does immediate payment = immediate dispatch!

ranger1066

I have bought stuff off eBay, waited over a week item not arrived. Contacted seller said was posted day after payment, a week later the item arrives with the date mark on the post office printed label the day before it arrived. If people cant post it straight away fine by me, but why do they lie and say they have sent it when they have not. I have had items though that are held up in the royal mail system that genuinely have taken 2 weeks to be delivered!

But i bought a memory card for a digital camera from a seller in Hong Kong and it arrived 3 days later.

mrcol1000

Really its just lunacy listing items to end while your away. I leave a clear 10 days between items ending and going away to make sure all the later payers have paid. There are awful sellers and there are awful buyers on Ebay. Ebay takes action agasint the awful sellers but the awful buyers get away pretty much scott free.

cyberbob

I dispatch within 24 hours of a sale, but I work from home so I am able to do this. Some buyers seem to forget that a lot of private sellers have Jobs families etc. Sellers though also need to be honest with there listings. I bought something a few months ago it said dispatch 2 days. The item was not sent until day 8. I had no contact from the seller. I emailed the seller to ask (before the item arrived on day 10) what day it had been sent, no reply. I left the seller a neutral, the seller put in there response to my feedback that she was away on holiday. Not sure if I am meant to be psychic to know this!?

As others have said there is a difference between dispatch and delivery time. Dispatch time can be controlled by the seller. Delivery is in the hands of the Royal Mail Gods. As a seller the odd item that has gone missing I have communicated with the buyer and refunded with no quibble. I go back to companies/sellers who give good service and good even if there is a problem. I bought something two weeks a go from a business seller. This weekend there was a fault with it. We contacted the seller who hasn't done given us the run around. They have just apologised for the fault asked us to send it back for a full refund including return postage. Now as much as there was a problem with the item I will shop with them again as I know if there are problems they deal with them with no fuss. Customer service sometimes means more to buyers than the actual items. Thats why people shop in places like John Lewis. There prices are not the cheapest but ther customer service is excellent.

The original post as much as the customer was a pain. I always find that the best way to deal with requests like this is to make the customer think you are bending over backwards for them (even if your not) that way they still get a +ve experience. Good communication and giving them the options so they realise that if the item does not turn up when they want it that its not your fault. I think a lot of sellers paint themselves into a corner by not speaking to there customers.

Another slightly related point I think what a lot of sellers forget is the amount of parcels they send through RM with no problems. I send on some days between 20 and 30 parcels. I have not had a parcel missing for 6 months. (i know they'll all go missing now)