Extended ‘Item Not Received’ protections eBay Labels only!

[threeeight-3d]

eBay has just announced new extended “Item Not Received” protections. But like with every eBay update, there’s always a catch.

Are you covered?
You qualify automatically when you meet the following criteria:

Item dispatched within your stated handling time.
Used a tracked shipping service purchased via eBay labels on our platform.
Tracking shows that the item was delivered within 30 days of original case closure.
Your seller account has not been flagged under our risk detection policies.

 according to there new protections you will only be covered if you purchase the label through eBay

Used a tracked shipping service purchased via eBay labels on our platform.

In other words, under these new protections, coverage only applies if you buy your shipping labels directly through eBay.

So for many of us running businesses with our own shipping accounts it’s the same story as always.

Have I read or interpreted this this wrong?

[tribalgiftsuk]

This is what they said yesterday at the open event. You are only covered if you buy postage on Ebay. So if you have your own preferred carriers and deals then carry on as normal but you wont get the protection Ebay are offering.

Sadly it seems like special delivery through the back door for business sellers. I dont agree with this set up at all, its another sting in the tail just like with the promoted listings a few months ago.

[papso22]

You are not wrong.  It promises much but delivers little.

[threeeight-3d]

This should be straightforward: if an item arrives after a refund has already been issued, eBay should allow sellers to provide a return label. If the buyer chooses not to return the item, eBay should then recharge the buyer for the order and return the funds to the seller.

[rainbowtrax]

Nothing but the usual slap in the face that we've come to expect from ebay. Tracking is tracking! Why should one tracked postage method be better protected than another? Oh, wait, could it be because ebay get a cut from the favoured one? I wonder what spin they used to try and justify their reasoning at the Open.

[jonatjonatjonat]

Fairly similar to Amazon in that respect.

get more metric protection, but only guy you use Buy Shipping

[jokers_toybox]

It's that cut that is probably helping pay for the cover.

[threeeight-3d]

Maybe its just eBay thinking if they dangle a carrot on a stick we'll bite, to put it simply for the orders where this protection would be invaluable(Low value orders) it makes far more business sense, to take the loss, the additional cost and complexity of having to use eBay labels and eBay tooling(i.e their website) looses more money than it would ever and could ever save businesses, as for the high value order's there's enough capital at stake whereby should the buyer not return the item or pay as they are legally required to do a small claim is not out of the question

[quartzology]

Why should we buy labels via eBay? They must have some goal to meet and this is designed to push towards that. We already pay fees enough to eBay as it is. Why are businesses getting shafted even more? As long as we buy legitimate postage with real tracking, we should also be covered. 

I cannot buy labels via eBay as I use Royal Mail OBA and have daily collections included. We are located in a rural area, so nipping out to a post box or Post Office is not an option.

[threeeight-3d]

If eBay wants us to purchase labels through their platform, why can’t they simply integrate Royal Mail OBA? Amazon figured this out years ago you can buy labels directly through Amazon using your Royal Mail account, with prices based on your own agreement with Royal Mail.

If eBay’s goal is to funnel sellers into using their system, they’re going about it the completely wrong way. We’ve been running our business on eBay for about four years, and until six months ago it was our primary sales channel. Now it accounts for only a quarter to a third of our monthly sales, and that’s entirely due to their poor decisions, which have forced us to shift focus to alternative platforms.

These days, when sourcing new stock or products, our mindset is no longer “what will sell on eBay?” but instead “what will sell on ... ?”

I honestly wish eBay would just wake up and smell the bacon. I used to love this platform and I wouldn’t even have a business today if it hadn’t been for eBay in the beginning.

[eyewear247]

As per the eBay announcement 

"This helps ensure sellers aren’t penalised for delays outside their control, and reinforces our commitment to standing behind sellers who do the right thing. "

Maybe they should of added "But only if we profit from selling purchase overpriced shipping labels from us, otherwise sellers that do the right thing - tuff "

This will mainly favour the small time sellers and private sellers, yet another smack in the face for most business sellers who have their own postage contracts !

[papso22]

It won't even affect most private accounts because they already have INR protection when using simple delivery, which is mandatory for most sales now.

[threeeight-3d]

They don’t even need to offer us "protection" just a mechanism to charge for or reclaim the goods would suffice.

[darth_baggins]

Yes I thought it was a very positive and welcome move from eBay, until I saw the 'eBay labels only' clause. If an item is tracked as delivered, why should it matter where you bought the label from? Delivered is delivered.

I have managed to get INR refunds overturned when tracking shows delivery afterwards but only after a lot of time talking to CS.

Of course despite claims to the contrary, eBay will be making a profit on the postage as they will be getting bulk discounted rates from RM but not passing these on.

They're trying to squeeze sellers out of every extra penny they can.

[typo_lee]

And again zero protection for untracked post even when purchased through eBay. All our products are low cost so not able to be sent tracked as the post is sometimes the same price as our items we sell. 

[the-nutwood-collection]

I want to know whether LL are counted as a 'tracked' service.  True, you can't see where the package is and you don't get an image and GPS, but you can see that's it's been delivered (if the postie scans it).

I've caught out loads of chancers claiming non-delivery on LL.  Therefore, if it shows as 'Delivered' I reckon it should be included in this scheme - but I bet it's not.

[jlovie]

I've noticed when I choose the postage option on a listing (I don't use policies) Small Parcel says tracked but Large Letter says not tracked.

I hadn't noticed before as I used to use the generic 2nd Class option, but with new listings and when editing, the tracked/no tracked is there.

When buying RM labels via eBay it still uploads the LL tracking number, and it still updates (if RM bother to scan it).

[bravergrace]

Well, I think it's a welcome step in the right direction - but then, I've been saying for years that if eBay sells tracked postage, eBay should cover the loss of items delivered after its own ridiculous delivery estimates.  It will give eBay an idea of the scale of the problems of non-delivery and "late" delivery, instead of just blaming sellers all the time.

Untracked packages are just tricky.  Some buyers (and eBay)  are apt to assume they haven't been sent, and CoPs are forged by the seller.  Some sellers are apt to assume they must have been delivered and the buyers are lying.  eBay side with the buyer as a matter of principle, and are reluctant to take any action against serial offenders.

On the other hand, I'm not a great believer in tracking as ultimate truth; for instance:

Friday 26 September 2025

11:08  Delivered to Your Collection Point by  Lambeth DO

11:08  Delivered to sender by Lambeth DO

Thursday 25 September 2025

14:26 Refused - Returned to Sender Lambeth DO

10:15 Due to be delivered today by Lambeth DO

As you can see - and as eBay insist - the parcel was delivered back to me in Bristol by Lambeth Delivery Office at the same time they delivered it to the buyer's collection point, the day after he had allegedly refused it.  In point of fact, they delivered it to the buyer, in Lambeth, a few days after "delivering it" back to me.   At least half the Lambeth scans on this item were complete tosh, as in fact happened with both parcels I sent to this address (the previous one was returned as refused, despite being a large letter).  One slapdash sorting office or postman, hitting tracking buttons at random, can cause a lot of stress and expense for buyers and sellers.