Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm

Hi everybody!

 

The Community Chat will open at 2pm and will remain open until 3pm on Wednesday. After that it will be closed for further questions. Of course, we will continue to take care of answering any questions that may still be unanswered—We’ll get to everything as quickly as possible.

 

Please ask your questions in the thread below. In order to be able to answer your questions as quickly as possible, we ask you to have one question per post. Of course, you can make as many posts as you like in the Chat- the more the merrier!

 

Our eBay Community Team is made up of kat@ebay , dave@ebay and marco@ebay . Between us, we have knowledge in Buying, Selling, Fulfilment, Payments, and the Community itself. Anything we aren’t sure on we’ll know the people who will be! Please ask us any questions you may have and we’ll do all we can to support. We understand that certain topics, such as concerns about businesses possibly using private accounts, can be frustrating and important to you. Please refrain from asking the same question repeatedly in our weekly live chats. We assure you that we carefully review all posts in the forum and ensure that your concerns are communicated to the relevant teams for appropriate action.
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To ask your question, click Reply in the lower-right corner of this post, type your question, and click Reply between 2pm and 3pm. The community team will answer each incoming question in chronological order and will quote the original question in each answer.

 

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Message 1 of 37
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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm

Good Afternoon

 

Re expected delivery dates

 

If someone purchased off me today the expected delivery dates show as 

 

Royal Mail 2nd Class
Estimated between Fri, 20 Jun and Tue, 24 Jun to B9 5jq
Postage: Free postage
 
Royal Mail Special Delivery (TM) 1:00 pm
Estimated by Tue, 24 Jun to B9 5jq
Postage: £8.00
 
Royal Mail 1st Class
Estimated between Fri, 20 Jun and Tue, 24 Jun to B9 5jq
Postage: £0.80
Each additional £0.10
 
I have a 3 working day dispatch because some days there may be an issue with a printer or I may not be able to get to the post office or whatever, so really if someone purchased today I actually have until Friday if you count today to post so why would the buyer be expecting it from Friday? Surely it should be from Monday and why is 1st and 2nd class the same dates and next day special delivery later?
 
Then I read this....
 
Delivery time is estimated using our proprietary method which is based on the buyer's proximity to the item location, the delivery service selected, the seller's delivery history and other factors. Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods.
 
What is the proprietry method and why are you using it instead of my three working day dispatch time?
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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm

mygaras
Conversationalist

Simple Delivery Dispatch

 

A bit of feedback regarding Simple Delivery. Would it be possible to change the 'Dispatch' date on Simple Delivery to when the parcel is actually posted, rather than when the label is downloaded?

 

For example, buyer purchases item Saturday afternoon, seller downloads the postage label Saturday evening (clearly they have nothing better to do 😂). Item immediately gets marked as dispatched, even though the parcel is still sat in the seller's hallway.

It just so happens that it's a Bank Holiday weekend, therefore the earliest the parcel can be posted (if using a  Royal Mail depot) is 8am the following Tuesday. In the meantime, said buyer is thinking that their parcel will arrive first thing Monday morning (even though it's a Bank Holiday), or maybe Tuesday at the latest. And even if they bother to look at the Estimated Delivery Date, the erratic nature of EDDs, combined with the item having been marked as Dispatched on Saturday night, it will probably state that they can expect the item to arrive on Monday! 

Possibly a small point to raise, but it could be impacting sellers quite heavily in terms of receiving positive feedback. 

Message 22 of 37
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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm

Cheers Marco 👍 (Apologies, I don't seem to be able to tag you in today, only the other members of the team).

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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm


@krafty-kreations wrote:

Good Afternoon

 

Re expected delivery dates

 

If someone purchased off me today the expected delivery dates show as 

 

Royal Mail 2nd Class
Estimated between Fri, 20 Jun and Tue, 24 Jun to B9 5jq
Postage: Free postage
 
Royal Mail Special Delivery (TM) 1:00 pm
Estimated by Tue, 24 Jun to B9 5jq
Postage: £8.00
 
Royal Mail 1st Class
Estimated between Fri, 20 Jun and Tue, 24 Jun to B9 5jq
Postage: £0.80
Each additional £0.10
 
I have a 3 working day dispatch because some days there may be an issue with a printer or I may not be able to get to the post office or whatever, so really if someone purchased today I actually have until Friday if you count today to post so why would the buyer be expecting it from Friday? Surely it should be from Monday and why is 1st and 2nd class the same dates and next day special delivery later?
 
Then I read this....
 
Delivery time is estimated using our proprietary method which is based on the buyer's proximity to the item location, the delivery service selected, the seller's delivery history and other factors. Delivery times may vary, especially during peak periods.
 
What is the proprietry method and why are you using it instead of my three working day dispatch time?

Hi krafty-kreations, thanks for your question.

 

Yes, so estimated delivery dates take a lot of different factors into consideration, it doesn't only take dispatching times into consideration. So, based on all of this factors, you would get your estimated delivery time. I understand that you might not be particularly happy with the way they work, but they are obviously designed to offer the best option for both buyers and sellers. However, I'd be happy to pass on your feedback/thoughts on this. 

 

Thank you,

Marco


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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm

Thank you for your replay marco@ebay this is exactly what i was looking for. The dates you have confirmed were what i would expect and be happy with and they are probably what everyone else would expect.

 

However (yes this is what i was building up to) the actually EDD on this order was 12th-13th!!!!

The dispatch by date eBay shown was the 12th so i don't understand why the 12th was shown as a EDD it is impossible (unless using a same day courier) which we obviously do not offer.

This particular buyer needed the item for the 14th and only placed the order because of the EDD, which as you have shown and i have shown is highly inaccurate and not achievable.  This buyer opened an INR case on the 14th and was refunded, but this is still within "normal" estimated delivery dates it is not fair.

 

I raised this with customer service, who stated that EDD's do not actually take into account processing times. This is a complete contradiction to the delivery policy you have. Can this be confirmed if 

you do take into account processing times?

 

As you will be aware i have raised the issue with EDD's not being fit for purpose for a at least 18 months now. It is not that hard to get correct EDD's it is simple maths      2 (processing time) + 2 or 3 (delivery time) = 4 or 5

However for some reason Ebay uses there own math of 2+2= 1or2 depending on the buyer locations.

 

Please for the sake of buyers and sellers alike can the issue with EDD not being fit for purpose be raised and actually looked into to give proper and accurate dates to avoid buyer disappointment and sellers being out of pocket? 

 

Other selling sites manage to do this so why can't ebay!

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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm

When is eBay management going to listen to everyone about Simple Delivery....... and RESTORE the CHOICE for people of what Postage Service they use..... Is eBay management aware that virtually everyone I have seen talking about Simple Delivery hates it, and will not use it,....... Do eBay management actually care.....

Message 26 of 37
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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm


@mygaras wrote:

Simple Delivery Dispatch

 

A bit of feedback regarding Simple Delivery. Would it be possible to change the 'Dispatch' date on Simple Delivery to when the parcel is actually posted, rather than when the label is downloaded?

 

For example, buyer purchases item Saturday afternoon, seller downloads the postage label Saturday evening (clearly they have nothing better to do 😂). Item immediately gets marked as dispatched, even though the parcel is still sat in the seller's hallway.

It just so happens that it's a Bank Holiday weekend, therefore the earliest the parcel can be posted (if using a  Royal Mail depot) is 8am the following Tuesday. In the meantime, said buyer is thinking that their parcel will arrive first thing Monday morning (even though it's a Bank Holiday), or maybe Tuesday at the latest. And even if they bother to look at the Estimated Delivery Date, the erratic nature of EDDs, combined with the item having been marked as Dispatched on Saturday night, it will probably state that they can expect the item to arrive on Monday! 

Possibly a small point to raise, but it could be impacting sellers quite heavily in terms of receiving positive feedback. 


Hi @mygaras 

 

Thanks for this, I'll pass it over to the shipping team to review. 

 

Thanks,

Dave

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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm


@ak_craft_crazy wrote:

Thank you for your replay marco@ebay this is exactly what i was looking for. The dates you have confirmed were what i would expect and be happy with and they are probably what everyone else would expect.

 

However (yes this is what i was building up to) the actually EDD on this order was 12th-13th!!!!

The dispatch by date eBay shown was the 12th so i don't understand why the 12th was shown as a EDD it is impossible (unless using a same day courier) which we obviously do not offer.

This particular buyer needed the item for the 14th and only placed the order because of the EDD, which as you have shown and i have shown is highly inaccurate and not achievable.  This buyer opened an INR case on the 14th and was refunded, but this is still within "normal" estimated delivery dates it is not fair.

 

I raised this with customer service, who stated that EDD's do not actually take into account processing times. This is a complete contradiction to the delivery policy you have. Can this be confirmed if 

you do take into account processing times?

 

As you will be aware i have raised the issue with EDD's not being fit for purpose for a at least 18 months now. It is not that hard to get correct EDD's it is simple maths      2 (processing time) + 2 or 3 (delivery time) = 4 or 5

However for some reason Ebay uses there own math of 2+2= 1or2 depending on the buyer locations.

 

Please for the sake of buyers and sellers alike can the issue with EDD not being fit for purpose be raised and actually looked into to give proper and accurate dates to avoid buyer disappointment and sellers being out of pocket? 

 

Other selling sites manage to do this so why can't ebay!


Thanks for your reply, ak_craft_crazy.

 

While I appreciate where you are coming from, what I gave was only an estimate, so please note that what I said above is not what it should be, but only a guess. I never said that that would be the correct or wrong dates.

 

If  those are the dates you are getting, they are probably correct. If you want, I can take the item number and send it for review, but to set the right expectations, the update will most likely be that no faults were found. 

 

Thank you,

Marco


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Message 28 of 37
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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm

Yes, so estimated delivery dates take a lot of different factors into consideration, it doesn't only take dispatching times into consideration. So, based on all of this factors, you would get your estimated delivery time. I understand that you might not be particularly happy with the way they work, but they are obviously designed to offer the best option for both buyers and sellers. However, I'd be happy to pass on your feedback/thoughts on this. 

 

Thank you,

Marco

 

Thanks Marco but in no way does it offer the best option for buyers or sellers in any way, If I cannot get to the post office for whatever reason, hence the 3 working days then the buyer isn't going to get the item when they expect it and is going to be disappointed, many of my items are time sensitive.  

 

What is the point of having a dispatch time if eBay are going to override it? 

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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm


@grapecr-30 wrote:

When is eBay management going to listen to everyone about Simple Delivery....... and RESTORE the CHOICE for people of what Postage Service they use..... Is eBay management aware that virtually everyone I have seen talking about Simple Delivery hates it, and will not use it,....... Do eBay management actually care.....


Hi @grapecr-30 ,

 

Thank you for sharing. There is no current plans in place to remove Simple Delivery being mandatory. We will continue to share the feedback from members from the different threads on the boards.

 

Thank you,

Kat

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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm


@krafty-kreations wrote:

Yes, so estimated delivery dates take a lot of different factors into consideration, it doesn't only take dispatching times into consideration. So, based on all of this factors, you would get your estimated delivery time. I understand that you might not be particularly happy with the way they work, but they are obviously designed to offer the best option for both buyers and sellers. However, I'd be happy to pass on your feedback/thoughts on this. 

 

Thank you,

Marco

 

Thanks Marco but in no way does it offer the best option for buyers or sellers in any way, If I cannot get to the post office for whatever reason, hence the 3 working days then the buyer isn't going to get the item when they expect it and is going to be disappointed, many of my items are time sensitive.  

 

What is the point of having a dispatch time if eBay are going to override it? 


Thanks for your reply, krafty-kreations

 

For further information on estimated delivery dates, you can see our help pages here

 

Thank you,

Marco


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Message 31 of 37
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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm

For further information on estimated delivery dates, you can see our help pages here

 

I have looked at the help pages, they are not helpful but thanks, I shall just extend my dispatch time yet again and hope it doesn't put buyers off!!

 

Selling on eBay used to be fun, now it is just a chore.

Message 32 of 37
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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm

Marco,

 

I never took the dates you gave as 100% accurate and correct, i was purely using it to prove a point that clearly the dates provided by EDD are highly inaccurate. 

 

As you and other eBay members have said EDD takes into account many factors including location etc etc.

However all of this is completely irrelevant what really matters is the processing time and delivery option chosen. As @krafty-kreations has also pointed out, EDD's are incorrect and not fit for purpose.

 

They may well be working as designed and no faults, but the actual design is faulty and not fit for purpose.

 

If something is being dispatched in 2 days with a 2-3 day delivery option then the EDD should reflect this and not  ignore the actually material timeframes being mentioned to show faster EDD.

 

I have never ever seen a extended EDD even when there were the postal strikes a few years back the EDD was still the same showing items arriving quicker then anyone can expect.

 

I would like you to raise this with the delivery team and ask them to contact me regarding this as the whole EDD system needs to be reworked. 

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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm

Ok.... But Simple Delivery & Buyer Protection Fee are destroying eBay 

 

Simple Delivery is not Simple , with so many pitfalls.... I personally will never use it and have removed all items from sale,like so many others on here, who have been Members for 20 years..

 

The Buyer Protection Fee is a Joke ... As if Buyers weren't already Protected enough, they only had to make a claim,and 99% of the time they would Immediately be refunded...

 

I think the majority of Sellers would prefer to just pay a REASONABLE final valuation fee of 8 or 9 or 10 percent, 

 

No need to reply... Just get eBay regenerated.... because what you are doing is NOT doing that...!

Message 34 of 37
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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm


@ak_craft_crazy wrote:

Marco,

 

I never took the dates you gave as 100% accurate and correct, i was purely using it to prove a point that clearly the dates provided by EDD are highly inaccurate. 

 

As you and other eBay members have said EDD takes into account many factors including location etc etc.

However all of this is completely irrelevant what really matters is the processing time and delivery option chosen. As @krafty-kreations has also pointed out, EDD's are incorrect and not fit for purpose.

 

They may well be working as designed and no faults, but the actual design is faulty and not fit for purpose.

 

If something is being dispatched in 2 days with a 2-3 day delivery option then the EDD should reflect this and not  ignore the actually material timeframes being mentioned to show faster EDD.

 

I have never ever seen a extended EDD even when there were the postal strikes a few years back the EDD was still the same showing items arriving quicker then anyone can expect.

 

I would like you to raise this with the delivery team and ask them to contact me regarding this as the whole EDD system needs to be reworked. 


Thanks for your reply, ak_craft_crazy.

 

Please note that we are not able to arrange contacts from other teams, so if you wish to escalate this, you can contact our customer service team here. If you wish to lodge a complaint, they will also be able to do that for you.

 

Thank you,

Marco


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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm


@mygaras wrote:

Apostrophes Update

 

Hi Marco 

 

Many thanks for getting back to me regarding last week's discussion about the missing apostrophes. I appreciate the tech team taking time to investigate this.

 

In response to the team's comments, I've looked back over the last five pages of feedback I have left for others and found 15 missing apostrophes, from 15 comments where apostrophes should have been included. That's 100% of apostrophes missing! Therefore, I think it is unlikely that that in all of these cases I failed to type an apostrophe, as suggested by the team, and instead inserted a character space.

To test this further, I left some feedback this morning, and purposefully typed a comment including an apostrophe. Here is a screenshot of what I typed:

Apostrophe08.jpg

 

And here is how the feedback is displaying once submitted (there is a character space in 'you re', when it should be 'you're' :

Apostrophe08a.jpg

 

This clearly shows that I am typing the apostrophes, but they are somehow missing from the submitted text, exactly the same as the previous error when apostrophes were missing from Messages.


Also, here is another member's feedback, picked at random, also showing a missing apostrophe:

Apostrophe09.jpg

 

This issue is also still affecting my business account's Terms and Conditions.

 

I type the content, including apostrophes:

 

Apostrophe06a.jpg

 

 

 

It updates successfully:

Apostrophe07.jpg

 

But when I view from another account (having refreshed the page), the apostrophes are missing:

 

Apostrophe05.jpg

 

This definitely seems to be a technical glitch, even if it's only affecting a small number of users. Perhaps you could ask the tech team to look again? The fact that there is a character space where the apostrophe should be suggests that the system simply isn't recognising the grammatical mark, so instead is inserting a character space. In all examples, you're or don't or shouldn't are displaying as you re, don t and shouldn t, with a space where the apostrophe should be.

This is exactly the same error as previously mentioned, when the apostrophes were missing from sent messages.


Hi mygaras

 

I've just sent you a PM with further information on this, if you could get back to me from there when you can, I'd appreciate it. 👍

 

Thank you,

Marco


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Re: Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team- 18.06.25 @2pm

Hi mygaras, thanks for your patience on this.

 

I've just got an update on this, and the team has informed me that this has been resolved for you already. So, you can try again now, and that should work for you no problem. However, if you see the same issue, please let me know. 👍

 

Thank you,

Marco


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About this Weekly Chat!

Welcome to the Weekly Chat with the eBay Community Team! Unless otherwise noted, chats occur every Wednesday from 2pm to 3pm.

Our Community Team will be in the Chats to help with the questions.

If you have multiple questions please open a post per question so we can get back to them individually. If it's something we can't answer right away we will get back to you after the chat has finished.