eBay’s shipping policy is clear: “Sellers must ship items within the handling time stated in their listing, using the shipping service the buyer selected at checkout.” But eBay sellers were buzzing early this month when they noticed a change in which they could specify a 40-day handling time, up from 30 days.
The reason for eBay allowing such long handling time has to do with sought after items like PlayStation consoles. While manufacturers and brands allow customers to place pre-orders to reserve products prior to their scheduled release date, eBay allows sellers to also cash in on new-product hype through its Presale policy.
On July 8th, an eBay moderator responded to questions raised on its discussion board about the longer handling time and said eBay would be updating the presale policy to reflect the new 40-day timeframe. “Look for that to update in the near future,” the moderator wrote, although as of Sunday, July 17th, the policy still showed a handling limit of 30 days.
Sellers can get peeved when they see what looks like abuses of eBay’s Presale policy. For example, in 2020, a seller questioned eBay’s enforcement of the policy on this discussion board thread.
An eBay moderator replied and said, “Reporting an item will result in a review and appropriate action taken. However, if a buyer doesn’t receive a presale item within 30 days then they should open an Item Not Received case as they are protected by the eBay Money Back Guarantee.”
However, a buyer in 2021 pointed to a seller listing a Hasbro toy that wouldn’t be available until 2022, according to the Hasbro website. If a buyer is unaware they must file an Item Not Received claim within 30 days of their order, it’s not clear what protection eBay would offer the customer.
