What you need to know
eBay will be implementing additional requirements if your item is shipped from an overseas warehouse to a buyer in the same country (“forward-deployed”). Sellers who do not comply or consistently fall short of expectations may have their selling limits reduced or account(s) restricted.
What are the criteria & requirements?
Items shipped from an overseas warehouse to a buyer in the same country will now be evaluated on:
- Your listing’s promised end-to-end (E2E) delivery time, from when the item was purchased until delivery to buyer, and
- Your actual E2E shipping performance for such transactions.
Promised end-to-end (E2E) delivery time
For any forward-deployed inventory, your listing’s promised end-to-end delivery time (i.e. the duration from buyer purchase to delivery of item, equivalent to the sum of your listing’s handling time and estimated delivery time) should not exceed the number of days specified in the table below:
Actual E2E shipping performance
Your forward-deployed transactions will also be measured on the following service metrics:
- On-time shipping rate, as defined by the percentage of eligible transactions shipped within promised handling time;
- On-time delivery rate, as defined by the percentage of eligible transactions delivered within estimated delivery time;
- Unsatisfactory delivery rate, as defined by the percentage of eligible transactions where a buyer:
- Filed an Item Not Received (INR) case, or
- An Item Not Received (INR) message, or
- Left a 1 star Detailed Seller Rating (DSR) for Shipping Time
How are you being evaluated?
Your account will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
The following table summarizes the requirement for each overseas market (thresholds for empty cells will be announced at a later date):
* Failure to meet the listing compliance rate target will not result in sales restrictions on your account; however, non-compliant listings may be removed.
** Australia Metro Area: Within 6 working days after payment
Australia Non-Metro Area*: Within 8 working days after payment
Metro areas defined as Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide (please refer to table in Appendix for list of corresponding postal codes).
To give sellers time to comply with the new service standards, eBay will only start implementing the above evaluation criteria on July 3rd 2019 and the first evaluation window will cover eligible listings and transactions from May 19th to June 15th. Sellers who do not comply after warnings may have their selling limits reduced or account(s) restricted.
To ensure compliance with the above policy, we strongly recommend sellers to:
- For eligible listings, modify the promised delivery time and choose a logistics provider able to fulfil the delivery time requirements;
- Upload the correct overseas tracking number and carrier name within your promised handling time.
FAQ
1. How do I check my performance?
Please check the Warehouse Service Standard module in your seller dashboard starting from April 24th 2019.
2. What should I do if I’m not meeting the requirements?
First, please ensure that your listing’s item location is accurately stated as the actual market the item will be shipped from. If your forward-deployed item location is correct, please modify your listing’s promised handling time to no more than 2 days, upload the tracking number in a timely manner, and choose a logistics provider that will ensure delivery within the required delivery times as specified above.
3. In my listing’s promised E2E delivery time, do I have the flexibility to set the handling time and delivery time as I wish as long as the total duration does not exceed the specified requirement?
Yes, although eBay encourages sellers to commit to quick fulfilment times to improve upon buyer’s delivery experience.
4. How is on-time delivery assessed? For example, if I set my UK listing’s promised E2E delivery time as 4 days but the actual E2E delivery is 5 days, will my listing still be considered non-compliant even though I have met the maximum E2E delivery time requirement?
Yes, this scenario would still be considered non-compliant. The specified E2E delivery requirements for each country should be considered the maximum time allowable, and sellers are still expected to meet the delivery time commitments specified in their listings.
5. How is one day handling time for US forward-deployed transactions calculated?
For your US forward-deployed transactions, the daily cut-off time is 14:00 Mountain Standard Time. If you receive an order before this time, your shipment’s acceptance scan should be recorded by 23:59 the following day. If you receive a transaction after 14:00 MST, your shipment’s acceptance scan should be recorded by 23:59 on the third day.
6. Do I need to use a logistics service that is fully trackable?
We always encourage sellers to use a fully tracked logistics service to ensure that both your buyer and eBay are able to see the item’s delivery progress
.7. I am currently using Royal Mail’s 2nd Class untracked service – do I still need to upload a tracking number?
Yes. All of UK’s Royal Mail services now provide a tracking number that is recognized by eBay. Please obtain the tracking number from Royal Mail or your UK service provider and upload it to eBay within your listing’s promised handling time.
8. Can I use the tracking number provided by third-party overseas warehouse?
You should ensure that the tracking number uploaded is associated with the last-mile logistics provider, and that it is recognized by eBay.
Appendix – List of Australian metropolitan postal codes
Visit the CBT dashboard and keep track of your selling performance.
