Postmaster Plays Santa Claus with 7-Day Delivery

by: Tula

Let's hope Ebay doesn't decide to include this in their delivery estimates.

by: LAbay

This is good news.

by: Rexford

Waiting on the email from eBay stating that weekends are now "business days" as it relates to shipping.

by: iheartjacksparrow

You just know eBay will use this for some evil purpose.

by: Ina

I also wondered if it would impact shoppers' perceptions about delivery.

But overall, isn't this good for sellers who use Priority Mail? Why/why not?

by: sasikat9

Took the post office 10 days to deliver a birthday present to the little girl next door. Seven days won't be enough time for them.

by: laurengrace

I think it is good. On one hand it takes away my no choice day off but on the other hand, good for deliveries, good for shipping, good for the postal service, good for postal employees-except for that not by choice day off.

by: Island_Sam

Amazon is ahead of the curve on this one. Excellent news for sellers though. We could use some....

by: eBankrupted

I asked the postman on my street today about this, and he said USPS just 'got a big contract with Amazon', and they are hiring additional union carriers, so those of you quitting ebay on Nov. 18 might want to apply for your postal exam and get hired!

by: Marie

@Tula

I don't think we have to worry about that too much.  It would take Ebay time to get a program written to accommodate this new USPS policy.  And they would have to change how their written policies read on the site.  By the time they did all that, spent a $100,000+ in labor to do it and get it going on line, Christmas would be here and they would have to de-program and return the policies to what they said before.

It isn't for all cities or even states.  It is in their high volume areas.  So that would be even harder to program for.

For me, I find USPS quite dependable and they do a pretty darn good job for me overall.  Yes there are packages that get lost from time to time.  But I've had the same experience with other carriers.  But the vast majority of my packages get deliver in good time and good condition with USPS.

by: AgendaSwallowsAll

@Ina

What is not good for sellers is one more feeling of entitlement and/or expectation placed in the heads of they who already live entitlement and/or they who simply don't know any better.

Our sales were 8-10 times more than they are at this point in time and our customers were just as happy if not happier when we'd ship 2-3 times per week via Priority and/or daily via UPS when Priority could take 4-5 total days, UPS as many as 5-6 business days.

I don't recall anyone screaming ''slow ship'' back in those days which in reality were not so long ago.

The bulk of all of this entitlement  set forth has been corporate marketing for the sake of corporate profit, I';m not so sure any of us who aren't at that level should be getting a warm fuzzy feeling over that which will most likely effect our lives as only the type of seller who made eBay in yet another very negative way.

On a side note, our deliveries come via FedEx. We have 2 notes on our doors that can't be missed advising all delivery services to knock and/or ring advising we'd meet them where the packages were to go, about 15 ft. from the front door.

This FedEx driver comes today, our dog barks as is usual which alerts me, I go out to open the door where the packages are to go, where they have always gone and by the time I got that door open this guy had dropped $2,800 worth of irreplaceable merchandise right in front of the front door without ever having even knocked or rang and was in his truck driving off and when I try to stop him he's screaming at me for having the nerve to try to get his attention. I couldn't even tell if he was my regular driver who has been advised time & time again because the one's who have dropped off here for near the past 2 years have all looked like the same former gang banger as the one before.

by: BackOff

I've been on eBay since the late 20th century ;) and as a seller I've experienced almost everything others have complained about; impatient buyers, Paypal ruling in favor of buyers without evidence, international issues, non-paying bidders, etc.

As a way to protest eBay fees and other policies, I urge all sellers to price your items so they end with a ''4'' instead of a 5,6,7,8,9 in order to eliminate the rounding up of fees. Do this for shipping costs too. Don't price an item at 19.55 (you'll get charged $1.96 in fees as they round up) Price your item at $19.54 and eBay doesn't get that extra penny. Do this on shipping too. $2.94 instead of $2.95. It is a small protest, but millions of pennies add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars that won't be going to the CEO and others. If enough people do this, eBay will begin to see losses and the tide will turn.

by: Rexford

Agendaswallowsall says "The bulk of all of this entitlement  set forth has been corporate marketing for the sake of corporate profit"

Well said.  And they are setting up and instilling all of this instant gratification at the sellers' peril.

I recently had a medical procedure that set me back a few days. Nothing serious, but set me back.  All I could think about was "when would the next shoe drop" on eBay.   Would I be able to answer all messages in a timely means. Would I be able to get shipments out? Would I be able to deal with an issue from a buyer in a timely means.

This is not what I should have been thinking about, and no vacation setting will prevent it.  There is little buyer empathy on eBay, and the expectations that have been set up by eBay are brutal.  

by: sasikat9

I can just see it now...Example. Its a Sunday in December. You are just sitting down to a family dinner and you get a ebay message,,,,

WHERE THE HELL IS MY PACKAGE EBAY SAID IT WOULD BE DELIVERED TODAY.


How funny is that going to be.

by: JBH

Just curious why you chose to refer to the 7 day delivery option as Santa "Clause" instead of the correct spelling?  Is this a pun off the movie or an implication that this will be a joke either for delivery customers or sellers?

by: Anonymous Annie

Anonymous Annie likes this. ((insert ''Facebook thumbs-up icon'' here))

by: Shop and Ship

Personally I believe that with eBay's default "FOB Destination" policy that anything shifting possession of the package - and risk of damage or loss - from the carrier to the Purchaser sooner is a good thing for the Seller. USPS made Saturday and Sunday deliveries last year and the year before that. It does not mean that the USPS retail branches will be open 7 days, or that the USPS truck will pick up 7 days a week from a local drop off like Office Depot. Adding Sunday just temporarily adds a few days of service to a system that may very well be packed to the rafters with packages so for USPS delivery is the better option to renting storage space.  

by: McBob

I'd like to second what Backoff said above about ending your item price with "4" to round down the fees. I was actually pricing my items that way the last couple free listings specials i was given before Ebay stopped giving them to me. It doesn't sound like it would have much impact but if it became a big movement done by enough sellers it could end up costing Ebay millions of dollars. Of course knowing them, they would probably start giving strikes and suspensions to sellers who end their item prices with a "4", there really is no limit to how petty and greedy this corporation is.

by: shut1968

Awesome.. fill those customers heads with more unrealistic delivery expectations... I can feel my DSR's shrinking already.

by: BackOff

http://www.israellycool.com/2014/11/07/more-ebay-sellers-hawking-items
-promoting-terrorism/

Ebay and paypal are profiting from the sale of terrorism related items!  Big expose today on Israellycool.com !