14-02-2025 10:38 PM
Hi. I am a small private seller. I started selling around the late half of last year, and since then I've experienced what seems like 4 different complete overhauls of the payment system in barely over half a year. The latest one, before this change now, actually worked great for me though - the payouts and lack of fees were nice.
The new changes seem, not only greedy with the even larger arbitrary-looking fees disguised as "buyer protection", but also horribly miscalculated and made with no knowledge of how shipping in this country works.
Most of my items are small, cheap things I resell, and adding tracked delivery prices to them is impractical. I ship with just standard Royal Mail 2nd class most of the time, as well as quite often International Standard to a lot of countries you could describe as "third world."
As far as I'm aware, while it is possible for a postie to scan an item as delivered for 2nd class labels, with Royal Mail having its own questionable policies and practices, cutting employee numbers and increasing workload, this is unrealistic to expect to happen on a large scale as they are not obliged to scan untracked items even with the "Please scan upon delivery" stickers I have started attaching to orders. Same thing when I'm shipping to countries like Bangladesh or Nigeria, where Tracked shipping is 3 times more expensive than standard, and is more than the item itself.
This is a problem: with the new eBay policies saying that you get paid only after the item is marked as delivered; I couldn't find any information there on if you get paid even if it isn't, and if there is, I assume it's quite a long period and may require buyer reviews.
The problem is shipping label numbers generated on eBay get automatically added to the system as tracked services, even if they are not, so it seems the 14-day payment for untracked items rule does not apply.
I have about 10 of these orders in the mail just now, does this mean I'm just going to have to reach out to every buyer and pray in my hopes and dreams that they decide to write a positive review for me to get paid? Or am I going to have to wait ≥ a month, or contact eBay support with proof of postage?
I sell items for which eBay is really the only platform, especially for international customers, so I have no choice but to use it. If this tracked rule nonsense works as impractically as it seems to I might have to switch to generating labels off-site on Royal Mail Click&Drop which is incredibly inconvenient, or go buy a sheet of 2nd class stamps at the post office and ship old-school like that. I would really like to actually get paid for my travelling items though, and within a reasonable time.
14-02-2025 10:41 PM
Without tracking it's 14 days. At the end of the month they are bringing in for untracked items under £10 value payment within 24 hours of receipt of feedback
14-02-2025 10:44 PM
Your items are of a low value, that is, under £10 so from the end of February will benefit from this recent announcement.
We’ve also heard your feedback and understand that shipping costs are particularly top of mind for low price items. When you’re selling a single item for £10 or less, and it’s sent untracked, funds will now be available 24 hours after you receive positive buyer feedback. This will be live by the end of February.
Yep, I know, most buyers do not leave feedback, and I would never usually recommend this, but sending the buyer a polite message, asking if they would kindly leave some feedback, explaining with eBay's new rules, payouts from sales are not released until a buyer leaves feedback. I would suggest only sending one message, as more may look like harassment.
Think most buyers then would leave some ?
14-02-2025 10:45 PM
Is this your first ever eBay account then or have you been booted off a few pseudo private ones before? Or do you get the feedback up to about 3000 or so then start a new account so eBay don't start asking awkward questions about where you're getting all your hundreds of vintage sim cards from?
I only ask because you seem to know a lot about the deep inner workings of the postage policy and how its going to affect your bottom line for someone that's just getting started on eBay
14-02-2025 10:58 PM
I've never had an eBay account before this. I've dealt with eBay being suspicious on this very account before, unfortunately with decisions made with a clear lack of understanding, it is what it is.
I don't have hundreds of them, I only have under 20 listings up at the moment and only a few are vintage. They all come from me buying them at a supermarket/online or spares from my collection.
I definitely don't know a lot about the "deep inner workings" of it if I'm asking such a question on the forum, I written a lot because I did my research, know some stuff about how shipping works and had a lot to say.
Please, don't jump to conclusions.
14-02-2025 11:12 PM
Thanks, I saw mentions of that but I hadn't seen the announcement.
I'm still not sure if that will work for me though; It wouldn't even be that bad if I just had to wait 14 days, it wasn't that long ago when I had to wait sometimes over a month before eBay decided to take my items off of hold, due to either me being a new seller or disputes.
But I'm worried the system will automatically apply the tracked rules on me, not the untracked.
When I generate shipping labels on eBay, even if they are an officially untracked service like 2nd class or Int. Standard, they still give eBay a reference code which pops up as the tracking code.. It obviously rightly never gets updated which was never a problem until now.
On a side note, that announcement sounds like they want sellers to think they are getting a favour!
14-02-2025 11:16 PM
From what I can see though the system automatically takes all RM eBay-generated shipping labels reference codes as tracked, even if it's not, so it's unclear if tracked or untracked rules apply..
15-02-2025 1:51 AM
I have the same concern, a handful of my untracked sold items have no date specified for the pending funds.
17-03-2025 11:29 AM
More new complicated interference from ebay !!!
It has become a horrible place to sell
21-03-2025 12:01 AM
Yes, i sold item and it was to big for the only 2 ebay will now use. Royal mail & everi, ebay generated label automatically when item sold. 1kg but its 5.8kg plus box 710 x 550 x 210 to big for Royal mail & everi. Lost cost of the label as well.
25-03-2025 6:38 AM
I think there idea is to become the main shipping for business only customers now ,thoes that can afford tracked I've just cancelled a sale because I've no idea now what I'm doing .I post second class Royal Mail and have done since 2011 I'm
in my 70s I sell for family some items go for 99p it's getting ridiculous id rather pay like I use to for goods I sell instead of making posting so bloody impossible, think it's time I closed the account I've happily had for so long
25-03-2025 7:53 AM
you still can post at 2nd class RM, SD is not mandatory yet. The latest glitch(!) is easily overcome, if it only shows SD and no option for custom postage just click on the Collection only box and then go back to Postage only and click there. Then it shows your own postage option. Its a bit of a faff but at least it works, i was about to pack up when i discovered that twist. Other people have been on here saying the same thing so it is obviously either a deliberate thing to get people to use SD or they have glitched again. I am in my 70s as well and not very techie so i just mess around pressing things trying to find a way around. I also came on here first but no one had spotted it by then so i struggled. (or at least they had not posted about it)
25-03-2025 8:18 AM
25-03-2025 8:23 AM
Hello but if you opt out ebay will not cover loss, damaged delivery etc. You are on your own. With the 2 days payment method after delivery it's not been made easy for the smaller seller.
27-03-2025 10:47 AM
Totally agree the prices have gone up the system isn't easy to use ,waste your time measuring parcels . I have had no problems in the past . I am seriously considering selling on Vinted as easy to use . Do not understand why they have changed this . I had got a scan code went to post told not enough postage on nothing I could do other than pay for postage again so lost money on a small amount for the sale .
29-03-2025 5:52 PM
The new “simple” postage is far from simple and utterly ridiculous, you can change if you use a laptop or desktop but not in the app. Once off the app you can choose your delivery method and cost but you have to look up the price as there is no price listing as there was before, after 20+ years I’m thinking about ditching eBay, the recent changes they have made make it an unpleasant user unfriendly platform
29-03-2025 5:54 PM
Rubbish! Sorry but rubbish, the only people the recent changes help are eBay
29-03-2025 6:03 PM
It works in the app too
click collection only then click back to postage only and normal delivery comes back up
29-03-2025 6:11 PM
What an absolute farce! It works but how ridiculous, thank you btw 😊
29-03-2025 6:39 PM
Thank you for your post. Simple Delivery will eventually become mandatory for private sellers but for now you should still have the option to choose your own postage. There is a open ticket with tech for this issue so I will add your account to it while they are working on it.
In the meantime here are ways other users have worked around it
Thank you,
Kat