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Update to Royal Mail international disruption
Royal Mail has announced it has made progress in exporting items to a growing number of international destinations and is working to despatch export parcels and letters which were in its network before the cyber incident. Read the latest service updates from Royal Mail.
International Tracked & Signed and International Signed services to all destinations are also resuming for business account customers and customers buying postage online. This includes parcel, large letter and letter formats of these services. Online shipping solutions are now enabled to allow customers to select these services, print labels and send items from Thursday 26 January.
|
Royal Mail service |
Status |
|
International Tracked & Signed |
Resumed 26 January (online only) |
|
International Tracked |
Currently not available |
|
International Signed |
Resumed 26 January (online only) |
|
International Standard |
Currently not available |
|
International Economy |
Currently not available |
Please note that the delivery of International Tracked & Signed and International Signed items posted from Thursday 26 January may take slightly longer than usual and customers may notice different tracking information as items leave the UK.
Until the issue is fully resolved, Royal Mail has asked customers not to submit any new International Tracked, International Standard or International Economy export parcels into its network, with further updates on these services expected in the coming days.
We are continuing to monitor the situation closely and to help mitigate any delays that may arise, time has been added to the delivery estimates we display for deliveries using Royal Mail international services.
Until the issue is fully resolved, there is also the option to use alternative carriers such as UPS or DPD via eBay Delivery powered by Packlink to help ensure you are not adversely affected. You can also use eBay’s Global Shipping Programme (GSP) to send your items.
Dealing with ongoing disruption from Royal Mail strikes
While the ongoing impact of the Royal Mail strikes on deliveries is easing, we are aware of some sellers still reporting issues. We’d like to remind you that your performance was protected on orders placed before and on 7 January 2023, including:
- Your late delivery rate, which will be removed for orders placed before or on 7 January 2023.
- Your “item not received” count in your service metrics dashboard will be automatically removed.
- We will also remove any negative and neutral feedback relating to or arising from late or non-delivery during this period.
Reduce future disruption with best practices for domestic deliveries
It’s been a challenging time for sellers - and we thank you sincerely for your continued patience. While eBay will always do what we can to help avoid and minimise the impact of disruption, there are some steps sellers can take to prepare for and better protect your business against factors that are out of your control.
Upload tracking
Using a carrier service that provides tracking gives you greater protection and reduces requests for “where’s my item?” and “item not received”.
Uploading tracking at dispatch allows your buyer to see where their item is and makes it easier for eBay to protect you in the event of future disruption.
Reminder: tracking numbers are available for the following domestic Royal Mail services:
RM 1st/2nd class parcel (delivery confirmation only)
RM 24/48 (delivery confirmation only)
RM Tracked 24/48
Diversify your use of carriers
It’s impossible to predict what will happen in the future. Diversifying the carriers you use can help you to prepare for more eventualities to reduce the impact of disruption on your business.
eBay Delivery by Packlink gives you access to multiple carriers with the best prices for your shipments, which are all managed in one convenient dashboard.
Responding to “item not received” (INR) cases
If a buyer opens an “item not received case” please don’t ignore it. It’s important to reply as soon as you can so we can get to the bottom of the issue for both seller and buyer.
Once a request is opened, you've got 3 business days to resolve the issue. After that time, either you or the buyer can ask us to step in.
Uploading tracking (mentioned above) is the best way to avoid “item not received” cases being opened in the first place. For more information on dealing with INR requests, should one be opened, please visit our Help page.
Time Away settings
If you ever need to take time away from running your eBay business, you can schedule a break using Time Away. Estimated delivery dates will be adjusted when Time Away is scheduled for active listings.
Negative feedback related to postage will also be removed when Time Away is turned on, provided you post any items by the updated dispatch time.
eBay’s Feedback removal policy
We know that your reputation on eBay is a key factor when it comes to building a successful business. For this reason, we want your seller performance ratings and Feedback to properly reflect the service you provide to your buyers - and will adjust these in situations where we find that you were not at fault.
For more details on when we adjust ratings / remove Feedback, or how to resolve any issues, please see our full policy guidelines.
Thank you for selling on eBay.
Your eBay Team
