Why do eBay sellers do this?

[Monty]

If you live in a small town like I do, you use eBay to get things that aren't otherwise immediately available to you. That said, I've noticed a weird change in sellers' behavior in the last year or so that I'm not thrilled about:  Why do they create a shipping label but hold on to the product for another two or three days? 

On my most recent purchase, I was notified that the seller was "packing  your item for shipment!" as soon as payment went through, yet three days later it's still sitting there.  Am I mistaken in thinking USPS will pick up a package once it's got a shipping label?

Just asking 'cuz I've shared my multiple issues with USPS delivery, and now the sellers are adding to my consternation.

[Ace-Garageguy]

They do it because they can.

Some sellers are really great about shipping the same day they get payment.

Some take their sweet time, often not getting the item to their local PO for several days.

Not much you can do as far as I'm aware.

I've had to become pretty patient over the years, and have seriously cut back buying anything online because a lot more people seem to be jerks now.

It's just the brandy new oh-so-mo-better world of muh technology we live in today.

[1930fordpickup]

I think that maybe ebay thinks if the lable is printed that it is being shipped? 

Some sellers say they ship on these 2 days. We know that going in. But to have no time table is not good.

[stitchdup]

some people also have these things called jobs that require you to be there during business hours, which conveniently is also when the shipping agents are open.

[Mark]

Seller might be having the shipper pick up the sold items at the place of business, and maybe the shipper charges for that service unless there's a minimum number of items to pick up? 

Yes, eBay flags the item as "shipped" the minute a shipping label is stuck on, and tells you it has been "shipped".  But, open the link to the tracking number, and you get more accurate info.  That used to irritate me, but no more.  As long as the item gets to me, it's cool.

[Ace-Garageguy]

4 hours ago, stitchdup said:

some people also have these things called jobs that require you to be there during business hours, which conveniently is also when the shipping agents are open.

There are sellers who say exactly this in their listings, or that they only ship on thus-and-such a day because of their other commitments.

Fine. Perfectly reasonable. Understood.

It's the ones who just don't bother letting the buyer know what's going on, or who don't respond when contacted after several days go by after the label is created but the item is still not in transit that get annoying after a while.

Sure, you can have a job and a life. But how long does it take to send an email?

This one took less than two minutes.

EDIT: And if you're selling so much stuff you don't "have time" to keep buyers updated, selling IS a job, and needs to be treated as responsibly as a "real" one.

EDIT 2: As Mark implies though, you can't control what other people do. All you can control is how you react.

Edited Friday at 01:55 PM by Ace-Garageguy

[Monty]

16 hours ago, stitchdup said:

some people also have these things called jobs that require you to be there during business hours, which conveniently is also when the shipping agents are open.

This is (eventually) coming from a brick-n-mortar business in California.  Unless I've been misinformed, the same USPS guy who drops off their mail can grab this package and get the process rolling.  

 

[Monty]

14 hours ago, Mark said:

Yes, eBay flags the item as "shipped" the minute a shipping label is stuck on, and tells you it has been "shipped".  But, open the link to the tracking number, and you get more accurate info.  That used to irritate me, but no more.  As long as the item gets to me, it's cool.

There's nothing there but a brief sentence saying "Shipping label created, USPS awaiting item." 

[Mark]

But that does tell you that the package is still with the seller and hasn't started moving yet.  I'd guess the seller has to create the label to start the clock ticking for USPS to pick the item up.  Might as well start the notifications with the first action (creating the label).

[Monty]

2 hours ago, Mark said:

But that does tell you that the package is still with the seller and hasn't started moving yet.  I'd guess the seller has to create the label to start the clock ticking for USPS to pick the item up.  Might as well start the notifications with the first action (creating the label).

This is where being a tightwad worked against me.  If I’d paid $15.00 more, I could have gotten it from Amazon and had it by now instead if waiting for someone to get off their (expletive) and fulfill their end of the deal. 

What does printing the stupid label early accomplish if it’s still half the country away half a week later?  Maybe issuing neutral or negative feedback could help reverse this trend.
 

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

1 hour ago, Monty said:

This is where being a tightwad worked against me.  If I’d paid $15.00 more, I could have gotten it from Amazon and had it by now instead if waiting for someone to get off their (expletive) and fulfill their end of the deal. 

What does printing the stupid label early accomplish if it’s still half the country away half a week later?  Maybe issuing neutral or negative feedback could help reverse this trend.

Your frustration is understandable, and I used to get kinda bothered by this stuff too.

But in the final analysis, if it's not something I need for business, waiting a few days won't really affect anything.

And if it IS something I need for business, I can almost always find plenty to do while I wait for whatever thingamajig is running late.

Fifteen bucks is fifteen bucks, after all.  

EDIT: Don't get me wrong. It DOES chap my backside when I message some clown with "You know, you've had my money for two weeks and I see my package hasn't made it to your shipper of choice yet" and all I get is crickets for 3 more days and then it pops up on the USPS tracking app.

But I don't even bother with negative feedback. Why?

Because someday the same guy just might have the only chrome plated 1st gen grangefluriffigur in the known universe, and he's got a $10 BIN price on it when the cheapest one I've seen anywhere else is half a mil.

I can wait a few extra days.  

Edited 18 hours ago by Ace-Garageguy
clarity

[iamsuperdan]

I can't speak for others, but for myself, if I'm buying something online then I'm not in a rush for it.

If I need it ASAP, then I buy local and in person, or from a vendor that I know can send or deliver quickly.

So if it takes a couple of days for something to ship, then that's fine. If it's been a couple of weeks, then I'll usually send a message if I haven't heard from the seller. 

I don't get too worked up, because it's something out of my control. I'll get stressed over more pressing matters.

Especially if it's a model kit. I have a stash of a few huundred kits, I think I have enough to keep me occupied while waiting for another to arrive.

 

 

And complaining to EBay won't get you any resolution, because EBay always sides with the seller. Unless I'm the seller, then they always side with the buyer. It's why I don't sell on there any more.

 

 

Anyway...

[Monty]

There’s a vast difference between waiting for hobby stuff to ship/arrive and waiting for a winter coat.  
I live in a small midwestern town because I’m taking care of family issues.  Shopping here is abysmal and the nearest city is hours away.  

I found a winter coat online that meets my needs and is in my price range.  I went with the eBay seller because Amazon’s delivery date was way out there and I assumed this transaction would be like most and this would already be on its way. As of this morning it’s still sitting there.  
 

 

[Bugatti Fan]

One poster said for an extra 15 bucks he could have gone to Amazon for faster delivery.

My son ordered a kit as a surprise for me using Amazon. All they did was slap a delivery label straight onto the kit box and shipped it. Luckily the contents arrived undamaged. How many others were not so lucky I wonder ?

Quick is not always better, but I can understand people's frustration with slow shipments from private sellers on Ebay.

[RSchnell]

I've done a fair amount of selling on ebay this year and here's a couple scenarios that have happened to me.

1)I end up staying late at work. Even though I work from home, it's normal for phone calls to run past quitting time or a meeting runs long, etc. When that happens I'll take a long lunch the next day and ship everything I have ready to go then.

2) Being out of town and forgetting to set your status to "away". I spent 8 days in Michigan back in Oct. I forgot to set my ebay status to away. Of course while I'm in Dearborn wandering around Ford related sites 12 items sell all in the same day. I sent a message to each buyer advising them of the situation. I found out the hard way the ebay mobile app doesn't have all the same features as the main site so I couldn't find where to change my status. Of course I didn't bring my laptop as I needed that room in my suitcase for some NOS Ford parts I was picking up while in town.

[Fat Brian]

16 hours ago, Monty said:

This is where being a tightwad worked against me.  If I’d paid $15.00 more, I could have gotten it from Amazon and had it by now instead if waiting for someone to get off their (expletive) and fulfill their end of the deal. 

What does printing the stupid label early accomplish if it’s still half the country away half a week later?  Maybe issuing neutral or negative feedback could help reverse this trend.
 

 

Ebay won't release the funds to the seller until a tracking number is posted to the transaction, at least for smaller sellers. That's why the tracking number gets posted almost immediately even if they sit on the package a few more days. 

[RSchnell]

1 hour ago, Fat Brian said:

Ebay won't release the funds to the seller until a tracking number is posted to the transaction, at least for smaller sellers. That's why the tracking number gets posted almost immediately even if they sit on the package a few more days. 

I'm a "Top rated seller", for whatever that's worth and ebay will automatically transfer funds to my bank account even if I hadn't bought a shipping label yet. I see now they've implemented a time frame the shipping label is good for. If it expires before you ship, you have to buy another one, presumably on your dime- but not 100% sure.

[Monty]

This dorsal orifice is a "top rated seller" too, at least by percentage of positive feedback received.  Not sure how if he sits on orders like this. The item didn't ship today and obviously won't ship tomorrow.  Too bad I can't just cancel the sale and let him keep the $#%& thing.

Still thinking of giving negative feedback.  Not like I'll be buying anything from him in the future.