Simple Delivery and a normal letter

[tony-cottee]

I'm selling items worth £18, which I can send as a standard 2nd class letter for 87 pence. However, eBay insists on charging me £2.72 for a large letter - even though it's not needed. Does anybody know of a solution to this please?

I've been fine for about 6 months and now it's become an issue as I let the original listing expire.

[9150simon]

Unfortunately there isn't a solution to simple delivery, it is rolling out to all private sellers eventually.

You comment that ebay insist on charging you £2.72 for a large letter, but it is charged to the buyer if you have your settings to "Buyer Pays" when listing your items and also it is tracked and insured for this price, which is a good idea for items worth £18 or more.

[tony-cottee]

Thanks for the reply.

I pay for the postage. I also make sure I have proof of postage for every item I send , as the Royal Mail covers me for that amount.  I've only had a couple of items go astray and the claims process has always been easy.

It's just an unnecessary expense. I only started using eBay again after they scrapped their massive fees last year. Looks like I may have to go elsewhere again.

[9150simon]

Yes, lots of people are unhappy with simple delivery and the buyer protection fee and are migrating elsewhere.  There are many, many threads on the subject on these boards, I think ebay have scored an own goal this time.

[wyntersemporium]

Tesla key cards by the looks of it. 

[vinylscot]

Yes, it doesn't seem like the type of item which a private seller would just happen to have multiples of.

I'm sure there will be some explanation.

[4_bathrooms]

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@tony-cottee wrote:

It's just an unnecessary expense.

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As mentioned, if you have the "Simple" Delivery option set to "Buyer pays" in the listing template it is the buyer who is paying for the postage.

There is a convoluted way around this. If you set that option to "Seller pays" buyers will see "Free Postage" on the listing. You can then add your usual postage price to the "Buy It Now" price, send the item however you want then claim a refund for the cost of the (unused) SD label. Of course, if you do this you will lose all the protection offered by SD so you will be responsible for the buyer's refund should the item be lost or damaged in transit.