posted on March 26, 2002 05:41:37 PM new
I normally ship within 24-48 hours of receiving payments (and no, I don't hold checks except for unusual circumstances).
I am able to do this because I run a business out of my home as my primary occupation and the post office is within two miles of my house. Also, most of what I sell can be packed in a bubble envelope and dropped in a mailbox (it goes first class).
I can almost always fit in a run to a mailbox (not necessarily the Post Office) whenever I leave here.
Now, having said that, I will also say that I buy a lot on eBay and don't mind having to wait a few extra days for an item, even when I've paid with PayPal. I'd prefer to receive it sooner rather than later, but unless the delivery gap is way huge (like two weeks), I'm not particularly concerned. I do avoid sellers who state up front that they only ship once a week, because it's probably going to be my luck that I miss that date and have to wait another whole week for the thing to be dropped at the PO.
eBay is most comparable to regular mail order or Internet website ordering. Almost always, unless you pay a hefty extra charge, your stuff isn't mailed out the next day. In fact, many sites and catalogs only promise delivery anywhere from two to six weeks!
This doesn't work for retail storefronts, but, then, eBay isn't a retail storefront. And even in retail sales, if the store has to obtain your item from a warehouse or another location, or wait for delivery in a special size or color, you're not going to walk out with it the minute you plunk down your money.
I just don't know what is so hard to understand about the concept that there are many successful ways to operate a business, and that one method does not work for everybody. Calling anybody who disagrees with you a whining crybaby is not my idea of good business or good manners.
If you really are having problems with timely shipping, your feedback will reflect this. If you're good at what you do, you'll make the necessary changes. If not, well, your business will be gone soon enough.
posted on March 26, 2002 06:49:11 PM new
Mballai, sorry I was yanking your chain with the square dance remark. Anyhoo, my feedback is creeping up on 5000 so I guess I've pretty much got the eBay thing down, to my own satisfaction anyway. You have some good ideas, like emphasizing multiple purchases. I incorporated that into my template. Thanks.
Although I just part-time now, when I was selling high volume I found, like dellastreet, that it was more efficient to do things in batches. A day for shopping, a day for writing auctions, a day for WBNs, a day for packaging, etc.
I notice you are selling exclusively on Half.com and correct me if I'm wrong but you have to ship within 48 hours max. You don't have a lot of auctions running. By that I mean you probably don't spend more than an hour or two per day doing your online sales stuff. It's pretty easy to write up a short description for a book and it's no big deal to drop off a handful of books at the PO on your way to work. Other sellers have different needs. While your business plan works for you, it might not work for everyone.
posted on March 26, 2002 08:02:17 PM new
Next Day is Grand,But Somtimes I Take a few days to find the Right Size Box,It's Free so is that Good Biz Sense.I save About $3.00 to $5.00 Looking for free boxes,and the customer only has to wait 4-5 days.But I'm Saving Big Time,Put the money right in my pocket.I LOVE Free BOXES.
Give Me A Break,Every Company has a window of time to ship to a customer.Next Day is Great but if one has to wait up to 7 days no harm is done.And if customer wants it shipped that quick,Send me $18.00 and I'll next day it!
posted on March 26, 2002 08:35:32 PM new
Antiques and collectibles can take extra time to package because of odd sizes or fragile items. Many have to be double boxed or have boxes especially made for them.
Rush jobs still have to be done with great care and a lot of time is spent doing that.
posted on March 27, 2002 05:48:10 AM new
Good grief! There's no right or wrong way in this, just different approaches to business whether FT or PT, professional or amateur.
I happen to ship same day or next day in most cases but have no problem for those who take longer. But if you do take longer, it would be nice to say that in your TOS or WBN (in fact, it would be nice to see anyones shipping timeframe in their TOS/WBN). If I need the item shipped sooner, then I can ask the seller if they can do this for me sooner. But if I don't know they take a week to ship, then I don't know how long I can expect to wait for the item (I avoid the 4-6 week people like a plague).
If you ship next day, great. If you ship once a week, fine, but please consider putting that info somewhere people can see it BEFORE they bid so people will know.
posted on March 27, 2002 06:39:03 AM new
I can't see, LoneHaranguer, that 5/wk or 1/wk shipping makes all that much difference given the inexcusably bad Postal Service. Recently First Class mail shipped here has taken from 10 to 14 days to arrive within the continental U.S.
That's one assumption people are making here: that transit time is consistent. It's not. And as we all know, the seller gets blamed for excessive transit time, not the Postal Service.
posted on March 27, 2002 06:39:15 AM new
I found this topic quite interesting, although, rarely do I have the time to read AW message center as most of my evenings and much of my free time are spent packing auctions to ship.
hhhhmmmmmmmmmm
posted on March 27, 2002 09:18:24 AM new
>>"as we all know, the seller gets blamed for excessive transit time, not the Postal Service"<<
That's for sure! We had a buyer (from Hawaii) refuse a package because it was 16+ days in transit. We emailed the person when the package was shipped and answered every email she sent, but she still wanted her money back plus shipping because the transaction took too long.
posted on March 27, 2002 12:38:41 PM newthat 5/wk or 1/wk shipping makes all that much difference
That might well be true if eveyrone is having the same slowdown. My packages are arriving in a generally timely manner. Sometimes there are regional slowdowns for various reasons (weather is always a factor).
That's one reason I'm glad to see DC slowly being expanded. Hard to argue about who's to blame for slow shipping when you can show you got it into the mail.
When I buy, I'd like to know about shipping timeframes, just as I would about holds for checks, the type of shipping, etc. The more info the buyer has upfront, doesn't mean they won't whine, but atleast you can point out it's stated in your TOS/WBN.
Anyhoo, my feedback is creeping up on 5000 so I guess I've pretty much got the eBay thing down, to my own satisfaction anyway. You have some good ideas, like emphasizing multiple purchases. I incorporated that into my template. Thanks.