Ebay Shipping Method? Given 8 Day Receiving Window

I bought a postcard from a seller in Jersey City, New Jersey on the 14th. They shipped it on the 17th and it hasn't reached Milwaukee, Wisconsin yet. I realize ebay's receiving times for shipments are just a guess on their part and to be taken with a grain of salt usually, but with this item I was given a range of November 22 all the way to November 30th. I've never seen that kind of span in a receiving range before and am wondering if ebay's computers have totally lost it or if the seller chose something other than USPS First Class. I would think First Class mail would have made it maybe last week Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.

For a letter it's the seller who mark it as ship and don't provide tracking # . If the seller don't put a tracking number, or USPS don't update the tracking ; how do you expect ebay know where is the letter

John, I don't have much insight on ebay's computation method for a receiving window, but there are some variables that could explain the eight-day span. The seller could have marked it as shipped without buying a shipping label through ebay, in which case, there may be an assumption that it could be put in the mail a day or two later. If the seller did buy a shipping label through ebay, the item gets marked as shipped as soon as the label is purchased. Again, the seller could wait a day or two to put it in the mail system. Also, if the seller put the item in his mailbox on November 17th for mail carrier pickup, it might not get picked up until the next day.

Were you given a tracking number?

No problem with not having a tracking number. The seller gives 5 days as a handling time which I'm sure ebay takes into consideration. But the item was mailed on the 17th per the seller. The USPS web site shows a First Class letter sent from here to New Jersey arriving 3 days after mailing and not the 8 day window ebay calculated.

Sadly, transit times for USPS can vary widely and are beyond the control of both seller and buyer. The bottleneck appears to be the many USPS sorting centers, where all kinds of delays and mis-directions can and do occur. USPS admits they routinely lose a tiny percentage of all items daily; not unexpected given the millions of pieces handled per day. It's only a problem when mine is one of those lost.

I insist that any item I purchase worth more than $100 be sent with tracking. Anything over $200 requires insurance, evn though I may have to pay extra to get it. Even then, I've had tracked packages go astray due to "automated" tracking notations instead of carrier-entered notations.

It could just be lost - it does happen. Mail theft, destruction by machinery, missent, burned in a fire (which happens more than you think), or by other means can account for it. Still, I would give the seller another week in case it's just a USPS snafu that works itself out.

I have no problem waiting. I really have no choice anyway since ebay won't open a claim until after the 30th. I'm just curious what boxes you check when making a listing to get that kind of an arrival window. The seller listed 5 days before the item might be mailed. And ebay had a disclaimer that shipping may take longer than normal. But the only previous times that I've seen that was on items coming from overseas countries where mail service might be problematic and not from one US metropolitan area to another.

I shipped some items on Nov 15th I also use 5 day handling. My items show "estimated delivery 7-11 days including 5 day handling". I use ebay labeling and 1st Class Package.

I've had this happen before with ebay sellers who mark an item as shipped, but the item isn't postmarked for as much as a week later. The burden is as much on the seller who marks it as sent, but doesn't send it until much later.

You complain only for few days ...look this seller, 16 days before send it, and it's from Eastern Europe. I guess I will seat and wait

I hope when the item arrives that there's a postmark on it or postmarks if it took the "scenic" route. I've had mail go astray both shipping and receiving so anything is possible with USPS from a misread address to misapplied bar codes for sorting.

??? That's a normal range and expected transit time given for ebay 1st-class mail delivery. Stuff beats the initial date often enough. Do you get everything else shipped by 2-day service?

If a seller makes a "standard" cardboard sandwich and just drops the envelope in the mailbox, the contents survive but the envelope can be scraped up badly in the new P.O. machinery. I get single covers and postcards sent to me like this and the outer envelope is scraped up. One was delayed by a week with an email message from USPS advising that, which finally got me a letter with the envelope broken open but contents ok. Just file a claim if it doesn't arrive on or before the 30th.

This is a single postcard. I would ship it with a light stiffener and put a stamp on it to go out first class mail. The seller charged $1.49 for shipping which I assume is a first class stamp plus expenses. I realize that stuff does sometimes get lost/trashed by the post office. It's just that I've never seen that kind of 'travel time' given for 2 cities 900+ miles apart here in the US. I would expect that coming from Europe. And even then transit time might beat ebay's expectations.

I sell a lot of stamps. postcards, and covers that I mail using a 64# sheet of paper folded in three as a stiffener. That keeps the weight below the 49 cent rate for up to one ounce. These letters can take up to two weeks to be delivered within the USA but usually less than a week. On rare occasions it can take even longer than two weeks, but I can attest that although it is sometimes very slow, the US mail is also very reliable. I have never been able to ascertain why the variation. Maybe this is another reason to call it snail mail.

That's you and that's fine. What did the shipper of the item in question do? I've had postcards shipped pretty much as ddaann does, to a double layer of chipboard with tape and in a heavyweight envelope, certainly heavier than the 70# recommended by USPS.



I've recently been given that amount of travel time for a first class large envelope with 3 cut-down album pages in a cut-down manila folder bought on ebay originating less than 50 miles from me. Actual transit time from postmark was 7 days. The travel path is not necessarily linear so straight line distance is not meaningful. One backed up link in the chain means everything going through it gets backed up. That can be your local office.

As for being a time frame given from Europe, here on the US west coast, I've recently gotten stamps sent as first class letters from Britain (no customs, no registration) in 7 to over 21 days by postmark. Same seller.

The item was paid for on the 14th. 5 day processing and mailed the 17th???? It just arrived today.