Ebay simple delivery opt out
Summary: In a discussion about eBay's delivery system, several participants expressed frustration with recent changes. thom32-2007 criticized the inability to list item dimensions and weights efficiently. hillsandglens suggested a workaround using the 'oversized' option for listing heavier items. seesewcat shared concerns about packaging quality impacting delivery, noting a past issue with a lamp arriving broken. thewelldressedtableuk voiced dissatisfaction with eBay’s postage labels and listing practices, reminiscing about when eBay offered more flexibility for sellers.
So ebay have decided to force private sellers to use simple delivery for all listings.
Previously you could select advanced options in postage and select your preferred postage method as before.
Did ebay announce this to private sellers - did they ....
I searched around a while and eventually got this from the chat bot:
"Eligible listings will show Simple Delivery as an option when you're creating a listing. Starting 15 April, 2025, Simple Delivery will be the only delivery method available for private sellers when listing eligible items."
The recent changes like BPF and simple delivery have been extremely irritating but not terminal. I think this is terminal for me.
I cannot express on this forum without getting deleted my extreme annoyance with ebay.
thewelldressedtableuk
·4 days agoSo then Ebay is forcing me on to their postage labels which does not allow any cost for any packaging like bubble wrap or new boxes. I mostly use new boxes and quality bubble wrap but I now ask - why bother - I will just pack this china any old how and if it breaks in transit the buyer is refunded by Ebay and I keep the money from the sale. What an ill thought, some would say stupid idea from Ebay. Ebay used to be fabulous but now it acts as if they are doing the seller a favour by paying for extras.
I don't want to pay extra to boost or promote items, nor advertise them away from Ebay, my items are not 41% higher than similar items, I know how long some items have been on Ebay but isn't "Buy it Now" all about keep it running till sold or cancelled. I hate that Ebay promotes items between my photos and my listing details because so many buyers just look at the photos totally unaware there is a description if you just scroll down. This leads to some buyers being disappointed or worse that their item is not as described.
I have been on Ebay for quite some time as have many sellers & hark back to a time when Ebay was brilliant, when you could leave negative feedback for a non payer, choose how you wanted to post your item and generally be very happy! Not anymore!
jonatjonatjonat
·3 days agoIn fairness to eBay, they don’t state the charge is for postage and packaging on listings. Merely postage. You could build packaging costs into the cost of the product.
Of course - if you are making all those cake stands…
seesewcat
·1 week agoWhat l don’t understand on the simple delivery how eBay can make any money because the sellers couldn’t care less on the packing l received a lamp shade in 20 pieces that had been poorly packed I got paid back and the seller got paid So why should anyone bother about how they pack I have always used good strong boxes , double boxed plenty of wrapping which cost me a fortune l paid extra postage myself to get the items there the next day But now if l am insured and no choice in the postage then hi ho
jonatjonatjonat
·1 week agoYou are assuming in that scenario that most orders arrive damaged. EBay will make money on the vastly large percentage that arrive without issue
department28
·1 week agoUnfortunately, there have always been sellers that don't know how to pack properly, or skimp on packaging to save on postage, or don't care enough to make any extra effort to ensure their items arrive safely.
With Simple Delivery, eBay covers the refund to the buyer if the item arrives damaged in transit - but I thought eBay would ask to see proof, to determine if the damage was caused by insufficient packaging, before allowing the seller to keep the payment?
hillsandglens
·2 weeks agowork-around is to select oversized on listing page, where is says :
Don't see your size?
Select oversized for heavier or larger items. You'll be required to choose your own postage service.
OversizedAbove 20 kg or 61 x 46 x 46 cm
then you can choose special delivery , sign for , recorded etc.
hope this helps
thom32-2007
·1 month agoI have now tried to list an item 4 times and nowhere am I able to list weight and dimensions of my item what a system who on earth devised this ridiculous way for postage etc
I am furious at the waste of time and I can’t list the item thanks eBay
kh-erika
·3 months agoHi everyone,
Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.
Thank you for understanding.
sagr2519
·3 months agoIn your profile settings you could opt out of forum emails. When someone replies to a topic you've subscribed to, it will appear on your notifications page. It still won't say which member the reply was intended for, but less annoying than lots of emails.
tressygirl
·3 months agoWhilst Simple Delivery is not perfect by any means and still not without its glitches peeps are reporting now buyer pays postage seems to be automatically changing to seller pays and the combining of postage has certainly not made clear either to seller or buyer, but you are aware of the 2 big ' bonuses' ?
That is, if an item is lost or damaged in transit eBay refund the buyer and the seller gets to keep the payout. Items are insured for £750 too. That can't be bad ? 🤔
Was it better before? Yes, in my humble opinion I think it was, but SD is here to stay, and I do wonder how long those 2 ' bonuses' will be with us !
@cartermk
lostin2922
·3 months agoHas custom options for delivery now been removed? We can only choose simple delivery?
jckl1957
·3 months agoIt depends what you are selling.
Items listed for under £20, that are letters or large letter size, can still be listed with custom delivery in some categories.
Some categories do not qualify for Simple Delivery.
So, for private sellers, Simple Delivery does not have to be used for all items.
bill.payer
·4 months agoI have been using a work around. Choose the cheapest possible eBay potage option (large letter) Then simply add this small cost to your listing or posage costs.
cobwebcottage
·4 months agoIf you were correctly registered as a business seller, you wouldn't need to abuse the system.
silver-eddie
·3 months agoabuse the system.
I'm not a business, I'm retired and sell household stuff I no longer need
or want.
But thank you for your comments
jonatjonatjonat
·3 months agoThey were responding to bill.payer (though the emails they send out don’t make this clear)
kath3735_wxmjn
·3 months agoI would say that 'in response to bill.payer' makes it very clear to whom they were addressing their comment - or am i missing something?
jonatjonatjonat
·3 months agoYes it’s clear here, but if you are subscribed to notifications to a thread you get sent emails that basically show every response to the thread.
problem is, the emails don’t make clear the response is to a specific user, so it looks like all emails you get are a response to the comment you made.
silver-eddie
·3 months agosimple delivery.
I've tried all options to try and "trick" the system, but always end up
with the simple delivery option.
Only when ebay change this or have a viable opt out option, ebay for me is
for buying only.
As a side issue ........ I believe that the UK is the only country to have
this stupid system, every other country is the same as it ever was.
Why us????
kath3735_wxmjn
·3 months agoThanks for that, saves me looking a fool again in the future. I stopped notifications through e mails when i first started and had forgotten all about them.
retroman303
·3 months agoIt would certainly help avoid confusion on the part of some thread subscribers if the emails just added "to [member-z]" to the already-present words "[member-a] has posted a new reply". But, despite the fact that the unaware subscriber might think that a reply in an email - as currently presented - is a reply (probably a bizarre one!) to a previously-posted comment of theirs, I am sure that you do not number yourself among them. You must know by now that a "new reply" in an email can be a reply to anybody who has hitherto posted on the thread, not just you, and that everybody who is subscribed to the thread will be getting that exact same email, not just you.
You are clearly aware - since you literally state it - that "the emails don't make clear the response is to a specific user" *
* More accurately, they do make it clear that the reply is to a specific user; they say "[member-a] has posted a new reply" - and any reply has to be made to a specific member (unless the person replying fails to click 'Reply' and just posts what is effectively still a reply - but in such cases, this would trigger a "[member-a] wrote" email, not a "[member-a posted a new reply" email). What the emails do not do is actually specify the member being replied to, which would be much more helpful to know (without having to visit the thread) than the mere fact that the comment is a new reply. Without the emails specifying to whom a reply is addressed, any comprehension of it (before going to the actual thread) will be from the subscriber's pre-existing knowledge of the thread's content and memory of posts that the reply is likely to be made to).
However, you are also clearly aware that the user name of a person to whom a reply is directed is given in the forum (assuming that the respondent has done it 'properly' and clicked/tapped 'Reply') - as you say, "Yes it's clear here".
One would reasonably assume, then, that you, knowing both these facts, would check to whom a reply is made before replying to that reply. Maybe that's what 'kath3735_wxmjn' was getting at. One needs only to navigate to the reply in the thread (from the email link or otherwise) to easily and instantly see to whom it is addressed. Obviously, it gets messy when one or more people click 'Reply' on a post from a user other than the one they mean to respond to (or on a post from the right user but the wrong post), but that doesn't happen much.
Having said that, I doubt many of us click on the link every time there's a new email notification (especially when the thread is very active), so eBay could, simply by adding those two exra words, definitely make it easier for those subscribers who want to follow a thread's new contents without - in the case of 'proper' replies - having to repeatedly visit the thread for context.
The point still stands, though - with a little attention, it's actually quite hard to reply to the wrong person!
I'm probably coming across as less forgiving than I mean to be. I acknowledge that you don't make the error that often, and that, considering the extent of your posting activity, the occasional misapprehension regarding to whom a reply is being made will probably occur..
As for the absence of the words "to [member-z]" in the emails, is this an innocuous, though annoying, omission, or is it a ruse to increase the number of people clicking the link to the thread just to see the member/comment to whom/which the reply is addressed? I'm inclined towards the former (non-calculated sloppiness) than the latter, which would quickly become tiresome, particularly with busy threads. The latter suggestion comes from a certain low-level paranoia that eBay induces in me with its often opaque decisions and practices, and - even more so - with its growing tendency to adjust sellers' settings on the quiet. I'll stop there, as this isn't the thread for a discussion about that - I just wanted to explain why the possibility of a ruse even entered my head.
silver-eddie
·4 months agoI agree.
I've been an ebay seller for 25 years and I don't want to use simple delivery. But as there is no opt out solution I have now stopped using ebay for selling.
There are other selling platforms 🙂
ebay's loss not mine
nitrohopup
·4 months agoThis is where I’m struggling to find other platforms.. Sph , vin are just painful to use and people on there are challenging
I wish eBay would get their acts together again, it was never broke so why they decided to “fix” things is beyond me.
silver-eddie
·4 months agome to get to grips with ebay and know what works best. So taking away my
preferred option is a pain. And yes there are other platforms, but I'd
rather use ebay, BUT until they get there act together, they have lost a
customer who has been loyal for over 24 years and almost 5000 positive
feedbacks.
It's nice, but sad to find there are so many others in a similar position.
lady_orange
·4 months agoIt's annoying as I have sold high-value collectables and used Royal Mail special delivery, or 1st/2nd class recorded in the past. Now you can only have 48 hours 😫
incredible_how
·4 months agoThere are standard or express options available. I have had buyers select express and as I only offer Royal Mail it was Tracked 24.
oanyerbike
·4 months agoI had laboriously prepared a whole list of items to sell on eBay, having sold on the platform for a couple of decades. I even checked the cost of postage for them. Then I discovered that eBay wants me to use an expensive system called "Simple Delivery". No choice. Really?
Maybe it's me, but it's not simple and it's expensive for customers. Do you know what? It's bye, bye to eBay!
bellevintageb
·4 months agoeBay is constantly making it even more difficult for anyone to sell anything. they are maximising their profit's at our expense frankly and in my opinion. deliveries that cost £2.69 with yodel and inpost have been bumped to £4.06 and they are earning from delivery as well as buyer protection, having let go of a workforce of over 800 workers and cutting their operational costs then increasing fees everywhere and forcing sellers to use promoted listings imn order to get sales, one barely can get away with a 5% margin on products under £20. there is a reason all these other marketplaces are popping up.
jonatjonatjonat
·4 months agoSorry - you are a private seller - why does margin come into it?
badzir
·4 months agoWell, simple delivery sucks. I've been told by an agent (yes I got through!) that if the simple delivery label hasn't been used and the sold item was posted outside of ebay, there will be automatic refund as the label is flagged as unused. Today, I've been told by an agent (yeah, I got through again), that for unused simple delivery tickets you have to fill in an refund form within 14 days, after that your money is gone! So I've been robbed for at least 4 postages that I'll be not refunded for because of the time elapsed and a false information given by eBay agent. That's what I call brilliant scam strategy, charging for the service that has never been delivered! I've been eBay member for over 20 years, looks like is time to get divorce. RIP eBay!
papso22
·4 months agoBoth agents are right, it depends whether it was buyer pays or free delivery on the listing.
badzir
·4 months ago| | Virus-free.www.avg.com |
papso22
·4 months agoYou get some choice with Simple Delivery.
With seller pays you should still use the simple delivery label, if you choose not to then you have to follow the rules on getting a refund.
The guidance on Simple Delivery is actually quite good, it's worth reading.
andystarks
·5 months agoSadly, I have to completely agree with you.
I have emailed eBay repeatedly about this and have yet to receive even an acknowledgement.
There are ways around the Simple Delivery dictate but we should not have to do that. We, the users, are what pays to keep eBay alive - and if you ever sell on the Motoring section you really do PAY. And yet we are constantly dictated to and our freedom of choice within the app are diminished.
There are other sites and apps that offer what eBay used to, but they do not have the coverage or ubiquity of eBay. Until that happens, we really have very little choice.
jonatjonatjonat
·5 months agoWhy do you believe that eBay have to offer you any freedom of choice? Let alone some.
geomusic
·4 months agoMaybe you're too young to remember, but there was a time not long ago when businesses tried to listen to customers/users needs and work towards meeting those.
jonatjonatjonat
·4 months ago“Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black”
Ford policy 1914-1925
Businesses have long done what they felt was right for the business. Is everyone asking for chocolate bars to reduce in size? No but the businesses do it.
people seem to think because they are selling their items they have the autonomy to choose how to do it. Which is true, they have the autonomy to find a service like eBay to sell on that will allow that autonomy.
geomusic
·4 months agoOK, but you can't argue that customer service hasn't seriously suffered in the last, say 5 to 6 years. Since then the complete corporate take over has pretty much consolidated and human to human interaction is virtually non existent in reality, it must have something to do with what the OP was talking about.
tinaj8834
·5 months agoYep - Just seen I can't opt out of simple delivery so will sell elsewhere from now on. Love how good platforms always end up isolating the very people that got them started
.
sandstormy
·5 months agoBecause eBay copying Vinted company..
claire_leonhart
·5 months agoAt least there you can choose postage options, I am currently fighting with sellers because they don't know you can turn postage on and off and I have the same issue here on Ebay now, not the business type I like to shop with.
kelly-burls
·5 months agoThis is a very terrible thing they did at least they could have done an option, simply you can not insured delivery or signature or next day delivery. very short sited of ebay. Which is not suprising!
incredible_how
·5 months agoIt's insured up to £750. If the item is worth more than that you can do custom postage. There's Tracked 24, which isn't guaranteed next day, but when I have used it has always got there the next day.
kelly-burls
·5 months agoi am not a business i am a prvate seller and there are no options but Simple delivery system
incredible_how
·5 months agoI am talking about private selling. I have opted only to use Royal Mail only, and that goes tracked 24 or 48, whichever the buyer chooses. Not only are items over £750 custom postage, so are small sized items worth less than £20 that go in letter/large size in some categories - don't know all of them, someone else here probably does - definitely includes stamps, cards, cds....
suelel1968
·5 months ago@kelly-burls You need to read up on Simple delivery. We are all mightily frustrated with many aspects of it, but the people who have been responding to you know what they are talking about as they are also just sellers and buyers with (sadly) no eBay influence.
Tell us what type of item you want to list. It is possible to list virtually everything under £20 on custom postage. The main exclusion is clothing. Nothing in clothing can be sent without SD on a private account. You may have to tweak your categories a little and there are steps to follow.
You must put in a price under £20 and you must select "large letter" under Simple delivery. The custom postage box should then appear.
incredible_how
·5 months agoThank you that is a much better explanation than I was giving!
@kelly-burls here is the link to eBay's information on Simple Delivery
barneymerton
·5 months agoThat would involve amending every single listing you have (for those which meet the criteria) ?
Just checking.
suelel1968
·5 months ago@barneymerton yes, but once you know the category you want you can do a bulk change for all of the same type. You would I think have to change postage manually. Start with the items which will get the biggest advantage from lower postage. I tend to end and reslist via "sell similar" items which have been listed the longest with no views. If you take this approach you will be both refreshing your listings and getting a cheaper postage.
podlingsmum
·5 months agoIf you create postage policies, which is not just for use by business sellers, it is possible to bulk edit listings onto the same policy.
barneymerton
·4 months agoI have tried repeatedly to find categories which allow me to post a flat light item of low value, which is screaming out to be posted as an untracked Royal Mail letter, actually as an untracked Royal Mail letter!
Let's take a working example - an A5 size, 240g, printed MAGAZINE.
How can I post that as Custom Delivery, rather than being saddled with Ebay's Simple Delivery "from £2.70"?
barneymerton
·4 months ago.... and now, contradicting my post just now, after 15 minutes of not offering me Custom Delivery, it suddenly does so.
So it is possible, but the buggy software does not behave predictably and therefore it wastes your time.
barneymerton
·4 months ago... and once again, this morning, an item of this type CANNOT be granted Custom Delivery, even though it is crying out for it rather than to be treated as a parcel.
Idiotic.
vintage-bottle-collection
·4 months agoSent from Outlook for iOS<>
barneymerton
·5 months agoI just sold from an old listing which allowed me the freedom to arrange my own postage - using a stamp which had cost me £1.15.
But now I'm relisting because I have another of the same item, and Ebay is telling my buyers that the postage is "from £2.70".
Thanks Ebay.
tressygirl
·5 months agoNot all items are exempt from Simple Delivery . If Custom Postage is not showing try changing the sub category and see if it shows.
If it doesn't and you do not use SD postage and use your own, you cannot now add any new tracking, eBay suggest sending the buyer a message with those tracking details. If a case is opened later for item not received, you will be able to add those tracking details.
A refund is sent to whoever paid for the SD label:
@barneymerton
barneymerton
·5 months ago... which is all unnecessary bureaucracy to overcome the Simple Delivery imposed on sellers by Ebay.
monster_hugs
·5 months agoTrue enough and the buggy implemenation of SD only dents one's confidence -- eg I've been charged by RM for a home collection that ebay says is supposed to be free...
ebay has grabbed the steering wheel on deliveries for itself, but they will say private sellers pay no fees and it's free to list so it costs us nothing anyway... but we're left working round the bugs and hassles
claire_leonhart
·5 months agoIt happened to me as well, even the customer service couldn't help, they told me I am an exception and it is a glitch maybe, but I see it is standard now, my last 2 sales they came to collect, thanks god. Nonsense, yet I lost another purchase due to this, if they want to go bankrupt, this is the year.
suelel1968
·5 months ago@barneymerton what item is it you want to send by custom postage?
Unsolicited advice time ... does your camera lense need cleaning?