“Your item should arrive…”

eBay are now telling buyers when their items should be expected to arrive, based on delivery time estimates and the shipping service they’ve selected. Here’s what I just got on checkout:

A couple of people have mentioned this, but I hadn’t seen it before today; I’m not absolutely sure if it’s a staggered roll-out, or if I just haven’t been paying attention. Either way, it’s one to be aware of: eBay are telling buyers when to expect their parcels, and sellers need to be both aware of and managing those expectations.

Of course, for anyone who shops on Amazon, this will seem very, very familiar

9 Responses on "“Your item should arrive…”"

1. 1
   Richard says:

   August 30, 2010 at 4:32 pm

   Not overly bothered as I’ve been doing exactly that in my dispatch emails for overseas sales for years. Could be a bit of a pain in the neck nearer Xmas though.
   • 1.1
     Sue Bailey says:

     August 30, 2010 at 4:43 pm

     I think my issue with it is eBay telling, rather than the seller. (And yes, I ALWAYS told people when to expect delivery – overestimating by 2-3 days and therefore causing delight when things arrived “quicker than I’d told them they would”.)
     • 1.1.1
       Admiral_Kang says:

       September 9, 2010 at 11:26 am

       “Scotty, do you always multiply your repair estimates by a factor of two?”

       “Aye sir. How else d’ye think I’d keep my reputation as a miracle worker?”

       (Kirk and Scotty, Star Trek III)
2. 2
   David Brackin says:

   August 30, 2010 at 4:51 pm

   Is this notification persistent? That is, is there a place where the buyer can see it again later when they are wondering where their goods are?
3. 3
   Linzi says:

   August 30, 2010 at 5:00 pm

   Hi David
   Yes it is. If you go into an item you’ve bought and click the ‘where is my item’ you can see it there. if the seller includes tracking info or marks the item as dispatched it includes that too and when you come to leave feedback I have seen a couple of trials of “This item should have arrived …..” along with the trial of mark this seller out of 10.

   It works well enough actually except that ebay don’t allow for bank holidays. I had a few people muttering about it over the May bank holiday.
   • 3.1
     Sue Bailey says:

     August 30, 2010 at 5:12 pm

     Lordy, May?! Then why has it only just appeared on my account?
     • 3.1.1
       Linzi says:

       August 31, 2010 at 3:29 am

       I don’t know Sue – maybe they trialled it but it was showing on my own personal buying account (don’t recall seeing it on my business account and I do buy business stuff on that one too) on sold items back then as I went to look to see what my two grumbling customers were talking about.
4. 4
   northumbrian says:

   September 9, 2010 at 12:55 pm

   it should read

   your order should arrive if you answer the door you daft sod,
   or if you remember to change your address when you move home you silly bugger,
   or it cant be delivered if your at work and no ones at home you prize guerkin,
   or if you dont pick it up from the local mail office you wont get it ,Dildo
   • 4.1
     board_surfer says:

     September 9, 2010 at 6:59 pm

     I hope it was sent in plain brown packaging!! :-p