SIMPLE DELIVERY + BUYER FEE = NO SALES

[punkwroc77]

Since Simple delivery and buyer fee I think I have only made 2 sales. And tonight I have lost a sale because it is Friday night 8pm and Ebay  want me to post by Sunday - in other words next day.

I had no idea they have been able to change my listings somehow remotely to remove my settings and change them to next day posting. And only 2 postage options with one being the worst company on this or any other planet and the other being Royal Mail where they are charging Sellers way more than actual Royal Mail postage. 

I don't know if the buyer will now be able to give me negative feedback for not being able to meet a posting deadline and for not being able to post on a Sunday when Post Offices are closed.

I know I am not alone in this but other than paying to be a Business seller which I am far from is there anyway to avoid this simple delivery and these impossible posting deadlines ?.

[suelel1968]

 @punkwroc77  hi, i looked at your eros box and you have 5 days despatch on that. As far as i can see on my own items everything is still the 3 days I set.

 I used to do free postage, but changed to buyer pays. But avoiding it altogether, no. Im selling, but am not reducing my price to cover their postage uplift. If it sells it sells, if not ebay and I lose together, but i have no overheads.... 

[style_wise]

There's a lot packed into your post, so shall we unpack some of it?

Business Seller - you have such a cool aesthetic that I think Business Selling is the way to go. Business Selling will allow you to revert back to custom postage too.

If you choose to continue as a Private Seller then knowing SD facts can help. You can use the Bulk Edit tool to switch your SD listings to a maximum 3 working day option instead. 'Working Days' default on eBay is Monday - Friday. So @suelel1968 is right, you have 5-days to post an evening sale on Friday (dispatch due Wednesday when 3-working day is used). Also you may have noticed that when you print an SD label eBay automatically marks the Item 'Dispatched'. As long as your Courier scans this label at any time within the delivery window, the Item is considered to be 'on time'. So accept those Friday night sales!

Low Sales - When I took a peek at what you're selling I noticed that they either had very low demand (none sold in the last 3-months). Or that they had high supply for the demand (selling 1 a month and it would take 9 months to sell all the current active listings). And that your prices were not the lowest on offer. There is nothing wrong with any of that, but it means you will have to be patient.

Last but not least, only eBay knows how their algorithm works, but the thinking goes that it is weighted towards constancy. So instead of listing 10 things one week, and then only 1 per week (or 1 per fortnight) try spreading those out (e.g. 1 thing every 3-4 days instead). This is listing the same amount, but in a more consistent way, which eBay seems to reward.

Good luck with your selling!

[technthread]

Check here as you might have a convenient alternative to the Post Office nearby such as a Collect+ or a Royal Mail locker.

https://www.royalmail.com/services-near-you#/

As for converting to a business account, I’m not bothered if you are business or private so not judging that but fwiw, with the number of listings you have expect to pay for a basic shop at £32.40pm inc VAT. That will wear thin real fast if nothing is selling.

[department28]

'And tonight I have lost a sale because it is Friday night 8pm and Ebay  want me to post by Sunday - in other words next day.'

As soon as you download the label, doesn't that mark the item as dispatched? So, as far as eBay are concerned, the item would be dispatched on time, even if it hadn't actually been dispatched?

Unfortunately, eBay has been busy switching live listings over to Simple Delivery, so many sellers will find their postage settings have been changed, and Custom postage option removed.

[sdrummond-uk]

When I download/print an SD label it just says label created, (under the word dispatched) then when its been scanned at the Post Office (next day/or same day) its says courier scan and date.

When you click on the tracking number it will just say tracking number provided and then posted to buyer once its been picked up from the Post Office.

So the buyer would know when you have actually posted to them.

Which is the way most company's work (eg amazon) when they ship things out.

[department28]

Oh that's interesting. It must be different with SD labels than it used to be with Custom, which used to mark as dispatched as soon as the label was purchased.

[kyanyama]

Whilst to me it seems very 'wude' to interfere with a seller's listing that's exactly what eBay has been doing - and rather stealthily too!

They changed me over to Not-So-Simple-Delivery on 1 July.  By 14 July I had not sold one item (when I was used to a couple to a few over a couple of weeks).

They also changed:

My listing duration (from 5 days) to 3 maximum.

The price of my postage - a lot of my items are Large Letter but majority changed to Small Parcel so I had to change them all.

Although using Royal Mail for 99% of my items for the past 10 years (only over small parcel size did I use Evri) I was opted into RM and Evri.  So I changed them all to RM and will sell larger items on a different a/c or platform.

I suggest you check every single one of your listings to check the posting option that suits you, are the correct size whether you or the buyer pays.  Buyers won't be happy paying small parcel rates for a large letter, etc.

I also found that some of my listings were changed from freepost (seller pays) to buyer pays!

You cannot be too careful now - eBay have their sticky fingers inside your advert!