NO LONGER SELLING DUE TO SIMPLE DELIVERY

[rugbyguy1960]

AS OF 15TH APRIL MY DAYS AS A PRIVATE EBAY SELLER WILL STOP AFTER 19 YEARS.

I AM FED UP OF THE GREED OF EBAY AND I HOPE OTHER EBAY SELLERS DECIDE TO NO LONGER LET THE EBAY CONTROL FREAKS HAVE THIS MUCH CONTROL OVER PRIVATE SELLERS.

[jonatjonatjonat]

I give up.  READ what the buyer protection fee includes. Beyond the word protection ideally.

[kevin*cedar]

All of this has been brought into effect of eBay wanting to compete with other selling platforms and offering a free to sell policy hence the introduction of Simple delivery and BPF and to add to your comments which I fully agree on, May I also add  … When a seller lists a item as "Collection in person only"  BPF still applies ,which is a fleecing of inflating the price in your listings a typical money grab to claw back fees from the original policy of taking selling fees from private sellers Simple delivery is a abomination which has disrupted which was once a pleasurable  platform to buy and sell on

[blacksea213]

And to be able to earn a little extra cash and free up some cupboard space!

[jonatjonatjonat]

When a seller lists a item as "Collection in person only"  BPF still applies ,which is a fleecing

of course it does! Some sort of freehold apply anyway. Facebook marketplace and gumtree exist if you want to sell collection with no fees…

[gjalp]

---

@goodibags wrote:

I've never promoted my listings and have sold fairly consistently, even with Ebay's various disincentives targeted at private sellers. From 20 items listed I sold 10 last month, so around half of them. My target is 25% this month.

I'm not convinced that users do need to promote in order to sell but it's entirely possible Ebay is able to favour some accounts over others. My prices tend to be quite low and collectables are still just about hanging on here, so those may the key things working in my favour?

---

Having experimented, both as a business and as a private seller, it does make a difference to sales. As a business, I need those sales to pay bills, so I am more likely to promote items which is a bit market dependent as I sell collectables. Much of my time involves watching the market and different items command different prices at different times. The market dictates here. I refused to promote initially but as many other sellers started promoting, my sales dropped through the floor so I had to look at it with fresh eyes. I won’t automatically promote and neither will I promote by ebay recommended. If I have something that is scarce, I won’t promote as the buyer generally finds it. If the item is something in large supply, then I will promote.

As a private seller, I don’t really take much notice of promotions. It will either sell or it won’t. I don’t rely on it to pay my bills. It’s a way to get rid of some clutter and I often sell low and undercut.

[jonatjonatjonat]

In the main 2nd hand goods are sold as seen and with no warranty implied

Which is fine....if you can see what is being sold. That obviously isn't possible online.

As for the rest - again, someone else here needs to read beyond the word protection to understand what the Buyer Protection Fee is actually paying for. Lucy Farmer explains it pretty well recently. What it is paying for does protect the buyer, but only by virtue of paying for the entire ecosystem that ebay has built and has to continue to maintain. ie - taking a payment securely - to protect the buyer.

It is not, and does not claim to be some form of insurance.

[gjalp]

I think BPF is the wrong name for it which is where confusion comes in. Its more of a platform admin/tech fee.  Business sellers have a final value fee, fixed and %, plus a regulatory operating fee. I feel the term regulatory operating fee is an understandable fee whereas buyer protection fee could be (and often is) interpreted as anything.

[1956glyn]

Thats a really good sales rate in the current market for a private seller 🙂

I never promote.     IF everyone promoted their listings (as Ebay would really like) then there would  be no advantage.

When promoted listings first came out i did try them a few times........made zero difference to my sales. 

[jonatjonatjonat]

The world is full of incorrectly named things.

- tax free childcare isn't - its a government top up to the value of VAT

- free delivery isn't actually free (we know this)

Not arguing BPF isn't a confusing name (but ebay will copy from competitors wholesale) - that doesn't however stop someone reading just over 100 words to understand what it actually is. No, instead, they fixate on the words 'Protection' and wildly assume what that might entail. I mean if you are going to do that - I've bought a Lego set on ebay with Buyer Protection Fee - If I step on the lego brick from that set will it still hurt? I thought I was protected?!

[1956glyn]

I agree with you it certainly is not fun anymore and is just hassle nowadays.  

It has not been fun for years 😞

[blacksea213]

Probably not. But if certain parts of the Lego were fake? This is what it
should protect you from. The reality who knows.

[jonatjonatjonat]

The hundred words in question...

What does Buyer Protection include?

With Buyer Protection, you benefit from:

• 24/7 customer service: Get support around the clock if you need help.
• Risk monitoring and fraud detection: We actively monitor marketplace activity to identify risk and potential fraud and take action to keep you protected.
• Secure transactions: All payments are encrypted end-to-end and handled by our trusted payments partners

Learn more about Buyer Protection.

You still benefit from free leading services like eBay Money Back Guarantee, as well as Authenticity Guarantee (for eligible items and categories).

[clearingmyshelves2025]

Luckily I'd managed to sell the bulk of my late parents collections - still got loads though. Most of the cash went to fundraisers for Ukraine. But certainly not browsing on here anymore, nor buying unless I absolutely have to and even that's cut down by a lot.

[gmij1961]

Or in other words a pile of marketing twaddle .

As a buyer I don't need 24/7 support if there is an issue , I just need to flag a problem and Ebay to deal with it in a timely professional manner , if that takes a few days then that really is not an issue

If secure transactions were not end to end encrypted then Ebay simply would not be allowed process payments . That is a legal requirement on Ebay . 

What its really saying is make up for not charging honest selling fees ,  we have to replace that revenue by  making this garbage up as It was already there in the 1st place

For Ebay to claim that BPF is paying for that is appalling .  

I am not a member or subscriber to Which but listening to the radio they are the type or organisation that will take class action against this kind of corporate  dishonesty !

[jonatjonatjonat]

If secure transactions were not end to end encrypted then Ebay simply would not be allowed process payments . That is a legal requirement on Ebay .

What its really saying is make up for not charging honest selling fees , we have to replace that revenue by making this garbage up as It was already there in the 1st place

I drove a Renault Clio in the 2000s. Why am I not driving that same car today? It drove perfectly fine then. What happened?

[gmij1961]

This is not about cars it is about Ebay being fundamentally dishonest with their appalling explanation of BPF

What Ebay have done is sacrifice a huge chunk of credibility to bolster their failing "Free to sell" strategy .

[jonatjonatjonat]

Given my point has been missed.

If secure transactions were not end to end encrypted then Ebay simply would not be allowed process payments . That is a legal requirement on Ebay .

What its really saying is make up for not charging honest selling fees , we have to replace that revenue by making this garbage up as It was already there in the 1st place

The fees pays for ebay. To exist. and to be maintained. I'm fairly sure that is obvious. Or should ebay itemise what the fees pay for? You do understand a website needs to be maintained right? because your response above suggests otherwise.

if the argument is 'seller fees not buyer protection fees' fair enough - but don't make up utter nonsense that ebay charges a buyer protection fee to pay for things 'that were already there'

[kath3735_wxmjn]

24/7 customer service is a joke, try getting decent customer service during the day first!

Risk monitoring and fraud detection - really?  How does that work then when it so obviously did not before?

Secure transactions - surely that should be part and parcel of the whole online selling experience?  Also something that i am pretty sure was happening already!

In other words the so called benefits are things that would be done anyway.  Just call it what it is, a buyers fee and forget the rest of the pretentious drivel.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

I always said i would not come back on here unless SD was optional, not even sure now if i would come back at all.  E Bid was basically a bust, so i tried V and even though i do not like the label system i tried it and it has been problem free (although i would still choose custom if i had a choice.  The more i read about this sites SD problems the happier i feel to be out of it.  I only use RM on the other site and i am happy with the amount of sales i am getting even if RM is dearer than EVRI etc.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

1.  the car comment was completely irrelevant to this situation.

2.  You are the one who printed the definitions of what the BPF was for and those protections etc already existed.

3.  The point is that they should have just called it a Buyers fee, just like it was a sellers fee, then everyone clear, fancying it up with word garbage has just made them look stupid.