Ebay simple delivery opt out

[cartermk]

So ebay have decided to force private sellers to use simple delivery for all listings.

Previously you could select advanced options in postage and select your preferred postage method  as before.

Did ebay announce this to private sellers - did they ....

I searched around a while and eventually got this from the chat bot:

"Eligible listings will show Simple Delivery as an option when you're creating a listing. Starting 15 April, 2025, Simple Delivery will be the only delivery method available for private sellers when listing eligible items."

The recent changes like BPF and simple delivery have been extremely irritating but not terminal. I think this is terminal for me.

I cannot express on this forum without getting deleted my extreme annoyance with ebay.

[ravergamer]

Ebay executives could see that other platforms were big competition and forced ebay's hand to remove the selling fees as sellers were moving away from ebay. So ebay removed these fees to bring back those sellers. 

Now somebody has come up with a brainwave and have taken away the custom delivery. This totally sucks as the items I sell as a private seller has now become more expensive to post.

I sell video games from my collection and sometimes consoles. Before it cost £1.55 to post with Royal Mail. Now its £2.70 for the same game, because the simple delivery only selects the large letter weight to 1kg. It makes no sense. Why cant the weight option be there so I can select the correct one, which would be to 100g. For some reason if the item price is below £10, the custom postage option is available, why is this? Whats the difference between selling a game at £9.99 and a game at £10. Its all still the same weight.

I can see listings now for games. So many private sellers used to included free delivery, but now they are adding the £2.70 postage costs. This means the buyer is gonna have to pay more money.

[richard8484]

How do I sell an item over the 61cm Tracked Royal Mail 48 service?  If I have an item thats say 1.25m in length?

[xyz307xyz]

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Seller-Central/how-do-you-list-anything-bigger-than-61cm/m-p/7882486...

[matt3man]

This seems to have been foisted upon us with no consultation.  Not understanding how it worked, I carried on as normal, booking delivery via Royal Mail.  Annoyingly I had to click on the postage label to see the actual address to send the sold item to (there is another way apparently), and then it turned out I'd been charged for postage labels that I didn't want and didn't use!  I tried to claim refunds for these but that seems virtually impossible.  To say I'm unimpressed with this and feel ripped off is an understatement.  To make matters worse, I don't seem to be able to turn this option off.  On top of the Buyer Protection surplus charged, it's no wonder people are abandoning eBay in droves.

[department28]

If you offered freepost and therefore paid for the Simple Delivery label, but didn't used it, you can apply for a refund. You have to claim within 14 days... I think.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/claims/simple-delivery/refund/seller

If the buyer paid the postage, they will automatically get a refund.

[its_a_cats_life]

Posting a postcard in a small envelope, I charge 90p. Now the smallest size is a large letter, so the postage is £2.70. No one will buy the item now if the postage is more than the item.

Such a stupid change.

I also have no means of printing a label and being a pensioner of getting to a post office or collection site.

Dumb, Dumb, Dumb

[department28]

For any letter-sized items priced at £10 or under, and weighing no more than 100g, you can still  choose your own Custom postage - although I'm not sure if that option appears automatically, or if you have to click on something to activate it?

[xyz307xyz]

Assuming the postcard is:
£10 item price and under,
letter or large letter sized,
100g and under,
and listed in e.g. Non-Topographical Postcards (some other subcategories are also valid - you will need to try and see)

you should be able to list it without SD.

I suggest you use a web browser if you can.
The trickiest bit is manually entering the weight/dimensions, i.e. the below.

If you cannot see these boxes, enter £800 as the item/start price.
They should then appear, and you fill them in.
You should then be able to create your own postage.

You then set the real item/start price.

(And for SD items ebay says you can now have RM collect RM items and they bring a label - I've not tried it - presumably you have to select the "right" options.)

[its_a_cats_life]

Thank you, Actually I used the postcard as an example (as I do have some on sale), it was actually a vintage cigarette packet posted folded £5.50, under 25gm, small letter. It was listed for 95p P&P, but it was auto relisted and eBay changed it to simple postage. Will try changing the start price as suggested.

I used to have RM collect items and bring label

[its_a_cats_life]

Changed £800, postage options became available, entered the dimensions, selected 2nd class RM 90p and saved. All was good. Changed the value back to £5.50 and it auto updated to simple postage.

Thank you anyway

[moonlight-rhapsody]

---

@xyz307xyz wrote:

Assuming the postcard is:
£10 item price and under,
letter or large letter sized,
100g and under,
and listed in e.g. Non-Topographical Postcards (some other subcategories are also valid - you will need to try and see)

you should be able to list it without SD.

Do topographical postcards fall under SD then, I didn't realise that.  I've got loads of topographical postcards that I was planning to list somewhere eventually, so it doesn't look like it's going to be ebay then if that's the case.

[xyz307xyz]

what subcategory?

[xyz307xyz]

I said "you should be able to list it without SD."

Worked last time I tried it - last weekend.

[its_a_cats_life]

Cigarette Packets

in Collectables > Tobacciana & Smoking Supplies

[its_a_cats_life]

Yes, I had some unsold items that I relisted the other week and all was fine.

If they really want to force you to use their system then they should give more options, different sizes and 24 & 48hr tracked etc.

But then this is eBay, thank you for your help. I have been with eBay since 1998, (27 years), literally just clearing my loft. I might go to another site now or just send it all to cash cow and be done with it all.

Once again many thanks for your help.

[xyz307xyz]

I doubt that is a subcategory you can opt out of SD on.

Probably best, in future, you moan about the type of item you actually have an issue with, rather than a random different type of item. I could've then just replied with the above line.

[3942rick2005]

Use my workaround - follow it exactly ( it works for small items also, make sure that you leave the oversize and overweight, it has no relevance once you have custom delivery):  https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Seller-Central/how-do-you-list-anything-bigger-than-61cm/td-p/788244...

[penfold91]

Yep, I'm in the same boat as you. Items under £10, weighing less than 100g and in a specific category they claimed was exempt from simple delivery. I too tried to re-list and revise, but only have SD option, starting at £2.70 for items that only need a second class stamp.  Spoke to customer service who said they'd fix all the listings they'd unilaterally changed to SD. Nothing happened. Tried again today. My issue has been escalated to whatever the 'backend team' might be...

[department28]

'My issue has been escalated to whatever the 'backend team' might be...'

Backend of the pantomime horse?

[3942rick2005]

~My post before yours applies to you as well!