Private sellers to have sales funds held

[wyattharrisx]

Changes from now for new private sellers and from next year for existing private sellers means their funds from a sale won't be available until after delivery but no change to business sellers availability next day.  Seperate to this eBay are also mandating UK Private Sellers will all have to use eBay Managed Shipping

I wonder if this will encourage more private sellers who should be a business to convert..

[vintique*violet]

I have no idea - but why should you have to change the way you run your account/sales/post etc  to fit in with another "revenue builder " which only benefits eBay? 

They have considered nothing but profit for them and not how it affects " customers"... no consideration for any one with disabilities , or if they would have to travel further afield for drop offs, or phones, tablets  etc etc etc... I am sure there is more disadvantages same as with the payment holds. 

It has become very stressful. 

[battlezone]

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@vintique*violet wrote:

I have never used a QR code in my life - Do  these  require the use of an up to date mobile phone? 

If so,  then are eBay going to provide those to everyone who does not possess one? 

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 Up to date-ish I would imagine. You have to remember that these days most(?) people replace their phones every couple of years, so most of their target audience will already be using suitable hardware.

Those of us who hang on to older devices, or deliberately buy a "dumb" phone, are a very small minority.

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eBay need to rethink what they are doing , otherwise they are going to lose a lot of customers who have been loyal for decades! 

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At the corporate level eBay haven't cared about anything other than their profit margin for a looooong time now. They'll weigh up how much extra money they can make, balance that against how many users they'll potentially lose and do whatever makes them the most money.

eBay today is a far cry from what it used to be. ☹️

[battlezone]

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@sunflowers4me59 wrote:

Would I be able to screenshot the QR code and take my tablet to post office?

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Don't quote me, but I THINK the QR code will be provided in ".png" format - if postage label downloads are anything to go by.

So if your tablet can display ".png"s, and you can copy it across, you should be OK.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

will you need a smart phone for the QR code?   I do not have one and have no intention of getting one.  Old fashioned maybe but somethings i will adapt to others not and sending by simple delivery will be a NOT.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

BUT eventually even E bay will have to recognise that with each change they are driving more and more sellers away and they are not being replaced except by the real tat chinese merchants and that in a short time will then drive away the buyers.  I buy much less now on e bay simply because i get fed up of trying to find what i want.  I started using it originally because i could come on the site put in a few choice words and hey presto there would be a (for example) blue M & S long evening dress in the size i want (not giving that info on here...).  Nowadays i would have a three day hunt just to find a blue dress amongst all the chinese mass marketed c.ap.

[varl131]

Will Chinese sellers be exempt from Simple Delivery ?

If not - will they have to increase their heavily subsidised postage.

[theelench]

I thought ebay had recognised that.   Free to Sell being their belated attempt to get back some of the private sellers that they've been losing with every change since, at least, the roll-out of MP.

But it seems that it was "one step forward" and so soon followed with "two steps back" of compulsory payment holds and ebay's compulsory involvement in private seller's delivery options.

I noticed one reply about "Simple Delivery" where the seller said that when  they tried it, they had problems with incorrect post-codes, which doesn't inspire confidence.

Then read that when this becomes compulsory a printer will be a necessity to sell and of course the continuous expense of ink cartridges.

Now the discussion has gone on to QR codes and smart phones as an alternative, but which I also do not have, or have ever used.

It seems to me that ebay may be trying to get back some of its ex-private sellers but on the basis that it will be treating them more like businesses.  With the requirement that they kit themselves out with the right technology and agree to ebay exerting control over their deliveries, cash flow and of course the the proviso that if a private seller wants to sell anything they will have to get involved in the Sponsorship maze / jungle.

It doesn't seem like private selling at all if to get rid of a collection or surplus stuff in the attic, you have to invest in always evolving technology and become reliant on ebay's erratic policy whims, guided by whatever it sees as most beneficial to to its own bottom line.

It seems to me if, as a private seller, I want to sell on ebay I won't be using the site for my benefit, I'll be agreeing to let ebay use me in its interests and falling into the trap that many businesses fell for.  Reliance on ebay at every step of the way to making a sale and ebay controlling the after-sale experience as well.

[vintique*violet]

The word " Control  " springs to mind... 

[carrotdrusus2]

As a pointer to what will happen as far as collectables are concerned, just read the forum on Delcampe.

The business has basically been destroyed moving to a buyers fee. 

[vintique*violet]

Thank you, never heard of Delcampe, will take a look; that does not surprise me one iota. 

[bojangled]

@carrotdrusus2 

Yes I read that forum, I see the buyers fee was introduced in April. Lots of disgruntled sellers.

Some jumping ship heading this way.

I’m registered on there but didn’t persue it. 
Jo

[sharoholma7]

I wonder what happens if you offer free postage? How do Ebay get their money?

[game_raid]

The postage will come out of the buy it now price you have set or final auction price. 

There is no such thing really as free postage it's either priced in the listing price or added on top separately. 

[valueaddedresource]

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@sharoholma7 wrote:

I wonder what happens if you offer free postage? How do Ebay get their money?

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@sharoholma7 there will essentially be no such thing as free postage for items sold by private sellers once this becomes mandatory - eBay will choose which shipping options (and their respective costs) to show to the buyer on the listing, the buyer will select one with those postage costs being paid to eBay, and eBay will supply the pre-paid label to the seller.

[vintique*violet]

There would still be " free postage" - the seller incorporates it ,  and if they want to use the eBay labels the seller pays.

Free postage is just a term used by sellers who wish to offer this to their potential buyers.

[valueaddedresource]

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@vintique*violet wrote:

There would still be " free postage" - the seller incorporates it ,  and if they want to use the eBay labels the seller pays.

Free postage is just a term used by sellers who wish to offer this to their potential buyers.

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@vintique*violet no, there would not still be "free postage."  Once this is mandated, eBay will select which shipping options to show on the listing and what the costs are to the buyer for each of those methods.

The private seller will have no option to present the buyer with a $0.00 shipping method, period - eBay will control that part of the listing.

That means those who are currently offering free shipping (and building that cost into the price as you noted) will be over priced once this change is mandated because the buyer will then be paying shipping on top of the item price with shipping baked in the seller already set.

If sellers who previously offered free shipping want to remain price competitive, they'll need to deduct some or all of what they had added in the item price once this goes into effect.

[vintique*violet]

no, there would not still be "free postage."  Once this is mandated, eBay will select which shipping options to show on the listing and what the costs are to the buyer for each of those methods.

Where does it state this? 

The private seller will have no option to present the buyer with a $0.00 shipping method, period - eBay will control that part of the listing.

How COULD the seller present this offer of 0.00 ( free) shipping postage... 

As an add note - I do not incorporate into my listings ( I know other sellers do) - I take the hit of the postage costs when offering free postage.

So basically eBay are going to control everything, remove your choices/options and dictate.

No Thank You!  

[valueaddedresource]

@vintique*violet we seem to be talking cross wise to each other here, sorry for the confusion.

I am specifically only talking about eBay Simple Delivery Managed Shipping which is currently voluntary for private UK sellers but will become mandatory for those sellers sometime in Q1 2025.

To answer your questions - 

"How COULD the seller present this offer of 0.00 ( free) shipping postage..."

Currently sellers can select to offer free shipping when creating a listing, and if they select that option, the buyer sees "free shipping" on the listing which would equal 0.00 designated as a shipping charge at checkout, regardless of whether the seller has "baked in" some cost to cover postage in the item price or not.

Once the mandatory Simple Delivery goes into effect, private sellers will no longer have the option to offer free postage - eBay will control which shipping methods are available on the listing and the cost for each of those methods shown to the buyer at checkout, with whatever shipping cost the buyer pays going to eBay and eBay then providing a pre-paid label to the seller.

As far as where it says that, the details can be found on eBay's page about Simple Delivery

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sellercentre/postage/simple-delivery

To be more precise, I should have said that there will essentially be no such thing as seller-selected free postage for private sellers once it goes into effect - the FAQ does say eBay may occasionally decide to offer free delivery to buyers on a promotional basis, but that will be entirely up to them and outside the seller's control.

[papso22]

Thank you for that, it's useful to remember that we do already have Simple Delivery operating in the UK for clothing, so the T&Cs are already published.  There is no reason to think that those fundamental T&Cs will change in Q1 of 2025 when it is rolled out to almost all categories.

[valueaddedresource]

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@papso22 wrote:

Thank you for that, it's useful to remember that we do already have Simple Delivery operating in the UK for clothing, so the T&Cs are already published.  There is no reason to think that those fundamental T&Cs will change in Q1 of 2025 when it is rolled out to almost all categories.

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@papso22 You're welcome! Just to clarify though, currently it's not just for clothing, they've actually expanded it to other categories too on a voluntary basis and the current version of the T&Cs gives info on how it works for both clothing and non-clothing categories.

I agree, while eBay have provided few details about what will happen in Q1, the most likely scenario in my opinion is it will at least initially be governed by the same T&Cs already in effect, with the only difference being it will be mandatory for private sellers and the opt out function will be taken away.

At the very least, private sellers who have already familiarized themselves with the current T&C will be ahead of the curve and prepared as best as can be expected for when the mandate goes into effect.