Dealing with late delivery defects
For buyers, knowing when they can expect an item to arrive can be an important factor when making a purchase. That's why we always show an estimated delivery date (EDD) range on eBay listings.
With the disruption caused to deliveries in the past few months, how estimated delivery dates are calculated and what happens if an item arrives after the EDD have become some of the hottest topics in the community. As some of you are relatively new to selling on eBay, let’s go back to basics and answer some of the most frequently asked questions.
How does eBay calculate estimated delivery date ranges?
The estimated delivery date range shown to buyers is dynamic and based on various factors. These include the time it takes you to pack and send items (your dispatch or handling time) and the delivery or courier services you offer. It also takes into consideration your past delivery performance (on the aspects of delivery that you can control) and other criteria such as carrier performance, the location of your item and your buyer’s delivery address.
Why is the estimated delivery date shown to buyers including dates that are still within my dispatch time?
At peak trading times it can take longer for buyers to receive their items. At quieter times of the year parcels can arrive more quickly. Rather than using the same flat calculation throughout the year, we adjust delivery estimates dynamically to provide buyers with a more realistic range of dates. It’s possible you’ll see ranges of estimated delivery dates that overlap with dates that are still within your dispatch time, particularly if you’ve set your dispatch time to give you more time to process parcels.
In the event your items arrive after the end of the date range shown to your buyer, as long as tracking shows you dispatched your items on time and used both the service and carrier you specified on your listing, you’ll be protected against late delivery defects.
If your buyer opens an “item not received” case, you have 3 business days to resolve the issue. To avoid getting a defect for a “case closed without seller resolution”, please make sure you respond to the case and explain to your buyer that tracking shows the item is on its way.
When is an item considered fully “dispatched”?
An item is considered fully dispatched when it’s either been dropped off with your carrier or the carrier collected the item from you - not when you printed the label, generated a tracking number, or marked it dispatched.
When does eBay count a delivery as having arrived late?
We use data provided by buyers and carriers to assess whether an item has arrived late, regardless of whether or not the buyer has opened an “item not received” case.
If you’ve uploaded tracking details within 24 hours of dispatch, we'll count an item as late when:
- The delivery scan is after the estimated delivery date range shown to your buyer (i.e. the item is late if the date range shown to your buyer is 11-13 April and it’s delivered on 14 April or later) AND
- There is no carrier scan within your dispatch time
If there are no tracking details available:
- When the buyer leaves feedback, we'll ask them if the item arrived on time
- If the buyer confirms the item arrived after the estimated delivery date, it will be counted as late
Why should I upload tracking details?
Using a carrier service that provides end-to-end tracking is the best way to avoid requests for “where’s my item?” and “item not received”. This allows your buyer to see where their item is without them needing to contact you - and makes it easier for us to protect you if they incorrectly claim it wasn’t received.
Please note that tracking details must always be uploaded within 24 hours of dispatch, not after a buyer opens an “item not received” case.
When are delivery-related defects automatically removed from my account?
If a delivery-related defect on your account is eligible to be removed, we'll remove it automatically within 7 days. Until then, it will still appear in your seller standards dashboard before being removed automatically. Once the defect is removed, it can take up to two days for your predicted seller level to be adjusted. You don’t need to contact eBay.
We automatically remove defects, adjust your late delivery rate, and remove Feedback for a number of reasons, including but not limited to when:
- The delivery estimate shown in the listing was shortened and tracking shows the item was delivered by the carrier's longest delivery estimate
- The defect, Feedback, or late delivery was the direct result of an eBay site issue or programme error
In addition, to help reduce the impact on your business during times of disruption, such as adverse weather conditions or Royal Mail strike periods, we protect your performance, including:
- Your late delivery rate, which will be removed for orders with estimated delivery dates between for the affected dates
- Your “item not received” count in your service metrics dashboard will be automatically removed for the affected dates
- We’ll also remove any negative and neutral feedback relating to or arising from late or non-delivery during the affected period
You can find the full list of circumstances that result in automatic removal of a defect in our Seller performance and Feedback policy.
Finally…
It’s key to make sure the handling time and carrier service stated in your listings are accurate. This helps us to manage buyer expectations, identify impacted parcels for carrier issues, and calculate an accurate estimated delivery date, so we can apply seller protections accordingly. If you ever need to make changes to your listings, see our page on revising a listing for more information.
Should the carrier network ever be subject to unexpected disruptions or increased delivery volume, we’ll also take this into consideration when calculating estimated delivery dates. Examples of such disruptions include: severe weather, natural disasters, unscheduled events, peak seasons, or the ongoing impact of Royal Mail strikes.
Thank you for selling on eBay.
Your eBay Team
