Ebay charging more for Royal Mail postage than buying direct through Royal Mail
Summary: magsnetic expressed frustration over eBay's postage charges, noting that eBay charges more for Royal Mail services than purchasing directly through Royal Mail. jonatjonatjonat explained this is part of eBay's profit model, while dch2112011 provided specific postage rates. magsnetic is particularly frustrated with the lack of options available and difficulties faced by those requiring postal collections. sml192 and others discussed Simple Delivery and potential issues with opting out, with many agreeing that it lacks flexibility. Several participants expressed dissatisfaction with eBay's delivery system and restrictions.
I'm listing an item as Free Postage and eBay want to charge £3.94 for 2nd class small parcel. If I was to buy the service direct through Royal mail it costs £3.65. That's not on at all, especially when they've already locked us into to their asinine simple postage system.
tech-shopuk
·14 hours agoEbay is having huge accounts with the various couriers so most of it it is pure profit. I have an account with Evri at work and we can ship items with as little as £2.75. Ebay charges £10 for same weight item. I think they are trying to cover up for losses as they expand to International shipping and no returns for exports like Amazon so they need to make the money from somwhere.
But changing from £5.49 to £12.46 makes no sense though. It discourages buyers.
cheekychippy210
·1 week agoI sell items under small parcel in simple delivery for £2.95.
the buyer pays and ontop there is their protection fee. I never do free postage.
sml192
·1 week ago · EditedRoyal Mail Standard Tariff 2nd Class Small Parcel Up to 2Kg is £3.95 if bought direct from Royal Mail online. £3.65 is for Royal Mail Tracked 48 Small Parcel Up to 2Kg (better service but ironically cheaper).
Simple Delivery is £2.94 for Small Parcel Up to 1Kg (assuming you are opted in to all carriers, otherwise £3.38) and £3.38 for Small Parcel Up to 2Kg. Simple Delivery uses Royal Mail Tracked so is better value than going direct to Royal Mail.
magsnetic
OP1 week agoI know mine is a bit of a niche case and not representative of eBays as a whole but I can only really choose Royal Mail and 'Free Postage' because i'm house bound and require postal collection. If I opt for buyer pays, I can't choose for it to be collected. Other services do offer collection but I've found them unreliable.
sml192
·1 week ago · EditedYou can still choose for it to be collected with 'Buyer pays'. It doesn't make any difference who actually pays for the label. You just need to make sure that Royal Mail is the only carrier selected for Simple Delivery in your Postage Preferences.
tradingmguk
·1 week agoI have been doing Ebay for 13 years ---- I do NOT LIKE simple delivery
How can I opt out of it ?
sml192
·1 week agoYou can only opt out for Letter/Large Letter sized items under £20 in certain sub-categories or for some Large Parcel sized items.
What don't you like about Simple Delivery?
magsnetic
OP1 week agomy example is a reason I don't like it, lack of options.
cheekychippy210
·1 week agoperhaps this opt out feature you often quote is only available to a select few!
As I said in previous threads, an item that should qualify for custom postage in my account, a CD, does not. That option long removed.
cerocman
·6 days agoI also dislike simple delivery as I am only selling fairly cheap stamps have a large quantity of usable postage stamps I prefer to charge the buyer just £1 for delivery. Simple delivery is to rigid.
dch2112011
·1 week agoRoyal Mail charge £3.95 for 2nd class small parcel and £3.65 for RM48 tracked small parcel
magsnetic
OP1 week agoYeah but eBay won't let me choose the cheaper postage option.
jonatjonatjonat
·1 week ago · Editedyou understand that is how eBay makes money right? By not selling things at cost.