New postage policy seems a bit dodgy...

[lord.ford]

Anyone else find the ‘new’ postage process for sellers frustrating and a bit suspicious?

Specifically:

• Ebay now require sellers to select the postage service during the listing and only allow them to use that postage service once the item has sold. 

• This would not be too bad but they do not display the costs for the various services at the point of selection (as they used to when selecting after sale) and so buyers are committing to buying a postage service without knowing the price - as such this is not technically a valid contract (under UK law at least).  

• Ebay also no longer allow sellers to insert tracking numbers for items they have posted themselves (i.e. sellers who did not buy postage from eBay directly). This is bad for buyers but also disastrous for sellers as eBay also now only releases funds 2 days after delivery has been confirmed - in the absence of the ability to add tracking numbers or for buyers to confirm receipt, it means sellers not buying postage from eBay now have to wait up to 2 weeks(!) for funds to be issued. 

I’ve been an eBayer for 18 years and never once posted on these forums but these changes seem a bit ‘dodgy’ at best. 

OK, so eBay are trying to reduce seller fees and recoup it by selling postage services, I get it. But at least allow sellers the choice of not buying postage through eBay and at the VERY least give us an idea of what the postage service we are buying through eBay will cost.

Questions to eBay: why are you to forcing sellers to confirm delivery service at point of listing with no way of changing it afterwards? Why do you not list the prices for the deliver services at the point when the seller is forced to select? Why do you not allow sellers to add their own tracking numbers? Why do you not allow buyer’s to confirm receipt (same way as you can for collections)?

In the hope of getting some response from eBay, I’m not even sure forcing sellers to choose postage without knowing the price is legal in the UK - said it.

LF

[retroman303]

"... I’m not sure if you do get a refund if you don’t send it tracked."

I asked about this in last Wednesday's weekly chat session. Kat from the Community Team has confirmed that if you don't send an SD-eligible item with tracking, then you will not qualify for a refund.

Not the response I was hoping for, but definitely the one I was expecting.

[edwardian-dreams]

That’s so sad really

so eBay or the courier or both gets paid for something for nothing

as you say to be expected n todays climate 

🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄

[andrewjamesscott]

Well the update here is it’s been sorted out and I've been paid both for the item and the redundant postage. I had to spend a fair bit of time with an online agent to figure out the what and where of it all but we got there.

As I see elsewhere in this thread it likely wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t send registered and tracked and was able to provide that info. Seller beware.

Agent was good, there to help and did. eBay itself? They banked interest for a couple of weeks. 

[catescoot74]

No, they charge you for the label no matter what. This is the problem you see?

[catescoot74]

It’s expected, but it’s up to us whether we roll over and tolerate it! EBay is nothing without us. It dies, and their stupid fees go with them. Greedy GREEDY people they are.

[tressygirl]

---

@catescoot74 wrote:
No, they charge you for the label no matter what. This is the problem you see?

---

That is not correct.  If the SD label is not used,  it is refunded,  it goes back to who initially paid for the label, and it does take 30 days for the refund to process.

• If you selected 'Buyer pays’ when you created the listing, your buyer will automatically be refunded for any Simple Delivery label that isn’t used after 30 days

• If you selected ‘Seller pays’ and offered free postage on your listing, you'll need to fill out the Request a refund for Simple Delivery form for the label that wasn’t used. Make sure to send your request within 14 days of your item selling.

@catescoot74 

[catescoot74]

Only if you send tracked. You lose out either way

[far_260947]

If you decide to not us the SD and reclaim the postage costs and post yourself how do you find the details of the buyer

[lucy_farmer]

'If you decide to not us the SD and reclaim the postage costs and post yourself how do you find the details of the buyer'

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You have to download/'print' the postage label (which has their details) ; just don't *use* the label.

Post it your own way, then 'reclaim' the label cost.

[catescoot74]

Please be careful, they attach ‘conditions’ to be able to get a refund for the label. It’s not made easy and if you don’t meet all the ‘conditions’ you will be left out of pocket like many people

[lucy_farmer]

Oh dear.....  I thought it seemed it bit too easy to do ☹️

[catescoot74]

Just read all their conditions first. Make sure you meet them, and you should be ok. But they have made it so all the hard work to get a refund isn’t worth it. You have to post tracked anyway to get the refund and really, you won’t save much. It’s a complete stitch up really. I wish you all the luck!!

[rustyrula97]

I am stopping using ebay, l do not have a printer or smartphone

[jackies46]

I have nearly gone mad trying to sort this mess out.  I have no printer and no smart phone.  I used to just sell the item, get the address, write the label and when I was paid, walk to the Post Office and post it.  I have done this for over 20 years with no problems whatever.  I now have 22 items which have apparently been 'pre-paid' and I have been to the PO and EVRI and neither of them will post my items because the labels are hand-written.  I have spent hours on the phone to e bay who have said that they will refund me - but they haven't. In the meantime I have had e mails from my buyers asking where their parcels are.  I am going to be made to look fraudulent if the parcels are not posted in a day or two.  So I have had to try to find help on Facebook and a very kind person has offered to assist me.  I feel like some stupid old person who is being gradually phased out and I am going to finish with e bay altogether.  I am fed up with it after having thoroughly enjoyed it for over 20 years.

[abi.sales.247]

I can completely relate. Given up on eBay selling now. It used to be a fun hobby but slowly but surely been destroyed by ridiculous complications and the bot taking over.

[xyz307xyz]

For Royal Mail parcels you can book them to collect the parcel and bring the labels with them, within ebay.

For Evri parcels you get a 6 digit PIN code, which you can use at specific Evri points which have a label printer to print the label.

No printer or mobile phone required.

See https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/simple-delivery?id=5575#se... and the whole page for more info on Simple Delivery.

Hopefully that means you don't need to have any labels refunded. If you do and you paid for the SD label, that's explained on the same page https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/simple-delivery?id=5575#se... (The theory is you use SD labels where you are supposed to - not use the refund process just to avoid SD.)

[smarts-gaming]

Sometimes have my delivery charges randomly take a hike. When I create the listing, it will say delivery costs 2.94, customer will pay 2.94. Then once my item sells, suddenly ebay are charging me 3 pounds something for delivery, despite it even saying I chose the 2.94 option on my listings still. Theres no way to change the postage at this point. Ive contacted ebay and they said all you can do is cancel the order. But obviously that results in an unhappy customer. I just end up coughing up the extra and putting myself out of pocket to keep customers happy. Its a complete racket. 

Sometimes I wish ebay would fix all of the horribly broken features on this website, but then I worry that if they did try fixing anything they'd make it all 10x worse!

[beauty557]

I seldom use eBay now,but when I do,I specify Freepost and pick the service
I wish to use.That way,eBay should have no input into what postal service
you use and you just write your own address label and use your chosen
postal provider.

[xyz307xyz]

Ebay only allows certain items to be opted out of Simple Delivery.

[abi.sales.247]

Royal Mail collect? Good luck with that. Numerous occasions nothing but mishaps and muck ups by Royal Mail via eBay. Item sold recently first attempt no label brought, second attempt that I had to pay for received email "no one available at address" there was I was in, third attempt didn't show up at all - no choice but to go take large item to post office myself, with no refund for the payment I made for collection. I literally give up!!!