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.

[rugbyguy1960]

Pretence and deception definitely seem to be the norm here nowadays. 

[fantailsforme]

Just like the high street banks that are closing because they say that more people are banking on-line when it was they themselves that would go up and down the queue of people waiting to be served and encouraging those  people to bank on-line instead - the fools talked themselves out of a job.

[rugbyguy1960]

Some sellers want to try giving things a try especially if they have niche items. For me personally I've not listed anything since early April and I don't intend to because of being forced to buy labels through the platform.

[rugbyguy1960]

At least a lot of sellers here are becoming very wise on this platform and aren't believing all that we are told.

[sunflowers4me59]

That actually happened to me. I wanted to transfer some money, went into bank (the one that I think Government still owns a bit of). Just walked in and member of staff said, "do it online" we said we wanted to do it in branch, but she kept on and on about online. In the end my husband said could we just do the transfer please ( politely, he's always polite to people), she pointed and told him to go and sit by the doors and she would deal with me! We got up and went to another assistant. We said then that they are doing themselves out of a job.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

I actually do not give a damn about what prices e bay are charging, whether it is higher or lower than RM.  I just want to be able to put my own label on the parcel and go to the post office, i am happy to pay what they charge and obviously if the buyer had a quibble over what i am asking for it they would not buy from me.  Never had a complaint yet!

[kath3735_wxmjn]

that is up to you and your opinion!  I have always used RM 2nd class untracked (apart from one or two more expensive items) and never had a problem with either selling or delivery.  

[kath3735_wxmjn]

you are so lucky!  I managed to sell 3 items by doing a work around after they put me on SD and then was unable to do that.   I am trying yet another one but will have to wait and see how it works out.  Have been having a problem with the other site (down to my tech or lack of knowledge) so waiting for help from my relative but once i get that sorted i will not be wasting my time even trying these workarounds that keep being suggested.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

watch out though because mine did but then when the sale went through it was on SD!

[sunflowers4me59]

Yesterday's sale was OK, although I was worried it would change right up to when the buyer paid, big sigh of relief. Now the worry has started again, I've got another sale which finishes tomorrow. It used to be excitement when I got bids, now it's worry! They are the first 2 sales in nearly a month, so very, very slow. When they do change me, I will put them all over to collection only, which will stop all sales, as nobody will come miles for my odds and ends, then eBay lose what little BPF they got from me.

[punzel9072]

Absolutely right. You don't need tracked if the value is under £20 with Royal Mail because if you have a free proof of posting, you are covered in case of loss. Most of my items are (were) of low value, e.g. selling DVDs at £2 plus £2 postage, so can't possibly justify charging £2.70 to post them tracked as a large letter, and with buyers' surcharge on top! Personally I find Royal Mail very reliable and only rarely has something gone missing, on just a handful of occasions out of thousands of dispatches.

[nursediesel]

Once they took away all my options except SD, I posted some tiny packages "Freight" for a test and had a bid which ends in a day or two. I was going to list another small package today as freight but they have removed the "Freight" selection from the postage options. They are doing everything in their power to take total control over all aspects of our options as customers. They are now manipulating our own funds by themselves and at their total discretion. They have now monopolized all aspects of shipping so it has to be bought from them at inflated costs. I dont think there is one more way that they can steal from their customers at this point. They have really fallen a long way in 5 years and can only hope for a real competitor or someone with large pockets who can take them to court!  I have heard about Mercari which is just in the States but of course haven't tried it as I am in the UK. 

[wiganyankeeron]

As I have posted numerous times ''COLLECTION ONLY can be COLLECTION by your
neighbour or even spouse who will then post it onto you. All you have to do
is put this info. in your description . Then when the sale goes through the
Buyer sends you the collection code.. Q.E.D.

RON,

[wiganyankeeron]

EXACTLY my sentiments.. Up to £20 cover costs nothing with a C.of P.

RON,

[nursediesel]

They have slowly removed all ways of raising formal complaints through their site. I would suggest if you are in the states to write to your BBB, FTC and Attorney Generals. In the UK we are much more limited but everyone should send a complaint to Citizens Advice as we cannot directly contact the Trading Standards and have to go through Citizens Advice. You could also send it to the CMA and BBC watchdog or Guardians consumer affairs team. This is a great thread but every person who reads this must do a little more please! I know some people will think of it as a useless hassle but the squeaky wheel gets the grease or the wheel falls off. I will try and make another reply and post a form letter that you can change and update as you see fit if you want to try and make others aware.

[nursediesel]

Formal Complaint Draft: eBay’s Restrictive and Anti-Competitive Shipping Practices (UK Seller Perspective)

Your Name
Your Address
Postcode
Email Address
Date

---

Subject: Restriction of Seller Autonomy and Potential Abuse of Market Position by eBay UK

To whom it may concern,

I am a UK-based seller on eBay and wish to raise a formal complaint concerning what I believe to be anti-competitive practices and unfair restrictions on seller autonomy imposed by eBay UK.

As of [insert month/year you noticed the change], eBay has removed the option for sellers like myself to opt out of their proprietary shipping program:

These programs forcibly override my own shipping preferences and compel me to use eBay as a freight broker—without meaningful consent, transparency, or control over the delivery process. Previously, sellers had the ability to disable such programs or choose direct services (e.g., Royal Mail, Evri, UPS) with full control over pricing, service tiers, and tracking. That ability has now been silently and irreversibly removed.

This situation raises several serious concerns:

1. Loss of Commercial Autonomy: I am unable to fulfil orders using carriers and service levels I trust and prefer. eBay’s system overrides this and masks actual shipping choices from buyers.

2. Hidden Fees and Inflated Costs: Buyers are charged inflated shipping rates, but I do not receive this money nor do I have clarity on how it is used or calculated.

3. Forced Use of a Single Intermediary: eBay inserts itself as a mandatory shipping broker, effectively limiting my right to contract freely with a third party courier. This could be seen as an abuse of market dominance under UK competition law.

4. No Redress or Complaint Mechanism: eBay offers no internal complaint route for challenging these policy-level impositions. Attempts to contact eBay UK support yield only generic responses or redirection to irrelevant help articles.

This is particularly damaging for small and individual sellers who rely on transparent, competitive shipping options to offer value and retain customers.

I believe this policy change may breach:

• Consumer Rights Act 2015 – Unfair contract terms

• Competition Act 1998 – Abuse of dominant position (Chapter II Prohibition)

• Unfair Trading Regulations – Lack of transparency and misleading omissions

I request that this issue be investigated by the relevant authorities and that pressure be applied to ensure eBay UK complies with fair competition and consumer protection standards. At minimum, sellers should have the ability to opt out of these shipping programs and regain control over how their items are delivered.

Please confirm receipt of this complaint. I am happy to provide screenshots, policy documentation, or further details on request.

Yours faithfully,
[Your Name]

[kath3735_wxmjn]

Just checked and it is the same with me, no freight option now.  Current 5 items i listed via that are still showing it.   Was only a question of time.   Wonder if they realise just how much they are antagonising their own customer base?

[punzel9072]

...and for those that are members of Which? The Consumers' Association, they could be contacted as well.

[daisychain537]

Yes, and my reply has laid out to them how it isn't any simpler, safer or more secure than me organising the use of Royal Mail myself. I've basically said the same as I said in the original email but used the claims and comments from their reply to highlight why it isn't. 

[infohelps]

I reported eBay to the CMA at the beginning of April, and several other people on this thread did the same.  I have been given a case number, and I have been told that they are looking into the situation.   However, more information about the  situation has come to light over the weeks and so if more people report them, this should keep the momentum going.  It is very easy to make a report and can be done on-line.  Simply google Competition and Markets Authority and the gov.co.uk  link  will come up (I am reluctant to post the link here for obvious reasons).  The information that you have kindly given here can be copied and pasted into the report document to make things even easier, so there is really no excuse!!  eBay have been investigated by the CMA before, so I feel confident that these are the people to go to as they should have the scope and expertise to tackle such a large corporation.