Probably useless, but I just (got mad) and opened a case to discuss the 15 day limit of vacation days on Walmart.
I don’t know if any of you – well some of you are not here in the US, admit that.
But there are 11 FEDERAL American Holidays where USPS, sometimes UPS and FedEx are NOT options for shipping. So that leaves me with 4 vacation days.
First answer was generic and from a “non-American” name so I highly suspect they don’t even understand what I said.
So Walmart doesn’t have native shipping holidays, unlike Amazon?
Nope, I gotta use my 15 vacation days for that.
That’s ridiculous. Even the carriers “open” on those days often offer limited services.
Have you considered using WFS (Walmart’s FBA). It’s fantastic and cheaper.
Maybe what you do doesn’t work with WFS but that’s all we do and never an issue.
It does, but in our experience, one is generally required to integrate them manually in certain functionalities (“Additional Days Off” in ‘Walmartese’) exposed @ https://seller.walmart.com/seller-fulfillment-settings/general-shipping.
I don’t do FBA or WFS…I have items that move often, and others don’t. But I have to carry them to show the variety in sizes. FBA storage fees got me on Amazon.
I can afford to store them here at home so to speak because the real storage cost is on my wholesale supplier.
That’s what it looks like. So I have to go through and identify first ALL the federal holidays for the United States (there’s 11). Then I can mark 4 more off. This simply adds “Processing” time and leaves the store open and items available to be purchased.
On Amazon, vacation makes your store disappear. On Walmart, a feed upload with zero inventory levels makes your store disappear. So like for the next two days, actually after 11 am on Friday, I have to leave it like that and then at 11am, I can upload a feed that has inventory levels set back to normal and accept orders to ship on Monday.
That’s actually another COMPLAINT, but I won’t win that argument. Walmart’s cut off time for shipping the same say is no earlier than 11 am. SO…if I process orders say at 9 am…I have to look again to see what might have slipped in before 11 am. THEN, something changed…and I could set that to 7 am. That’s perfect. Wake up, print packing slips after 7 am (more like 9 am) and no worries after that. But nope, now I gotta “work” or look until 11 am. Something in the system made us/me change it back.
UPDATE:
Here’s the answer I got from Walmart…now to share it EVERYWHERE.
Thank you for reaching out to Walmart Seller Support. I hope this finds you having a great day. My name is Raushan, and I will be the agent handling your case today.
I understand your concern regarding Additional days off policy. I am happy to assist you in resolving this issue. Upon further review, I would like to let you know that Federal holidays are days when the U.S. government designates as public holidays. On these days, non-essential federal government offices are closed, and federal employees are paid for the holiday. This includes organizations like the Post Office.
Walmart’s Holiday Policies :-
Walmart, as a private company, has the discretion to determine its own holiday policies. This means that they can decide which days to observe as holidays for their employees or sellers. The decision might be influenced by various factors, such as business needs, customer demands, and operational considerations.
However, Walmart may not necessarily close its operations or require sellers to cease activities on federal holidays. This is because Walmart’s operations and those of its sellers are not directly tied to the functioning of federal offices. In the retail sector, holidays can often be peak times for customer shopping, and remaining open might be critical for business.
Why Doesn’t Walmart Automatically Mark Federal Holidays Off?
As I mentioned earlier, Walmart’s decision not to automatically mark federal holidays off may be influenced by various business-related factors. While your concern about sellers only getting four additional days off per year is understood, the policy may be designed to balance the needs of the business with those of its sellers and employees.
I hope this information was helpful. This case has been updated to a “Resolved” status. If you have any additional questions or concerns about this issue, please reach out before the case closes in five days. If no further assistance is required, no response to this message is needed. For new inquiries, please open a new case so that we can assist you accordingly.
Best Regards,
Raushan Kumar
Even though he said to open a new case…I was able to re-open the case with a simple response:
Opening a new case means the past dialogue will be totally lost.
In your answer you mention operational concerns.
As a THIRD PARTY SELLER through Walmart, what shipping company am I supposed to use in the United States to ship an order on Christmas Day?
IF Walmart marked that day just like Saturdays and Sundays are marked, then Walmart.com is not closed for business – which is your concern. However, I am unable to use any shipping carrier to ship out an order on Christmas Day.
So can we please look at this again?
Your answer makes zero sense.
Are you telling me that you’ll have Walmart Fulment Services and shipping from your WAREHOUSES available on Christmas day?
Even WALMART closed this year on Thanksgiving, but those of us who sell on WALMART.com are now required to ship on Thanksgiving. What carrier are we supposed to use?
Maybe this will help you understand my initial question.
Respectfully,
Iris Korthauer
Wait so…if I want to be a 3P seller on Walmart, I’m limited to putting my shop on vacation exactly and only 15 days per year?
Including federal holidays? What if I actually go on vacation? lol…forget ever selling there then. I go on vacation if I wake up with a cold!
On Amazon, you extend your processing time say for a week off. Items are visible, available to purchase. You choose your processing time from 1 to 100. Whatever.On Amazon, vacation mode makes your offers disappear. Amazon recognizes federal holidays.
On Walmart, you get to identify days off limited to 15 per year, 11 of which are used by Federal holidays. Additional handling time is limited to one or two days, three by waiver. Or you upload a spreadsheet and set inventory to zero (which is Amazon’s vacation mode) and make your items disappear.
So the way I read that, it boils down to:
“We don’t care a bit about your concerns. Please tell us that this makes you very happy”
Wow. Now kinda glad Nisha didn’t go through with selling there. This policy is absurd.
Once you figure out the policy…I’m figuring out how to live with it.
What they don’t realize is how Walmart shoots themselves in the foot because as a seller, I have to choose to zero out my inventory vs. setting processing times to say a week or letting me take as many days off as I need.
I make enough sales to keep Walmart on the books and worth while.
Stil stuck on this thought, and I had another one.
At Walmart, your FBM lag time is restricted to 0, 1, or 2. They will only go up to 3 based on a waiver. I have some handmade items approved but gave up fighting the computer when a handmade item would sell, and the next one would sell the next day without the 3 day lag time. Worked to get one in stock ready to ship at all times.
BUT – if I do like Amazon, and pre-prepare a spreadsheet for a 2 day lag time, upload that the Friday or Day before a Federal Holiday, that should skip the federal holiday and I would not have to mark it “off” as one of my 15 days. Then I’d have to upload a normal lag time the day of the Federal holiday (after 11 am) at the earliest, or next morning to set it all back to normal.
They answered my case again and said to set the inventory to null – UM…so you just told me you are not American. And now because “you” made me mad, I said you didn’t answer my question – What carrier is available to me on Chrstmas day? And if Walmart stores are closed on Christmas Day, why can Walmart.com also mark it as a day off?
Readers, please see follow up at Lag Time Vs. Vacation Days (partial solution I think)
