later  and take all their packages at that time, to avoid running there every day.

Of course, most importantly, they need time to properly pack and process your item.  Many sellers don't have an automatic shipping department that pulls and packs it immediately.  Many have other obligations that they attend to as well.

They are allowed to print the label first and you are then notified that your order is being prepared for mailing.

Sellers have handling times that they have chosen.  They can choose same or one day, 2, 3, 4, or even thirty days.  Checking the estimated delivery timeframe, Ebay has said, is all the buyer needs.  The seller's handling time is largely not displayed on listings anymore due to an Ebay change.  

[labs118]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@7606dennis wrote:

One problem is that if the seller buys his shipping label from eBay, the buyer receives notification that the item has shipped. 

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Ebay changed that email notification.  It says the seller printed the label.  Not that it was shipped at the moment the label was created.

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The email notification can still be confusing 
This did not ship Saturday at 147PM  and doesn't say anything explaining the seller has just created a label . It is still confusing for buyers I am sure

Do you get a different email notification ? Mine says nothing about the label being created . 



I create many labels in advance using the drop down & selecting the correct mail out date. 
With heavy snow & massive amount of trees in the wooded lake community I live I never ever chance I may have power or Cable & internet .
If I get paid I print the label . 

[mam98031]

I posted a pic of it in post 19.

[labs118]

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@mam98031 wrote:

I posted a pic of it in post 19.

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Then maybe that's the problem to me there is nothing in that post #19 that looks like what I receive & I purchase a lot as well so maybe we get different emails from ebay.
Your screenshot post to me says nothing about the seller printing a label or it shipping just a link  to click. 

Mine on the other hand all come to me like the screen shot I posted
to me  yours looks like a very old style with the yellow just like the older A to Z help pages shown below .

Here is just another example I get , so maybe we can't lump posters all into the same pot 
just as well we may all use & see different listing tools, Promotions,  delivery emails, display buying & selling pages differently  .
My emails 100% say nothing about sellers just creating a shipping label 

Doesn't this remind you of your screen shot?


Here is another of my emails

[mam98031]

It is in the Recent Updates to your Order section of the pic below.

[labs118]

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@mam98031 wrote:

It is in the Recent Updates to your Order section of the pic below.

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Sorry must be missing it !!!
I see nothing in that section except the word Status . I see no information at all
Really Help me out here 

[7606dennis]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@7606dennis wrote:

One problem is that if the seller buys his shipping label from eBay, the buyer receives notification that the item has shipped. 

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Ebay changed that email notification.  It says the seller printed the label.  Not that it was shipped at the moment the label was created.

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Good to know.  They should have done that long ago.