If the Post Office is your be-all-and-end-all for selling on Ebay

[aphystykqa]

I fall into the category of Private Ebay sellers who only posts items I have sold to buyers through means of the Post Office. In other words, I parcel up the item, and drive in my car to the Post Office, and then get served at the Post Office counter - and this is indeed a very successful traditional system. I always use the UK Royal Mail and never wish to change that option. It's like when wishing to buy food from a Supermarket. I like to have someone serve me at a checkout, even though (of course) you can use their self-service-points and scan everything yourself, and the other options - is of course to order your food and household products by ordering online.

So, why am I saying this. Well. Basically as years have gone by, Ebay has been trying to persuade it's members to switch from the regular Post Office counter option - and instead use GSP (Global Shipping Programme) - and - online Royal Mail and Other Postage companies with Click and Collect, etc.. etc.. - and (of course) - their new SDP (Simple Delivery Programme)

Now, I understand that Variety is often referred to as 'The Spice Of Life' Lol. Well, Yes I fully understand that there is a variety of different options for posting items to buyers through Ebay, but the most Important things to me, is that the traditional Post Office Royal Mail Counter system remains as an option, regardless of all the other options which Ebay is trying it's hardest to push us towards. Many on Ebay, just like myself wish The Post Office to continue to be our be-all-and-end-all for all time.

So, Ebay sends me an Email message today with the title :- More Protection For Your buyers - with a list of various changes, which have many Pro's and Con's for both the Buyer and the Seller. I am only going to focus on the subject-at-hand which is the part where it says that the Seller gets paid once the Buyer has received the item. So that involves the postal system, naturally.

I have copied-and-pasted the last important paragraph which relates to Ebay's advice in regards to how sellers should now start posting their items to buyers :-

[> Now, to give your buyers even more confidence when shopping, UK-based private sellers will be paid after item delivery, from 4 Feb. Your funds will be available in your eBay balance two days after delivery confirmation.*** We know it's important to get your money fast, so we recommend using a tracked delivery service either through Simple Delivery, or arranging for local collection <]

So, I read through the page about Simple Delivery through this link :- 

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

At the bottom it says that you can Opt Out of this system - which I copied and pasted below :-

[> "

Opting out

You can opt out of Simple Delivery when you're creating your listing by selecting Custom Postage from the delivery options. If you'd prefer not to use Simple Delivery at all in the future, you'll need to opt out each time this programme is recommended when you're creating listings.

Keep in mind that if you opt out, you won't benefit from the enhanced cover for loss or damage to the item during transit offered by Simple Delivery "<]

Q;- My Question is, does this Opting out still apply after these new More Protection for your buyers, and all these other new changes come into force in February 2025 ? - and can I still use the Post Office as before.

[stamps.of.lundy]

What some seem to forget is sellers used to buy postage on ebay at around half the actual price. Can't now with all this 're-paid' rubbish. Less profit for sellers, higher prices for buyers. I no longer bother on here, and sellers of UK postage stamps are really going to HURT!

[nipr-2674]

I never bought the ebay prepaid, only by accident i ended up doing SD. A post person told me that stamps are being put up to stop people sending letters, so they want them to phase out. Theres no money in letters but is in parcels. Thats why they want to cut delivery days for letters 🤷‍♂️   

[insidethe93]

Deliberately making stamps too expensive? That'd mean much misery at Christmas, birthdays, Mother's Day etc, another instance of "people and quality of life don't matter, only making money".

It'd be sad if overpriced stamps put paid to the pleasure that so many get from receiving physical letters and gifts of greeting cards/photos etc, and the human thoughtfulness & contact involved.

Also, where such items are homemade, the crafters (of all ages from, say, very young children let loose with messy paints to adults in care homes who craft on their own or in a group) enjoy making cards that they know (hope) will be liked. Giftees say a physical gift is far better than an e-card/email/text.

[lucy_farmer]

'That'd mean much misery at Christmas, birthdays, Mother's Day etc, another instance of "people and quality of life don't matter, only making money". '

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Yes.

Human misery (all the way from starvation in poor countries, to no more birthday cards in rich places) will mean absolutely nothing in the hunt for profit.

But, in the case of sending actual, physical cards and letters,  I think the nameless 'post person', mentioned above, has a point.

In about 50 years time, when all us old farts are gone, sending cards for anything just won't happen, so the service to do it won't be missed.

The future's old people will be made of today's young people who are living their whole lives online ; why would they change that as they get older?

[insidethe93]

I don't believe it'll be as bleak as you reckon. Hope not, anyway!

As the busy and popular large crafting section on eBay alone seems to indicate, there's a lot of people out there making things that use stamps to send, from knitting to resin-made. There's also been push-back against "lazy" emails or texts instead of sending a physical card. Making greeting cards, already popular, really took off during Covid, taken up by people of all ages. There are loads of crafting categories that people end up in, again people of all ages, for items that can be posted; in papercrafting you're expected to make 3D items fold flat for posting; i think giftees like opening a flat thing and it becomes 3D.

I suppose I see it because I do crafting and so know people who do it, and online groups seem to be everywhere and thriving. I see it amongst family, friends and colleagues where children and/or adults make things. Like many hobbies, if a parent does it, a child may well do too. Creativity, in whatever form, is irrepressible 🙂