eBay sellers have been informed that the marketplace has decided to extend their Royal Mail Tracked / Royal Mail Signed For protections until the end of August 2017.

In a statement posted on its UK website on the 1st August, eBay said, “We previously announced in April that we’d protect transactions where sellers use Royal Mail Tracked/ Royal Mail Signed For services from being counted as late deliveries. This was because we were receiving incomplete tracking information for these services. The protection was then planned to last until 31 August.”

The statement continued, “We want to make sure we’re doing the best thing for our sellers, and we’re still working with Royal Mail to make sure we have the most accurate data possible,” added eBay. “While we do so, we’ll keep these protections in place in the meantime.”

eBay said it would be “back in touch in 2017 with an update about Royal Mail protections”. The online marketplace has advised sellers that as long as they dispatch their goods within stated dispatch times and upload valid tracking information when using Royal Mail Tracked or Royal Mail Signed For services, then eBay will “continue to protect these transactions from being counted as late deliveries”.

A good record for on-time delivery is an important part of an eBay seller’s performance and make a real difference as to their overall performance and ultimately bottom line as a result of a good rating – so this protection can be a vital issue.