posted on September 5, 2010 03:54:59 PM new
Just sold a book; buyer wants "second day shipping." Is this priority?? Or something even faster?? (It's an Amazon sale.)
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"Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels - men and women who ***dared to dissent*** from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, ***may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion."*** --Eisenhower
posted on September 5, 2010 04:05:58 PM new
He's probably thinking Priority Mail--commonly advertised as (but not guaranteed to be) 2-3 day delivery.
UPS has a 2-day option, but I don't know how well known it is by those who don't do a lot of shipping. It's also more costly than the Amazon shipping allowance.
posted on September 5, 2010 04:23:20 PM new
two day shipping is one level up like express mail.
try listing a book and you will see the diff shipping services
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on September 5, 2010 08:12:51 PM new
Okay, I'm confused.
If the buyer specified 2-day shipping in checkout, then you had that enabled as an option and you got paid an $11.98 shipping allowance instead of the standard $3.99. Is that what happened?
If the buyer's only choice was standard shipping and now he is asking for 2-day shipping, he's out of luck. There's no way that I know of for him to pay you more, and if he wants you to eat the cost, obviously that's not going to happen.
Amazon carefully does not define what service you must use to meet the standard of 2-day shipping -- I've always assumed it was something like UPS second day air, but it could also be Express Mail to destinations that take two days. $11.98 isn't enough for Express Mail.
All of the above is the reason why I only have standard shipping enabled in my storefront.
posted on September 5, 2010 08:33:15 PM new
Yep, Fluffy, I had carelessly always checked two-day shipping on Amazon, without thinking.
Oddly, sellers on the Amazon message board are divided on what 2-day shipping means. Most of them are saying it means you must SHIP the book within 2 days after getting the order.
Others say what you've said, above. All say it's confusing.
posted on September 5, 2010 10:33:11 PM new
I would think that 2 day shipping is exactly as fluffy explained. I doubt that you would be paid additional money just because you shipped the item within 2 days.
Perhaps you should check with Amazon CS as to what 2 day shipping actually means. UPS 2nd day air from Orange County to NY costs more that USPS Express or USPS Priority Mail.
posted on September 5, 2010 11:15:26 PM new
I think the best bet is to try to figure out just what the customer expects, or to set his expectations in a way he's happy with.
If you take two business days to ship (which you're entitled to) and the package is two business days in transit, and the customer is unhappy because he's had to wait four business days when he thought it would be two, obviously that's a problem even if "legal" by Amazon standards.
It's issues like this that make FBA really attractive. Then it's somebody else's problem.
posted on September 6, 2010 04:39:55 AM new
What is FBA?
It happened to me once on AMZN,I SHIPPED USPS priority mail,I know it wont make it in 2 days from TX to CA,but I am not going to drive into town to mail it by express mail or second day mail,then I wrote to AMZN saying I am not being paid enough to ship Express,the rate AMZN quoted was adequate before the rate increase and they should update it.
They said fine,we will look into it,that must be last year.
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There is no 'Global savings glut',only wild horses and loose bankers.
posted on September 6, 2010 05:01:54 AM new
Fulfillment By Amazon.
You ship your stuff to an Amazon warehouse, they fulfill orders for you. You pay for the privilege, of course, plus you also pay a small monthly storage fee.
So when you do FBA, shipping times are Amazon's problem, not yours. If your feedback gets dinged as a result of the fulfillment experience, Amazon will take the rap for you.
One big advantage of FBA is that your item can be added to a customer's order to qualify for super saver shipping, so people are more likely to select your book, rather than one from a seller who ships on his own.
posted on September 6, 2010 12:58:49 PM new
Fluffy: That works great (fulfillment by Amazon) for those who sell stacks and stacks of the same books. I never have more than one unique book listed on Amazon--ever.
