Despatch Time v Time for Item to Arrive

sgh1976

The one "star" I hate on ebay - Despatch time.

Had a feedback and a 1/2 rating for an item that took "3 days longer than expected to arrive"

Now the item was purchased at 8pm on a Tuesday and posted the following day. I couldn't have got it in the post any quicker if I tried. yet I am marked down because Royal Mail took their bloomin time.

Been a frustrating few weeks on ebay, I hope this the final thing for a while.

When you are leaving stars, do you beleive the seller when they click on despatch or do you presume that if it hasn't arrived within 2 days it hasn't been posted and Royal Mail would never deliver an item late?

lovinituk

As a seller I realise that mail can be delayed or lost so I am much more sympathetic when I am the buyer. If I ever needed anything urgently I would look for a seller offering guaranteed next day delivery.

Unfortunately there are many, many buyers who expect it to arrive within 5 minutes of paying! There are still many people who think that 1st class post means next day delivery!

Nothing you can do about it if you are already dispatching that quickly.

ThinkingOfLinking

I interpret Dispatch Time as how long it takes the seller to dispatch the item. Royal Fail's actions are irrelevant - as long as the seller dispatches the item promptly, they'll still get 5 stars from me, even if it then takes a while to arrive.

lovinituk

Flickering_Ember wrote: »

I interpret Dispatch Time as how long it takes the seller to dispatch the item. Royal Fail's actions are irrelevant - as long as the seller dispatches the item promptly, they'll still get 5 stars from me, even if it then takes a while to arrive.

I wish all buyers were like you - would make selling on ebay much more pleasant

emmaanddave

This is a sore point with me too. Many items we put the 5-8 working days for dispatch option. many a time we get a buyer emailing where is their item! I calmly tell them it is still within the time frame and the day I intend to dispatch. usually we dispatch within 3 days. 2 weeks ago I sold a baby dress. Within 3 days I had a rude email stating they need the item 'by Friday' as they were going on holiday. Not once did they ask for it a.s.a.p. and it clearly states the delivery option on the listing. If someone asks nicely for a quick delivery on payment then we will do our best to meet that target. Otherwise i wish people would read the listing and work out when the 'working days' are up before they start chasing!! Moan over!!

custardy

emmaanddave wrote: »

This is a sore point with me too. Many items we put the 5-8 working days for dispatch option. many a time we get a buyer emailing where is their item! I calmly tell them it is still within the time frame and the day I intend to dispatch. usually we dispatch within 3 days. 2 weeks ago I sold a baby dress. Within 3 days I had a rude email stating they need the item 'by Friday' as they were going on holiday. Not once did they ask for it a.s.a.p. and it clearly states the delivery option on the listing. If someone asks nicely for a quick delivery on payment then we will do our best to meet that target. Otherwise i wish people would read the listing and work out when the 'working days' are up before they start chasing!! Moan over!!

5-8 working days is a massive period for dispatch

Crowqueen

Emma - you need to think about reducing the time you take to dispatch - that is very long for eBay, and most other sites insist on dispatch within 2 days, so eBay are very generous in allowing you to put longer, but buyers are rating you on speed of dispatch, not how long you told them you'd take.

You are holding onto a customer's money for almost a week before sending them anything - that's very bad practice to be honest. At the most it should take you 2 days to dispatch, otherwise buyers are going to act like they act towards you.

emmaanddave

Thanks Crowqueen. We have chosen that option because it is available on ebay posting section. We have noticed quite alot of others chise that option too. We do try to get out within a few days but it all depends on what myself and my dh are working and it is not always possible to dispatch within 2 days. My only gripe is that not everyone reads the postage times and moan when it is not sent within 2 days. I ALWAYS read the delivery times so I am aware roughly when to expect. I would certainly not chase something that is within the time frame suggested.

emmaanddave

custardy wrote: »

5-8 working days is a massive period for dispatch

It is an option from ebay itself and we generally have the item to the buyer within 5-8days.

samanthaknd

emmaanddave wrote: »

It is an option from ebay itself and we generally have the item to the buyer within 5-8days.

As a buyer even if ebay say it's ok , I find it majorly excessive!.
For example I pay as soon as I get the item, I then have to wait at most 8 days for it to get posted, then if unlucky another 5 days for actual delivery! And you expect me to be happy? I don't think so!. My purchases from china would probably arrive quicker!

soolin

emmaanddave wrote: »

It is an option from ebay itself and we generally have the item to the buyer within 5-8days.

I echo what the others say, you will be lucky to survive on ebay if you look too tardy compared to most other sellers. For a start the stars for despatch do not ask a buyer to mark the seller on how accurate the despatch time was- it is merely a 'score' of how they feel the despatch was handled. So whilst you meet or even exceed your despatch times you are still slower than most other sellers so if a buyer routinely gives 5* across the board you may well only get a 4* as you are not as good as the others.

It is something that fascinates me- buyer pyschology. I buy lots of things myself, about 100 items last month from ebay and I do find myself wanting to give slower sellers lower stars as I feel that quicker sellers should get better feedback. It is a hard piece of pyschology to break. I buy 10 things on the same day from different sellers, 5 arrive on day 2, 5 a week later- my brain is telling me that the 5 who get it to me in 2 days are 'better' than the other 5.