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.

[vinylscot]

I understand many of you are still very resistant to SD. I'm still not happy with it.

But, collectively, you're contradicting yourselves with these replies. Just read the last half-dozen or so.

I'm not going to argue any of your points individually. You may feel that way, and I may not, and that shows the biggest problem with SD.

People do not like change, and tend to rigidly defend "the old way" of doing things. And many people, as evidenced in this thread and others, simply refuse to do even the most basic research. I really doubt whether many of you want things to be better. It seems you'd rather just keep sniping. Most of us would rather that eBay sorted out the undeniable problems with SD, but we're dealing with it, as best as we can.

[goodibags]

Can you describe what YOU think is the biggest problem with SD? Could it be that it hasn't been explained enough, to the extent that everybody is fully on board and cheering Ebay's increased revenues on probably reduced sale volumes?

To be fair to the sellers, most of the issues you're objecting to are related to those undeniable problems that you mention. Like SD being simply unnecessary in so many cases.

It's also entirely plausible that some people just don't like to be bossed about or feeling like they're wasting more time dealing with all the various issues arising from SD, albeit on fewer sales. It may suit you but you'd have to admit the additional hassle and stress is not for everybody.

[nursediesel]

It has nothing to do with change. It has to do with Ebay UK monopolizing shipping on their own platform by buying other companies services, attaching their own terms and conditions and reselling it to their long time loyal customers at a profit. Its about a company trying to get every penny out of their sellers. Its about a company whos rules and policies change every morning when we get up. You may love how ebay is treating you but most do not as you can tell by this enormous thread.

[vinylscot]

Thank you for the polite response. So rare on these threads.

I think you hit the nail on the head in your first paragraph. The problem isn't with the concept of SD, it's in the appalling way it has been communicated and implemented by eBay, with far too little information being clearly conveyed to buyers and sellers.

In any new system, there will be teething troubles. eBay has not done enough to address these (small/large letters under 100g, combined shipping, unused labels, etc.). Many of these situations were totally foreseeable, and should have been properly dealt with before SD went live.

It won't suit everyone. There will be some people, like the posters who have a supply of stamps, who are undoubtedly adversely affected. Such people are collateral damage - SD wasn't designed to hurt them, but they are an acceptable loss. Sooner or later, they'll either leave, or they'll stop complaining.

The concept of being "bossed about" is a bit of a red herring. In any environment such as eBay, there are certain rules and regulations which need to be observed. SD is merely a change to those rules and regulations. As before, users still have a free choice as to whether or not to accept the amended rules and regulations.

I would far rather everything stayed the same, as I was so accustomed to that way (I also have a private account). But I have found it's better to work with it, and try to make the best of it, rather than to dig my heels in and just make it more difficult for myself. 

However, as always, I reiterate that eBay does need to sort this mess out. They've had months now, and while it is now much better than it was, there is still a way to go.

[goodibags]

You're genuinely suggesting that the biggest problem with SD is that is hasn't been explained thoroughly enough? As if the solution would be to have it explained even more? At least to any users that haven't already given up and left.

You're also assuming that those apparent 'teething problems' being described by sellers are not actual SD features, like the 3 times hike in letter postage costs or not being able to opt out when it's needed (valuable or signed-for items) or simply having their excess postage costs refunded?

As you say, it's not for me. I DO have a lot of low value items to sell (obvs not on Ebay). I also have plenty of postage stamps that are best used (again, not here) for postage. You're suggesting that if only sellers could bring themselves to work with SD (and buyers could be persuaded to overpay) then all these problems would go away? But what if the problem IS SD?

What things do you think are working better now than they were 4 months ago? Certainly not the ability to opt-out of SD. That is barely working at all.

[kevin*cedar]

There is a easy solution to all of this nonsense eBay should make  Simple delivery a OPTION for all sellers to decide and have the right to choose  on how they ship their items as it stands they are the ones solely responsible for all this  mass confusion ,Changing the method of delivery, incorrect postage pricing and  changing of dispatch times 

Nothing bugs me more than to sell something at 11:30 pm on a Saturday night and I get a message  from eBay that Good news your item sold now PACK IT UP & POST IT NOW  Really     I am fed up with being treated as if I was a incompetent idiot  I know my responsibility I know the price that I set in my listings I know the dispatch time that I promised to all of my Buyers, I keep a 100 percent commitment to all of my customers and put forth my best effort to all of them  AND in reality what really is the point when eBay just changes everything at their whim to disrupt the whole system My Suggestion Get some competent staff to run your origination and get rid of the incompetent fools that are destroying eBay This selling platform is on a route to self destructing due to its own incompetence

[gmij1961]

The problem with SD it is fundamentally flawed and that starts with the naming as although Ebay have branded it  Simple Delivery it is "simply" so much more than that in their own strategic plans . If it was just a case of being Simple Delivery it would have remained as just an option for those who chose to use it .

I stopped selling as my own dispatch / delivery had never work so well and I strongly objected to to forced to use a system that with so many obvious  flaws . 

This thread has highlighted so many other flaws and issues that if Ebay had done proper due diligence would have covered from day one  , especially the lower end smaller sized items .

These really  aren't just teething problems , its down to arrogant ignorance at a senior level within Ebay .  Their marketing has been dreadful and there AI system is a joke as it is based on guesswork . The problem with  too many high powered highly paid leaders is they live in their own little dreamworld and that simply does not work when you need properly understand the practical reality of things !

Any system that ignores the basic fact's such as the true weight and dimensions is ignorant by design , its simply not AI unless the I stands for Ignorance .

A reality for many of us Ebay may still be the best platform to sell , but the reality for Ebay , is even if that is the case people simple won't sell as much.  I haven't sold for over 6 months and although I have stuff I would like to clear out , I am happy to bide my time .  

In truth I am actually enjoying not selling as it a lot less hassle and effort for not a massive  return in money.

[blacksea213]

I too haven’t sold anything in over 6 months. No offers , no enquiries,
nothing. So I am now using Vinted for clothes and smaller items where
things are selling almost as fast as you can list them, and Gumtree for
larger items. And I am ending items on EBay one or 2 at a time,

[wellingnorth]

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@wellingnorth wrote:

In my messages now I sometimes see 'Your buyer has reached out about their order. Since you used Simple Delivery, we'll work with your buyer directly on any delivery related questions.' 

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Just to add it looks like when you are a buyer if you go to send a message to the seller after delivery (or possibly after dispatch) you see the following message

"This seller is using the Simple Delivery programme to post this item. For postage related questions including lost or damaged in transit, please contact eBay’s Customer Service or file a claim by clicking on the purchase history section from My eBay menu."

[vinylscot]

Yes, that's undoubtedly the biggest problem with SD.

It's not the only problem, and there are other problems which should have been ironed out before launch.

But, because people (buyers and sellers alike) were so poorly informed, they have been largely left to their own devices to work it all out. This has resulted in a huge number of misunderstandings, and ultimately resentment, among users who find that it just doesn't work they way they want it to work.

Some of this is because it's not intended to work like before, but a larger part is because eBay has never explained it properly. While the mess is obviously eBay's fault, spending a bit of time trying to work it out will prove much more productive than just digging your heels in and refusing to play ball, as many are doing.

Yes, again I state, eBay has some BIG problems with SD. They need to sort these out, but, to be honest, they don't really seem to be doing so.

[akemp1]

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@vinylscot wrote:

Yes, again I state, eBay has some BIG problems with SD. They need to sort these out, but, to be honest, they don't really seem to be doing so.

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Maybe ebay employees are also demotivated and fedup of SD problems. The buyer tax still isn't displaying properly a lot of the time. Some of the glaring and persistent software bugs in displaying correct prices to buyers might even breach the trade descriptions act.

[goodibags]

But people HAVE worked it out. Isn't that's why many have upped and left? What were you still hoping they might belatedly find out? And how is no longer visiting Ebay 'digging your heels in'?

From my perspective I have toy cars and heaps of stamps, so maybe 25 or 30 items that could be sold with SD. Possibly some old stamps that could go inside letters? But I won't be selling comics and records here. With the postage costing more than the item price I can already predict it won't be worth the effort.

So the question has to be is Ebay still an appropriate tool for the job?

Here's a small parable for you. We used to have a Body Shop store in town and I know that it closed down, but I cannot tell you whether that was 2 years ago or 10. I remember when the enterprise was taken over they hiked the prices so that a bottle of shower gel cost £5 or more. I must have stopped going there after that. 

[akemp1]

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@goodibags wrote:

We used to have a Body Shop store in town and I know that it closed down, but I cannot tell you whether that was 2 years ago or 10. I remember when the enterprise was taken over they hiked the prices so that a bottle of shower gel cost £5 or more. I must have stopped going there after that. 

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I was amazed that my local Body Shop was still open. They do a maca root shave cream that I use most days which costs £12 for a 200ml tub but it lasts me around 6 months (during which time I would have otherwise got through around 6 cans of £3 nivea shave gel) so it actually works out cheaper and it's good stuff  super slick and protective not nasty cheap chemicals drying out the skin.

[vinylscot]

We don't know how many people have left. More than likely, they will have been largely replaced by new users who will accept SD as "the way it's always been". To be quite frank, regarding those who have left, they are having no effect at all on me, just as they are having no effect on eBay.

Some of those who left (or claimed to leave) simply didn't bother trying to work it out. They just saw that there was a change, and decided they were going to have nothing to do with that.

Again, eBay is largely at fault for this. It should have been explained much more clearly, and in words of one syllable, if possible. They should also never have launched a new system in what is essentially a beta state, with many problems, which I am not attempting to deny.

If you decide eBay is not for you, that's entirely your own decision. You are only one person, and, although there are others, it will still be the platform of choice for literally millions of other users. 

Your "parable" is utterly irrelevant.

[nursediesel]

I think some people are raised not to roll over when they see an injustice or a wrong being done but to speak up and keep fighting and others are raised not to rock the boat but to just conform. I think that is more of what is happening here than your statement explaining everyone "simply didn't bother trying to work it out".  8500 messages on a company's own community forum on just one thread is not a group of people who simply didnt bother to try and make it work. Are you serious?

[vinylscot]

One of the things about these forums is that people can have different opinions.

[blacksea213]

Are opinions different to experiences?

[crn303]

Opinions are for those that sit on the fence and have previously berated this popular thread (8500+ messages.

Experience is fact.

Simple Delivery has been a disaster from its induction. Sellers have been hoodwinked in having faith in it.

[falklandrover]

Did you use ebid? If so, how did it go?

[falklandrover]

But it's a trap.

Evri only is impossible, there are loads of places they don't deliver to

& they left a backdoor for themselves that allows them to override any settings you make, so if you select Royal Mail only they can still use Evri anyway.

All that you really accomplish is making your buyer pay the highest rate.

OMG, I wondered if that was what they were doing. Ebay is in partnership with Evri, it is on evri vans. The short term goal is that every eBay item will be shipped by evri, I am sure.