When do you expect a seller to post your item after you have paid for it

OrkneyStar

Once some one has paid me I will do my best to get it posted ASAP, normally that day or next working day, depending on when you pay (after 12pm it will likely be next day).

terra_ferma

Crowqueen wrote: »

I post every day, so I'm speaking as a buyer here, although I do it's not fair to expect that everybody does, particularly occasional or part time sellers who have other commitments.

If someone pays me for something, it becomes a commitment that I prioritise. I'm not awfully sticky on dispatch time, but it's nice to know that if I send someone money for something, it becomes their commitment, nay, perhaps a priority to them, instead of just going into their Paypal account and saying "hey, I'll get round to that some time this week." As a private seller, I take exception to the idea that we should be held to lower standards, because we aren't and I like to treat people who send me money with priority service.

It's not about lower standards, or lower priority, to me it's about keeping promises. If they promise delivery within 5 days and they delivery, that should be good enough. If not I would buy somewhere else, or ask if they can offer faster dispatch.
What I don't like (and there is a lot of it on ebay) it's the unspoken, implicit rules, where you say 5 days dispatch and then you get low stars because you took 5 days to send. The way it should work is that people look at the dispatch time, they decide it takes too long and they buy somewhere else. So the seller either improves or they are out of business.

I've seen a few sellers of custom-made items who had to stop selling because people would give low star for longer (declared) dispatch items due to the time it takes to produce a custom made item.

coolmumh

i tired to post out the day people pay but its not always possible but I do send them an message once it is posted to let them know its on the way most people are really nice and message back saying thanks for letting them know.

elver_man

Hi,

I try to post out the following working day after cleared payment, but sometimes it can be two days after if I'm not working in the vicinity of a post office. This should not be a problem as I do state 3 working days on all my listings. I also send a message once I've posted the item which just keeps them in the picture.

I offer 2nd class as the norm but also have 1st class as an alternative, some buyers do opt for the 1st class but the majority stick with 2nd.

I've just received a delivery (large letter size) today that took 9 days to get to me after I paid but I'm not going to mark down the seller as they posted the following day (going by the post mark). I choose 2nd class and its not the sellers fault that Royal Mail took so long to do their bit.

mikey72

Depends on the seller to a degree, if it's a business, or volume seller, unless they have said they won't bother posting for the best part of a week, if you pay on the 31st, and they post on the 3/4th, I'd mark them down.
Problem with ebay now is a lot of sellers treat it as a business for selling, then expect to drop the parcels off on the way home from work.
If it is the odd item and the seller is clearly just selling bits and bobs, I'd give them a bit longer.

nellytheelephant

The sellers probably didn't realise you had paid until the 1st Feb (I wouldn't be able to check my Paypal until after work and I'd be tucked up in bed at 10.30pm! ) . So they've both posted within 3 days, so I don't think that's too bad really

humblepii

Speaking as a seller, I work full-time so I always list dispatch as 5 working days to make sure I don't over-commit myself. Sometimes it's just impossible for me to get to the PO, though I always try to ASAP when I've been paid. I think it's better to under-promise and over-deliver than vice versa, if that makes sense!

Even if I do need to take the full five days, I email to apologise. As long as there's an open channel of communication between buyer and seller there shouldn't really be any problem.

Crowqueen

terra_ferma wrote: »

It's not about lower standards, or lower priority, to me it's about keeping promises. If they promise delivery within 5 days and they delivery, that should be good enough. If not I would buy somewhere else, or ask if they can offer faster dispatch.
What I don't like (and there is a lot of it on ebay) it's the unspoken, implicit rules, where you say 5 days dispatch and then you get low stars because you took 5 days to send. The way it should work is that people look at the dispatch time, they decide it takes too long and they buy somewhere else. So the seller either improves or they are out of business.

I've seen a few sellers of custom-made items who had to stop selling because people would give low star for longer (declared) dispatch items due to the time it takes to produce a custom made item.

If people have problems with dispatch vs delivery, then they should be pro-active in telling the buyer when the item was dispatched (I do it as soon as I get back from the PO) or clearer about it on their listings.

I agree some buyers have issues but that just means sellers have to be on the ball about making sure their buyer knows when they have dispatched it. As sellers we are fully in control of what and how we list.

Also you say one thing about private sellers, which I responded to, and then make an argument about customised goods. A private seller will not be selling customised goods. If there's an issue with customised goods and eBay, then eBay may not really be the best place to sell customised goods: it's not the end of the world if you can't satisfy eBay buyers, you might find there are alternative venues where buyers are more clued up as to the time it takes customised goods to arrive, for example.

macfly

I'm one of the ebayers who terra doesn't like. If I buy something, rarely, I don't look at their dispatch times. Anyone who needs five days to send an item should not be selling on the internet. I would of course never blame a seller for a mail delay, but five days is silly.