6th August

[sellingmystuff642]

So 6th August is when everything is supposed to switch to Simple Delivery, even existing listings. Not sure how that will work because I don't have dimensions or weights listed for any of my items. It will also be the day I take down my listings if it becomes mandatory and I can see myself buying very little in the future on ebay becuse the funds won't be there from sales. How to ruin a decent selling platform...

[baillin-0]

Suppose really we should be happy if eBay explodes on the 6th its there own fault and serves them right I

say.

Its a big day 6th August my wife's birthday had my eye on an expensive Rolex from China so if they do explode

they will lose a sale. 

What do they say "What go's around comes around"  

[theelench]

Yes, ebay deserves all it gets as a result of this latest sabotage to private seller's sales IMO.

Or perhaps a better way to put it might be "All ebay ceases to get".

[vinylscot]

I do fully understand your points, but, without any of the actual facts changing at all since these changes, the seriousness of your complaints, and the bitterness with which you express them, has increased exponentially over the last few months.

This is common among many of the most critical commenters, particularly those who stopped buying or selling on eBay. These commenters have no idea how things actually work, and are only interested in supporting similarly minded critical posters.

The number of NEW complaints coming onto these boards about SD is now very small, and the majority of these are down to either individuals failing to read up on it, sellers being unable to use workarounds, or contarians simple telling us that the sky isn't blue.

Your silly comment about SD being on a par with the loss of paypal is just utter bunkum. There has, overall, been little opposition to the concept of SD (although its implementation has undoubtedly been poor), and the vast majority of private sellers will benefit, and gladly accept it when they realise that they will do so. The uproar is almost all around those who threw their toys out of the pram on day one, and, quite frankly, the majority of them haven't a clue what they're talking about.

eBay is currently far from perfect, but they are taking steps in the right direction. Hopefully, the huffy posters will eventually get bored when they realise they are expending so much energy on something they have professed that they never use.

[lucy_farmer]

'Well Eve Williams announced that they had adjusted the BPF and the payment dates because they had taken account of feedback from users.  So on the same basis, they should be making Simple Delivery optional on August 6th.

If they don’t, then it will be confirmed that the BPF/payment changes were nothing to do with feedback and everything to do with the hit they’ve taken, and they will have been caught out in blatantly manipulating the truth.'

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Of course they haven't made changes because 'they listened'.

If the changes hadn't reduced their income somewhere along the line, they would have left things exactly as they were. Then they would have been able to tell us "See, we told you it was a really good idea, your buyers love it, sales are doing just fine...!"

Management don't like changing things *unless* there's a financial hit if they don't. Management like to be seen as strong, following the plan, 'sticking to their guns', etc,  because that gives the shareholders confidence. Apparently.

(and they never like to be seen as having been wrong about something!)

So yeah... it's sod all to do with 'listening' to the users.

But, my depressing belief is that they can't  pull-back on S.D. ☹️  regardless of how big a 'headwind' it turns out to be.  (...'headwind'..... god I loath business bullsh** jargon 🤢)

S.D. isn't just ebay's baby; there'll be all sorts of contractual and legal obligations with Evri and R.M that mean it can't just be switched off.

I sincerely hope I'm wrong!

[moonlight-rhapsody]

"The number of NEW complaints coming onto these boards about SD is now very small"

That statement has as much validity as the claim made by a poster recently that the number of people posting on the “monster” thread (No Longer Selling) was less than 100.  There were actually 97 new posters in just the first 20 pages in a thread of 400+ pages.  Your claim has no facts to support it, and appears to be no more than wishful thinking to support your view.

"Your silly comment about SD being on a par with the loss of paypal is just utter bunkum. There has, overall, been little opposition to the concept of SD"

I hope you won’t mind if I use your words “utter bunkum” to describe this statement.  On these boards the opposition to SD is almost *entirely* about the concept.  There are a small number of people who have tried it, and they have either been happy with it or they have posted problems with it, but the overwhelming majority of posters are against the concept of ebay taking control of the way sellers post their items.

[vinylscot]

I don't think you have any appreciation of the size of eBay, even eBay UK on its own.

Even allowing for the "megathread", which can largely be discounted now, as its content has been so diluted that it's worthless, the total number of complaints about SD isn't even a drop in the ocean, and won't even register, as it's so insignificant. A few hundred disgruntled members, from a total running into the millions - that's pretty good work.

The megathread works against itself. Without it, there may have been another couple of hundred threads complaining about various eBay changes over the last few months. But they're all lost in among all the nonsense posts from the thread's OP and all his sycophantic followers, who between them make up at least 75% of the posts without adding a single thing of value. 

People will always have issues with eBay, but, a the moment, the current economic conditions are a far greater challenge than what is ultimately a fairly minor change for most, which is really only exciting the luddites and the permanently outraged.

[kyanyama]

After my listings were changed over to Not-So-Simple-Delivery I had no sales for 14 days.  Last year same time I had around 10-12 sales (can't remember exact figure).

For an advertising company they have a lot of say about someone else's item.  I understand items have to be correctly described, etc., but how the seller wants to post their item should be the seller's choice.  I ended all my listings on 14 July as I had to go away for 2 days and couldn't be sure I would be in a position to post on the 3rd day.  Previously had 5 days to cover unforeseen personal circumstances.

I also didn't agree with this advertising site changing my items to 'buyer pays', large letter size items changed to small parcel and being put onto RM and Evri as posting options when I only use Evri very occasionally and only for items over RM small parcel size.  And since I can't choose for individual bigger items will be sold elsewhere as I refuse to use collection as I don't use a phone for eBay.

It's my item.  I know how to post it and specifically where it's convenient for me (been a member for >20 years).   Will wait until after 6 Aug before I relist anything.  But I will make sure all my preferences are double checked for free post (seller pays), size of item (most are LL / small parcel), 3 days dispatch, etc., before going live.  But the longer I don't have anything listed the more I am enjoying myself - less stress!

Am sure lots are fine using Not-So-SD but I just don't like the straight-jacket coercion.  Wasn't it Richard Branson who said something along the lines of:  Look after your employees who will look after the customers and happy customers will keep the shareholders happy.  Just saying!

[moonlight-rhapsody]

"I don't think you have any appreciation of the size of eBay, even eBay UK on its own."

Really, vs?   I didn’t realise you had such poor judgement 🙄🤣

"A few hundred disgruntled members…."

[… ] "make up at least 75% of the posts"

You’ve done it again!  You’ve picked figures out of thin air and presented them as facts.  You’re not a politician in real life, are you?!

[sos7784]

I too will be ending my listings on the 5th, I am not going to risk leaving them on after that because I do not want to use simple delivery . 

[edwardian-dreams]

Your necklaces as long as they are under £10 are completely exempt from SD ***

For small parcels, SD works out cheaper but you can’t charge more than ebays fixed label, for  any packaging costs eg

*** having said that, it seems necklaces whether costume or fine jewellery can be over £10 and get a custom delivery default 

🤷🏼‍♀️

and with custom you can charge what you like 

[xenavsbuffy1]

Once the 6th comes and members are faced with using SD or leaving I expect a lot of members to start using it....but I can see a lot of members leaving to other platforms that I imagine a lot of discovered over the last few months....I can't see new members joining as a result, I think as a whole sales are down on Ebay and this won't help....I also think that once 6th August comes and goes you will see SD start to infiltrate the Business section, Ebay have championed SD since its conception and you can't have different methods for different sections.....One thing is for sure the days when it was Ebay and ???? have long gone they used to be trendsetters now they follow the trend of others and not very well 

[suelel1968]

Hi xena @xenavsbuffy1,

I can't see any point taking listings down just because ebay put postage up. I spent alot of time doing those listings, but i can't make anyone buy them and I'm not putting prices down just to sell.  I understand that some people just don't want to use SD, but i think whatever happens going forward, some version of SD will be in place.

You can lead a horse to water, you can even drag it kicking and screaming, but you cannot make it drink. And that applies to buyers as well as sellers. 

[xenavsbuffy1]

You'll find that a lot of sellers were buyers as well....its interesting that since the changes began and the sellers left choice or forced sales are down...I get the theory that Ebay were looking at doing away with many long time sellers that have a certain way of thinking and by making changes that a lot of platforms have but use them better (I don't think mandatory though) are changing the way Ebay members think and act...the way they sell and buy that say the 20 year Ebay members don't see....like I say one theory

[department28]

'On these boards the opposition to SD is almost *entirely* about the concept.  There are a small number of people who have tried it, and they have either been happy with it or they have posted problems with it, but the overwhelming majority of posters are against the concept of ebay taking control of the way sellers post their items.'

Yes, I would agree that it is the whole concept of SD that is so off-putting to many. And even for those who don't like change, but were prepared to give it a go, it would have been immediately apparent as soon as the rules & restrictions were announced, that many sellers would be much worse off using SD, whether they were in favour of the system, or not.

Some are finding they are ok with it. If it happens to suit their items & dispatch method, they will not have had the reasons to complain, compared to those very much affected. It would be extremely interesting to know just how many are not happy with it, and have stopped (or intend to stop) selling because of it. 

The hope some of us have been clinging onto, is that it would not, after all, be made mandatory... If Aug 6th really is the cut-off date for all those listings still on Custom postage, then future complaints will only be coming from those who are using SD. Those of us who object to it on principle will have 'lost', so there will be little point persisting in trying to shut the stable door after the horse has bolted... 

For those who have always appreciated being able to make their own decisions about postage, and to freely message buyers without automated assistance, these recent 'improvements' have been a bitter blow.

It seems like 'the new eBay' wants its users to be the type who would be happy for eBay to cut up their din-dins for them... 👶

[drgwalker]

I type this as a shareholder in eBay. I've bought and sold their stock quite successfully since 2012 but I have a huge concern about the Simple Delivery model.

I sold a porcelain lamp a few weeks ago to a buyer in Northern Ireland. Normally, I would ship this out (usually via Fed-Ex or Royal Mail) at my own risk, as the item isn't insured by any courier. My postage settings were set to £12.50 for UK sellers.

AI changed the listing to Simple Delivery and the buyer was charged £3.40 via Evri and I generated the label that stated the parcel was 2kg. It weighed 8kg. If I had booked this direct with Evri it would have cost me £8.62 (more with Royal Mail & Fed-Ex). My question is this:

i) Who is picking up the +£5 shortfall on the courier underpayment?

ii) The item is now insured with Simple Delivery. A porcelain lamp is on the Evri restricted item list (what isn't?) so who is going to reimburse me (or any seller) if the item is damaged in transit?

It was a £100 sale and if eBay are going to be paying out for damaged items by far and away the worst / poorest courier that there is known to mankind, then they're going to be taking one hell of a hit financially.

Thankfully, the item was delivered securely, but there is a few questions that need answered.

I will contact eBay in the UK directly as this information is important as a shareholder. I might post it to the weekly chat team for their continued unhelpful replies.

[gjalp]

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@xenavsbuffy1 wrote:

Once the 6th comes and members are faced with using SD or leaving I expect a lot of members to start using it....but I can see a lot of members leaving to other platforms that I imagine a lot of discovered over the last few months....I can't see new members joining as a result, I think as a whole sales are down on Ebay and this won't help....I also think that once 6th August comes and goes you will see SD start to infiltrate the Business section, Ebay have championed SD since its conception and you can't have different methods for different sections.....One thing is for sure the days when it was Ebay and ???? have long gone they used to be trendsetters now they follow the trend of others and not very well 

---

I suspect it will move to business too. Why else would I have ‘this listing is not eligible for simple delivery’ (or words to that effect) when listing new items on my business ID?

[gjalp]

In theory SD could be ok (not fantastic but just ok). As a private seller I want to be absolutely certain that when I pick RM only, it is RM only for my items. I also would like to add a small charge for packing materials. Some items require more in the way of packing materials. I would also prefer not to have an ebay restriction on posting time frame. I set mine at 3 days for several reasons. I like to under promise and over deliver as sometimes mailings go on a joy ride which adds to the delivery time, I am disabled and some days, I just can’t get orders packed and mailed, we also support elderly relatives and sometimes we need to drop and run (obviously not myself if Im having a bad day but it means my help is not present). I need to have a modicum of control when it comes to these matters. Unless its a letter and low value, I don’t mind what ebay thinks the item should be sent as (under my choice of service) unless its an item of expensive jewellery or something of similar ilk, then special delivery is needed.

[vinylscot]

Your response illustrates the typical reaction to SD, from someone, like me, who simply doesn't like change.

The answers to these questions you are raising have been readily available for a number of months now. You just dug your heels in, refused to do any research, and just ploughed on as close as you could to how you always did.

But step back for a minute. SD worked for you. It gave you far cheaper postage. Although it wasn't required, your item was fully covered under the terms of SD. Everything worked out fine, yet you are still whining.

[vinylscot]

As you know  you are completely wrong. If you want to spend your time counting them exactly, feel free. There have been no more than a few hundred different posters on these boards complaining about SD. 

There may well be many more who haven't posted, but, obviously we have no idea how many.

I stand by everything in my post. This is nothing but a tiny drop in the ocean. 

[drgwalker]

Read my post...my questions have never been answered. Who is picking up the tab for breakage or underpayment?

You are a decent poster, but seem to have morphed into a gob*bleep*e.

Take a step back or stop posting is my advice.