eBay's false estimated delivery dates, now several messages from buyers not happy.

[lincolnshiremarine]

I have been going on about this issue like a broken record.  I have reported it several times and even been on the community chat several times.  Ebay claim the EDD's are working fine.  They are not.

Ebay are giving buyers delivery dates as same day deliveries, next day deliveries.  Even when buyers have  have selected the free, three day delivery, they are including non working days as delivery dates being Saturday and Sundays.

I know that other sellers are being affected by this too, and have reported it too.

However, I am now spending hours replying to buyers whom think their parcel is late based on ebays estimated delivery dates. 

This leaves my business open for negative feedback and the issue of asking ebay to remove it.

The messages I am getting from buyers are:

" Hi not to pleased due to the fact I ordered this part from your company because of the delivery time and it’s not happened! Hopefully this item will turn up soon"

"parcel not arrived yet ??"

Both of those cases where when they purchased over a weekend, and they were dropped of at the parcel shop for collection the same day of purchase. However, this was over the weekend.  Ebay tracking has said to expect the delivery on Monday, which is wrong, as they included weekends as the courier collection and delivery days.

When you look on the couriers webiste the delivery dates are correct and ebays are incorrect.

We have had the same issue with Royal Mail tracked on ebay too.

How many more sellers are now getting messages like this on a daily basis, and what are you telling the buyers.?

I have been selling on ebay for 16 years and we dispatch the items on time, but, this ebay EDD are on another level now.

We look like we are fabricating delivery dates just to obtain a sale, and although we have tried tweaking the postage days etc, it does not help.

marco@ebay

Katie@ebay

Dave@ebay

[theelench]

Unfortunately ebay has been told all that you say (and more) a thousand times on a hundred different threads , but took no notice what-so-ever.

Instead CS and the Community Team just kept repeating their magic formula "It's working as intended, there is nothing wrong".  Sellers have given up trying to make ebay see sense and this 💩 has become an established part of the 'magical' ebay experience, making it look even further out of touch and bringing its reputation for unreliability to even greater heights.

The reality is that the only thing that's magical about ebay these days is its ability to make buyers and sellers disappear,  fed-up with all the nonsense that now goes with what was once straight forward, quick and easy.  Something that today ebay seems to have almost forgotten about  --  buying and selling stuff.

[technthread]

I had 15 or 16 auctions end Saturday / Sunday. All buyers chose RM 2nd class freepost and they are really low value sales so I'm not paying 1st class this time to dance to eBay's tune. Most EDD's are 16th-17th July, on a few they have been kinder and estimated 17th-18th.

I have taken them all to the Royal Mail Delivery Office this morning to try and get them in the system first thing but realistically I could get many late delivery defects. I am thinking these Saturday / Sunday auctions need to be moved to Friday so I can post Saturday AM to protect my account. A ridiculous situation.

[chilloutgames]

Amazon have been doing this for years - setting impossible standards for sellers such as the Valid Tracking Rate which is not possible for Royal Mail 24/48, and the move to 6 day posting for Seller Fulfilled Prime.

There used to be a rich catalog of used videogames on Amazon but it is motley pickings now as sellers move away. With American CEO and American major shareholders, it is inevitable that eBay will be adopting American business plans but these plans are not working for Amazon UK.

[xxxxxvalkyriexxxxx]

I have an item that shows one day delivery time, thanks to this insane algorthim, E Bays' obsession with a 5 day turnaround is just wrong in so many ways, and  usually when someone buys on a Friday it's the worst.

When I first complained about the unrealistic delivery dates I was told to mark the item as 'SENT' even if it wasn't actually sent! Now i've been told to change my dates to a longer estimated delivery time.  Who buys items with a delivery date of within 2 weeks???  The Agent then said when they receive the item earlier than expected they would give more positive feedback... 

More annoying to me is the fact that every Agent claims this issue is new to them and I go through the same process every single time I complain ... but you guys are proof that this is an ongoing situation that is NOT going to go away ...

[theelench]

Yeah, we've all been hearing it for months now.

The agents tell you whatever will get you off the phone quickest.

Ebays people at their Open Day claim they don't know the problem even exists.

The Community Team say over and over that FDDs are working perfectly so there is no problem.  It's all in the imaginations of hundreds of sellers.

That includes mine because I have 2 day handling time and send everything RM 2nd Class (2-3 working days delivery).  Yet according to ebays magical calculation they are correct to tell my buyers (when I have any) that they will get delivery next day or day after.

[messier44000]

---

@station13thirteen wrote:

The other thing that we have noticed is that eBay show the item as dispatched as soon as we provide a tracking number, whether we indicate it has been dispatched or not.

We may pack something on Saturday afternoon ready to dispatch on Monday, but as soon as we provide a tracking number the buyer is informed that the item is dispatched. And we have to do these things at the same time in order to be efficient... and not get tracking numbers and such muddled up.

EBay has far too many of these automated responses, algorithms and 'delivery metrics' that not only interfere with our preferences as sellers, but takes away our control, makes life hard for us, and basically makes us look like idiots!

..............

You could bring this up on the weekly chat about the incorrect despatch times buyers are getting.

Oh hang on, don`t bother. Will just get told its "working as designed" or "I hear where you are coming from" generic answers.

---

[your.home.consoles.world.ltd]

The problem with algorithms has been going on for years, so the topic is simply old. However, from time to time the problem occurs to a greater or lesser extent

[anita@ebay]

Hello all, thanks for posting.

Would you be able to provide some specific current examples of EDDs (including item numbers) and I will forward it to the team for a review.

Thank you,

Anita

[chilloutgames]

Hi Anita
04-11817-19152
03-11818-15448
13-11808-46074
16-11804-59634

All are 2nd class orders received Friday night 12th dispatched yesterday
Monday 15th.
The EDD is Monday 15th to Wednesday 17th and all 4 have 'arrives today' in
'track package' popup
Cutoff 3pm, posting Monday - Friday

[chilloutgames]

Hi Anita

04-11817-19152 

03-11818-15448

13-11808-46074

16-11804-59634

All are 2nd class orders received Friday night 12th dispatched yesterday Monday 15th.

The EDD is Monday 15th to Wednesday 17th and all 4 have 'arrives today' in 'track package' popup

Cutoff 3pm, posting Monday - Friday

[theelench]

Please forgive me Anita, this criticism isn't aimed at you, but how many sellers have been asked to provide specific examples, over how many months and how many examples have the team been given to date?

The answer is always the same "It's working as designed".

Perhaps try a different tack?  Just ask them why their calculation can't add 2 working days (Handling time) to 2-3 working days (RMs delivery target) and get 4-5 days for delivery?

If they get that right you could go on to the rather more difficult question:

My "Swarovski Thimbles" is showing to potential buyers that if they buy now (19:30 Tuesday) they can expect delivery "Thursday 18/7 - Saturday 20/7."  Posting first-thing tomorrow (Wednesday) their purchase is supposed to arrive within 3 days? (RM 2nd class).

BUT usually, if I post tomorrow and enter the 'tracking' reference number, ebay shaves ANOTHER day off the Fantasy Delivery Date and reduces the "FDD Shown To Buyer" to Thursday 18/7 - Friday 19/7.

Thursday is impossible.

Friday is possible, but would be exceptional service.

Saturday is about average for RM and what I (in the real world) would classify as what they advertised -- 2-3 day delivery.

It's just as likely to arrive on Monday and there, in a nut-shell, is why this nonsense is so damaging.  EBAY is creating unhappy buyers with its inaccuracy.  My FB is contains many examples of happy buyers praising my quick delivery (at reasonable postage cost).  It doesn't contain a single complaint about slow or late delivery, using the same service as I do now and have for years.  They are HAPPY but ebay continuously tries to try to make me look lazy or incompetent, WHY? 

[xxxxxvalkyriexxxxx]

This... is spot on.

E bay is already aware of which items we are talking about as most of us
have already put a complaint in with customer agents to preempt negative
feedback.

What we as sellers really want to know is why e bay is purposefully setting
us up to fail?

[4_bathrooms]

Hi Anita,

I'll post this as it is a good example of just how utterly incorrect these calculations are.

Item number: 165184022170

Here is a screenshot of my working days setting:

Here is a screenshot of the "postage" policy used by that listing:

The service I employ is indeed a 3 to 5 working day service and as can be seen I have set my dispatch time to 1 working day.

Here is a screenshot of an order placed on Sunday 14th - which was not a working day by anybody's interpretation - and the estimated delivery date that was shown to the buyer:

I had to mark the order as despatched on Monday (15th) as my 1 working day handling time was completely ignored - in my "Orders awaiting dispatch" the order displayed "Dispatch by 11.59pm on 15th July". Also, even if the item had been dispatched on Monday 15th 3 to 5 working days would have been 18th - 22nd. So, the latest estimated delivery date shown to that buyer was in fact the earliest date they could possibly expect to receive their item.

So, if "working as intended" means "setting sellers up to fail" then it is indeed working as intended.

[your.home.consoles.world.ltd]

This is a perfect example of how much the system ignores seller shipping policies. If you try hard, you will ship the order on Saturday, there is no chance on Sunday, and the system treats these days as normal shipping days, EVEN IF YOU DO NOT HAVE THEM IN YOUR SHIPPING POLICY.
I'm not a IT worker, i'm just simply technican, but setting the algorithm to ignore these two days or to ignore everything beyond the seller's shipping policy should be possible.

This isn't rocket science.

[theelench]

I'm not an IT worker either but I do live in E. Kent and it doesn't matter if my buyer lives in Lands End or John O'Groats, London or the Midlands, the FDD is always the same.

Ebay says its calculation takes into account.

My handling time.

My previous dispatch performance.

The delivery service chosen.

RMs previous delivery performance.

The buyers location.

If the calculation is dynamic it should be coming up with different delivery dates according to whether or not I post after 1 or 2 days of handling.

That, due to medical appointments I (occasionally) don't dispatch on day 1.

RMs delivery performance being variable.

Buyer's location, no 2 are ever the same.

I don't believe a word of it simply because, with 1 notable exception that I guess was a glitch, my delivery dates according to ebay are always Next Day or the Day After.

To put it politely, I think that's codswallop.

[station13thirteen]

Nice word, 'codswallop', haven't heard that for a time. But I would concur very 'politely' accurate.

Ebay clearly do their own thing regardless of seller feedback, and it would appear they have no intention of stopping meddling or indeed changing things.  Why they continually feel the need to interfere, mess with our preferences and create hassle for sellers is quite beyond me.

[theelench]

Usually because, one way or another, they make money out of it.

How many sellers, scared by mounting numbers of "late" deliveries, but only as arrived at by ebays calculation, have upgraded to more expensive delivery options.  Often at their own expense rather than risk loosing sales.   --  Ker-ching for ebay.

I haven't checked recently but aren't Late Delivery Defects part of ebays money spinning "Service Metrics"?

One too many and up go FVFs by 4%. (?)  --  Ker-ching for ebay again(?).

Not really surprising that its "working as designed" and ebay's so reluctant to admit that it's producing nonsense FDDs.  

[your.home.consoles.world.ltd]

If you exceed 3% of late deliveries, you lose your top rated status, which has a real impact on displaying ads and sales.

[crybuyer]

This is one of those things we just need to accept and not waste energy on.  I've been around this circle many times.  EBay doesn't want to mess about with time zones, local performance of Royal Mail or country by country bank holidays.  

If you set a 2 day handling time but mostly get things dispatched within 1 day they will hold you to the 1 day timeline.

Customer services clearly isn't trained to deal with this issue and whenever we are quoted "working as intended" by the community team, they are telling us the truth.  It is working as intended - intended to push seller performance.

[theelench]

Perhaps I'm getting confused then!