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.

[nursediesel]

An announcement saying the Competition and Markets Authority have opened a case against Ebay UK would be another good one.

[valueaddedresource]

---

@sunflowers4me59 wrote:

I'm now looking and seen it on several, private and business, (see bojangled).

---

To answer this question about the "shop similar" feature, in my testing on both the US and UK sites it seems to be somewhat category specific.

I've seen various iterations of it in various categories at various times over the last 2+ years and it seems to have been initially rolled out for a lot of the "focus categories" (watches, jewelry, sneakers, trading cards, etc.) and now I am seeing it across other categories as well.

Here's an eBay tech blog post about it from 2023 - some things have likely changed since then, but it's at least interesting to see what they were thinking about when they were developing the functionality.

https://innovation.ebayinc.com/stories/how-ebays-new-search-feature-was-inspired-by-window-shopping/

They can appear on search results from both business and private sellers, so eBay doesn't discriminate there - but where they do discriminate is promoted vs non-promoted results.

In every example I've seen in testing, none of the results shown as a Sponsored ad have the magnifying glass, which makes sense from eBay's perspective I suppose because of course they do not want to distract or dissuade buyers from clicking on ads. 🤑

Once you've clicked on the magnifying glass and are now on a new "Shop Similar" page (instead of the standard search results page), every item on that page will have the magnifying glass, if they click on one of those magnifying glasses, they'll go to another "Shop Similar" page with more listings all having the magnifying glass etc. - potentially leading the buyer down a near infinite rabbit hole multiple pages removed from their original search.

[johnwash1]

---

@moonlight-rhapsody wrote:

Ebay's algorithms certainly work in mysterious ways.

---

It's called A/B testing and is widespread in web site design.  You come up with some changes, and to decide which of them is best you show different versions to different users and watch their behaviour.  This enables you to make a better website.  Except at ebay it doesn't.  The American ebay team probably tested ass and elbow and still couldn't figure it out.

[johnwash1]

---

@spartansteel wrote:

Another ebay "police officer" getting triggered over a difference of opinion!

---

What?  Me???

[prelovedtreasures-3]

Well I’ve changed all my listings to collection in person only. Yeah shooting myself in the foot but I won’t be forced to use SD 

[edwardian-dreams]

Books cds and DVDs are exempt if they’re under £10 and 100g

you should find when you go to list that custom postage comes up 

[prelovedtreasures-3]

Not the point it’s the principle of the fact of making something mandatory that should actually be optional as it’s not always a one size fits all. I won’t be used as a Guinea pig and have my listings be trashed by SD.  No way, José

[edwardian-dreams]

Ok, that’s different

yes, being restricted so much and having to jump through hoops to simply post something which should be very easy and not require convoluted thought in order to make eBay money does stick in the craw 

why give them the satisfaction if you don’t have to 

[peter748203]

Exactly!! Let Private Sellers go back to paying a 30p listing Fee Per Item, & A Final Value Fee 8 to 12.5%

Ohh !! But that,s probably to much for E-Bay Boffins to get their Heads Around??

Why do they not just admit?? that they made a One Big Mistake, by  letting Private Buyers List For Free. 

Now they are making more & more mistakes with "Simple Delivery " which it certainly Is Not,, Far From It In Fact,

I have taken Parcels 10/15/20 at a time, to my Local Post Office, Different Weights/Different Sizes,

Never a Problem,, Weigh Them , 48 Tracked on most, Pay, All done in less than 15 minutes,,

Now E-Bay tells me that Simple Delivery Is A Better & Cheaper System, *bleep* *bleep* & *bleep*!!!!

Also i do not own a Smart Phone & Do not Want One. & i would Never Use EVRI if they were the Last Couriers On Earth, They may have changed their name, but same *bleep* Service, & E-Bay chooses Them?? That must tell you something about E-bays Philosophy??

[moonlight-rhapsody]

"Books cds and DVDs are exempt if they’re under £10 and 100g"

But don't they also have to be Letter size?  Unless I've missed an update, which I may have done as things are constantly changing, Large Letters have to be sent by Simple Delivery.

[punzel9072]

I had to laugh when I saw those images. Do people really buy a refurbished Rolex watch from eBay for £12,995? I think if I had that sort of money to spend on a watch, eBay would be the last place I'd look. 

[edwardian-dreams]

1st and 2nd class letter  and 2nd class large letter come up as the three options for postage when listing so I’m assuming LLs are allowed 

Also because many of the products eligible just would not fit into a simple letter 

Also because a few months ago in the opting out section of the help pages it specifically said LLs have to go via simple delivery, this has since been removed 

[punzel9072]

Books cds and DVDs are exempt if they’re under £10 and 100g

you should find when you go to list that custom postage comes up

...but only if they fit into a letter-sized envelope (not a large letter) which CDs and DVDs in their cases won't. 

[moonlight-rhapsody]

"Also because a few months ago in the opting out section of the help pages it specifically said LLs have to go via simple delivery, this has since been removed"

Although that might imply that LLs are now exempt from SD, I've just tested it by trying to list a CD.  Although the suggested package size is Large Letter, there is no Custom Postage option, it would have to go SD.  So I'm not sure why they removed the reference to LLs from the help pages, but like with so many other things, ebay's decisions are often unfathomable.

[edwardian-dreams]

Well then that means some people get custom option for things that are allowed to go like that and some don’t 

when I list it defaults automatically to the 87p 1.55 and 1.70 

I don’t have to chose the non existent now advanced options 

its getting very laborious to say the least that eBay just cannot get its act together like any other allegedly professional company 

[sunflowers4me59]

Weirdly (shh), it's still automatically letting me do my knitting patterns LL custom delivery, well, that's what it's saying, if I was to actually sell one, they might change it of course after the sale!

[continueon]

I too had the option of selecting a "custom delivery" but this has now gone and I am forced to use Simple delivery only so I imagine they are still rolling out the forced change and anyone with custom delivery option will soon see it disappear!

With 7357 posts, you would have thought the eBay leadership team would read this thread and reliase they might have made a mistake?

[dgtbids]

Happening to me, i don't think this is ethical, will it affect views, i seem to have hardly any

[johnwash1]

---

@moonlight-rhapsody wrote:

"Books cds and DVDs are exempt if they’re under £10 and 100g"

But don't they also have to be Letter size?  Unless I've missed an update, which I may have done as things are constantly changing, Large Letters have to be sent by Simple Delivery.

---

I can't see how ebay can apply a "one size fits all" here.  A CD in a jewel case is LL, not Letter size.  But a CD in a paper or thin card sleeve fits into Letter size.

[edwardian-dreams]

Momentous stupidity on ebays behalf 

there’s no two ways about it 

I don’t know if the stupidity is in the idea or the execution (dismal failure)  probably both 

you have ebays customer service agents telling people we are doing things like vinted are 🙄🤣

well no you’re not not in exactly the same way thats why they’re getting all your business in many areas because they’re doing it better than you