I hate Simple Delivery ! eBay now not worth it for cheap + light "large letter" items.

[reno08]

I recently sold some £5-7 items that would have been perfect for "Royal Mail Large Letter up to 100g" (£1.55), with £20 cover included.

But with mandatory Simple Delivery they cost a minimum of £2.70 to ship, because of the tracking I don't need !

On such small value items this is a useless 10-20% surcharge.

Not to mention you can't combine postage ! Insane.

Going to use Facebook Marketplace more from now.

[tressygirl]

It's certainly true that Simple Delivery has affected low value item sellers badly.  However, the values you quote make those items exempt from SD,  you should be able to send them with Custom Postage.

Combining postage is still a big issue a frustration for all sellers.

Some sellers are leaving a message on their listing,  for example.....   ' If you wish to buy multiple items,  please let me know before buying,  I will relist them as one listing so only one postage cost is charged, combining postage is not currently possible. '

A faff I know but it may save you a few sales.

@reno08 

[brainuk]

You don't need the tracking but what happens if a buyer says they have not received the item?

[thepillenwerfer]

For Combined Delivery https://www.ebay.co.uk/sellercentre/postage/simple-delivery?targetgroup=C2C states:—

How does combined postage work with Simple Delivery?

If your buyer is purchasing multiple items from you in a single transaction, we’ll automatically calculate combined postage and show your buyer the amount they have saved at checkout. If you’re offering free delivery on these items, we’ll automatically calculate combined postage and only charge you for one label. Items will need to be posted in a single parcel, and the label can only be used once. 

I've also read somewhere, but can't now find it so it may have changed, that Buyers should add the items to their Basket and then check them all out at once.  Adding a note to that effect on your listings may help.  Even if it's no longer necessary it won't do any harm.

[brainuk]

A lot of it depends on who is to pay the postage. If it is seller pays, the ask your buyer to put everything in the basket and then checkout in one fell swoop. This way Ebay will work out a combined postage (usually in your favour). If the buyer doesn't put them all in the basket and checks out one after the other, then you will get multiple labels paid for out of your eBay balance. You can still use just one of the labels but you will have to fill out a refund request for the unused one/ones.
If the buyer pays postage then virtually as above but any UNUSED labels will be refunded to the buyers within 30 days.

[tressygirl]

From above....

How does combined postage work with Simple Delivery?

If your buyer is purchasing multiple items from you in a single transaction, we’ll automatically calculate combined postage and show your buyer the amount they have saved at checkout. If you’re offering free delivery on these items, we’ll automatically calculate combined postage and only charge you for one label. Items will need to be posted in a single parcel, and the label can only be used once. 

I'm thinking that from the eBay help page was written at the start of the roll out, and shows how it's supposed to work but doesn't ??  Unless is this the newest update,  would be nice for someone to confirm this!

As for the basket idea again it would make sense they all go in and end up as ' One Purchase' at checkout,  one payment. ?  Again no one recently has come back to say they have done this .  If anyone has Please do come and tell us !!  🤗

@thepillenwerfer 

[buttonsandbowskettering]

We all know what it's about, it's fee paying by hidden means. It's a way that they can advertise " List for free " all over the TV, then put on buyer protection fees and Simple Delivery, that is far more than the actual postage cost.  It will be their downfall if they don't reconsider as there are lots of platforms out there.

[brainuk]

I was a private seller until 3 weeks ago. I sold 8 jigsaw puzzles (1kg each at 45cm x 35cm x 16cm small parcel) to one lady. The combined AI idiot worked out max weight of 10kg and kept the size as a small parcel. It then proceeded to work out combined postage at just £0.83 pence !! I kid you not!

[thepillenwerfer]

@buttonsandbowskettering 

You can LIST as for free as insertion fees have been scrapped so that claim is un-arguably true.

As for whether SELLING is free or not I've sold nine things since the changes and not given e-Bay a penny, which meets my definition of Free.  They aren't claiming it is free to Buy, which it isn't with the BPF.

@tressygirl 

That text I posted was straight off the URL given seconds before I posted it so SHOULD be up-to-date.

[tressygirl]

@thepillenwerfer  so combining postage / invoices is solved.  That's great !

Strange there's no announcement in eBay's Announcement to confirm this as it's such a big issue.!

[tressygirl]

@thepillenwerfer   I'm wondering now reading that again, if it refers to say a buyer buying 6 items from one listing , stating for example 10 available, then the postage is being calculated as one,  and eBay show the saving so it's not combining different purchases from the same seller. ?? 🤔

[thepillenwerfer]

This has been my understanding of how it works from the start but as I rarely sell multiple items to the same Buyer, and haven't at all recently, I've no first-hand experience to draw upon.

e-Bay, like a lot of organisations, try to write things in simple English but that leads to ambiguity.

[sdrummond-uk]

I sold two items to the same buyer listed separately but bought within one transaction.

1 weight was small parcel 1kg and the other was 2kg medium parcel ebay combined the postage to a 3kg medium parcel rate.

This was on the 19.06.