Payment after delivery statistics

[auctionmike1]

I have been a user of ebay since 1999, and have found it a useful way to sell off unwanted bits of collection. I am a private seller. For at least the last 10 years I have only used Royal Mail's "Signed For" service as I was getting a suspiciously high level of "not received" claims. (Not ONE received since then!)

Ever since the news broke about receiving funds after delivery I have dropped my prices to rock bottom in an attempt to get out of eBay.

Here are my statistics so far for 2025, in which I have posted off 36 lots:

Of the 36 postings, only 18 received feedback (pathetic). That is only 50%.

Of the 36 postings, postmen did not attempt to get a signature on 7 lots (pathetic). That is about 20%.

Of the 36 postings, no signature was obtained and no feedback was left on 3 postings, i.e. there is no evidence ANYWHERE that the items were received (ABSOLUTELY pathetic). That is about 8.5%

I know that 36 postings is not a large population to start generating hard general statistics from, but it does give an indication of how things are. If eBay are to pursue this madness then they really need to tighten up on the responsibility that buyers have to close off the transaction. Whatever they do, it is now my intention to be out of selling as soon as possible.

Looking at the marketplace it seems to me that I am not alone, new material just does not seem to be coming from private sellers in the volume that it was in previous years. I know that this is subjective, but that's the way it seems to me.

Private selling was the basis that eBay started from and on which it flourished; eBay need to remember that.

[jckl1957]

In all the scenarios you give stats for, you would receive payment.

Tracking shows delivery - payment available after 48 hours.

Buyer leaves feedback - 24 hours after receipt of feedback.  (To be introduced by the end of February for items sold for under £10.)

Tracking never updated/no feedback - payment after 14 days.

[auctionmike1]

Thank you for your response, although it was not helpful. Yes, I know that I would receive payment EVENTUALLY. There are still two almost weeks to go until the end of February when eBay will introduce their check on feedback, so that will make almost 4 weeks that they have been hanging on to our money for much longer than necessary.

Checking feedback is all done completely from within their own system, so why on earth the design numpties couldn't have worked that one out earlier is beyond me. The check on whether Royal Mail have obtained a signature reqires them to go to RM's database for confirmation and yet they thought of that check first??? Incompetent. 

And just to underline comments made by other furious private sellers, yes - because I will be selling less I am already buying less.

[papso22]

Out of interest, what response would you have considered helpful?

@auctionmike1 

[auctionmike1]

Perhaps from somebody with more sales experience, detailing their observations. 

[redwick1]

I don't really know where you would go to get responders with more experience than those on here.

Most of the responders on here have a lot of experience and have been replying for many years.

Many like myself only use our account on here to either reply or to the buy on this id and have other accounts to sell on.

[auctionmike1]

I am not expecting a copy-and-paste solution here from an "experienced mentor", I am merely passing on my observations.

If Royal Mail can take a full week to deliver, as has happened to me on more than one occasion, and eBay then add on two weeks before they pay me, then they kill eBay as a viable outlet for small private sellers, and that assumes that there are no hiccups in the process. If nobody has any data then we have no hope of getting them to change.

I know that eBay do not read these boards, but hopefully if other people respond with their experiences, and one day in the future we have some opportunity to discuss the system with them, we can get something done about the shambles this marketplace is turning into.

[jckl1957]

May 2004 is when I joined Ebay.

I have 6.3K sales.

My observations/experience.

Last weekend I had 3 sales - I am a private seller, downsizing and unloading a large jewellery collection my daughter doesn't want so 3 sales, out of about 50 listings is good.

All sales paid for on Sunday 9th.

Packed and posted Monday 10th.  Sent tracked 48 - all promptly marked as delivered.  One took a day longer.  Like your items which are not signed for or marked as delivered, this is a flaw with Royal mail, not Ebay.

Payments for 2 items available on Friday, by Saturday, all the money paid by my buyers was available.  Money transferred to my bank yesterday morning.

This is fine -  I don't have stock to buy or staff to pay.

Last time I sold at an auction house (they charged me fees, naturally), I had to wait 5 weeks for a cheque in payment.

I am not delighted with the new payment terms, but accept that it is the new normal on Ebay.  It's not actually hugely different to how it was before and, if I don't like it, I can stop selling on Ebay.