While planes throughout Northern Europe have slowly begun to take flight once again after days of airspace closures, eBay advises sellers in this region to continue to communicate with buyers regularly, letting them know their packages could take longer than expected to reach their final destinations.
Volcanic eruptions grounded planes in Northern Europe since last week—stranding many travelers and leaving packages undelivered.
"This is impacting some U.K. domestic mail, which travels by air at night, and international mail entering or existing the U.K. via U.K. airports," eBay U.K. notes on its General Announcements board.
To help mail reach its destination faster, Royal Mail on Monday began transporting packages by ground if they were headed to locations in Germany, France, Belgium or the Netherlands. Items going elsewhere are expected to be held and delivered via air once flights resume their normal schedules. An estimated 40 percent to 45 percent of grounded flights could be back in the air by Tuesday, according to news reports.
Royal Mail also temporarily suspended its next-day guarantee for Special Delivery items because of the airspace closures. Sellers can get updates on deliveries on Royal Mail's Web site.
"We are monitoring the impact of this event on the dispatch time detailed seller rating, and will continue to update you with advice for both buyers and sellers as more information becomes available," eBay notes.
Auctiva staff writers constantly monitor trends and best practices of those selling on eBay and elsewhere online. They attend relevant training seminars and trade shows and regularly discuss the market with PowerSellers and other market experts.
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