"If a seller uses simple delivery the buyer has the option - Evri (usually cheaper by far) or Royal Mail."
Hi there, that's only true if a) the seller listed as 'Buyer pays' postage, and b) the seller left both options available.
The seller might have listed as 'Seller pays' postage instead. And if they did list as 'Buyer pays', they might have de-selected Evri or RM, meaning the buyer has to accept the courier that the seller did not de-select (although the buyer can of course contact the seller to ask if they'd consider sending with the other (de-selected) courier).
It doesn't help potential buyers that eBay does not explicitly state on the listing whether the courier is Evri or RM (or both, if there's a choice). There's a way of telling (which I can't recall atm, and which I won't guess at in a post aiming for accuracy!), but eBay should be transparent on this. Some members have suggested that the reason eBay doesn't mention Evri is precisely because of Evri's generally poor reputation. And since they omit to mention Evri, they also have to omit mention of RM. If eBay only mentioned one of the couriers (in listings where 'Buyer pays' postage, and both couriers are offered), the other courier could legitimately accuse eBay of making their competitor more prominent and thus more likely to be selected by the buyer. Therefore, I imagine that the non-mention of the couriers in an explicit sense forms part of eBay's contracts with the two.
I'm currently doing a listing with 'Seller pays' postage, and Evri de-selected (just reading this thread would have made me do that if I hadn't already been aware of their reputation and had previous issues with them myself - acknowledging that some people have had few or no bad experiences with them).
I always clearly state in my listings which courier I will be sending with, which I feel is even more important now that eBay doesn't explicitly provide this information.
My default position is that I would feel uncomfortable sending with Evri, hence my de-selecting them. However, if a potential buyer asked me if I'd send with them instead of RM, I'd consider it - after all, they could be one of those who likes, perhaps even prefers Evri. This would depend on various factors, e.g. how much interest there was from other potential buyers, whether the request was politely worded (rudeness or even abruptness are a bit of a red flag to me, although I know that some people are simply more 'direct' than others in their communication), and ultimately how comfortable I was sending with Evri (of course, if I was 100% okay with it I wouldn't have de-selected them in the first place). If I accepted the request, I would re-list the item with Evri (and state "Will be sent with Evri") - as far as I can see I would HAVE to re-list, otherwise the SD label would be an RM one as per my original listing. It would then be a case of hoping that the buyer wasn't messing me around or that they hadn't changed their mind about making the purchase.
Otherwise, I would not deviate from the courier stated in the listing, which I agree is terrible seller practice. Quite apart from the fact that I have no desire to mess buyers around by lying to them, why would I want to risk negative feedback or other adverse consequences?
Give that - in theory at least - Simple Delivery covers the item against loss or damage in transit for up to £750 whichever courier is used, it could be argued that my reservations about Evri are unwarranted - if Evri fouled up the delivery, neither I nor the buyer would suffer financial loss, just as we wouldn't lose out if I'd sent with RM and THEY fouled up. But it isn't just about the money - I want to do what I can to maximize the chances of the buyer receiving the item, and receiving it undamaged, so they can enjoy their purchase.
That's one of the cornerstones of private selling that is being eroded by eBay, whose early success was built on this type of sale. Yes, many private sellers just want to de-clutter or sell off unwanted items for a price they're happy with, and, as long as they get paid, it is a matter of indifference to them whether or not the buyer receives the item, and receives it undamaged. But there are also many sellers like me who obviously want to do the above, but who are also quite passionate about the sort of things they sell, and want to perpetuate and spread that enjoyment. My main areas of interest - as far as eBay sales are concerned - are music and film/TV (various formats in both cases), retro computing/gaming, books, comics & magazines. If I sent an item which never arrived, or which arrived damaged, I'd still get paid (at least that's the idea, according to SD's terms), but I'd feel gutted that the buyer never got to enjoy it. A business seller would simply dispassionately write it off as a a loss factored into their business model.
A private seller (a genuine one, that is) is not some large concern like Music Magpie that operates on sheer volume, to whom a buyer is ultimately just a number, and which can 'tolerate' a certain proportion of negative feedbacks (and which presumably receives an enhanced level of seller protection from eBay).
The two exist at opposite ends of the spectrum. If I were to send out items in the sort of condition I've received some items from large business sellers in, I'd be toast, and deservedly so.
I enjoy the personal aspect that goes with (some) private sales. I always message buyers after a sale to thank them for their purchase, and to let them know when I'll be posting. Once posted, I inform the buyer and provide them with a tracking number (no longer necessary with SD, I guess) or a photo of the Certificate of Posting. As a buyer, I appreciate similar personal touches. The buyer and I may exchange a few messages about the item, or have a bit of light-hearted banter about the foibles of eBay as a platform. I'm worried about how that will be affected by eBay now apparently 'hijacking' messages (delivery-related messages for now, but that could be the thin end of the wedge, and it's perfectly feasible that a message with a delivery-related question/request could also contain content entirely unrelated to delivery).
All of that, bar tracking notifications possibly, is absent from most sales from business sellers. Transactions are perfunctory and soulless, which is fine as far as it goes - if I buy a CD from World of Books, I don't expect a personalized message from them saying "Thanks for your purchase. It's a brilliant album!" I know exactly the type of entity I'm buying from, and my expectations are calibrated accordingly. Similarly, I may leave feedback, but it wouldn't cross my mind to message them and say "Thanks for sending this, it's a fantastic album. I've played it five times already. Actually , I used to have it years ago, but lost it, so it's great to be reunited with it!". Whereas, if I received a message like that from a buyer, I'd be delighted.
Many private sellers on the forums have done an excellent job (better than I have, I think) of stressing just how distinct a category private selling is from business selling ('thelench' is the one who springs to mind - from their posts, they and I are very alike in our attitude). It really is, on the whole, a far more personal thing than business selling in terms of the buyer-seller dynamics and relationship.
My customary apologies for such a long post! What started as a (well-meaning) clarification to a specific poster has gone all round the houses!
