Going on holiday. Is it better to close shop or extend dispatch time to 2 weeks?

[daytona-500]

When going on holiday previously I have tried closing my shop for 2 weeks but noticed that it took a while to recover once re opened. I have also tried putting my shop on holiday mode whereby buyers can still make purchases but there is a message from ebay accross the top of the listing that the seller is away and there would be a delay in dispatching orders. 

When I have used this method I have sent each buyer a message thanking them for their order and asking if they had noticed that there would be a delay in dispatching. Most said they hadn't noticed but were happy to wait although some wanted to cancel. I just don't think that the message from ebay about the seller being away is prominent enough and buyers don't notice it.

Has anyone tried keeping their shop open but extending dispatch time to 14 days,  and if so, how did it go? Do buyers still not notice and open INRs while you were still on holiday? Thoughts please.

[pegr-834437]

Dispatch time is a bit pointless as the EDD takes in multiple factors and the most important one, being your dispatch time isn't seen as the most important one to eBay. If you set it at 14 days but you usually dispatch within 2 it still takes the 2 into consideration sometimes when showing your buyer the time. 100% put shop in holiday mode and then if you get any negs or annoyed customers you have the banner to fall back on.

[nutrafituk]

I totally agree with pegr - the implications otherwise are not worth it. Whether it is eBay or some customers, thay seem not to get that idea you go away. Turn all off and just enjoy yourself.

[jlovie]

When you came back and switch back on the banner disappears.

If buyers haven't noticed it when buying, it might be difficult to convince then it was ever there once it's switched off again.

I just switch off sales and try to forget about eBay for a while.

[pegr-834437]

Thats the other option, but if a buyer doesnt see the banner thats not your fault, you cant really do much else if somebody cant see a banner. If you have it set as away then eBay should be backing you up if you get feedback regarding how long it takes to post.

[lincolnshiremarine]

Hi

You may already be on your holiday and made your decision already. 

However, we use to put our eBay shop on holiday (time away), but purchases could still be made.  

Unfortunately, buyers do not see the time away banner or ignore it (to be fair it does not really stand out). 

The last time we did this, we received several messages asking "where is my parcel", some quite rude as well.   We spent time replying to them with a screenshot of the time away banner and also the order stating a delay, some wanted the order cancelling, some did not respond at all.

Your then wondering if negative feedback will appear despite having warned the buyers. eBay should remove this, but we know this is not always the case.

With this in mind, we just remove our shop so purchases cannot be made, that way we can relax and not be glued to the phone or computer.

Enjoy you holiday

Best wishes 

[nigel_paul_wright7557]

I use ebay "time out" to stop showing my listings while I am away.

[fatbobfan]

I recently switched from Dispatch Time to Time Away with sales left on.

1. Dispatch time (for us) makes a mess of our Business Policies, clean them up when you get back if you do

2. Time Away - worked well, no hassles 

FBF

[vintagechinashop]

I normally use time away during the Christmas period (after last posting date until New Year’s Day). EBay seem to make such a mess of posting dates and I can’t be bothered with the stress  I always message anyone who purchases during this time to manage expectations. If they have chosen to purchase but are expecting delivery then this usually prevents any “where is my item questions”. If possible I will post during the postage days in between but if I do I tend not to mark the item as despatched 

I did use time away for a holiday this year ( that was my first 7 day holiday since 2019) and it took some time for sales to recover which was odd but it did coincide with my quiet time and Christmas is normally my busy time  I usually get sales on Christmas Day but put that down to little Johnny breaking granny’s gravy boat at Christmas lunch and mummy or daddy trawling the internet for a replacement 

[theplaceforlace]

I used to pause sales whilst away and relax on holiday.  I noticed it took a while for the shop to get back on its feet when I got back but I got a tip on here to bulk edit all the listings and just change something simple like item location (I change from Chesterfield, to Derbyshire or even Home of the Crooked Spire).  This activates the listings faster as they are seen as 'new' listings.  That worked.

Last year and beginning of this year I allowed purchases whilst on holiday and sent every customer a message 'did you notice the banner etc'.  Most had not and some wanted to cancel, I got a negative feedback from one that was delivered within 3 days of my return but within 9 days of ordering.  Ebay did not remove the feedback.  Before I went away last week I set my holiday dates for the day before I went.  When I looked at the orders on the day I was leaving I noticed that the estimated delivery dates shown to the buyer were BEFORE the date I was back off holiday (was only away for 4 days).  So I quickly processed those orders before being picked up and changed holiday mode to 'pause sales'.  

It's a shame because it is essentially sales lost but until Ebay stop estimating delivery dates based on seller performance it's not worth the risk.

Sorry, long post ......

[fatbobfan]

@theplaceforlace @vintagechinashop @daytona-500 

Mentioned 3 times in 10 posts, 'takes time to recover/ back on its feet' Another example of the operating system hindering sales for its paying customers and in turn hindering its own revenue stream

You would have thought that it would have been a priority to address this issue for the platforms sake, let alone its paying customers.

Why use an algorythm that hinders performance on thousands and thousands of Time Away actions on a daily basis, maybe not a priority but its still a loss for all

Needs to addressed Ebay,

[daytona-500]

Thanks for everyone's replies, I think I will make use of the Time Away option and just put up with any downturn in sales when I get back 👍