E-bay Etiquette

[Mr. JW]

Last Friday (Mar. 21), I bought an Esterbrook A101 on Fleabay and paid with PayPal. To date, the seller has not shipped the pen. How long is it reasonable to wait before I contact him? I always want to give someone the benefit of the doubt, but I'd also like to get the pen. :D Any advice is appreciated.

[john]

You can contact the seller to ask for the detail. Sometimes the seller has sent the item but ignore to inform the buyer. Usually the seller will ship the items within a week after they cleared the payment.

[Laura N]

I'm a quick shipper, but people vary, especially on eBay, and especially with low-priced items like your Esterbrook. Which is a long way of saying, you should wait more than a couple of days. :) Personally, I wouldn't do anything, including worry, until at least Thursday. However, if you are really anxious, and decide to send him/her a PM anyway, just remember to be very polite, even self-deprecating. Emphasize how you don't mean to bug the seller, but are very excited to get the pen, and were just wondering if he/she had managed to ship it yet. Sometimes people do need a little nudge, but it's better to be friendly about it.

Note that the seller should have put an estimated arrival date in the listing, and eBay won't care until that date has past.

[pengeezer]

I have bought a number of items off of fleabay over the years. Whether I win an auction or do a BIN(buy it now),
my SOP is to pay for the item ASAP(thru Paypal) and then contact the seller letting them know that I was the
winner of said item. What this does is 1) Let them know I'm a buyer that can be trusted; 2)Lets me know how
quickly they will communicate to me(same day service,as it were) 3)When and how quickly they will ship the
item(s),and 4) Whether or not tracking will be involved(it usually is). All of this I use to give the seller the type
of feedback they deserve. I have also given negatives and neutrals in the past.

If I start the process,I usually have a good idea how it will turn out.


John

[mhosea]

I try to ship within hours of receiving payment, but people who run businesses are scheduling a lot more of such work than I do. Find the "See details" link under "Shipping". Click through and look under "Handling Time". anywhere from 1-3 business days is common. Business days are usually considered M-F exclusive of official holidays. The day you pay doesn't usually count, so if you win the auction on Friday, and if handling time is 1 business day, then shipping should occur on Tuesday. Sucks to win an auction on Friday! :)

[tandaina]

I have run into lots of sellers that will drop the pen in USPS priority and never fill in the tracking number. So now if after a couple days I haven't heard anything I'll send a note through Ebay, very cheerful and friendly, just asking if the pen has gone out yet and what the shipping number might be. Usually that gets a response.

[amk]

I have occasionally had a seller drop me an email saying they won't be able to post for a couple of days as they live/work out of town and need to get to the Post Office. If they're just personal sellers, not making a business out of it, that's perfectly acceptable - but it's always nice to get that email from them so I don't have to worry.

On the other hand, one ebayer was so quick sending my pen off that I got it the next day, only 16 hours between their place and mine!

[Mr. JW]

Hi everyone. Thanks for all the good advice. I sent a friendly, short note to the seller and the pen is on its way. I was just being anxious, which us probably par for the course for me. :) The pen should be here by Friday. Man, these Esties are like rabbits. Seems like every time I look at my desk, another one is there.

[discopig]

I think as a general rule the seller should ship the item out within 3 business days, ideally quicker.

[welch]

I have also seen sellers who say that they ship once a week. I suppose that makes their post office trips more efficient...not fun for a buyer. At least they explain before.

One solution -- mine, and a BAD solution -- it to have so many pens that you don't pay attention to late deliveries.

[Paul-H]

Personally I always try to ship the same day and always add the tracking details so the buyer knows I have shipped. Have a look at the small print where the seller as to put their shipping times, most would say within 2 days but I have soon some say they dot ship for as long a 10 day, which to me is taking the proverbial. Or it might have been shipped nd the seller didn't update the auction page to show its shipped as many don't.

Paul