To the eBay Team,
I am writing to express a frustration that I know is shared by countless long-time eBay users: the wildly unrealistic delivery estimates shown across your platform. While these optimistic timelines may help convert a few extra sales in the short term, they carry a much larger long-term cost—one that I believe is increasingly harming trust, repeat buying behaviour, and overall user loyalty.
Over the years, I’ve repeatedly experienced situations where the promised delivery dates looked appealing but quickly proved to be unreliable. Time and time again, purchases that were estimated to arrive within a couple of days ended up taking many days and in some instances, weeks. Eventually, I learned that these estimates were not to be taken seriously. And as a result, my buying habits changed dramatically.
Today, I no longer purchase anything from eBay that I need within a short or even medium timeframe. The risk of being let down has simply become too high. My remaining purchases on your platform are limited only to items where delivery times genuinely do not matter. That’s not because I expect delays—it’s because I’ve learned to expect unreliability.
This shift wasn’t caused by a single seller, nor by a one-off delay. It was shaped by a persistent pattern—an “over promise and under deliver” culture embedded in the delivery estimates themselves. These overly optimistic timelines may be designed to lure buyers, but ultimately they undermine the very thing a marketplace like eBay relies on: trust.
There is a law of unexpected consequences at play here. By presenting delivery windows that are more marketing tactic than reality, you inadvertently push customers like me away from using the platform for meaningful or time-sensitive purchases altogether. I can’t help but think this phenomenon is far more widespread than you realise—and that the cumulative effect across the entire user base is substantial.
I, and many others, would much prefer transparent, accurate delivery estimates—even if they are longer—over misleading ones presented to boost conversion. Honest expectations build loyalty. Misleading expectations break it.
I hope eBay takes this issue seriously, because while unrealistic delivery estimates may bring short-term sales, the long-term consequence is clear: customers quietly adjust their habits, reduce their purchases, and ultimately drift away to platforms they feel they can trust.
Sincerely,
Dan, from 'The Layer Laboratory'.
A concerned and long-time eBay user
