Shipping time on item page needs to be renamed to handling time

I’ve had trouble with buyers seeing the shipping options on a listing and thinking that is the total shipping duration. I had a buyer pay with an echeck which took a week to clear. When it finally cleared I messaged them to say it was about to ship and gave them the approximate delivery time they freaked out. They thought the “ships in 3 business days” was the the amount of time it would take to get to them. I ended up refunding them because they were upset that it would not arrive in 3 days. (Even though each listing details the shipping duration in the description)Anyhow my long winded point is this needs to be renamed to handling time. There also needs to be an option to give buyers an estimate of delivery time on a listing. It was very frustrating waiting so long to be paid only to have a confused buyer that no longer wanted the item.

asked almost 11 years ago

1 Comment

EUthesun says: July 24, 2013

This weekend had a buyer pay with echeck. While payment was pending through Paypal the item remained in my store with no notice of a pending sale in my Bonanza until 4 days later when payment cleared. Thankfully the buyer made inquiry about the pending payment so things got handled before a problem.

3 Answers

Go to Edit Booth Options
Shipping and Returns

Items ships withing….small box…business days

this box looks very small but can hold a lot of information and you can put what you wish the buyers to see..(you can see mine in a listing actually has quite a bit of information)

You can put in the box, Items will ship once payment has cleared. There will be a x days handling time. Shipping is within 5 business days…or any variation you would like..

You can also put in your listings or in you booth shipping details that you ship once payment clears on echeck..any other information…

You do have control over your shipping/handling time

answered almost 11 years ago

CindyBear
Reputation: 3068
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2 Comments

timerovertreasures says: July 23, 2013

Thank you. I will look into adding additional text. However I still think it should be renamed to handling time. New buyers that see the word “shipping” often assume that is the total delivery time.

CindyBear says: July 24, 2013

It actually says ‘Ships in 3 business days’…does not say shipping and in 4 years never had anyone assume that “delivery” is in 3 days….

Some buyers take the “items ship within 3 business days” or how ever many you have set to mean that is how long it will take to get to them – not that its how long it may take you to get it to the post office!

that can be and is confusing to buyers and not many will bother reading the shipping policy even if you have it in the description of the item

So its best to send a message to them that you intend to ship on X date on X day

answered almost 11 years ago

5 Comments

timerovertreasures says: July 23, 2013

I agree. I did message them and then they panicked because they thought the item would arrive in 3 days and not the time as estimated in my personal message and listing. There needs to be an option to list estimated handling AND arrival times.

FrogAndBearCreations says: July 24, 2013

arrival time would only be a best guess as you do not have control over how fast the postal service will send it

timerovertreasures says: July 24, 2013

The majority if my items ship internationally. It would be nice to have the option of listing the estimated arrival time based on the shipping service chosen ie someone chooses and economy service over an expedited one.

ccmom says: July 24, 2013

that is why you put your own shipping time in the box…everyone handles things diffenently…

FrogAndBearCreations says: July 25, 2013

I have it all explained on my shipping – if they don’t read it then not too much I can do about that

When a buyer purchases something and they use an e-check, I always email them right away letting them know that I will ship their item once the e-check clears, this way they know there will be a delay.

answered almost 11 years ago

A2z4u2c
Reputation: 1291
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3 Comments

timerovertreasures says: July 23, 2013

My buyer didn’t have a problem waiting for the echeck to clear. I too email my buyers once they make a payment.

CindyBear says: July 24, 2013

then why did they assume that the item would arrive in 3 days if they knew the echeck needed to clear? this is very confusing….delivery, arrival time and shipping time are all different and most buyers know this…

timerovertreasures says: July 24, 2013

Buyer assumed once their check cleared it would arrive in 3 days to their location.

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Asked: almost 11 years ago

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