Another Ebay question-- (why am I doing this to myself??)

[lovetoscrap]

Okay, I am a new seller on ebay. I am not doing this to make a living, just trying to clean out some old stuff and earn some money. I have only sold a few things in the last few years. Today I ended an auction for a huge box of toddler toys. When I got home tonight I had the paypal notice showing that I was paid and the buyer wrote this note:

Please Ship today, I need this for Christmas and we are leaving for out of town on the 18th

I didn't get home until after 7pm so it sure isn't going out today! I was planning to ship on Monday. I could try to get to the UPS Store tomorrow, but even then I assume it won't be picked up from the store until Monday anyway. With this being a kind of busy time of the year I am guessing that there is NO WAY it will get to them by UPS Ground (what they paid for) by Friday (which is essentially when they need it). It would be going from Southeastern VA to Michigan in 5 days. I just don't think it will happen!

So, what should I do???? I want to be a good seller, but need to also protect myself. Should I email the buyer and ask if I can just ship it to the address where they will be going? (they have a confirmed paypal address--only 9 feedbacks--all positive)

Should I tell them that if they really want it by then they will have to upgrade to express shipping (given the current weather patterns and the time of year I am not even sure I trust that to work in 5 days!)

I am starting to think ebay is more trouble than it is worth! I don't know if I can handle the "stress" of trying to do the right thing, but also not getting ******* in the process.

Experienced ebayers--What would you do?????

 

[PURTYPAT1]

I Would Email The Buyer, & Let Her Know The Options. I Would Also Check The Website, I Think If You Mail It By Monday, It Will Get To Her By Friday. Call The Buyer Up On The Phone, & Discuss It With Her Is Another Option. I Alway Call The Buyer If I Have Any Problem.
On Fedex, Or Ups Web Site, It Should Tell You How Many Days From Va To Mich. I Think Shipping To The Address To Where They Are Going Is The Best Ideal. Don't Stress Your Self Out.

Hope This Helps

Patricia

 

[lovetoscrap]

Okay, I just double checked with the UPS website and it does claim, actually guarantee, that it will only take 2 days.

I just find that hard to believe since I am waiting for several packages I have ordered and they are "late".

Should I just take the risk? or still offer the buyer the opportunity to have it shipped (with sig. confirmation) to another address?

 

[jennifer293]

What did you have as your payment and shipping policy in your auction.. When I sell I always state somewhere in the auction that payment must be made in 3 days and item will be shipped in 48 hours or the next Monday if it ends on a Friday.

 

[lovetoscrap]

What did you have as your payment and shipping policy in your auction.. When I sell I always state somewhere in the auction that payment must be made in 3 days and item will be shipped in 48 hours or the next Monday if it ends on a Friday.

I didn't specify when I would ship, but since the auction ended on a Friday afternoon common sense would dictate that the earliest it would go out would be Monday--right? I really can't believe they thought I was sitting at home just waiting to race to the post/UPS office as soon as I received payment!!!

The only thing I personally said about shipping is that it was already boxed and would be shipped in time for Christmas in my item description. Also in my payment policy I wrote:
Payment is expected within 7 days of auction closing. Checks will be held 10 -14 days. For Christmas delivery I recommend using PAYPAL or you will have to pay for expidited shipping.

I used the calculate shipping option and it has the ebay "disclaimer" that seller is not responsible for service transit time.

 

[CleveRocks]

I Would Email The Buyer, & Let Her Know The Options. I Would Also Check The Website, I Think If You Mail It By Monday, It Will Get To Her By Friday. Call The Buyer Up On The Phone, & Discuss It With Her Is Another Option. I Alway Call The Buyer If I Have Any Problem.
On Fedex, Or Ups Web Site, It Should Tell You How Many Days From Va To Mich. I Think Shipping To The Address To Where They Are Going Is The Best Ideal. Don't Stress Your Self Out.

Hope This Helps

Patricia

TOTALLY OFF-TOPIC HERE ...

Isn't it exhausting to type the first letter of every word as a capital letter??? I never comment on people's grammar on these boards (so I'm NOT complaining that it's grammatically incorrect), but I've gotta tell you it's actually difficult to read it!

-- Eric

 

[spatenfloot]

Isn't the UPS place near you open on Saturday? The ones here are.

 

[WaltD4Me]

I wouldn't stress about it. I also wouldn't pay to call the seller long distance. I would send them an email explaining that there was no way you could ship the package on Friday and that you will try to send it Saturday, but you may not be able to send it til Monday. I would do it in a nice way, also explaining about the UPS situation. Tell them you will do your best, but once it ships, it might be cutting it close for them to get it by the 18th.

When I need something by a specific date, I always email the bidder before bidding to see if it's do-able, why take the chance and wait until afte you've won the auction to tell the seller about YOUR time constraints?

 

[disneychrista]

Simple send an email telling the buyer that the item is going out on Monday and that you can not guarentee it to arrive by Friday. If they would like to upgrade to priority mailing then an additional $ will be required.

 

[shades]

Simple send an email telling the buyer that the item is going out on Monday and that you can not guarentee it to arrive by Friday. If they would like to upgrade to priority mailing then an additional $ will be required.

I agree with this statement.

It is ridiculous for a buyer to expect to be able to dictate when their package will be shipped - especially - when they expect the seller to ship the same day the auction ended. CrAzY!! The buyer needs to pay more $$ if they want to upgrade their shipping, IMO

 

[lovetoscrap]

I guess I just needed some reassurance that their request was a bit unreasonable, and I am still doing my part as a good seller to just wait and mail it on Monday.

DH says I am definitely stressing WAY to much over this! But with only 11 feedbacks I can't risk a Negative over something this stupid! I also am a very nice person and do want the buyer to get these when they need them--but not at my expense!

I will send buyer an email letting them know they will go out Monday and UPS guarantees they will be there by Friday. I will have tracking information and will use signature confirmation to make sure there are no "disputes". After I ship it is out of my hands!

I sure appreciate you all taking the time to offer advice:

 

[Amyn1274]

TOTALLY OFF-TOPIC HERE ...

Isn't it exhausting to type the first letter of every word as a capital letter??? I never comment on people's grammar on these boards (so I'm NOT complaining that it's grammatically incorrect), but I've gotta tell you it's actually difficult to read it!

-- Eric

I was thinking the same thing... not so much hard to read just thought it must have taken forever to type.

 

[NCRedding]

I don't like the capital letter thing either, but I think there is a program that is set to write that way as it is typed--so it is no more difficult than what we type. Not sure why they would want it to do that though.

 

[PURTYPAT1]

I Feel Like You Are All Picking On Me.

Thanks You Made My Night.

 

[KarenAylwood]

TOTALLY OFF-TOPIC HERE ...

Isn't it exhausting to type the first letter of every word as a capital letter??? I never comment on people's grammar on these boards (so I'm NOT complaining that it's grammatically incorrect), but I've gotta tell you it's actually difficult to read it!

-- Eric

TOTALLY agree.

 

[Amyn1274]

I Feel Like You Are All Picking On Me.

Thanks You Made My Night.

I'm not picking on you, just thought it would take a lifetime to type like that. I guess we are all orginal in our own ways. That is definetly an original way to type. The good thing is you will never forget to capitilize something... which I tend to do sometimes.

 

[disneychrista]

It Really Doesn't Take That Much More Time To Type Every First Letter Capital.

I find myself doing this a lot when I am doing lists. I know I do it for my title on my Ebay auctions.

NoW YpInG LiKe ThIs Is TrUeLy A tImE kIlLer.

 

[KarenAylwood]

It Really Doesn't Take That Much More Time To Type Every First Letter Capital.

No It Doesn't. It Is Just Incredibly Annoying To Read.

 

[HaleyB]

No It Doesn't. It Is Just Incredibly Annoying To Read.

That is a little harsh. Unless you know each other and this is an inside joke.

 

[SherriW]

TOTALLY OFF-TOPIC HERE ...

Isn't it exhausting to type the first letter of every word as a capital letter??? I never comment on people's grammar on these boards (so I'm NOT complaining that it's grammatically incorrect), but I've gotta tell you it's actually difficult to read it!

-- Eric

The thread is not about if someone uses caps or not.
I fell bad for Patricia, she was replying to offer advice,
not for her typing to be picked apart.
Come on guys ..... lets all be nice.
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