So, you’ve confidently placed your order on eBay early last week. Perhaps you are going away, buying a gift for a special occasion or an outfit for a wedding. It’s never wise to leave these purchases until the last minute. So, this is why we always check when the seller will dispatch the item – and the estimated delivery date too!
Let’s take a look at an example of a seller under promising and over delivering:
The seller has offered second class postage. You feel reassured that you have placed your item, allowing an adequate time for delivery. You haven’t left it until the last minute. So, what’s the worst that could happen?
eBay has promised delivery on Monday or Tuesday. Nevertheless, you probably know that eBay sometimes tends to underestimate how fast second class delivery can be with Royal Mail. Naturally, you expect a Tuesday or Wednesday delivery. It’s all good!
So, you decide to check your order when it doesn’t arrive on the specified date. To your dismay, you see that the specified delivery timescale has now changed. You realise that the order simply won’t turn up on the specified date. In fact, it won’t even turn up a week later.
It turns out that the seller has a 10 day despatch time for goods which they say are in stock and ready for postage – and that’s 10 working days! In fact, you won’t even get your item until the following month.
Now, we don’t all need our items to be delivered the following day. Most of us are perfectly content with second class postage. However, when delivery times for routine purchases run into weeks, it borders on the ridiculous. Buyers get hacked off and end up feeling a little duped.
Sellers: be honest about dispatch times, delivery dates and couriers!
This is a case of a seller under promising and over delivering. When this has happened to me, it’s usually because the seller has shipped with a courier such as myHermes, instead of Royal Mail. The positive news is that I have a tracking number. The downside is that it takes about three weeks to receive my item – which I should have got within a matter of days.
Now, I have nothing against myHermes and my local delivery driver is always polite, friendly and chatty.
Nevertheless, when I get the online tracking number, I see nothing that shows me when my parcel might be delivered. I have no idea whether the seller has chosen for the 2 working day service or the 3 working day service. All I see is a cryptic message saying “Hub Sorter Receipt Scan”. This means very little to me and gives me no clue as to when my parcel might arrive!
Naturally, you could call the courier company to ask when they might deliver, or if you can pick the package up. However, some hubs will be a fair drive away. There’s also a risk of being stuck on the phone for ages sorting out your delivery.
Avoid neutral and bad feedback
Now, this seller would have done much better if they had stuck to a sensible dispatch time and stated the correct courier in the first place. They should have put accurate information on their item description. Unfortunately, they could be an excellent seller. They may ship fast and use a traceable service, but this issue could affect their reputation. All they needed to have done was to edit their listings to accurately reflect their delivery method.
It’s a real bugbear amongst many buyers. So, we’re asking all you sellers to make sure you accurately list the delivery method you plan to use and your despatch time. This means better feedback for you, happier customers, a better reputation and possible repeat business.
