As we go into the biggest holiday season of the year from now till late December, demand for international postal services has also increased exponentially. Shipment delays are expected throughout this peak shopping period. Sellers are reminded to allocate sufficient delivery time for their items to reach buyers.

Here are some measures that sellers can adopt:

1) List and sell only what you can fulfill

• Make sure that your current operations can keep up with the high holiday sales volume. Increase resources if necessary or manage sales based on your current operational capacity.

2) Update your delivery time

• Extend the estimated delivery time in your eBay listings in view of potential shipment delays.
• Inform your buyers about potential shipment delays due to high shipping volume and longer domestic and international shipping time this holiday season, prior to closing the sale.
• Avoid closing the sale in the event that your buyer is unable to accept the longer shipping time to avoid possible shipping disputes which may result in unnecessary account or selling restrictions.

3) Communicate with your buyers

• Proactively contact your buyers to inform them of the potential shipment delays, and maintain regular communications until they have received their items. This will greatly improve the buying experience.
• Encourage your buyers to reach out to you first to resolve any delayed shipment issues during the checkout process or before shipping the item.

4) Ship with a tracking or delivery confirmation number

• This will help protect you in the case of an item-not-received claim.
• Consider express shipping services instead of regular postal services for last minute orders to avoid potential shipping disputes.

5) Work with your shipping carrier

• Contact your shipping carrier to check on the delivery status of your items and provide your buyers with regular updates.