Post Office turning away eBay sold packages

[crn303]

FOR GOODNESS SAKE WHAT IS GOING ON WITH eBAY ???

Visited my local Post Office outlet this pm. The customer in front of me had 4 of her items sold on eBay refused due to incorrect printed labels supplied by fleece-bay. The member of staff confirmed this customer was not the first to be turned away today.

I am sure that I read, eBay stated Post Offices will accept all items for dispatch.

Thats another incorrect bit of information from eBay.

The question I have, is what does that poor seller now do with those 4 items ??

OKAY, eBAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH … GET IT SORTED.

[edwardian-dreams]

I thought that too when I read “IF it goes live”

I read it as if (when ) it goes live and they don’t accept parcels……

It’s not an official document, it’s community chat and staff expressing themselves at the time  in their own way  

ps …yes was copy and paste from the chat thread 

[wintersdawn1]

@barry.110 Here's the original:

[wellingnorth]

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@barry.110 wrote:

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In my opinion a better way to say the same thing would have been “If they’re not accepted when it goes live please report it, we can then take action accordingly” or if you wanted to keep the original line you would just need to change/add a couple of words “When it goes live, if they're not accepted, please report it, so we can take actions accordingly.”

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Isn't it already 'live', in that it's the default option when you list and people are already receiving labels for it? - it's not like a beta program that people have opted in to.

Then the 15th is when it becomes compulsory for all new listings?

And I thought existing listings were being switched over from the 7th but that doesn't seem to have happened to mine yet

[department28]

'In addition to the practical issue of trying to get a branch to accept a wrong weight/size label there's also the shame which is you would look like an idiot that cannot buy the right label and is trying to come up with a very weak excuse of why it should be accepted.'

Yes - it's outrageous that eBay have put people in this embarrassing situation! 😟

No-one wants the anxiety of not knowing if their parcels are going to be accepted, or not... and how many wasted journeys has this silly situation been responsible for? Not everyone has a post office nearby, & many will have made a special trip.

eBay has a lot to answer for over all this...!

[vinylscot]

My usual post office is in a local supermarket, but seems to be on the ball about most things, probably because of an extremely efficient manageress.

I spoke with her yesterday morning. They ARE aware of SD and the strong likelihood of parcels having labels which don't match the weights of the items contained. They have been instructed to accept all such packages, and provide proofs of postage if requested. They have been informed that Royal Mail will deal with any cases which need dealt with, but they don't expect there to be many.

This will be because of the nature of the agreement between RM and eBay. There will be agreed average weights for each weight division and postage type, similar to business accounts available even to smaller businesses like my own. If one package is over by 100g, that doesn't matter, as long as the others bring the average down to under the permitted weight. (It's a little more complicated, but that's the gist of it.)

For once, eBay is right. The Post Offices should be accepting packages, even if the weights are incorrect, as long as they have the "Marketplace Seller" text on them so the staff know it's from eBay. (these labels also state "paid and printed form eBay Simple Delivery")

The manageress told me loads of managers just don't pay enough attention to updates through Horizon. The branches refusing the parcels will be run by incompetent  managers.

We've seen a good few cases mentioned on these boards, but how many are going through without a problem - well over 99%, I'm sure. Individual Post Office branches just need to get their act in order.

[jma2815]

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@clearingmyshelves2025 wrote:

'insist'

Does that mean stamping ones foot?

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I can’t honestly imagine how one would ‘insist’ that my postmistress should do anything. 

[incredible_how]

reply number 9 in this thread has something I have seen many times now about reporting it to ebay and they will record it... tho that doesn't tell you what to do exactly does it? I mean in terms of getting the item to the buyer.

Simple Delivery has been around since last year, were there problems all the time? Or because it was clothing did they mainly fit small parcel size and therefore ok (if a bit expensive...)

[wintersdawn1]

I was part of that chat where marco said if post offices refuse the package, it can be reported and recorded, I replied asking how is that going to help a private seller that has a package to send, my reply was deleted from the chat.

[wellingnorth]

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@vinylscot wrote:

My usual post office is in a local supermarket, but seems to be on the ball about most things, probably because of an extremely efficient manageress.

I spoke with her yesterday morning. They ARE aware of SD and the strong likelihood of parcels having labels which don't match the weights of the items contained. They have been instructed to accept all such packages, and provide proofs of postage if requested. They have been informed that Royal Mail will deal with any cases which need dealt with, but they don't expect there to be many.

This will be because of the nature of the agreement between RM and eBay. There will be agreed average weights for each weight division and postage type, similar to business accounts available even to smaller businesses like my own. If one package is over by 100g, that doesn't matter, as long as the others bring the average down to under the permitted weight. (It's a little more complicated, but that's the gist of it.)

For once, eBay is right. The Post Offices should be accepting packages, even if the weights are incorrect, as long as they have the "Marketplace Seller" text on them so the staff know it's from eBay. (these labels also state "paid and printed form eBay Simple Delivery")

The manageress told me loads of managers just don't pay enough attention to updates through Horizon. The branches refusing the parcels will be run by incompetent  managers.

We've seen a good few cases mentioned on these boards, but how many are going through without a problem - well over 99%, I'm sure. Individual Post Office branches just need to get their act in order.

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It's good to hear of another Post Office who are on top of this! I was actually surprised that both of the 2 London Post offices I asked in today were not aware as they are generally pretty good. If this is the policy, it would be really helpful for the Post Office to put a page on their website explaining it. Then a customer would be able to show that to a Post Office clerk who is not up to date and they might at least then go and look into it for next time.

[incredible_how]

hmmm that wasn't very satisfactory.
The report and record really doesn't get the parcel posted... I was told if ebay only presented me with an evri label it was ok to cancel the sale, to use buyers address wrong maybe phone ebay, he'd have said that was ok and not a negative mark against me/seller, trouble with phone calls is no transcript like chat.

Evri is a 16 miles round trip and I don't drive, but even if I did drive I wouldn't do it.

SO...no medium parcels for a bit is my solution.

[akemp1]

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@vinylscot wrote:

This will be because of the nature of the agreement between RM and eBay. There will be agreed average weights for each weight division and postage type, similar to business accounts available even to smaller businesses like my own. If one package is over by 100g, that doesn't matter, as long as the others bring the average down to under the permitted weight. (It's a little more complicated, but that's the gist of it.)

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That's very kind of RM. When i consider all the unused weight, size and possible transport distance of all the prepaid labels I have ever purchased then RM probably owe me enough postage to freepost an elephant to the moon (should ebay policy changes ever make that mandatory at short notice).

[crn303]

Sorry Marco but too many ifs and whens

[kake100]

"Ebay did say sellers need to weigh and measure their item with all the packaging on before listing the item"

Can you just imagine just how ridiculous this could get if you were a seller with lots of items and with slow sales as a consequence of BPF and you parcelled everything up to get the correct weight and size before listing! - lol!

In theory you could have your house full to overflowing with boxes - some that never got opened again and some that sat there for a long time - and of course you would need to ensure that they were all properly marked or the wrong box could go to the wrong person! - it would be like something out of a cartoon!

Simple Delivery is a perfect example of trying to fix a problem that did not exist - all in the name of greed and profit, but instead it is turning into a PR disaster!

[plantpot47]

your wrong

[plantpot47]

They dont like private sellers  . even more than the business sellers

[incredible_how]

It is possible to put item in box and some packaging to check and then take it out again... I always check size and weight before I list, but unless very fragile and a collection of things they don't stay wrapped up. 

[edwardian-dreams]

About what 

[akemp1]

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@kake100 wrote:

Can you just imagine just how ridiculous this could get if you were a seller with lots of items and with slow sales as a consequence of BPF and you parcelled everything up to get the correct weight and size before listing! - lol!

In theory you could have your house full to overflowing with boxes - some that never got opened again and some that sat there for a long time - and of course you would need to ensure that they were all properly marked or the wrong box could go to the wrong person! - it would be like something out of a cartoon!

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I actually do that and keep most of my couple of hundred items loosely boxed as it protects them, makes them easier to store, stops them getting dusty and means that when they sell it's quick to pack them as I have already found a box. I don't seal the boxes as I still do a check of the contents and might need to combine an order but yeah I box them when listing.

[department28]

'RM probably owe me enough postage to freepost an elephant to the moon (should ebay policy changes ever make that mandatory at short notice).'

That would take a hell of a lot of bubble wrap... 🐘

(100g Large Letter, according to Simple Delivery...)

[kake100]

I know, but as I said, it was just a scenario - which I played out for comedy effect!

Under the old system you had to do that to some extent so you knew whether it was going to be a small parcel or a medium parcel before listing but that's as far as it went. Knowing the precise sizes of boxes and exact packed weights only happened when you were packing it - which, in some cases, can even be over a year after listing the item when it is a Buy it Now item. That's when the scramble to find the perfect box out of over 200 that I currently have stored in my garage begins! - lol.

Although, as of Monday, like many other sellers I have ended many listings and paused all the rest while I see how this debacle plays out! If nothing changes then the local council cardboard recycling skip could be in for a very big feed! - lol!