Ebay confirms when Simple Delivery will be Mandatory

[wintersdawn1]

Someone else posted this as a reply to an existing thread but thought I would post it separately.  It appears to be taken from one of ebay's terms and conditions pages but I do not have a link.

 

[kath3735_wxmjn]

because of the wording that e bay used, briefly because i cannot remember the exact ones but they can over ride your choice.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

you can put your postage preference in but e bay put in the proviso that they can change that as they want!

[kath3735_wxmjn]

there is also a paragraph near the bottom on the email they have sent out which says if you need to contact them you can reply.  I did so, not that it will make a bit of difference but they did ask!

[kath3735_wxmjn]

because you agreed to their T & Cs!

[kath3735_wxmjn]

BPF and the change in payments drew a big negative response, this will be even higher.  I was never overly bothered about the buyers fee (they will pay it or not) or having to wait up to a couple of weeks for my money (not desperate for it) BUT I will not go along with them dictating my delivery.  My choice will be to leave.

[jjambadger27]

So we face the ridiculous situation where we could list a 7 day auction tonight and postage amounts & terms could change next Monday. 

[abrahamtoast]

Firstly, let me emphasise that this is NOT a business account. I am selling off a singles collection which has been building up since the late 1960s. At one time I was attempting to collect every single which had reached the charts, so it is an enormous collection.

The way I see it, I now have three options regarding this account.

1) Stop selling on eBay altogether.

2) Suck it up. Go with SD and all its inconsistencies and unfairness.

3) Make all my listings post free and continue to arrange my own postage. This will result in my buyers paying an extra 10p in the BDP, but saving 34p on shipping, so they will be slightly better off, although I am sure eBay will attempt to portray it differently, and it does make everything rather clumsy if buyers expect SD.

4) Somewhat reluctantly, convert to a business account. This would be the simplest option for buyers, and I would go back to paying selling  fees, but without the twin headaches of BDP and SD. (operating a business account does not automatically make you a business, under HMRC's definitions.)

I don't really want to take option 4, but I can see no arguments in favour of any of the other three. The big drawbacks are the costs involved in running a business account and that I would not be able to convert the account back to a private account if eBay relented and unwound all this nonsense, or did something to effectively re-engaged with private sellers.

[poshboutique2]

can parcelforce be used for simple delivery for heavy items

[wintersdawn1]

"3) Make all my listings post free and continue to arrange my own postage. This will result in my buyers paying an extra 10p in the BDP, but saving 34p on shipping, so they will be slightly better off, although I am sure eBay will attempt to portray it differently, and it does make everything rather clumsy if buyers expect SD."

This would be a good workaround but I believe if we make it free postage, we have to buy the postage label from ebay instead of the buyer.

[sunflowers4me59]

Can I ask, if I do free postage, does that mean I can do the postage how I want ( either put stamp on or take to PO and do it the old fashioned way) or do I pay ebay for the label and still have SD?

[andha-21]

Honestly, it looks like option 1 is now the safest bet.

Everything else leaves you wide open for changes out of your control.

Not just for you, but every private seller.

Business sellers could end up feeling the sting from all of this. Especially if private sellers start jumping ship on mass.

They'll want to recoup their lost money from someone.

[davelinajolie]

Would option 3 even work? I would have thought if it was Seller paying for postage you would still be doing it via the Simple Delivery, rather than specifying your own postage options.

[sowingseason17]

There are specialised online marketplaces for music - Discogs is probably the best known, but the ease of eBay meant that people were happy to forfeit any extra cash they might get on Discogs for the versatility and "one stop shop" of Ebay. if Ebay are going to make it vastly more difficult to sell unwanted items then it pushes them off to other websites.

[abrahamtoast]

So, even if I offer free postage, it still goes through SD? I hadn't realised that.

In response to @sowingseason17  - compared to eBay, discogs is a very poor second best (I have tried), and you certainly don't get higher prices there. It's also useless if you want to move stuff quickly, but OK if you're willing to just let it lie until someone buys it (admittedly, eBay can be like that too). Discogs' site is also run as badly as eBay's. The grass isn't always greener.

[partsnick6910]

https://amasty.com/blog/10-ebay-alternatives/

[davelinajolie]

Yeah, you'll just be the one eating the postage cost of simple delivery.

As I say, I'm tapping out. I could live with BPFs as I understand that ultimately eBay is a business and needs to make money so free selling was ultimately unsustainable, but there's no need for simple delivery. When you have a system that works for you and they go out of their way to mess with that, that's just too much grief for me to be bothered with.

[millcottage]

So if Evri don’t insure that particular item ie A glass vase or ceramic and simple delivery uses evri as its option, if the item goes missing or arrives damaged then it’s down to eBay to pay the compensation?

[edwardian-dreams]

Yes

ebay will still issue THEIR label and charge you for it

[guymafo]

As a business seller (other account) I’m quite saddened by this move, when it was first announced I questioned the community team on the assumptions that everyone has access to required devices, drop off points and physical abilities and all that goes with this system. We don’t all live in cities with amenities, and frequent transport systems. We have one post office serving a 15 mile radius. 
Coupled with the app updates debacle it feel’s like there’s a push to get rid of a certain generation of buyers and sellers. 
I doubt there’ll be any backtracking on this. It’s a shame eBay have stopped being innovative and started copying V*nted.
I shall go where the buyers are. 

It’s the worst branding I’ve ever seen, nothing simple about it.

GM

[aphystykqa]

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@millcottage wrote:

So with the new SD  will I be able to opt for Royal Mail 48 hours tracked service , have collect from home (Royal Mail bring the label) and pay £3.39 (I offer free postage)?

This is how I send 90% of what I sell and it works well.

If I can’t do above then I will cancel all my current listings.

Sales have gone dead anyway since the 4% (+75p) buyers tax was added.

I will sell what I have left via Facebook groups, local auctions and bullion dealers (to sell my remaining gold coins).

Sad that after 21 years I’m calling it a day for buying and selling on eBay.

If eBay don’t want me as private seller, then I’m definitely not buying on the platform.

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I think Ebay really doesn't care what you, or I or 'Any' Private seller does, as at the end of the day, since they changed the policy for Private sellers where Ebay makes no profits whatsoever in Ebay Sellers Fees, then if Millions leave, then it's no skin off their nose.

I have said previously that (in my opinion) this is the single worst decision Ebay has ever made !! - by mandatarily forcing 100% of Ebay's Private sellers onto their Simple Delivery system - which is Certainly not simple to persons such as myself, who has 100% of the time since I first joined Ebay back in 2003 has only used the Post Office counter service and uses just the Royal Mail. No way do I ever wish to change that system to 'Any' online version, regardless of how 'Simple' they pretend it to be. It is absolutely shall target the Mentally Disabled seller-base, as a great deal of those rely so much on professional Post Office staff doing all their work for them.

I agree where you point out the Punishment measure which Ebay inflicted upon the buyers - by inflating the prices to 4% + 75p for the so called Buyer Protection policy, which from 'Most' Buyers perspective - would sooner pay no extra premiums off Private sellers. All this does is push away, and with the costs of living crisis getting worse and worse, then it only adds insult-to-injury, which is of no surprise as to why so many are complaining. My sales has gone way down to what they used to be, so this is just a lead-balloon to add to all the other problems.

I think what I shall do, is on the 6th April - just before Ebay enforces this punishment upon ALL Private Sellers, I shall end all my listings, and then consider the limited options available. Those options shall be - 1) Quit Ebay altogether for selling. 2) Switch from a Private Seller to a Business Seller, which means inflating all my prices to incorporate the Ebay Sellers Fees, or, 3) Test and Try Simple Delivery (against my better judgement) - but only on items valued up to £50 (maximum) - as it looks very risky for expensive items, from the criticisms I have seen written here in Ebay Community - so that means diversifying to multiple selling platforms (including) the names you mentioned.

Ebay created this mess, and if they had any shred of decency, then they'd reverse it - before April 7th. They sure didn't give us much timeframe of a warning.