Shipping Issues

[TitanTom]

Are things getting worse or am I just having bad luck? Is anyone else finding sellers that are waiting 3-7 days to mail? When confronted they act like I am being ridiculous for asking for a tracking number. Just wondering about the experience of others. Can I do anything differently? Suggestions?

[3of5-2]

I am having the same problem with a seller. Paid $130.00 immediately on Friday, asked for a tracking number on Monday. I get the notice that seller has printed a label, but has not been delivered to post office. Still nothing on Tuesday so I ask him when he plans on shipping it, and he says he dropped it off Tuesday afternoon. Just checked tonight, Wednesday night, still no tracking info. Wanted the stuff for a show on Saturday, which means I needed it this Friday. He only lives 2 states away, so I should have already had it. If it gets here late, he's gonna get dinged on the feedback.

[pmannings#1fan]

Are these sellers eBay sellers or from forums?

[TitanTom]

Mine have been on the forums. Ebay ships well for the most part for me.

My current transaction has given me a tracking number that I cannot get to track. It doesn't look complete to me.

[3of5-2]

Mine was ebay, and informs me that I am more than welcome to return them for a refund when I get them. No apology at all. He's gonna get dinged!

[BigEd]

The seller has a specified handling window on each listing. If they're not holding up to their promises, they deserve a ding on the rating. I always ship by the date I promise and I take the packages to the post office so they can get scanned in on time.

[pmannings#1fan]

Originally Posted by TitanTom

Mine have been on the forums. Ebay ships well for the most part for me.

My current transaction has given me a tracking number that I cannot get to track. It doesn't look complete to me.

Figures the forums. DC# should be 22 numbers, if not it is incomplete like you suggest.

[pmannings#1fan]

Originally Posted by 3of5-2

Mine was ebay, and informs me that I am more than welcome to return them for a refund when I get them. No apology at all. He's gonna get dinged!

Definitely ding their arse! No excuse in laziness especially when a buyer pays promptly.

[mfw13]

Originally Posted by pmannings#1fan

No excuse in laziness especially when a buyer pays promptly.

You do realize that sellers do have lives outside of selling sports cards, don't you?

#1 - If a seller is selling multiple items, they may receive payments over the course of several days, and plan their trip to the post office accordingly. They're not going to make a trip to the PO every single day. When I used to sell, all my items ended on Sunday night. Payments would trickle in over the next couple of days, and I would make my weekly trip to the PO on Wednesday. This was stated in my listings, and if you didn't pay by Wednesday, you had to wait a week. Never had any problems.

#2 - Many rural sellers live a significant distance from the nearest PO.

#3 - Many sellers have full-time jobs and cannot get to the PO during the hours they are open.

Bottom line...as long as a seller ships within the time frame specified in the listing, buyers have nothing to complain about.

[TitanTom]

What you say would make sense if it were 20 years ago. You can buy shipping and print a label in your bedroom and even get a discount. At that point, you can place it in the box in front of your house and raise the flag. I work a full time job plus some and I never sell something unless I am prepared to mail within 24 hours. I guess I am an unusual case.

[BigEd]

Originally Posted by TitanTom

What you say would make sense if it were 20 years ago. You can buy shipping and print a label in your bedroom and even get a discount. At that point, you can place it in the box in front of your house and raise the flag. I work a full time job plus some and I never sell something unless I am prepared to mail within 24 hours. I guess I am an unusual case.

Nope, I'm the same way.

But I agree that the stated handling times are the question mark here. As long as it's stated, I think it's fine. Not stated, I have no sympathy for the seller.

[TitanTom]

I guess I need to start making sure when they plan to ship before paying when I buy on the forum. i make the mistake of thinking people are courteous to someone buying their stuff.

[3of5-2]

Stated delivery time was 2-5 business days. I always ship within 18 hours, unless I am out of town. Then, I always email the buyer an apology and let him know that I am away, and when it will ship. Most times I even add another card or two to make up for it. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have even contacted me that there was a delay, if I had not emailed him asking for a tracking number. I can't imagine anyone shipping a $130 item not insured, much less not getting it scanned in.

[tscbaseball]

Originally Posted by TitanTom

What you say would make sense if it were 20 years ago. You can buy shipping and print a label in your bedroom and even get a discount. At that point, you can place it in the box in front of your house and raise the flag. I work a full time job plus some and I never sell something unless I am prepared to mail within 24 hours. I guess I am an unusual case.

For me I can't always put cards in my own mailbox. Have a group of mailboxes for the neighborhood and a very small slot to put stuff we are mailing into.

Personally, when selling on Ebay, I give a three day shipping time frame just in case something comes up. Try to get it out faster, but give me flexibility in the event real life gets crazy.

[Flkrsn5]

I've had the same issue. I also recently have a buyer ask me Monday morning when their card would be shipped after paying Saturday late afternoon lol. That was annoying, but a simple reply that it'd be that day was sufficient. I'd imagine that buyer has had the same issues and was the reason they asked.

[Dbacksbaseball]

I live on both sides of this coin.

As a buyer eBay has been pretty rough the past few months. Two weekends ago I did a mass buy on a low key Investment PC I am starting. I got 9/14 cards total, only 2 within the 5 business days after transaction. Some of those cards were marked 'Fast and Free' the others were 1-2 business days handling max.

On the selling hand, ripping 6-7 cases per product right now is a tough time to keep up.Many do much more then me plus added products this week on top of last weeks ludicrous release week. My singles on new product are listed at 2-3 days handling time, my sets (since I will pump out 50 set sales this week on update alone) are at 10 business days. I try to get the sets out in a calendar week and have been caught up on singles since Monday .....so remember especially for new product it's a busy time of year....but all sellers should have clear handling times and all buyers should adequately read and understand those times and ask questions before purchase.

[brios8]

Originally Posted by 3of5-2

I am having the same problem with a seller. Paid $130.00 immediately on Friday, asked for a tracking number on Monday. I get the notice that seller has printed a label, but has not been delivered to post office. Still nothing on Tuesday so I ask him when he plans on shipping it, and he says he dropped it off Tuesday afternoon. Just checked tonight, Wednesday night, still no tracking info. Wanted the stuff for a show on Saturday, which means I needed it this Friday. He only lives 2 states away, so I should have already had it. If it gets here late, he's gonna get dinged on the feedback.

Well maybe you should have let him know you needed it shipped immediately, or pay for a faster shipping service. Sometimes the post office takes much longer to update info and also on shipping times.

1 day is great, 2-3 is very good and 4-5 can be consider acceptable by some, no big deal unless asked before.
One cant expect everyone to ship instantly.
On ebay even buyers can wait a couple of days to pay.
If one cant be patient waiting for the cards to arrive then dont buy online.

Some buyers ask to get a tracking number once shipped. The next day and for the following two days are asking again about a tracking number in a very insulting way. When the deal was to send a tracking number once shipped and shipping on the 3rd day is fine. Then you give them the tracking number and they insult you again saying the number doesnt work when it was just shipped.
Then you send them a pic pf the receipt and the same thing they talk to you in an insulting way as if you did something wrong.

They even tell you that their mailman is not trustable.. and what would that be my problem? That buyer should have told me before there is risk sending to him becaise of his mailman. Also told me 3 days is not good for him, and the key is always be polite and you get results.

Key Points for me are:

1) if you cant wait the normal time for the card to arrive 4-9 days then dont buy or specify things to the seller, plus be aware the post office could take longer.
2) dont keep sending msgs to the seller and insult him when you agreed on something. Ask politely and give him time, specially if its in the regular time
3) sometimes the tracking isnt uploaded or there might be some problems with the usps so just be patient, things happen. Especially if shown a receipt and its still the regular time. Wait for the expected delivery date and maybe a couple of more days, if there is a problem resolve it politely.
4) probably 99% of transactions go well, so relax and let the transaction play its course specially if things have been done correctly. One cant control certain things like when exactly it will arrive or if there is a storm or what not.
5) if your mailman tends to loose packages and is not very trustable its the buyers responsability to state that to the seller, so maybe it is insured or see who takes the risk. I wouldnt want to ship to someone whos mailman looses 10% of the packages and it be my responsability as a seller if it didnt arrive.

Good communication is key
Things happen
1-5 days is acceptable unless otherwise specified
One cant control usps

[brios8]

Originally Posted by Flkrsn5

I've had the same issue. I also recently have a buyer ask me Monday morning when their card would be shipped after paying Saturday late afternoon lol. That was annoying, but a simple reply that it'd be that day was sufficient. I'd imagine that buyer has had the same issues and was the reason they asked.

Agree. Its annoying specially when they insult you and you have done nothing wrong. Some buyers need to learn to be patient and relax within the regular time frame.

Glad that was sufficient with that reply. Some you give them the tracking and they keep insulting you because the number isnt showing up even while sending them a pic of the receipt. Oh well, at the end of the day you hope they are honest people as they will at the end of the day receive their package

[morningrushnc]

"I am big! It's the pictures that got small."

[poppincurbs]

Originally Posted by morningrushnc

I have plenty of packages that get shipped that never even show tracking, but still get delivered on time.

So I wouldn't always be so quick to blame "lazy" sellers just because something doesn't show up in tracking right away.

Yeah I can vouch for this, I drop stuff off at USPS or in the blue bins and sometimes it doesn't get updated for a full day or 2 (which freaks me out as the seller).

3-4 days shipping time is still reasonable IMO, I would never leave my packages in my own mailbox with the flag up, so sometimes it takes me 2-3 days to get the right package/box, shipping dealt with, and drop off. (Or take it to USPS on a lunch break).

5+ days without shipping is an issue, but I don't have much sympathy when people get mad because the card they are trying to flip ASAP doesn't show immediately.

[auctionjmm]

Originally Posted by TitanTom

I guess I need to start making sure when they plan to ship before paying when I buy on the forum. i make the mistake of thinking people are courteous to someone buying their stuff.

I'm not sure that courtesy is always the problem. I've sold over 800 items on eBay in October so far and it takes me several days to ship for that reason. There are only so many hours in the evenings. I do specify 3 Business Day handling on eBay but weekends don't count, so a buyer paying on Wednesday won't see a shipment until Monday.

I do get a lot of messages from buyers asking where their tracking is after a day or two. I get just as annoyed by those who don't read the shipping terms and eBay estimated delivery dates. You have to see things from both sides of the coin. If you are dealing with a high volume seller who also works full time, you might have to wait. And I don't see anything wrong with that. It's not about courtesy. We work as fast as we can, but that doesn't guarantee things will go out in 24 hours.

[7nohitter]

When buying I always wait until the day after the longest-posted shipping timeframe before I ask a question. I feel like that's fair.

As a very small-time seller I am able to ship usually the same day a payment is made. I ALWAYS ship priority in the $7 box, even though I only ask the buyer to pay $3 of that....

[jeeep]

Bought a card on Ebay, paid within minutes, marked as shipped w/tracking # within an hour later AND left positive feedback for me. Nice.

[Branesergen]

"Hi! Thank you for your purchase. Ebay provides all the tools you need to answer any question about shipping you may have. Tracking numbers can usually be found under the listing title in your purchase history page, Paypal also provides this info on the transaction page! They also provide an estimated delivery window, this is a window of dates that you can expect you item by based on handling time (another question that can be answered in the listing!) and the shipping service selected by the seller - ground, priority, standard etc etc. So no more waiting by your mailbox looking for your items! Just a quick click will tell you when your item is expected to arrive! These new tools provided are simply amazing and I swear by them when I'm a buyer! There is no need to contact a seller any more as all the questions are answered right there! However, should your package not arrive by the expected date, PLEASE contact me and I'll be all over USPS like a fly on poop to find your item! Thank you very much and enjoy your item!"

[MasterOfTheDark]

Originally Posted by TitanTom

At that point, you can place it in the box in front of your house and raise the flag.

Good way to have the item stolen. Also, if there's no scan because it was stolen, the buyer will never believe the seller is telling the truth.

Originally Posted by 3of5-2

I can't imagine anyone shipping a $130 item not insured, much less not getting it scanned in.

I don't insure $130 items. I used to, but I then realized what a waste of money it was.


Ultimately shipping speed depends on what the seller's listed handling time is. If the package isn't scanned by the post office before that time runs out, they get dinged by Ebay now (even if they dropped it off in time and the post office messed up).