Seller posting tracking number immediately to gain time for late shipping.

[ozmonaut]

Has anyone else had the experience of a seller posting a tracking number immediately to buy them time to post a week or even more later?

I've had this happen a few times now and one of those times was when I wanted to cancel an order but couldn't because the seller provided a tracking number and so the items were deemed already posted even though they told me they weren't intending to post them until nearly a week had passed.

Can't eBay stop this practice and recognise that an item is really posted when it's entered the postal or courier system and the tracking number is actually live? Wouldn't this also stop the practice of providing fake tracking numbers that don't work?

[susapric-68]

Never heard of that before, not all RM tracking is 2 letters 9 numbers + GB. I use a RM busniess acount and my tracking is just random numbers and letters. As for extra time, nope. If your told 4 days at checkout then they don't get an extra month to send it just because they added a tracking number.

You can open a none recieved item claim the day after the last day showing for delivery even if there is tracking

[barry.110]

Never had it happen to me, well not a week later, but I have had it where they provide a number and it doesn't get posted for a couple of days. When this happens it is usually the fault of the EBay system, when a seller buys postage through EBay the system automatically populates the tracking number and marks it as despatched even though the seller hasn't actually took it to the Post Office or courier drop off point.

[myriad*seller]

The tracking number is issued as soon as the seller prints the postage label for the item

It does not mean the item is dispatched and will not show as dispatched online

The seller will have a stated dispatch time, which means they do not have to post immediately unless they offer same day or next day dispatch

Always check the sellers dispatch time as well as the stated delivery time, as some sellers do not post for 5 days and state this in the listing, but buyers forget to read this part

eBay do not accept a tracking number as a status of "posted" until the tracking system shows it has been picked up or sent, so not sure what point you are trying to make?

ebay can see that the label has been printed but the item has not been dispatched....

[myriad*seller]

The "fake tracking numbers" are not what you think (they aren't fake either).

Royal Mail provide a delivery confirmation service (not exactly tracked but accepted as proof of delivery by eBay), which are just a series of numbers, not the standard tracking which ends GB

These delivery confirmation numbers are not tracking numbers and will only appear on the Royal Mail system AFTER they have been delivered. No tracking is available, just proof of delivery to prevent fake "Item not Recieved" cases 

What was your sellers stated *dispatch* time on the listing? Have they failed to post within this dispatch time window? If so you can mark them down, but do make sure you check what dispatch time they had stated before jumping the gun. Did it say "dispatches within 5 days"?

[jckl1957]

As advised, this is on Ebay and not the seller.

As soon as a seller pays for an Ebay generated postage label, the Ebay system adds the tracking and marks the item as despatched.

Understandably, sellers will purchase labels in batches but may then have to delay actually sending the items.

[bits_n_bobs_heaven]

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@ozmonaut wrote:

Has anyone else had the experience of a seller posting a tracking number immediately to buy them time to post a week or even more later?

I've had this happen a few times now and one of those times was when I wanted to cancel an order but couldn't because the seller provided a tracking number and so the items were deemed already posted even though they told me they weren't intending to post them until nearly a week had passed.

Can't eBay stop this practice and recognise that an item is really posted when it's entered the postal or courier system and the tracking number is actually live? Wouldn't this also stop the practice of providing fake tracking numbers that don't work?

Not personally! As soon as I add a tracking number to a sold item, eBay inform me that I need to post the item within 2-3 days and the clocks ticking........

It's certainly never bought me any time / delayed time with sending out any item, especially as eBay give buyers an approximate timescale for delivery.

eBay does have a system which does indeed stop this which is opening a case for item not received within the alloted timecale eBay has given you. Not item by that date and tracking hasn'

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[ozmonaut]

I have had fake tracking numbers attached to my orders before. I'm aware that Royal Mail for example will provide a tracking number where it will only show as delivered and not the parcels progress through the system.

The fake tracking numbers I've been given in the past will not track, are not recognised by the courier tracking system and will not even show as delivered if I get the item.

[toolboss15]

Yes, it seems to happen often, worse now than ever. When the seller purchases the courier or postage label the tracking is then provided, but eBay put it as dispatched when it is not, only seller has purchased the postage label. It is eBay which is wrong as the item is not dispatched until it has left the sellers hands on when a postage label is purchased by the seller. I find it seems to take 2 to 3 days before the courier actually gets the item and some cases it takes a week or more. This is yet another reason I hardly use eBay now. The searching now is diabolical and keeps cutting out many to majority of listings.

[magpiecorner1]

Not only when buying from eBay, we just use the local post office, not RM accounts and no online purchase of labels, but we have a stock of labels, signed for, special delivery and international tracked.  Other half packs on an evening and used to just upload tracking as he went, but obviously couldn't post until the morning.

Though nowadays we upload only same day as posting, and untracked post, which has 2 day despatch on listings but we post everyday, is only marked as 'sent' on the date ebay gives us as the last day of sending.  We frequently mark off early because we get feedback the item has arrived, but its a good foil to eBays wishful thinking delivery estimates.