3 day dispatch, 2nd class post.. Ebay estimates delivery within 4 days.

I have a 3 day dispatch window (to give some leeway to Royal Mail delivery time, I post next day most of the time)

I noticed that on my listings it says "Delivery: Estimated within 4 working days"


OR just looking at another listing now, Tuesday evening, it says "Delivery: Estimated by Mon. 18 Nov. With 3 day dispatch time and a 2nd class signed for postage. Ridiculous, right?


Do I need to up it to 4-5 days dispatch time? Concerned it may affect best match placement badly.
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  • soolin
    soolin Posts: 72,031
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    kiwi_fruit wrote: »
    I have a 3 day dispatch window (to give some leeway to Royal Mail delivery time, I post next day most of the time)

    I noticed that on my listings it says "Delivery: Estimated within 4 working days"


    OR just looking at another listing now, Tuesday evening, it says "Delivery: Estimated by Mon. 18 Nov. With 3 day dispatch time and a 2nd class signed for postage. Ridiculous, right?


    Do I need to up it to 4-5 days dispatch time? Concerned it may affect best match placement badly.

    Anything other than 1 day dispatch affects placement (alledgedly) and recently ebay had got better with their estimates but perhaps if yours are a day short then they are glitching again.

    However they do count Saturday now for delivery so if bought today it would need to be posted by Friday, 2 days for 2nd class would be Monday so that does look about right in ebay land.

    EDIT, that does look about right - I have a 2 day dispatch and mine show that if bought today "Estimated between Sat. 16 Nov. and Mon. 18 Nov"
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  • soolin, the way I looked it- if posted on day 3, that only gives RM 1 day for delivery- but it's nearly always 2, and for Highlands/Islands even longer. So the allowance should be 5 working days at least.
    I'm sure Ebay estimates were more "generous" in the past.
  • soolin
    soolin Posts: 72,031
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    kiwi_fruit wrote: »
    soolin, the way I looked it- if posted on day 3, that only gives RM 1 day for delivery- but it's nearly always 2, and for Highlands/Islands even longer. So the allowance should be 5 working days at least.
    I'm sure Ebay estimates were more "generous" in the past.

    Friday would be day 3 for postage and 2 days from there is Monday , which is the earliest estimated delivery time suggested by RM. up to a couple of years ago eBay never counted Saturday as a delivery day, even though RM did.

    However with eBay it's all guesswork.
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  • forgotmyname
    forgotmyname Posts: 32,517
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    In ebay land a buyer purchases before midnight, you should be posting before that final bell stroke.

    Wait for a bank holiday where they expect something purchased on Saturday afternoon to arrive on Tuesday. This was a purchase i made, expected delivery Tuesday...

    99.9999% of the time my ebay searches are by price inc P&P, rarely take much notice of the delivery dates now. I think a lot of sellers have added extra time to help cut down on late delivery issues.
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  • soolin
    soolin Posts: 72,031
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    In ebay land a buyer purchases before midnight, you should be posting before that final bell stroke.

    Wait for a bank holiday where they expect something purchased on Saturday afternoon to arrive on Tuesday. This was a purchase i made, expected delivery Tuesday...

    99.9999% of the time my ebay searches are by price inc P&P, rarely take much notice of the delivery dates now. I think a lot of sellers have added extra time to help cut down on late delivery issues.

    I currently have a 2 day dispatch and usually send same or next day and I am actually getting phone calls as well as emails from ebay about my shipping times pushing me to go to 1 day dispatch to qualify for fast and free or same day to get my TRS discount. They tell me that my metrics show I post earlier than my 2 day dispatch and my visibility would be very enhanced if I went to fast and free. I just tell them that I need a margin for ebay error, when I ship at my stated rate I get late defects , most I can removed but it costs me time and effort on the phone. By lengthening my dispatch time I usually avoid them, on my last phone they admitted that a number of sellers are telling them the same. Even now I have a late defect for something that went early- but can't be bothered to phone ebay and complain as my percentage is too low to worry about.
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  • Does phoning then to remove late delivery reports usually work then? I got one recently for tracking showing late dispatch and late delivery via Hermes (I haven't yet received feedback but I'm also slightly concerned that tracking shows delivery "through letterbox" and this was not an item which would fit through a normal letterbox). I dropped the parcel off within my stated timescale, but their tracking for it starts at a different location (presumably their depot) the next day, not at the time and place the parcel was first scanned.
  • soolin
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    Does phoning then to remove late delivery reports usually work then? I got one recently for tracking showing late dispatch and late delivery via Hermes (I haven't yet received feedback but I'm also slightly concerned that tracking shows delivery "through letterbox" and this was not an item which would fit through a normal letterbox). I dropped the parcel off within my stated timescale, but their tracking for it starts at a different location (presumably their depot) the next day, not at the time and place the parcel was first scanned.

    If your tracking proves beyond doubt that you sent it within the time frame then it is occasionally possible to have a defect removed. It must show accepted as courier though, not just delivered.

    Anecdotally there is some suggestion that they will only do this for business sellers , but I don't know how true that is .
    I’m a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the eBay, Auctions, Car Boot & Jumble Sales, Boost Your Income, Praise, Vents & Warnings, Overseas Holidays & Travel Planning , UK Holidays, Days Out & Entertainments boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know.. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • That's the problem - tracking doesn't show the day it was accepted at the parcel shop, but the next day when it arrived at their depot, which was a day after dispatch was due. I do have a receipt for the parcel with the correct date on it but I don't know if that counts for anything.
  • soolin
    soolin Posts: 72,031
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    That's the problem - tracking doesn't show the day it was accepted at the parcel shop, but the next day when it arrived at their depot, which was a day after dispatch was due. I do have a receipt for the parcel with the correct date on it but I don't know if that counts for anything.

    They will only consider online information, so you are unlikely to get that defect removed. Likewise , my standard parcels if delivered late give me a defect and as they don't record the day they were taken in by RM I can't get them removed.
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  • janb5
    janb5 Posts: 2,616
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    That's the problem - tracking doesn't show the day it was accepted at the parcel shop, but the next day when it arrived at their depot, which was a day after dispatch was due. I do have a receipt for the parcel with the correct date on it but I don't know if that counts for anything.


    Actually Hermes tracking does show when it was delivered at the parcel shop.
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