Simple Delivery Label Confusion!

[leanderme]

Hi all,

I relisted and sold a watch and purchased a label via what I presume was Simple Delivery (this is the first time I've used it and I understand it is mandatory now).

The postage label purchased was the one the buyer selected - RM 48 Tracked Large letter (up to 1kg) for £2.70, though other options were available.  It did not say Simple Delivery on the label though (should it...?)

The watch had to go in a box thicker than Large Letter size, but I used the label and had it collected by RM on Monday, with the reasoning that, as I've read on here, Ebay has an arrangement with RM to take and deliver the item even if the label was incorrect.

I come home today and there is a card from RM saying that I have to pay £3.50 excess postage to have the item delivered as I did not pay the correct postage.   

I then check the label I used (I kept a copy) and see that it says it is for a 100g Large Letter (not up to 1kg as stated when I purchased on ebay) so even if the dimensions had been those of a large letter, it would still have been wrong because of the weight.

I'm just wondering how to proceed now? 

Can I get a refund for the original label?

I haven't gone to the PO to pay the excess postage yet, but after I do  I'm wondering if I will sell on ebay anymore as I don't trust the new system, probably because I don't understand it and it is flawed. 

I've never had problems with postage before SD came in.

Any advice or comments are welcome.  Thanks.

[thepillenwerfer]

When you list something e-Bay recommend a weight/size.  I you use that, as you say, you SHOULD be covered.  If you over-rule it and it's wrong you are then liable.  However from my reading of things in that case it would be e-Bay who chase you for the extra rather than RM (or Evri if you'd used them).

All I can think is that somebody at Royal Mail doesn't know about the arrangement with e-Bay.  

I haven't sent any Large Letters since Simple Delivery came in but have sent Small Parcels that were over-weight and they've been received and nothing else heard.

You could try ringing e-Bay Customer Services but whether you'll get any sense out of them is a moot point.

[ruby*ryan]

Are you sure it was SD?

If it was RM, and you printed the label yourself, it will definitely have  eBay Marketplace Seller (or similar) in the box at the bottom of the label.

You say 'other options were available for post'? There are only 2 options for SD - Standard Tracked, or Express Tracked.

Your current listings don't seem to be SD (at least the few I checked) as they name the delivery service, rather than 'standard tracked/express tracked'.

If it wasn't SD, you will need to pay the extra, I doubt you will be able to get a refund on the label.
If it was SD you need to take it up with eBay, as it should still have been sent.

[phillsvinyl]

Good old Simple Delivery  - Not fit for purpose!

[leanderme]

Hi there,

Thanks for your reply, and for looking at my listings, which is helpful.

This was actually the first label I've ever printed on ebay, I always used RM before, and had them bring the label when they collected.  Because of this I was not familiar with the multiple postage options page or what the SD page look like, so I may very well have confused the two, and thought I was using SD when I wasn't.  As I said, my understanding was that SD was mandatory from April, so when I clicked on 'buy label' I thought I was landing on the SD page because custom postage had (I had read) removed...

So my question now is, why do I still have custom postage?   Is SD mandatory or not?

The listing for the watch, and all the listings I currently have up, were composed last year before SD came in and were relisted last week.  So is ebay only applying SD to new listings, or is there some other reason why I can still use custom postage?   

I am still confused, but it is becoming a bit clearer now....

[krafty-kreations]

I always thought it was the buyer who got the card for underpaid postage, I know I have had a couple as a buyer.

[sml192]

The watch that you sold in June was listed with ordinary Royal Mail Tracked 48 not Simple Delivery.

---

@leanderme wrote:

So my question now is, why do I still have custom postage?   Is SD mandatory or not?

The listing for the watch, and all the listings I currently have up, were composed last year before SD came in and were relisted last week.  So is ebay only applying SD to new listings, or is there some other reason why I can still use custom postage?  

---

It could be that your listings just haven't been changed over yet (it is being rolled out gradually which is causing a lot of confusion) or it may be because watches are mentioned on the list of items that are 'Prohibited or Restricted' from using Simple Delivery:

• Valuables, such as jewellery, watches, and precious metals, including, but not limited to, jewels, watches, gems, precious metals, real pearls, silver, gold

[leanderme]

Hi, and thanks for your reply.

So how do I tell if my listings have SD or not? 

And is it possible to have both custom postage and SD active on the same listing?

Thanks....

[ruby*ryan · Accepted solution]

SD is being rolled out slowly., some people still have the Custom option, and even when enrolled into SD some items still have the Custom option - though I doubt watches do.

If you look at the order details, in the postage section Simple Delivery will show like this and you can see on the right hand side whether the buyer, or yourself (Free P&P) paid for the label. Note it doesn't state which service, just Standard Tracked RM.

Buyer selected postage service

Standard Tracked Delivery via Royal Mail

If the item was listed without SD the postage section will look like this - note it DOES state which service was used:

Buyer selected postage service

Royal Mail 2nd Class Large Letter

[sml192]

---

@leanderme wrote:

Hi, and thanks for your reply.

So how do I tell if my listings have SD or not? 

And is it possible to have both custom postage and SD active on the same listing?

Thanks....

---

Listings with Simple Delivery will just show 'Standard Tracked Delivery' and 'Express Tracked Delivery' in the postage section with no mention of the actual carrier.  If the carrier is stated then it is Custom Postage.

It isn't possible to have Simple Delivery and Custom Postage on the same listing. 

[leanderme]

Thanks for that explanation. 

I now know what I am looking for.

So it was my mistake, but made possible by ebay's truly poor communication and by missing it's own deadlines for rolling out Simple Delivery.

So for me the situation is that  over two months after Ebay told us that SD would be mandatory  most / all of my listings still have custom postage.  So I can go on sending them as I've done for years, with no problems, via RM 24/48 tracked, with Bring my Label and home collection by RM. 

The funny thing is that I'd taken all my listings down for a couple of months while the SD fiasco was sorted out one way or another - but now I see that it still isn't, and confusion still prevails, at least for part-time private sellers like me.

Well I suppose it's only cost me a few £s to find out.   

Thanks to you and the community for your help and advice - it is much appreciated.

Kind regards,

leanderme