eBay

artisanangling · ‎05-02-2024

Hi all,

My delivery rate has gone fom 1.9 to 3 in days, yet I have posted the next day and uploaded tracking when needed which is most of the time. Have ebay not taken into account that the royal mail system is not working properly at the moment??? I send all items within a day, as I always have, the delivery and in transit scans are not down to me its royal mail, why are we getting penalised in the late delivery ratings when they are clearly not late?? and the system is at fault ebays end or royal mails?

the-nutwood-collection · ‎07-02-2024

If you purchased the labels from eBay and posted within the allowed time, the defects should disappear. It takes a couple of weeks.

If you didn't purchase from eBay, then the packages have probably arrived later than eBay's fantasy EDDs, and the defects may stay.

To answer your question - no, eBay don't take RM's lamentable performance into account. It's only eBay's EDD that counts with eBay. However, I posted an item 2nd Class on Monday and it arrived today - so maybe RM are on the road to improvement.

ile136yz · ‎07-02-2024

Posted out the Day after purchase even though my Dispatch setting is 3 days.

Postage label for the Royal Mail was purchased on eBay, the Tracking number automatically entered on to the Order page & showed as dispatched.

On expected delivery day the RM Tracking (that could be seen on eBay) said 'there was a delay - no reason given'.

Package arrived exactly 1 week after posting.

eBay gave my eBay account a Defect - I asked for Defect to be removed - as I had posted out day after item purchased - the Courier delivery was delayed, so it was beyond my control.

eBay did not removed (final decision) - advised me to send out within my dispatch time.

rjwilmsi · ‎08-02-2024

I think that unfortunately the bottom line is that eBay's marketing team have concluded that buyers like fast delivery and Amazon is known for it, so eBay wants to have it. However, eBay doesn't deliver the items themselves so they can't guarantee it, instead they try to make it happen with overly optimistic Estimated Delivery Dates (or sometimes even impossible dates), and putting soft pressure on sellers with these delivery metrics. eBay seem to take the practical view that late delivery is seller's fault - that may not be the letter of their policy but it seems to be the practicality.

I think the best thing is to decide on your reasonable approach to delivery and courier, put that on your listings clearly, do what you've said you'll do, then ignore all of eBay's metrics because they are out of your control and may sometimes be nonsense anyway.

(What is "reasonable": to me that could mean e.g. 2 day dispatch at the most; Royal Mail for large letters, RM Tracked for items above some threshold say £20 or £30, then using RM Tracked or DPD for larger parcels. Evri for cheap unbreakable items only. Unreasonable to me would be e.g. 4 day dispatch, Evri for expensive/fragile items - it's just asking for problems.)

ile136yz · ‎12-02-2024

When an Item is delivered by a Courier after eBay's estimated date (as long as the Seller has dispatched within their stated dispatched time) there should be no defect given to the Seller's Account as it is beyond their control. Also items being delivered by the Royal Mail to the Northern Ireland, Scottish Isles etc should have extra time allowed to arrive.

ile136yz · ‎15-02-2024

Update

Since then I had another defect stating late dispatch, I purchased postage label from eBay next day & posted out ( my dispatch time was 3 days). I did not contact eBay as it was a waste of time.

Today I noticed both defects for late dispatch have been removed.

lincolnshiremarine · ‎15-02-2024

Hi

There is a major flaw with ebays estimated delivery times, which then makes the buyer think the item is late, in turn leaving the seller open to negative feedback.

For example: A buyer brought an item today at 1pm, we printed the label via ebay packlink for our standard free, three day delivery. Ebay tracking is now telling the seller the item will arrive tomorrow or the next day.

The parcel will not be collected by the courier until tomorrow, and the buyer selected our three day delivery service, so ebay are informing the customer wrongly. Furthermore, when you go on the actual courier website the delivery dates are the true and correct ones.

I have reported this several times to ebay, and spoken on the weekly chat on Wednesday at 2pm with the ebay team. I am not the only seller highlighting this issue.

However, ebay are claiming it is working fine. It does not matter how you play around with postage days etc it makes no difference.

The more people report this, maybe ebay will listen. I live in hope.......

Best wishes

thesmokingrunner · ‎15-02-2024

@lincolnshiremarine eBay are not going to listen however many people report the issue. As you know by now - I've seen several of your posts in the weekly chats - the EDD algorithm is "working as designed" and it is: it's working in eBay's favour.

eBay desperately wants to be a mini-Amazon but it doesn't have its own logistics network, so the next best thing is to ~~force~~ 'encourage' sellers to dispatch items pretty much immediately. The example you give above is just one of many; a friend of mine listed something yesterday with dispatch within 3 days and 2nd Class postage. For any normal person that would be up to 5 days, right? According to the EDD on the listing this morning, buy it today and it'll be delivered on Saturday. No chance.

One of the numerous issues is that eBay has no control over any delivery company and so any delays become the responsibility of the seller. Even if the seller misses the EDD through no fault of their own they are penalised, and if their metrics drop sufficiently they're hit with an additional (?4%) penalty charge. So either way eBay wins: either the buyers are happy because they get stuff as quick as Amazon and are more likely to return (and therefore earn eBay more commission) or eBay earns more in commission because regardless of any situation outside the sellers control the item is delivered "late" according to their ridiculous EDD calculations.

eBay wins either way; the seller is always on a hiding to nothing. eBay will not change the EDD algorithm because it's skewed in their favour - that's why it's "working as designed".

Frankly the only way eBay will sit up and take any notice is if sellers stopped selling but I know that's not going to happen. eBay know it too. That's why everybody who has raised the issue will continue to be fobbed off with "Problem? There is no problem."

The bottom line is that for as long as sellers continue to sell on eBay they effectively accept the conditions and penalties of the EDD. And that's it in a nutshell: either stop selling or knuckle under, because eBay really isn't going to change anything.