EIS
Summary: The discussion revolves around the introduction of eIS, which participants compare to the existing GSP. jonatjonatjonat sees it as a positive improvement, though phoenixrecords318 expresses concerns about potential overcharging for overseas buyers. sml192 highlights that eIS is supposedly cheaper and offers additional benefits, although it has a stricter item price cap of £950 compared to GSP's higher limits. hot**chile and technthread discuss the impact of this cap on auction items and higher-value sales, seeking clarification on how eIS will handle these cases. kat@ebay from eBay provides some responses and indicates they will look into these issues further.
What's everyone's opinion on this being introdced?
18 comments
hot**chile
·2 weeks agoI used to be able to sell items up to £5000 using GSP. Now I am limited to £950!! This is a massive difference. Why cant EIS match the old GSP amounts?
technthread
·2 weeks ago · EditedI asked elsewhere what will happen with auctions but am not expecting a reply. If we start something at £1 and the bidding goes over £900 does an international bidder suddenly find that they can’t place further bids?
@kat@ebay sorry to tag you but can you give any guidance on this question. Is there going to be any flexibility on this cap at all with auctions? Will eBay estimate from the outset whether international bidders can see the listing? If the item is listed at £1,000 buy it now with best offer enabled can an international buyer potentially see it to make an offer just under the EIS cap or will it be invisible to them? Thanks
sml192
·2 weeks ago · EditedItems sold on auction are not eligible for eIS.*
Ebay will be transitioning accounts over to eIS in phases so you may still have time to sell through GSP.
*Edit: apologies ignore that; it appears that auction items are only ineligible for combined shipping with eIS.
technthread
·2 weeks agoI can’t see that in the T&C’s do you know the section by any chance? I skim read them originally that’s how I missed the £900 cap, an auction exclusion on top isn’t great.
technthread
·2 weeks ago · EditedOk no worries 👍.
This cap is a problem for me I’ve got things held back to sell for a rainy day and now it seems EIS won’t cover them so I’m either going to have to rush a load of things out now that I don’t really want to go too early on or probably sell them another way outside eBay later, it’s too risky otherwise.
technthread
·2 weeks agoFirst world problems I suppose. EIS seems great on paper other than this element of it.
kat@ebay
Hi @technthread ,
Thanks for the reply and it is a good question. If an item goes over the £900 it will no longer be eligible for eIS. I'm following up for further details on how this will look but the cap will be £900.
An item listed at £1000 with best offer will not be eligible for eIS so will not be visible to an international buyer.
Thank you,
Kat
technthread
·2 weeks ago · EditedThanks for your reply Kat.
It would be good to know how the auctions would pan out. I have items that look similar but one may be worth £100 and the other over £900 due to subtle differences so eBay AI may have trouble determining international bidding eligibility from the start if the start bid was £1 for example.
Hypothetically, and I don’t know if this is even possible, if the seller had a secondary international postage option that would kick in once EIS became ineligible that would be a way round it. My main worry over losing EIS protection on higher value sales would be international bidders being barred mid auction due to the £900 cap.
kat@ebay
Hi @technthread ,
That's understandable. Once I get more details on it I will let you know.
Thank you,
Kat
sml192
·2 weeks ago · EditedI think the reason for that is because of the enhanced protection that eBay are providing in relation to returns. It may well get increased later on once eBay has had the opportunity to assess the impact of this or there may be higher limits for shipments to certain countries as there is for the existing GSP.
phoenixrecords318
OP3 weeks agoPossibly a stupid question, but if I opt out of this, I'll still be able to carry on as usual and post overseas?
sml192
·3 weeks agoYes, if you opt out of eIS you will still be able to use your own shipping method. You will also be able to offer your own shipping method alongside eIS if you wish.
Out of interest, why would you want to opt out of eIS?
phoenixrecords318
OP3 weeks agoI was just concerned that my potential buyers might pay more through EIS than my usual method, and therefore be put off buying.
For example, I sell vinyl records, and charge £25 to post an LP to say, the USA, what would they pay using EIS?
sml192
·3 weeks agoEIS is a much better system with lots of additional benefits compared to the existing GSP so, in my opinion, is definitely a positive and long awaited move. The only possible negative that I can see is that items need to be £950 or less to be eligible for eIS compared to £2,000 (or more in some cases) for GSP but that really won't affect most people.
phoenixrecords318
OP3 weeks agoMy main concern is that potential overseas buyers will still be excessively charged
jonatjonatjonat
·3 weeks agoIt will of course be more expensive to ship through eBay than through your own shipping in most cases.
All parties are paying for convenience though, and that comes at a cost.
sml192
·3 weeks agoEIS is supposedly cheaper than the existing GSP. The eBay announcement states that eIS will be around 30% cheaper than GSP for eligible items (originally the announcement stated that eIS would be around 20% cheaper than Royal Mail International Tracked but that has now been removed and replaced with the saving against GSP). How accurate that is only time will tell.
jonatjonatjonat
·3 weeks agoCan only really be a positive given it’s an improvement on the GSP.