Confirmation that large letter is excluded from Simple Delivery

[wintersdawn1]

Asked the question in today's weekly chat and received the following reply:

[classic-brochures]

I'm increasingly thinking that Ebay have, in last week or so, realised SD is impractical for smaller/lighter items, especially lower value stuff that can fit through letterboxes without need for a photo/signature, I.e. ANY letter or large letter, where the Royal Mail LL limit is 750g.

Any thread on here about LL limits gets a bit hung up on the weight being under 100g, but as I posted a few days ago, as long as the price is under £10 and sub-category is excluded from SD, nothing else really matters. Here's my summary list from then (the first 2 points need highlighted more)...

-Weight of shipment doesn't actually matter (as Ebay don't know it)

-Size of letter/package doesn't matter either (as Ebay don't know it)

-SubCategory *does* matter and is dependent on seller accuracy

-Price matters, as its the ONLY thing Ebay knows for sure

Basically, I *think* ebay have given up on expecting to implement compulsory Simple Delivery with what an earlier post called "postable" items.

One thing that needs to become clearer is if "postables" in SD-excluded categories (I.e. stamps/postcards) might have or need the £10 limit at all.

[wintersdawn1]

Thanks for that, still seems quite complicated to me.

I'm starting to lose the will to get my head round all this, it just never seems to get any clearer or simpler, just more and more complicated, made worse by ebay cs and reps further making things worse by providing incorrect information.

I am starting to wonder if ebay are just making it up as they go along and never, at any point, had a previously worked out plan that just needed to be implemented.

[edwardian-dreams]

They’ve made it up as they go along because a) they didn’t think things through properly in the first place d and b) because of seller feedback here imo

it will be right eventually I think 

[wintersdawn1]

I also think their greed was very strong and so they thought of 3 new income streams (BPF/holding pay outs/simple delivery) but they lacked the intelligence and technical ability to put them in place.

Also to satisfy their craving for more money the only way to do it was to create a convoluted and complex system.  Who would come up with such a cluster f*** of a system unless it was just to make more money, no-one would do it otherwise, its counter-intuitive and illogical.

[edwardian-dreams]

Not sure what they were thinking when scrapping seller fees 

must have had a hidden plan because who is going to remove fees for nothing

oh the hidden plan was BPF and SD

they could get cheap rates off carriers and extra money off buyers 

Bpf has affected sellers …..but SD hasn’t (cost wise) if it works properly as prices should be more or less the same for parcels 

the enforced tracking on smaller packages is a different matter

but seems eBay are trying to deal with this 

although their limits are questionable 

why does an 11£ item weighing under 100g not qualify for custom delivery  or a £10:item weighing 120g

[snowylilliput-2]

The whole thing was probably developed by someone who did no how our postal system works and what sellers would need . My latest contact with CS is most people you get are not even living in the UK what ever time you try to speak to anybody . So how are they expecting them to know how our postal system works . I spoke to 4 today and all off them told me how much better it was because everything is now being tracked . I am sorry I could not make them understand that was not new as most off our courier company including royal mail  had been suplying  tracking details all off the time so how is Simply Delivery a improvement.  

[wintersdawn1]

Maybe they scrapped seller fees for a while to build up the number of private sellers and then introduce BPF and simple delivery.

[edwardian-dreams]

But those new private sellers aren’t selling anything 

just,like the old ones

🤣

I can count on fingers on one hand how many sellers here say they have regular sales 

even one a week seems to be a luxury now 

[wintersdawn1]

I do have good memories of using ebay in the past.  I listed more when the fortnightly 70-80% off selling fees message came through, I activated the offer and listed things.

I enjoyed doing the best job I could of packing up sold items so they arrived safely to their new owner and doing my own postage and printing the labels.  I sent/send everything royal mail tracked 48 which gives me peace of mind knowing it is tracked with compensation up to £150.

I wish ebay could have been satisfied making the money they made when the old system was in place.  It's gradually changing now to a more and more difficult platform to sell on, taking over so much and appearing to think only of themselves and not the affect their changes are having on those who use their platform.  

[edwardian-dreams]

Everyone loves ebay and enjoys the experience 

when it works

it seems to be a morgue at the moment with a load of nonsense spouted from the top 

For many not all 

there must be people who are selling all their stuff 

but I’ve had stuff on for over 2 months and not a single blimmin view …unbelievable 

you d think statistically someone will have just clicked in passing in all that time 

im always clicking on stuff out of curiosity even when I’m not looking for it 

🤣

[wintersdawn1]

Sometimes I think my listings are invisible as yes, not even a passing view and perhaps if there is one, it might be a bot!

[snowylilliput-2]

I am sorry the person who said SD has not cost sellers anything is not right . What about the packing materials that some sellers have to buy because they are unable get them for free even if it the paper to print your labels or the tape to box anything up . You are really lucky if you are able to get them free .  Which means sellers are having to cover that cost at a time when prices have been reduced trying to get a sale . 

[goodibags]

"as long as the price is under £10 and sub-category is excluded from SD, nothing else really matters"

I tend to agree with this. I have toy cars listed for sale, many around 2cm high and which could be posted either in a small parcel OR a large letter. Ebay cannot possibly decide this, since when I run out of small boxes they'll probably have to go large letter. Except of course those that cannot.

In practice, the ONLY thing that need to concern Ebay regarding SD postage is whether the item price is above or below £10. Except that when we say £10 we actually mean £20, because items up to that value are covered by standard RM postage anyway, whether in a letter or a parcel.

I'm not surprised Marco@Ebay wasn't able to provide an unambiguous answer that won't change again tomorrow. Maybe we need less SD and more Simple Deliberation? 😉

[goidor]

marco@ebay

"come on down to our place" your invitation is getting old now

maybe he is  ringing c/s for clarification 😂🤣😂

[snowylilliput-2]

I also forgot to mention bubble wrap , packing peanuts . None off that is free and it is like everything else it has all gone up . My guess the person who said SD has never sold a item on ebay . Even cardboard boxes are not available for from supermarkets are no longer available as most things are sold from open front boxes . So please do not say SD has not cost sellers . 

[edwardian-dreams]

Fair point

something I forgot about 

[edwardian-dreams]

I don’t buy any packaging at all except for plastic mailing bags for when I sell any clothes and bubble wrap 

boxes I get from various shops

many are normally torn down but I use brown tape to make them up again 

some shops like Poundland, toy shops, bargain shops have their recycling trolleys with all sizes of boxes as they are emptied

it depends if you have the time and ability to get around 

most of the time I have enough from Amazon orders or empty cat food boxes wine boxes and other household things that come in sturdy boxes 

I get newspapers from my neighbours recycling bin which I use to stuff parcels with if things are fragile 

bubble wrap I used to get in Poundland but you can get it on here for about a tenner for loads of it

packing peanuts I’ve never but I found wrapping tightly with newspapers and bubble and stuffing newspapers around the item too works ok 

this is what I normally would do when things actually sold 

[sml192]

I'm afraid Marco clearly misunderstood the question as Large letters are definitely not exempt from Simple Delivery in their entirety. 

There are 2 help pages for Simple Delivery.  The wording on the Seller Centre help page regarding items that are exempt is not very clear but the other help page has now been updated aswell and the wording there, unfortunately, makes it very clear that items need to meet all 3 of the criteria mentioned, i.e. £10 or under and letter-sized and in one of the categories listed.   

The 100g weight parameter is no longer mentioned. 

What still isn't clear is what they mean by letter-sized, i.e. whether it is just what Royal Mail defines as Letters or whether it includes Large Letters as well provided the other criteria are met. 

Opting out

From 15 April, Simple Delivery is the only delivery method available for private sellers who list eligible items on eBay.co.uk. We'll be introducing this change in phases over the coming weeks.

The option to opt out and select Custom postage instead will only be available for letter-sized items in the specific categories below that are priced £10 and under. The £10 limit applies to the item price only and excludes the Buyer Protection Fee.

Categories

• Antiques (e.g. Maps)
• Art (e.g. Photographs)
• Baby (e.g. Car Window Signs & Decals)
• Books, Comics & Magazines (e.g. Bookmarks)
• Business, Office & Industrial (e.g. Office Supplies & Stationary, Adhesive Tapes)
• Cameras & Photography (e.g. Memory Cards, Drone Accessories)
• Clothes, Shoes & Accessories (e.g. Hair Accessories, Wallets)
• Coins
• Collectables (e.g. Trading Cards, Card Games, Badges & Patches, Postcards)
• Computers/Tablets & Networking (e.g. Cables & Connectors, Components & Parts)
• Crafts (e.g. Scrapbooking, Beads)
• Dolls & Bears (e.g. Clothing & Accessories)
• Events Tickets
• Everything Else (e.g. Information Services, Grave Ornaments & Memorials)
• Films & TV (e.g. DVDs, Fridge Magnets)
• Garden & Patio (e.g. Seeds & Bulbs)
• Health & Beauty (e.g. Nail Art, Temporary Tattoos)
• Home, Furniture & DIY (e.g. Cards & Invitations, Ornaments)
• Jewellery & Watches (e.g. Bracelets & Charms)
• Mobile Phones & Communication (e.g. Cables, SIM Cards)
• Music (e.g. CDs, Memorabilia Stickers)
• Musical Instruments & DJ Equipment (e.g. Parts & Accessories)
• Pet Supplies (e.g. Tags & Charms, Collars)
• Sound & Vision (e.g. Batteries, Turntable Parts)
• Sporting Goods (e.g. Tennis Grips)
• Sports Memorabilia (e.g. Trading Cards, Pins, Magnets)
• Stamps
• Toys & Games (e.g. LEGO ® Building Toys, Card Games)
• Vehicle Parts & Accessories (e.g. Exterior Decals & Vinyls, Repair Manuals)
• Video Games
• Wholesale & Job Lots (e.g., Greeting Cards & Stationery)

This list doesn't include all sub-categories where Custom postage is an option. You can see if your item is eligible for Simple Delivery when you're creating your listing.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/simple-delivery?id=5575&st...

[sunflowers4me59]

I thought I would test Marco's theory that large letter is fine on custom postage.

I tried to relist a draft, under £10/100g, large letter 2nd class RM, it wouldn't let me, kept going back a step to "add primary service". Same happened for letter, 2nd class RM. Then of course when I tried to Save for later in drafts, it kept saying "something missing" and going back to beginning so had to put collection only, the only way to get it to finish it into drafts again!! They have separated letter from large letter as they said they would.

Oh crumbs, I'm rambling now, but things seem to change every 5 minutes.

[wintersdawn1]

@sml192 Thanks for that.  I feel foolish now that I believed marco's reply, I was pretty ignorant of other ebay guidelines already released, so believed him and accepted what he said as accurate.

I'd asked a question and he said 'yes', seemed pretty straightforward, won't make that mistake again.