Warning - Royal Mail items are delayed in sorting centres for 8+ weeks, no seller protection

soolin

megw said:

Did eBay shorten the timeframe for when a buyer can open a dispute recently? I have had 2 ignorant buyers open disputes for 2nd Class LL items that are 3 days late this week because eBay has listed the expected delivery time as 2-3 days when it seems to be taking more like 5-6 days from feedback I've been getting.

As a buyer, I'd never open a dispute for an item that is only a few days late, particularly during the pandemic, where I've allowed 2-3 weeks for some items to arrive as I understand there are delays. Frankly don't know what's up with people being so idiotic, but eBay should not allow disputes after only a few days of posting, and Royal Mail need to be more upfront about their true delivery times/delays. 

Buyers have always been able to open an INR as soon as the last estimated delivery time has passed. EBay are not allowing extra time for delays in their INR metrics. 

megw

@soolin Thanks for confirming, I will switch to 5 extra days dispatch and will just post all items before marking them dispatched on eBay, guess I just happened to get two bad eggs in one go.

Wish we could rate buyers and then filter certain buyers from purchasing from us. Just would rather not sell to people like this at all. 

Brywalker

Unfortunately less and less people are willing to allow an extra day or two if something hasn't arrived.  Possibly due to the Amazon Prime factor. 

jon81uk

megw said:

Did eBay shorten the timeframe for when a buyer can open a dispute recently? I have had 2 ignorant buyers open disputes for 2nd Class LL items that are 3 days late this week because eBay has listed the expected delivery time as 2-3 days when it seems to be taking more like 5-6 days from feedback I've been getting.

As a buyer, I'd never open a dispute for an item that is only a few days late, particularly during the pandemic, where I've allowed 2-3 weeks for some items to arrive as I understand there are delays. Frankly don't know what's up with people being so idiotic, but eBay should not allow disputes after only a few days of posting, and Royal Mail need to be more upfront about their true delivery times/delays. 

I'm a private seller with 3 day dispatch on eBay and send most items second class small parcel or large letter. I've had a lot of feedback saying how quick my service is! Really surprised me how quick things are being done by RM, I thought it would be slow, but second class seems to be delivered in two days most of the time.

jon81uk

megw said:

@soolin Thanks for confirming, I will switch to 5 extra days dispatch and will just post all items before marking them dispatched on eBay, guess I just happened to get two bad eggs in one go.

Wish we could rate buyers and then filter certain buyers from purchasing from us. Just would rather not sell to people like this at all. 

You can of course block individual buyers.

But even if eBay did still allow negative feedback to buyers I'm not sure the buyers with unrealistic expectations would really get enough negatives to stand out.