eBay question /on vacation

[Dznypal]

i knew this would happen. We just left on vacation yesterday. Gone till the 16 so I checked my eBay while in Chicago waiting for our flight of course I sold an item. I did a contact buyer to tell I would ship as soon as we got home. Now we're in Spain and I sold another item. This time when I hit contact buyer it just keeps loading. So this buyer I can't get ahold of. This happened in April while on vacation I sold 3 items and all were marked as late shipped so now these 2 will be late so that will be5 late items plus an unrelated late what's going to happen now. Do those late shipped ever come off if I explain to eBay will they take them off. What can a person do when there on vacation and can't ship on time. Thanks all

 

[LizzyS]

I just bought an item on ebay recently and it said on my invoice that the buyer was on vacation and shipping couldn't occur until x date, but they were able to ship it sooner. There must be a way to indicate that on your ebay store/items before you leave on vacation and so that buyers know that the item won't be shipped until x date due to the seller being on vacation. This is something to think about before you sell an item, not after, imo.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

It's too late for you now but I always make sure I pull my items down before I go on vacation if it's more than a weekend. Pretty much only stores have the opportunity to use the vacation message not individual sellers like me.

I would email ebay if I were you and see what they say about the late shipping and continue to try and contact the seller of the last item you sold. Maybe your message will go through to them eventually.

 

[la79al]

Even with a store, I have found that my late shipping counts against us. I haven't tried to call and argue it because it doesn't make a difference but I do feel like if we have it in vacation mode, shipping should adjust accordingly.

 

[bpesch]

You can only use vacation settings if you have an Ebay store. I closed my store months ago because I was paying boatloads in fee's and not getting the sales anymore. Ebay has changed, a lot, and it's just not working for me anymore. I still have items listed, but I'm gradually fading them out. When I go on vacation in November, I doubt I'll even keep track. I'll just mail as soon as I get back. And if I get zapped, so be it. It's just not that important to me anymore.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

What can a person do when there on vacation and can't ship on time. Thanks all

Make sure all your listings end before you leave on vacation if you don't have an actual Ebay store/business account. Or end the listings early. Either way, don't have your items actively up for browsing/for sale when you are unable to access them or ship them, or yes, of course feedback can left that the item was shipped late and your seller points go down.

Unless you have a trustworthy and savvy family member or friend who can get into your place and package up and ship the items for you....

 

[amcc]

If you can get access to a computer, bulk edit your listings (go to listings, select all, edit) and change your handling time to cover the time you will be away. If you don't have a store, this is the only way to keep them active and avoid the late shipping dings. I would do as you've been doing and contact any buyer that buys from you just to let them know. Good luck!

 

[Cackyschmackers]

I think you should first of all change your handling time (make sure you alway look at your calendar for item ending dates ). Around the holidays when I'm selling gift giving items, I set my handling time as 1 day so buyers know I'll mail it out the next day. I always reset it to.2-3 days other times of the year. I also sold something while out of the country, but I had WiFi and was able to contact the buyer to let them know it would be shortly forthcoming (I didn't say I was out of the country bc I felt like I had made a boo-boo). The last bit of advice is that, not in every case but, sometimes you'd be able to contact the buyer and ask them to delay paying for the item if you know you are out of town. I wouldn't always recommend that since I'm always holding my breath for payments in the last year or so it seems. But if you have a buyer with a high feedback score, it's something to consider.

 

[LovesTimone]

If you are store, then you have the option to put up and away message. If not you can go in and add it to each item in the details, I would do it on the top in RED and again at the bottom in RED all caps... so customers would be aware that I was not going to be able to ship right away.

I would contact eBay, and see if they can help you get in touch with the customer.

A lot of times if I was going on vacation the only things I would leave up were auctions and make them like for 10 days and this worked out for me.

 

[beck02]

For e-bay, you just have to end your items, or risk late shipping. Sorry, but you deserve the late shipping dings for this. Eventually they fall off, after a year I believe. AND, if you sell more & ship on time, then the late ones are diluted. Vacations are a pain in this respect... I finally gave up on selling on e-bay, as it was just too painful. I had too many late shipments & there's just not much you can do. As a side note, I highly recommend Amazon, especially if you have new items. They DO have a vacation mode, but like E-bay, there's drawbacks & issues you have to know/understand.