Shipping within 2 days not desired by the buyer
Summary: dirm41 is discussing a problem with a buyer who asked to delay shipping a pair of pants because they are on vacation. This carries the risk that dirm41 could receive a penalty from the sales platform if the shipping deadline is not met. perfect-sally recommends canceling the purchase, while selina_b@ebay confirms that shipping later could possibly lead to a negative review, but it could be removed. Various participants offer their perspectives on possible solutions, including canceling the purchase or marking the shipment as late. Despite the potential for complications, a straightforward cancellation brings relief to dirm41.
Good morning,
I hope I have the right category here; several could fit.
A buyer bought a pair of pants from me and has already paid. That's certainly welcome ;)
But at the same time, he writes to me that he is on vacation and asks me to please not ship the pants until the beginning of September. When I asked for clarification, he hasn't responded so far.
So what do I do now? If I send it right away, I’ll get a bad rating from him, after all he asked for a later shipment. If I wait two weeks - shipping with tracking was selected - eBay will downgrade me because I didn't ship on time.
paradisea
·3 weeks agoLater shipping requested
Hello,
What's the problem there? I always accommodate such buyer requests.
Selina does say that a defect is being removed. eBay can see the corresponding emails anyway.
perfect-sally
·3 weeks agoEveryone can decide for themselves, but here it's also been read quite often that the deletions were not carried out promptly or were completely rejected despite corresponding proof of messages.
dirm41
OP3 weeks agoExactly, Selina also explicitly writes that it "CAN" be reset. In principle, it really is a problem with the address. The buyer says he is on vacation, in other words: the delivery address he provided is currently not up to date.
stubenkram
·3 weeks ago · EditedHello everyone!
I’m guessing this is about the jeans for 12 euros in the Buy Now?
The buyer still takes the time to pay and tells @dirm41 that he would like to have the pants only at the beginning of September after his vacation, but then doesn’t reply anymore.
To avoid getting a defect on the account, dirm41 cancels the purchase (because the delivery address is currently unavailable) and the buyer gets refunded for the price of the pants and the shipping costs. Presumably she informs the buyer about this and tells him that he can buy the pants again at the beginning of September. If the buyer gets in touch with her at the beginning of September, she will relist the offer, so that the pants can then be bought and shipped.
Alternatively (and also without a defect on the account?) dirm41 could have agreed with the buyer that she marks the item as shipped now and then gives him the tracking number in September after shipping. Then there would be no cancellation now.
Did I understand that correctly?
What if the buyer doesn’t get back in touch at the beginning of September or has put on two pounds on vacation? 😉 Then he may no longer be interested in these jeans. With a pair of pants, it’s not really a big problem to keep them for two weeks, as long as they’re actually bought again by the same buyer afterward. But with a bulkier item, it would be completely different.
It would also be different if these pants had been a paid listing (e.g. gallery image/advertising) dirm41 would then have to/would pay these costs twice, wouldn’t she? If the buyer were no longer interested, dirm41 would have wasted two weeks’ time that she could have used to sell the pants to someone else.
And you deal with sales like that regularly? It doesn’t get more complicated than that.
dirm41
OP3 weeks agoDifferent pants, comparable price level.
The complicated part is caused by ebay; here, unfortunately, buyer protection is at the buyer's expense.
For the seller, the situation cannot be avoided; they can't prevent or modify your purchase if the buyer buys within the specified price range.
But the cancellation and refund were very straightforward.
stubenkram
·3 weeks agoThat's good, @dirm41
Yes. I assume it was a Buy It Now with a price suggestion? Then the buyer has to pay right away, because otherwise the trousers don't count as bought. Or if they do, then the buyer risks being marked as a non-payer.
And you risk a defect on your account if you comply with the buyer's request in transactions like that, but make a mistake and respond incorrectly.
Back then, none of that would have been a major problem. It would have gone through without cancelling the purchase and relisting it. The purchase would have counted, the buyer would have transferred the money to you right away, and when you sent him the trousers would have been just an arrangement between the two of you.
selina_b@ebay
Hello @dirm41 ,
thank you very much for your post.
If the buyer asks you to ship later, the defect can be removed.
We can’t extend the delivery period.
@perfect-sally Thanks a lot for the tag 🤗
Best regards
Selina
dirm41
OP3 weeks agoThanks
roter_rauch
·3 weeks ago · EditedHello @dirm41 ,
Cancelling would be the "cleanest" thing, of course, that much is clear, removing the defect is endlessly tedious.
I also get such requests every now and then, and by now you’re happy about every sale. I then write to the buyer that I have to mark it as "shipped" so I don’t get chewed out, and the tracking ID follows later by message. If the buyer has a serious profile, I’ve never had any problems with that, at least not for me. Payment hold maybe, but that affects almost everyone by now anyway.
Just as an add-on/your decision.
dirm41
OP3 weeks agoThanks, I'll do it that way too. Especially since the buyer isn't responding.
dirm41
OP3 weeks agoThanks, yeah, I’m afraid so too. But everything should be fine with his address, I’m hesitating there, that could also come back to bite me.
perfect-sally
·3 weeks agoBut he asks something of you that ultimately affects your account. And among the options for giving a reason when canceling, this one comes closest.
If, for example, you state that you can’t deliver the item or that it got lost, then there’s a defect and the buyer can leave feedback.
You can clarify the reason “buyer asked for cancellation” with the buyer beforehand and name this one if they agree.
dirm41
OP3 weeks agoIf the buyer asks to cancel, that would be the cleanest option. But first he has to reply.
Can’t I also sort that out directly with eBay somewhere?
perfect-sally
·3 weeks agoeBay has nothing to do with the purchase contract between you and the buyer. What should eBay clarify between you two?
You can also go along with the late shipment and hope that eBay removes the defect later, since you do have proof that it was the buyer’s request.
That then means the defect ends up in the account from the AI and you later get to run after customer service in order to MAYBE get rid of the defect.
If it helps reassure you, I’m happy to tag an eBay employee who will then respond here.
@selina_b@ebay could you please take a look? Thanks
dirm41
OP3 weeks agoThanks, that would help me.
What eBay could do relates to the penalty I could receive. The case isn't that unique after all, maybe the owed shipping could be manually set to a 2-week deadline?
perfect-sally
·3 weeks agoNo, for the processing time and shipping, only the seller is responsible, and after a purchase nothing can be changed.
I’m not writing that I’d cancel the purchase for no reason, since we’ve naturally had this here quite a few times already and then one or another defect simply wasn’t removed by eBay.
For me as a commercial seller, only canceling it comes into question, because I can’t use any “after-effects” later on and then have to run after things to get rid of the defect again, if possible.
dirm41
OP3 weeks agoOK thanks
perfect-sally
·3 weeks agoIf you don't ship according to your details, you'll get a defect on your account for shipping not on time.
I would cancel the purchase with the reason that something is wrong with the address and the buyer should buy when he is back.