posted on February 6, 2011 02:30:16 PM new
I have been offering Next Day services since the holidays and found this a bit odd.
Friday, a bidder purchases and pays for an item at 2:13pm. They choose Next Day delivery. I didn't even read my email until the next morning (Saturday). The buyer emailed me wanting to know why they haven't received their item yet (just after 11am). I can't even ship it until Monday morning, our post office is closed on Saturday.
Honestly, I find the expectation of the buyer beyond reasonable. By all practical calculations, he left me 2 hours 47 minutes to receive the email telling me a purchase was made, to pack the item, print a label and drive it to the post office. This is of course if I was in front of my computer reading emails during this short period of time.
I checked eBay's info, and they show it should be delivered by Monday. The problem is that the payment was received after 2pm, which also happens to be the cutoff for next day service anyways.
I emailed the buyer yesterday offering a full refund for the item or I could issue a refund for his "overnight" delivery and ship it for free (which is included in the price of the item). I have yet to hear from him.
So, am I missing something? Should ebay be telling buyers that an item paid for after 2pm on a friday will be delivered by monday? I already know the answer to the buyers expectations, especially since they didn't bother to email me beforehand. I plan to call eBay, but just want to get some input on this before I do. What should the cut-off time be like this? I would think that next day delivery would means next business day to ship, 1 business day to arrive, especially after 2pm or even sooner.
I am going to remove the Next Day Service, since it is not practical under these odd circumstances.
[ edited by shagmidmod on Feb 6, 2011 02:34 PM ]
posted on February 6, 2011 04:06:39 PM new
I know I bought something on Amazon during Christmas season one evening and got free overnight delivery. I assumed that meant that it would arrive in two days but, to my surprise, I got it the next day. It was midweek. I still don't know how they did that! Perhaps Amazon's super efficiency has raised the bar and buyers' expectations.
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posted on February 6, 2011 04:40:46 PM new
eBay has the parameters wrong. Most post offices have a cut-off time for Express Mail. Mine is 3:30pm Mon-Fri, 3:00pm on Saturday. They do not take into consideration that there may be offices closed on Saturdays.
Ebay has assumed that an order on Friday would be shipped Express on Saturday so as to arrive on Monday (if the stars are aligned properly). It is assumed that all offices are open on Saturday.
Further, Saturday is not considered a business day.
Somewhere in all my verbage, there is mention made that we ship all orders Monday - Friday, because about we are closed on a Saturday. Start with that statement in your shipping info.
Otherwise the buyer is expecting too much, and ebay is at blame for giving incorrect shipping times.
posted on February 6, 2011 06:56:38 PM new
One other point: at many of the smaller post offices, Express Mail is actually guaranteed as 2 days, not one, to many locations.
I am always told at my local PO that if I want to be guaranteed for overnight delivery, I need to go to the PO in another town.
posted on February 6, 2011 07:51:11 PM new
the eBay logic is so irrational on the timing. i actually plan to call them tomorrow and ask what they consider the cut off time in the eBay realm of things.
i still haven't heard from this buyer about whether he wants to cancel the order and get a full refund or have me ship it using priority for free, as it is offered in my listing.
the odd thing is this buyer has 130 positives for feedback. hopefully, he is a bit more reasonable than what he let on when he initially bought it. i just can't imagine such absurd expectations. it isn't like he couldn't have bought it a few days earlier and received it on time. he just waited until the last possible moment.
i have to say, i am looking forward to 5 day service. i really don't care about saturday delivery with the exception of getting a netflix movie by mail. besides, fed ex and ups don't deliver on weekends except for overnight.
[ edited by shagmidmod on Feb 6, 2011 07:51 PM ]
posted on February 6, 2011 07:56:09 PM new
Get a ROKU and try Netflix instant view! Then you won't even care at all about Saturday delivery.
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posted on February 6, 2011 08:17:22 PM new
If I get an order even on Friday night, I can print my own postage and get it into our post office on Saturday. It won't go out right away, but at least I've printed the date I dropped it off on the label. I don't offer overnight or Next Day service unless requested.
posted on February 6, 2011 08:25:43 PM new
Neglus,
HOW do you like Roku?
I was at Bestbuy today looking for CISCO WIRELSS NETWORK E3000 OR E4200 AND THEY HAVE NONE,OF COURSE THEY DONT HAVE ROKU EITHER
What kind of wireless router do you use?
Cn
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 6, 2011 08:30:11 PM new
The Ebay estimated arrival time is just an estimate,I doubt if anyone is holding you to it.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 6, 2011 09:21:16 PM new
I LOVE LOVE Roku! I am thinking about canceling my cable or at least cutting down to very basic. It uses my linksys home computer router. It's very easy to install and use. With a $7.99 Netflix subscription we watch movies (newest releases not available) - we like foreign movies and they have a gazillion (lots of Chinese btw) of those and lots of great indie films. Roku has a lot of free channels and you can also subscribe to tons of premium channels (Hulu plus brings TV). We are so busy watching movies that I have to admit I don't know all the possibilities.
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posted on February 6, 2011 09:22:13 PM new
I ordered ROKU online - you can find them at roku.com, netflix, ebay, amazon etc
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posted on February 7, 2011 07:09:01 AM new
what model number is your wireless router/
I went looking for E3000 and E4200 and Bestbuy store does not have any,but Radio Shack is selling them for 20 dollars less this week.
Also you can get Roku for 10 dollars less on their own website,offer expired yesterday.
They will include a 6 feet HDML cable for 9.99,Ebay prices are too high.
If you cancel cable or downgrade,you dont get CNN?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 7, 2011 07:36:53 AM new
My tv has built in streaming for nextflix, blockbuster, and hulu plus.
To some degree you are correct about netflix by mail, but as with all of the other services i mentioned above, online streaming content is not as plentiful as dvd.
I have heard some horror stories about hulu. The main issue seems to be the schedule of shows. From what I have read, customers complaints are that they have shows and movies in their cue, expect them to expire at a certain date and then hulu removes them from their cue prematurely. Also, you may have all, but one or two shows in a season available to watch, and some things are only available to stream from a computer, not a streaming device. Go figure.
posted on February 7, 2011 08:21:12 AM new
I have an ancient linksys wireless router but I think it will work with any one. The little Roku box is so little you can take it from room to room if you want or bring it along when you travel.
There is a free news channel with the regular networks, BBC, even Al Jazeera English, a tageshau in German,and several other international programs. They have Fox news but no CNN. You can watch IMAX lite (older imax documentaries), some sports programming ... I don't remember all the possibilities.
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posted on February 7, 2011 08:21:42 AM new
Comcast bought NBC from GE,maybe Comcast can offer something like streaming .
I paid 5.95 the other day to watch a pay per view movie on Dishnetwork,all I have to do is to hook up its receiver to the phone line,no need for router or Roku and the pictures are fine,
Why cant cable or satellite TV do something like what Netflix has to offer via the phone line or whatever?
But then no one has such a wide selection of movies and Tv shows as Netflix does.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
[ edited by hwahwa on Feb 7, 2011 08:26 AM ]
posted on February 7, 2011 08:24:47 AM new
Neglus,
who is your internet service provider?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 7, 2011 09:15:36 AM new
I purchased a Vizio Via television for our bedroom. It is a 26", but they make other sizes. I purchased it from Sams Club online for $288. You can also find this tv available at Office Max on sale for about $300, though you can also use Office Max coupons for $30-40 off. The 32" is slightly more. The tv not only has streaming capabilities, but also has wireless built in. Picture quality is excellent even when streaming. We use Comcast.
I was skeptical of Vizio tv. I prefer Sony and have an older Sony 32" in our living room. We watch Netflix there using our Wii. I even purchased the extended warranty (around $30 for 2 years) through Sams Club.
The television is fantastic. I had to change the settings so that it was more vibrant by turning off the LED Edge Lighting and, but I have no issues with it whatsoever. We've had it for 4 months now.
posted on February 7, 2011 09:44:26 AM new
so you use comcast,did you just plug the tv set into comcast box?
From all I read Neflix will connect with Sony Bravio,blue ray dvd player,Roku etc but it needs a router which connects the broadband provider with the device(Roku,dvd player,Tv set) ,usually wireless as most people watch tv in a room away from their pc etc.
I have comcast broadband but my tv is in another room so I either have to install another comcast line or use a wireless router to send all the streaming images from comcast to my tv set in another room
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 7, 2011 09:53:01 AM new
Not all routers work for streaming movie/videos,some are for emailing and printing.
Some are not powerful enough or fast enough,esp if your Tv is in another room or upstair and your router is downstair with your broadband receiver!
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 7, 2011 09:54:32 AM new
The vizio tv has wireless built in. We do have it connected to our Comcast box for regular cable tv, but we use the wireless for all of the streaming.
FYI, Vizio also has an eBay widget to check your listings. Not the best, but it is available.
Our plan is to axe Comcast cable altogether and just stream online content or watch videos for our entertainment. I also have my mac book pro that i can connect to either tvs via HDMI and watch online content too. I like this when we travel and stay in hotels.
posted on February 7, 2011 10:22:59 AM new
I use comcast for internet and tv. Like Shag, the TV is connected to the cable box but the ROKU is connected via my wireless network. My network router is Linksys Wireless G. This is about 10 years old. My internet comes in to a basement computer and the signal is broadcast upstairs where I work on another computer and our main television is.I also can use a laptop in any room in the house and on the porch and deck outside.
During Christmas holiday this year, I used the wireless on my desktop computer, both daughters were on their laptops and husband on his laptop AND ROKU worked perfectly!
Roku came with instructions - basically you just plug in power cord and Audio and Visual cables (red and yellow) to your television if you have an ancient TV like I have - I only had one audio outlet so I just left one of the audio cables unplugged and it works fine (obviously I don't have a home theater!) Once connected the system searches for wireless connections and you have to authorize through your computer and I think put in some code (it tells you what to do). I currently use the Comcast "on Demand" remote, so to use the ROKU, I have to press the "tv" button and then the "input button" on the remote and there is is! you press the little house button on the ROKU remote and your subscriptions come up. You have to associate your netflix account with the ROKU and then you are good to go. You can also look at the "Channel Store" and see what kind of free channels are offered. You have to pay for Hulu. I usually select the Netflix movies I want to see online and "queue" them and then flip through to find the one I want to watch. You can do this with the ROKU remote too but online is easier for me. I have to confess that my daughter was home for Christmas so she helped me get started but she is far from a tech wiz.
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posted on February 7, 2011 10:27:36 AM new
I have to wait once a movie is selected for it to load. They must just load part at a time and continue loading the rest as you go along because it doesn't take that long. There is no shakiness or perceptible buffering like you see when you try to watch something online. The quality is just like watching a DVD. You can pause and restart and it remembers where you were in the movie until you want to watch again.
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posted on February 7, 2011 10:29:31 AM new
Comcast does have online streaming in "Xfinity" but so far does not work with ROKU or the other wireless devised EXCEPT the iPad and/or iPhone. Online is free.
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posted on February 7, 2011 11:27:05 AM new
thanks,Neglus,I have comcast as broad band provider and Dishnetwork for watching tv.
I called Sony to find out if my blue ray dvd player or my Sony Bravio TV could stream movies from Netflix,the answer is NO,sad,they are bought in 2008 and not that old !
I will just watch Neflix the old fashion way with their mailed dvd and see if Comcast or Dish or someone will come up with a simpler way than having more gadgets around the house !
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 7, 2011 12:38:24 PM new
WOW!
I have been reading this thread and it is like a Foreign Language to me!!
How clever you all are to figure out all these 'thingymabobs'. I am lucky that my DH is very techie but that can also be a disadvantage to me as I don't even try to learn!
We were looking at new TV's last week and my mind went into overdrive! I asked what a little old lady (not me!) who lives on her own and just wants a new TV that she can turn on and off and switch channels is supposed to do?
We have many of them where we live and what they do....is call us!
posted on February 7, 2011 12:46:38 PM new
Do you ever notice how many features are there on a damn remote ?
But some stores will deliver the new Tv set,set it up for you and cart away your old one,if you want them to.
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on February 7, 2011 12:50:09 PM new
This Comcast infinity thing -is it for Tv or for broadband?
*
There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
