Estimated delivery dates (yes again)

[darth_baggins]

I know this has been done to death and eBay staff just repeat the 'working as intended' mantra but this simply can't be right.

I bought something from a seller I get supplies from more than a week ago and it's still not arrived. I realise delays are inevitable at this time of year but I thought I'd just check the EDD and I'm gobsmacked by the disparity between his and mine.

Ordered on November 27, seller has a 1 day / same day handling time and posts 1st class, yet the EDD for my order is December 5th - 8th.

I compared one of my listing to his.

Seller - as above - same day dispatch before 3:30pm, sent 1st class. EDD is December 12th to 15th, so basically at least a week to arrive.

My listing - five working days handling time and I send 2nd class. EDD is December 8th to 13th. So eBay as usual are telling buyers they may get the item before I even have to post it.

So a seller with same day dispatch and 1st class post gets longer EDD than a seller with 5 day dispatch and 2nd class post.

I know they're supposed to be 'dynamic' but there's just no way that this can be described as 'working as intended'.

[theelench]

Pity you don't get a "Follow-up" question so you could have asked him to demonstrate how he "calculated" that it's working OK.  

I bet he wouldn't have answered that one 🤣

[ducatimondo]

I already asked about the same order in an earlier post, post 31 I think and by complete surprise it never got answered.

I know their hands are probably tied and they are only posting what they are told to post.

Makes a mockery of the whole thing when it is blatantly wrong and they say it is okay.

[sagr2519]

Looking back at the tracking for my previously sold items, this is fun: Royal mail 2nd class takes -1 to 2 days including Sunday. Yodel 48 takes -2 to 0 days.

[goingfishinguk]

Why are the dates on the seller hub/order screen different to those on the 'track package' screen?  No wonder my metrics are being hammered.  How can this be 'working as designed' if eBay are coming up with two different sets of dates?  marco@ebay   Screen shot attached and I've cleared my cache etc.  Thanks.

[modelrealm]

Following your advice, I extended my dispatch time to 10 working days, which has yielded positive outcomes. Sales have increased, feedback is positive, and customers are pleased to receive their items either on or before the earliest estimated delivery date. Importantly, I've managed to stay within eBay's latest delivery estimate, which is still a day after the actual dispatch date. However, this means that if I dispatch on the Tenth working day dispatch date and opt for 2nd class postage, the delivery will be late.

Regarding a recent call from eBay promoting a new advertising tool for off site advertising, I declined the offer. My reasoning is simple: why invest in advertising when I've had to extend my dispatch handling time to ensure accurate estimated delivery dates? I believe it's best to hold off on promoting anything until the estimated delivery dates are sorted out.

Unfortunately, some buyers have become hostile as they expect delivery by the earliest date. This has led to cases of Item Not Received (INR) being opened once the latest delivery date passes, negatively impacting service metrics and increasing negative feedback. Compounding this issue, Royal Mail has been unreliable in my area, exemplified by receiving the first post of the week today with no deliveries on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. 

 I've made the decision to step back from competing with the tagline of "Free 3-day postage." While it initially seemed like a competitive advantage, The current EDD make it impossible and it ultimately resulted in significant extra work due to cases being opened and messages from buyers asking about the status of their orders.  Even after adjusting to a 5-day dispatch time, the challenges persisted. However, transitioning to a 10 working day dispatch has proven to be a relief, alleviating pressure and providing a buffer in case of issues like Royal Mail delays, particularly in certain areas where delivery may be impacted for a couple of days.   

[best-range]

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@goingfishinguk wrote:

Why are the dates on the seller hub/order screen different to those on the 'track package' screen?  No wonder my metrics are being hammered.  How can this be 'working as designed' if eBay are coming up with two different sets of dates?  marco@ebay   Screen shot attached and I've cleared my cache etc.  Thanks.

---

Hi,

I addressed this issue plus 6 more 2 weeks ago, but according to marco@ebay the IT team says " there are no faults", "all working as intended", "no issues found",

Just a total waste of time reporting this, they just keep denying there is a serious problem with their coding, despite hard evidence presented to the contrary.

see Marco's latest reply on the tech board:

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Business-Seller-Board/Estimated-delivery-dates-yes-again/td-p/752550...

[palison_123]

Once again Ebay ,how can you give an estimated date of delivery the NEXT day on second class postage ?

Once again I have several messages as to "where is my item?"

Once again I have to reply to them with the same old DRIBBLE.

Once again my performance metrics are effected.

Once again you have disappointed a customer with your unrealistic ETA on delivery .

Once again you haven`t got an answer ?

[qualitycardsandgifts]

Just sold a card, buyer messages "need by Saturday".   I send second class so it's not going to happen.    Checked the date shown to buyer and sure enough it's Saturday to Monday.   Even if I sent first class, there is no guarantee it would arrive in time.    

[modelrealm]

Out of curiosity, what are your dispatch/Handling time set at and cutoff times?

Whats everyone else using and whats working?

I'm still navigating the intricacies of these dates. Currently, I've set my dispatch/handling time to 10 days, as other settings didn't yield the desired results. We've noticed improved responses from customers when they receive their orders before the estimated delivery dates, although these estimated dates continue to shrink. If we dispatch items on the designated 10 working days timeline, we're left with only one day to ensure delivery since the latest delivery estimates consistently indicate the following day.

I also find if i set a new postage policy this seems to reset everything.

Anyone else have any other findings or tips as we are really struggling with this

[tribalgiftsuk]

Yes same here, still showing customers unrealistic delivery dates on 2nd class items showing potentially next day to day after delivery dates. Some of my items i have to make so i have a 1 or 2 working day dispatch time and still they are being shown a 2 day delivery time on 2nd class and a longer dispatch time.

Royal Mail at there best do 2nd class in 2 days but it is usually 4 days. We just arent being listened to about this and customers just end up annoyed or frustrated. Even if you put a longer dispatch time it doesnt seem to make any difference, they are still being shown overly optimistic delivery dates.

I also noticed when i purchased something yesterday 2nd class post was shown as arriving the same day as upgrading to 1st class post. Urm.... so no wonder no customers are bothering to pay the extra for 1st class to speed things up!

[qualitycardsandgifts]

I have same day despatch with a cut off of 7.30 am.    The buyer offered to pay for first class, but I can't risk it.   I already have 3 neutrals for late delivery, all of which were posted on time.     One buyer has recently received a card 34 days after it was sent !

[johnwash1]

Don't purchase postage through ebay.  Don't mark as dispatched until the last possible date, despite having in fact posted much earlier.

It's the only way I've found of defeating the useless algorithm coded by useless coders according to a useless design.  Er, sorry, I mean everything's working perfectly.  And if you believe that I've got a bridge to sell you.

[daffypatter]

Oh Glad it is not only me dealing with this.  They have now given me a warning! 

"You’ve received this notification as your ‘Item not received’ rate is high or very high for the period between 01 Mar, 2023 and 29 Feb, 2024. 

Consequences for very high item not received rates

• Time will be added to delivery estimates on your listings in postage categories and listing sites where you are rated very high.
• Listing sites where listings will have time added to delivery estimates are ebay.com, ebay.ca, cafr.ebay.ca, ebay.com.au, ebay.co.uk, ebay.fr, ebay.es and ebay.it.
• Time extension will be automatically removed once you are no longer evaluated as very high on your following evaluation."

11 claims over a year and equates to 1.8%.  Bearing in mind 9 of these were all delivered.   All they harp on about is Used Tracked!  That costs and as I dont charge postage is not an option or I add postage to all my listings and the customers bears the cost, how does that help? 

I dont know what their Agenda is to be honest unless they earn from Tracked Services 

[nigel_paul_wright7557]

I got a sale at 5:30pm one day.

My local post office shuts at 4:30pm so I had t owait for next day.

Next thing I know I get a stroppy message from ebay saying I am overdue to send the item.

[bazinga-games]

Today's gems - bear in mind it's Easter - tomorrow is Bank Holiday, as is Monday 4th April.

1/  

Dispatched on 28 Mar

You successfully dispatched your order.

Estimated delivery date shown to buyer: 3 Apr 2024 - 4 Apr 2024

2/

Dispatch by 2 Apr at 11.59pm BST

Make sure you send your order within the dispatch time you specified in the listing.

Estimated delivery date shown to buyer: 2 Apr 2024 - 3 Apr 2024

So, eBay are telling buyers our parcels are all supposed to arrive Easter Sunday or Bank Holiday Monday, if not before...  *bleep* !!  😡

[theelench]

I quote anita@ebay as reported on another thread re. yesterday's Chat.

"all official UK Public Holidays will be recognised by ebay as holidays for shipping and EDD calculations"

Seems not then

Still 'working perfectly'  Anita??

[swat090346]

Easter Monday is the 1st April not the 4th. Though I am agreeing with everything else that everyone else is saying

[leadhills_scot]

Slightly different in Scotland, we do have deliveries and collections on Good Friday.

Friday 29 March           Good Friday       Normal collections and deliveries

[bazinga-games]

Good catch - I'm looking up at my March calendar!  😄  You know what I meant, though!  😉

[signs_and_vintage]

What also doesn't help is that there is a blatent eBay tracking issue with this (newish?) InPost locker service where the parcel carries a last mile Royal Mail delivery service label.

I bought an item from a seller who uploaded the XX12345678GB style RM tracking number, and then posted the item into their local InPost locker.

However... if I was Joe Average, the only tracking I would see in nearly 5 days, via eBay's one-click tracking service *and* RM is 'Label produced - We're expecting this item'. Not wrong, RM ARE 'expecting the item'; from a trunked InPost vehicle direct to the appropriate depot!

Now, if you instead put the XX12345678GB tracking number into the InPost website, you get the full story, including the seller dropping off the parcel, InPost picking it up etc... Now, since then it has all gone to pot with loads of flimsy twice daily flannel tracking comments like 'It's on the way!' and 'We're getting your parcel on the move!' etc... (but that isn't the sellers fault).

The fact remains though that eBay should be presenting tracking data for RM-via-inPost items FROM INPOST APIs and NOT Royal Mails. Joe Average customers will understandably have no clue that their parcel actually IS on the way and jump to open cases. That is all 🙂 I can't believe that this seems to have been going on since September now I've checked?