Simple Delivery Question

[solentcityguy]

I am a private seller usually selling foreign stamps and the odd postcard.  Nothing listed at the moment as I deleted any items before Christmas due to all the uncertainty about the coming changes. In the past if I sold an item I just popped a second class stamp on the envelope and put it in the post box across the road from me. I very rarely had a problem with items not received etc. I think that stamp collecting buyers are an honest lot in general. If simple delivery becomes mandatory am I right in thinking that EBay will issue me with a label for 87p and I then have to take the item to a post office? Thank you in advance for any replies.

[moldosgifts]

When you do  a listing you have 3 things to consider

1) is the Buyer protection fee which is currently 4% Plus 72p, 75p is stated but actually is coming through at 72P, this charged on all private sales.

2) simple delivery which is currently optional but not for long the simple delivery is much dearer than a stamp

3) payment or funds availability if your are returning it can get as long as 21 days to get any money from your sales, normally it is 2 days for tracked postage or 14 days for untracked.

To get paid in 2 days there needs to be a scan and it is 2 days after scanning if you send it tracked and the postie can not be bothered to scan it it then becomes 2 weeks

Hope that makes sense 

[solentcityguy]

Thank you for your reply. I understand all of the points you have made. What I really want to know is how much an ebay label would be for an item which I used to send by second class post with a stamp. Untracked and under 100 grams. Also will I now have to take the item to a post office.

it was so easy before..

[kaholl6818]

Simple delivery seems to start at £2.70. With the Buyer Protection fee & 4% then a £1 item with around £1 postage suddenly becomes £1+£2.70+.76 = £4.46 for a buyer from private sellers. (It's actually cheaper for someone in Australia to buy it if using standard Royal Mail postage ! )

Note that with Simple Delivery then packaging costs need to be taken into account for the item price - as you cannot amend the postage price.

Business sellers would still be able to sell for the £2.

The imposition of Simple Delivery (when/if it happens) really means it becomes nonviable to list low value items on Ebay for the UK only - at present international sales seem still be be holding up as there haven't been any changes to those processes.

Alternative sites don't have the traffic Ebay does however - so this may kill off low value collectables from private sellers & then have a knock on effect on Business sellers as often people buy other items with money made from sales. (And also impact those that sell larger lots as if buyers have limited options in disposing of the items they don't want then prices of those will probably fall).

Again if you try selling in larger lots then anyone that only wants a few of the items in the lot will have the same issue.

[parsley2003]

Little traffic is preferable to this and i have just taken all my listings off here. I refuse to send 6 postcards in 6 different envelopes which is coming very very soon and have the buyers paying 6 postages and 6 x 75p. The alternative site will have traffic if everyone goes there who sells low value items. Money received immediately, no buyer fees, low seller fees, post as i want to. If it doesn't work so be it but it's pointless staying here when we are not wanted and treated like this

[parsley2003]

There won't be untracked or combined postage. It's over i'm afraid 

[sml192]

It isn't really known at present how eBay intends to deal with small low value items such as stamps as Simple Delivery is currently geared towards Large Letters and Parcels.

If your items are deemed eligible for Simple Delivery then you would need to take them to a drop off point (Post Office/parcel shop/locker) or arrange collection with Royal Mail. 

[sml192]

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@parsley2003 wrote:

There won't be untracked or combined postage. It's over i'm afraid 

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You are correct that there won't be untracked with Simple Delivery but whether combined postage will be available is less certain.

The Seller Centre help page states that combined postage may be available for buyers purchasing multiple items, although that page hasn't been updated for some time, and the main help page, which has been updated several times recently, still has the following paragraph:

'If you're sending multiple items from one order, all items will need to fit in one package which meets the Simple Delivery package limits.'

[parsley2003]

I have also read that in the simple delivery page it says "from time to time buyers may get special offers such as combined postage". Too many contradictory terms leaving everything open for them to do as they wish without notice so i have removed my listings now

[edwardian-dreams]

Combined postage is a special offer?

pathetic to the extreme

[parsley2003]

I know couldn't believe it when i read it. Maybe the buyers might get a 50% of buyer fees as an offer as well like someone else is doing seeing they like copying other sites so much

[vintique*violet]

If this is true then it is outrageous to say the least. I did read that eBay  from time to time may offer " free post" but not read about the " combined postage?" 

[edwardian-dreams]

If there’s any left

They might have copied vinted but vinted is an utter breeze to use whereas eBay is like a Stone Age constipated yeti 

and when it wasn’t as much ie the app they screwed that up as well 

[edwardian-dreams]

Don’t know what to say anymore

seems the worse they get the more they think they’re getting better

must be a psychological term for that 

ps vinted do combined postage via bundle orders

[vintique*violet]

Term? .... "psycho"  😂🤣 springs to mind. It sure is " mind-boggling" how all of these 

" happenings" are in such a short period of time... really it doesn't feel a " safe" or " friendly"   platform at all. 

[sml192]

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@vintique*violet wrote:

If this is true then it is outrageous to say the least. I did read that eBay  from time to time may offer " free post" but not read about the " combined postage?" 

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'Free post' is now a standard feature of Simple Delivery:

'If you'd like to offer free postage, go to the 'Who pays?' section and adjust the toggle to select Seller pays. When your buyer completes checkout, you'll be charged for a postage label for a standard delivery service and the cost will be deducted from your sales.

You can find the cost of the label by going to the Postage labels  page in My eBay. If your buyer selects an express delivery service instead, they'll pay the full delivery cost and you won't be charged.'

(The bit there about express delivery is quite interesting).

I haven't seen any mention of 'combined postage' being a special offer only that buyers may periodically be provided with promotional offers that discount or provide free delivery. 

[vintique*violet]

Thank you for the info - still having to use the ebay labels  though unless opting out but then lose " protection" -plus only Freepost with standard delivery...  its like " black-mail"... SD is out of the question for me anyhow... 

[solentcityguy]

Thank you for your reply. I guess we can only wait and see what will happen with low value items. What a mess the whole site seems to be now.

[kc_1987]

Am I right in thinking the hundreds of pounds worth of 1st class stamps I have for ebay postage is now useless? 

If so, I will make no profit on my 7£ sales as the stamps were the only thing I was saving money using. 

[solentcityguy]

Sent from my iPad