Just a quick question. How many days does a eBay seller have to ship a purchased item that has been paid for? At what point would you message the seller and ask when the item will ship? Thanks!
Depending on their handling times. It ranges from 1 working day to 3 so look for that under shipping and handling and if the the item hasn’t been posted/shipped after that time frame (working days), you could send the seller a message. I have experienced some sellers had actually posted the item already but had forgotten to update the tracking.
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Sellers sets handling time viewable on their item page
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I’ve never had any problems, but I’d probably ask after 3 business days. Ebay usually gives sellers the option of 1-3 days handling time. There are some that only ship once a week so depending on when you make your purchase it can take longer than you’d like.
It never hurts to politely ask when they intend to ship your item. 
How long has been it been?
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Thanks poken00b88, I purchased the card Friday. I’ll politely ask the guy what’s up if it doesn’t ship tomorrow.
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When I was working, a lot of times I’d be in the office before the post office opened and left after they closed. I could still print labels, etc., but I’d need to go in on Saturdays for international packages, PSA Submissions, etc.
I include a note on all my listings that I made several years ago. At that time I was traveling for work every week and I physically could not ship the cards until I got home. Sometimes I’d visit friends or travel instead of going home, so there would be an extra week.
After I started buying more cards internationally, I realized how long it could take for packages to arrive. I stopped worrying about receiving packages right away and just let them get here when they get here. I’ll audit things routinely simply to keep track of what’s taking more time and what’s not. Most people don’t give me a hard time about taking a while to ship, but maybe 10% or so will send a message if I don’t ship right away.
My work scenario has since changed, so now I can ship things right away. I like having the message in my listing though. It offers flexibility for when life happens.
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All the seller has to do is print the label and ebay is content. They could take 3-5 more days to actually mail it and ebay couldn’t care less.
They implemented a new guranteed 3 day, but it’s very new and not a lot of sellers are using it yet.
Even with Amazon their prime shipping is not even guranteed. I had ten late packages in less than a month…
With cards I’m just happy to get them, even if the seller ships them late.
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Thanks, that’s a good way to go about it. I probably shouldn’t over think when the card will arrive. As long as it arrives as described that’s all that matters to me. I just get nervous/anxious with the larger purchases. Thanks for the input.
P.S. is this the same gemmintpokemon from YouTube? The jolteon gave you away lol. Thanks for the great content!
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Unless it’s a high value item I don’t pay attention to it.
I have a lot of other things going on in life so I detail right in my listing description and in the shipping information section that I ship only once a week, so I have input 5 business day handling time. For many people it ends up being less as I pack every Thursday night and ship Friday morning (which is also written right in most listings). So depending on the time you buy it can be 1-5 business days handling.
I still get hammered with questions from “when will you ship” to “why the hell hasn’t this shipped yet” literally anywhere from 10 minutes after payment (yes this happens more often than it should) to 10 minutes before I pack the item. It is so frustrating. Then I get called rude when I copy/paste my standard reply. “Please read the listing description for that answer and other important information relevant to your purchase. Thanks for the order! -Dan”. It is definitely one of the biggest things holding my feedback score down as I get about a negative and a neutral a month from it but I just don’t have the time to ship daily these days.
I wish people would 1. read the damn listing and move on if you need amazon prime 2 hour delivery speeds and 2. be a little more patient with things that they don’t need and are just going to be held onto for a long time.
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I know how you feel. I have a job also and do most of my packing when I get home but, ship out the very next day, even if it is for less than $5. I have only 2 negative and 1 neutral feedback (new) at the moment. Latest neutral was because it took too long. I even clearly state on my terms that first class stamped letter can take longer and isn’t tracked. Unfortunately, eBay doesn’t help the cause as I am sure a good 90% of buyers use the mobile site. The mobile site doesn’t let you read listing terms unless you actually pick out the tab.
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Great explanation here.
Unfortunately we deal with many kids and impatient/immature adults
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