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postage confusion on new ebay layout

I was having a browse of the ebay community boards last night and again early this morning and there appears to be a growing trend for buyers to misunderstand the postage system timing.

I don't know if this is a just one of those co incidence type issues or whether the way that ebay present information makes it difficult to understand what is being said.

Basically the gripe is that buyers see that seller uses 1st class post, ebay then helpfully add 1-3 days as a postage estimate' and on day 4 buyers are hopping mad that their item has failed to arerive as promised.

Just looking at a random listing where seller uses 2nd class post. In the postage box it shows Royal Mail 2nd Class Standard -3 to 5 working days*

Buyers take that to mean they will wait no more than 3 - 5 working days, but if you follow the asterix on the auction page (which people don't) it goes on to say "*Sellers are not responsible for delivery time. This information is provided by the carrier and excludes weekends and bank holidays. Note that delivery times may vary, particularly during peak periods."

It does not however take into account the fact that sellers don't have to ship for 7 days, so even after the time limit is up, selelrs would still not be in breach of posting rules if item was not sent.

Sorry, I can't explain this very well, but it might account for all those odd emails we selelrs get two days after payment that say 'where is my item'. they are being told, especially for 1st class, that their item may arrive in 1 working day.
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Comments

  • pinkgem
    pinkgem Posts: 3,299 Forumite
    i thought it was meant to add the handling time to the postage time to give the buyer an estimated total time for delivery
  • I listed a couple of things last night - first time for a couple of weeks - and noticed that a dispatch time now has to be added. I selected 2 days (I always post the following day - catastrophes permitting!) so if anyone actually looks at this hopefully they will be pleased if it arrives the following day. (Well that's my theory anyway :think:)
  • Premier_2
    Premier_2 Posts: 15,141 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    pinkgem wrote: »
    i thought it was meant to add the handling time to the postage time to give the buyer an estimated total time for delivery

    Yes that's the way it should work.

    Total delivery time = dispatch time (set by seller) + postage time (set by ebay, based on postal service used)

    The ebay/paypal policy is that the seller dispatches the item within 7 days.
    "Now to trolling as a concept. .... Personally, I've always found it a little sad that people choose to spend such a large proportion of their lives in this way but they do, and we have to deal with it." - MSE Forum Manager 6th July 2010
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