Royal Mail 2nd Class Post
Summary: Participants discussed ongoing issues with eBay's delivery date promises in relation to Royal Mail's 2nd Class Post. direct.gifts expressed concern over customer expectations being mismanaged by eBay's optimistic delivery timelines, especially as Royal Mail faces delays and changes to their delivery schedule. the_brick_lodge noted similar experiences, highlighting that eBay's focus on short delivery windows shifts blame to sellers when delays occur. padanpcparts and mod81 echoed frustrations about eBay's practices leading to customer dissatisfaction, emphasizing the challenge it poses during peak times like Christmas. There is a collective sentiment that eBay's unrealistic delivery promises strain seller-buyer relations.
Does anyone know what ebay are doing regarding 2nd Class Post. Customers are still being told that items will arrive on a Saturday when it is more and more common that Royal Mail are not delivering on this day. By the end of the year they will not deliver any 2nd Class post on a Saturday. We have queries at the weekends regarding items that ebay are telling customers will arrive on Saturday.
We have the policy correctly set to be Royal Mail 2nd Class Letter Post so that is not the issue.
hugothecockapoo
·3 weeks agoIt does not matter what service you choose[first or second] buyers are shown the same delivery dates for both services which is impossible due to royal mails new second class delivery schedule.
eBay are blatantly telling porkies to buyers.
direct.gifts
OP2 weeks agoYes which just leads to more INR's as buyers don't receive their items in the stated time.
mod81
·3 weeks agoThe issue with Ebay over promising on delivery dates has been reported numerous times for years on here and as far as ebay are concerned its 'working as intended' (IE to stop buyers going to Amzon by promising items will arrive way quicker and then blaming the seller when they don't)
I have tried changing the dispatch time to 2 days and the delivery service as other courier 3 to 5 days. Which should mean id have 5 to 7 days to get the item to the buyer. But ebay devs must have skipped maths class as they still inform buyers it will be there in 3 days from ordering.
padanpcparts
·3 weeks agoYup, I posted recently myself regarding the woeful service Royal Mail are providing currently. On top of this E-bay are advertising that some of my items will be delivered before the dispatch day. GG.
direct.gifts
OP3 weeks agoThe service is terrible and it has been like this for most of the year.
I am also seeing customer expectations changing. More and more they expect the item on the day ebay etc tell them it will be delivered and are not tolerating late deliveries.
I have a feeling Christmas this year will be the most challenging we have experienced.
the_brick_lodge
·3 weeks ago · EditedeBay aren't doing anything, not sure what Royal Mail are doing, they seem to taking up to 2 weeks to deliver some of the mail, I have 3 pending from the 28th of July to 6th of August as well 1 claim in for one not delivered with 2 more to go in, before the summer holidays everything was fine.
eBay really doesn't seem to care, all they want to do is make the delivery window as short as possible and then tell you it's your problem because you pick the courier, completely ignoring the fact there isn't really a viable alternative to 2nd class for letters and large letters.
direct.gifts
OP3 weeks agoYes some of mine are taking up to 2 weeks. A lot of the issue is with Royal Mail who are woefully slow at the moment. However promising delivery on a Saturday when this isn't going to happen going forward is just wrong and needs to be changed.
the_brick_lodge
·3 weeks agoI don't disagree but other than managing expectations yourself there is little to be done sadly.
I had one buyer ask why their item hadn't arrived on a Thursday, they'd paid Tuesday night and I'd posted it 2nd class Wednesday morning, can you blame them for believing what eBay say when telling them it'll arrive on Thursday? I think most people have no idea how the postal system actually woks as it just isn't a part of their day to day life.
direct.gifts
OP3 weeks agoThis is my biggest problem the ones thst expect it on the date ebay say and then go on to start a case the day after it is due. I have so many open cases at the moment which I suspect at some point will impact my account.
More realistic dates from ebay would be helpful and to make changes, as the promised, for the new delivery schedule.
Again tonight I have been told off for using 2nd class post even though that is what my listing specifies.