Handling Times - Etiquette?

[Libelle]

I am becoming increasingly frustrated and annoyed by a recent trend among ebay sellers. For about the past year and a half the following has occured in 90% of the auctions that I have won:

• The seller has not included any additional information about handling times. (For example, they have not stated "I only ship on Mondays and Fridays" in their item description.)
• I pay for the item via Paypal immediately upon winning the auction. (From my understanding, if I pay via Paypal immediately, the payment clears with the seller immediately as well.)
• Several days pass.
• Ebay is updated with a tracking number and the item is marked as having been "shipped". However, when I look at the shipping info with the help of the tracking number, the actual status is either "pre-shipment info sent" or "shipping label created".
• Several more days pass.
• Finally, after a week (minimum) or two (maximum), the status changes either to "accepted at xyz facility" or to "picked up".

In other words, it has taken the seller between one and two weeks to actually dispatch the item. During that time, I have not received any communication from them.

I was super surprised to learn that according to ebay's terms:

Sellers are required to specify how long they will take to package and ship the item after receiving cleared payment. Sellers may select a handling time between same business day and 30 business days.

So ... If a seller fails to specify any prolonged handling times, when would it be reasonable for me to expect them to dispatch the item? (I've always thought it polite to ship within three days unless some issue arose.) When would it be appropriate to dinge stars or leave neutral/negative feedback because of slow handling?

[LadyMoondancer]

I see that you are in Germany.  Are you having items shipped to you via First Class International mail from other countries, like the US? In the past year or so, the US Post Office recently (in my experience) has stopped providing tracking information for First Class International packages, even to countries that they previously often tracked (like to England, Australia, and Germany.)  So there's that.

Also, in general buying from other countries may slow things down if a seller has to alter their usual proceedings, i.e. if they have a stack of domestic Priority Mail boxes that they usually use, but have to find a plain box or a International Priority box for your items.

In general, I would suggest contacting the sellers ahead of time to get their estimated shipping date.

[banditpony]

Are you getting your item within the estimated shipping time frame?

"Arrived at X facility" means that the package is in the middle of transit and doesn't reflect when the package was dropped off.

Also, are you able to see handling times on auctions? Sellers input that information as they make the listing. It is under the shipping/handling tab ... otherwise it's considered a part of the estimated delivery. I would only ding if it was drastically different.

[Libelle]

In the past year or so, the US Post Office recently (in my experience) has stopped providing tracking information for First Class International packages, even to countries that they previously often tracked (like to England, Australia, and Germany.)  So there's that.

It's not a problem about tracking. It's a problem about when the seller actually dispatches the item, i.e. drops the parcel off at a facility or has the parcel being picked up at their residence. Dispatching an item long after payment has cleared without any communication or apology is not ok in my opinion!

Are you getting your item within the estimated shipping time frame?

No, much later.

"Arrived at X facility" means that the package is in the middle of transit and doesn't reflect when the package was dropped off.

I wrote "accepted at xyz facility" as in "the seller stopped by at the facility and dropped the parcel off".

Also, are you able to see handling times on auctions? Sellers input that information as they make the listing. It is under the shipping/handling tab ... otherwise it's considered a part of the estimated delivery. I would only ding if it was drastically different.

No, I am unable to see handling times. The handling times are part of the estimated delivery.

I'll give an example: I win an auction on ebay Germany. The seller is sending the item via DHL. Estimated delivery is within 2-4 days. After 4 days, the seller prints a shipping label. After 12 days, the seller drops the item off at an facility. After 14 days, I receive the item.

[banditpony]

Oops misread.

Wow I wonder if something is wrong with ebay estimated times. I mean a package arriving within 2 days doesn't really happen within the usa...

But if you can't see the handling times, don't ding for that. Ding for not arriving within the estimated time period.

[Libelle]

Wow I wonder if something is wrong with ebay estimated times. I mean a package arriving within 2 days doesn't really happen within the usa...

Nope, there's nothing wrong with ebay estimated times, Germany is small. DHL guarantees delivery within 2 days within Germany. Like I've said, the problem isn't with the delivery service - tracking proves that delivery occurs within two days -, but with the seller who lets the parcel gather dust at their home for days and days after printing a shipping label.

I'm furious about ebay automatically changing the item status to "dispatched/shipped", when the only thing that has happened is that the seller has printed a shipping label!

[Stormness_1]

Yeah I can see that being annoying. However, I've had parcels packed up and put in a post box, only to have that box sit either in the box or unprocessed in the truck/PO for days. One was almost a week before it even entered the system, but I'd put it in the box the day after payment cleared! I'm not sure about how that works with DHL, do you visit the depot to ship? Or German post for that matter, maybe you don't have boxes, or they're only for letters? I've only been as close as France (which of course could be completely different!), and I know they have a box system similar to us for prepaid stuff.

[banditpony]

Oh I see! So you are just purchasing within Germany, I thought it was international-- I was thinking of experiences with ebay.com and USPS.

Yeah if it's going over the estimated time by over a week because they are slow to drop it off, then I feel a neutral is warranted. However, I would give them an opportunity to communicate by asking them a question during the process. Maybe ask about it the day after it's due-- tell them the item hasn't arrived and ask them why it hasn't arrived.

[Libelle]

However, I've had parcels packed up and put in a post box, only to have that box sit either in the box or unprocessed in the truck/PO for days. One was almost a week before it even entered the system, but I'd put it in the box the day after payment cleared! I'm not sure about how that works with DHL, do you visit the depot to ship?

In all the cases where the seller was using DHL, they visited the facility themselves in order to ship the parcel. There were some cases where the seller was using Hermes and had the parcel being picked up by Hermes at their place of residence. There haven't been any cases of post boxes being used, yet.

Oh I see! So you are just purchasing within Germany, I thought it was international-- I was thinking of experiences with ebay.com and USPS.

Yeah if it's going over the estimated time by over a week because they are slow to drop it off, then I feel a neutral is warranted. However, I would give them an opportunity to communicate by asking them a question during the process. Maybe ask about it the day after it's due-- tell them the item hasn't arrived and ask them why it hasn't arrived.

Oops, I should have been more specific then! I'm giving sellers loads of leeway when I order something internationally, so I wasn't referring to those cases.

I have enquired as to the reasons for shipping late a couple of times and received answers such as "I couldn't find the item" (so how did you manage to include a photograph of the item in your auction?), "the nearest facility was closed for a couple of days" (which was easy to disprove by a simple call), "I only ship on Saturdays" (then your estimated delivery times and auction descriptions should reflect this, after all you are a regular seller) etc.

I have a feeling the latest auction that I won is going down the same dark path: I won an auction on ebay UK from a seller located in Germany (in other words the item will be send from Germany to a destination in Germany). Curiously, on ebay UK, I am able to see the handling times specified by the seller. Again, things are not looking promising: The information reads "seller will ship within 3 days after payment cleared". It is already 5 days after payment has cleared, and the item hasn't been shipped, yet. However, a shipping label was printed yesterday ... Sigh.

I'm furious about ebay automatically changing the item status to "dispatched/shipped", when the only thing that has happened is that the seller has printed a shipping label!

I strongly feel that many German sellers are abusing ebay's automated system.

[banditpony]

I believe you, but it's so crazy to hear a majority of purchases are like this.

I thought eBay was supposed to monitor if packages were being received on time or not. Does anyone give honest feed back? What do their stars look like for shipping?

[Libelle]

I believe you, but it's so crazy to hear a majority of purchases are like this.

Isn't it? It makes me quite sad. Moreover, I don't get it from a business point of view either. We are in a wonderful position here in Germany, not only when it comes to national shipping but also when it comes to international shipping:

(1) International shipping is very cheap compared to, for example, the USA or the UK.
(2) Transfer is extremely fast. To give an example: the last two swap boxes that I sent to the USA from Germany arrived in the USA 2 days after I had shipped them. (They then took another week to arrive at their final destination within the USA, because they were moving in and out of different USPS facilities, but that's still extremely fast.)

That's great for any online retailing business. So why destroy your advantage by procrastinating shipping? I just don't get it.

I thought eBay was supposed to monitor if packages were being received on time or not. Does anyone give honest feed back? What do their stars look like for shipping?

Their stars for shipping are usually at 100%. This is the reason why I made this topic. I don't dare leaving honest feedback when nobody else does either. Leaving honest feedback seems to be frowned upon over here to put it mildly

Btw, thanks so much for all your input!

[Taxel]

I thought eBay was supposed to monitor if packages were being received on time or not. Does anyone give honest feed back? What do their stars look like for shipping?

Their stars for shipping are usually at 100%. This is the reason why I made this topic. I don't dare leaving honest feedback when nobody else does either. Leaving honest feedback seems to be frowned upon over here to put it mildly

Btw, thanks so much for all your input!

If buyers don't tell the truth the cycle of crappy sellers will just keep rolling since there's nothing to even deter them. Why give good customer service if no one cares when your service is terrible? Things will not change if no one takes action. I know that leaving a less than glowing review is highly frowned upon, even here on the Arena a lot of the time, but its so important. The sites people sell through/use (ie eBay, Etsy, Paypal) and future customers will never know there's a problem if everyone is too worried about looking "mean" to leave honest feedback, file cases, etc.

[bluerose9978]

For the future, maybe when you pay, you could leave a message in the details page requesting the person to contact you when they ship the item? EBay does monitor back and forth communication between buyer and seller in case there is an issue, that way you are justified in leaving poor feedback if they don't communicate their shipping times to you.

I've had this happen a few times in the U.S., actually, where they have printed out their labels right away but haven't shipped out the item for weeks. And then when I get a message whether the item has arrived within the shipping times it's supposed to be, it's well beyond. I'm not one to leave negatives or even neutrals but in those cases I feel it is OK to ding stars, or if it's well beyond the shipping time without proper explanation, to leave a neutral.

[banditpony]

Their stars for shipping are usually at 100%. This is the reason why I made this topic. I don't dare leaving honest feedback when nobody else does either. Leaving honest feedback seems to be frowned upon over here to put it mildly

Ugh. I hate ebay sometimes. Buyers need to be more honest.

The star system is a semi-safe way to give "anonymous" feedback without having to write anything or give neutrals. It's so strange they would have a perfect 5 star for shipping if they aren't shipping on time. I get dinged stars even when I ship quick.

[Strandperle]

Hermes hasn't a reliable tracking. The last three packages I sent with Hermes arrived before the tracking status was even updated. The status was still "information delivered" and nothing more.

I also noticed that people tend to take longer than before to ship. But people are also much more busy than in past days. Most people work, have children, animals... I try to be understanding most of the time. It is annoying, of course, especially if you want an item really really much and as fast as possible, but I guess every seller has been in a situation now and then when quick shipping just isn't possible, may it be because of sickness, work or something else... so I try not to judge.