Simple Delivery could be about to be pushed on eBay US sellers

[gnosemalf]

I just found this article which seems to indicate that unless there is some heavy duty resistance, eBay are going to force Simple Delivery onto their US sellers. If so, we can probably kiss any hope of it being rolled back goodbye.

https://www.valueaddedresource.net/ebay-tests-us-sentiment-simple-delivery-managed-shipping/

[edwardian-dreams]

I like the way they are  asked beforehand lol

[fantailsforme]

We were their trial and error guinea pigs

[goodibags]

Wow! You'd think they might try and get it working properly in the UK first? Aren't they supposed to be testing it here?

Still, there's nothing like not testing and this approach is being tested to the limit.

[lucy_farmer]

'We were their trial and error guinea pigs'

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Seems to be a large amount of error still!

Odd they haven't waited until they've fixed the large amount of koc ups before dumping it on a whole new batch of victims.....

[edwardian-dreams]

Somehow I doubt the Americans will be dumped on if they kick up a huge fuss and 

they do that well 

ebay has to tread more gently there as iirc it’s their largest market? Imagine screwing that up lol

[valueaddedresource]

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@edwardian-dreams wrote:

Somehow I doubt the Americans will be dumped on if they kick up a huge fuss and 

they do that well 

ebay has to tread more gently there as iirc it’s their largest market? Imagine screwing that up lol

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@edwardian-dreams  yes the US is eBay's largest market and for that reason I do agree with you it likely won't be dumped on us (made mandatory) the same way it has been for private UK sellers.

What I suspect the next step will be both in the US and probably for UK business sellers is to introduce it as a voluntary option - kind of like what they have done with eBay International Shipping in the US.

If it is mandated at all in the US, I expect it would be much more limited than in the UK. While the US does have personal and business accounts, the differentiation isn't as stark/important as private vs business for the UK so I don't think they will go that route.

Instead, I suspect they might go more by category and/or condition, for example I could see a scenario where they may try to mandate it for pre-owned clothing.

We already have something similar on a very small basis - in the US, any sneakers that are covered by Authenticity Guarantee have a mandatory $14.95 shipping cost charged to the buyer with that shipping amount being paid to eBay and then eBay provides a prepaid FedEx label to the seller to ship the shoes to the authentication center.

Based on the most recent earnings call eBay has decided managed shipping is a "success" and an important revenue generator, so unfortunately I do not believe it is at all likely they will backtrack on it.

[edwardian-dreams]

They might not backtrack on it and they won’t I agree, but they could at least make it functional for starters (v unprofessional imo) and fairer (and more functional) with their exemptions 

I could live with that 

[goodibags]

I could live with SD being made optional.

Otherwise it may be high value items only and I only have so many of those. i.e. Not many.

@valueaddedresource 

They seem to get through a lot of sneakers in the US. Are they eaten for breakfast? 😁

[edwardian-dreams]

Currently They should make it optional in the cases where they offer nothing else at least 

i want someone to answer me why eBay have disabled people’s ability to send items that are bigger or heavier  than RM accept and bigger than evri do too 

?

I don’t for one nanosecond believe it’s a technical errror and under review for nearly two months 

It’s a big ask but they shouldn’t have disabled custom for those items in the first place but tbh I’m convinced now they don’t have a clue what they’ve been doing 

[goodibags]

Yes, optional where the items are excluded from or prohibited by SD. But also optional where tracked postage is NOT required (e.g. an item costing £3). Unless THIS is the Revenue Generator 'success' that Ebay UK bigwigs are so pleased about?

Presumably a 50% drop in sale volumes could easily be remedied with a doubling of SD postage costs?

As for the oversize/heavy stuff, my guess is as good as yours. Maybe those additional carrier contracts are proving too fiddly? Perhaps the volumes are too low or perhaps Ebay would rather those went off site too?

[edwardian-dreams]

I don’t give a stuff about their reasons or problems, if they couldn’t handle it shouldn’t have started it imo 

the only thing remaining is their reputation in tatters  at the moment 

and I’m sorry but we’ve given them time and benefit of the doubt …too much 

and yes charging mandatory tracked  postage where it is not needed is sad

I just wish they’d stop taking the pee and get their act together they’ve had enough time 

hahaha rant evening from  me 

do I look bothered 

[j.p.greenwood]

The politically most important thing in that article, is the CEO himself has pinned himself to its success, so it cannot now reset until he's gone.

It does mean organisationally they're totally committed to making it work, just how much damage they're willing to inflict on the platform till they see sense. 

Don't forget, it's management that decide how numbers are 'presented' in quarterly reports, you can obfuscate a lot of damage before the truth starts to leak out if you really put your mind to it.

It's almost as if, instead of us all complaining in an echo chamber that's not even listened too, never mind acknowledged, a new more direct and general newsworthy way could be found to expound our complaints, but of course who would fund that?  After all, it's the shareholders that the message really needs to get to.

[goodibags]

You're making SD sound like Napoleon ordering his foot soldiers to march on Moscow. In the wintertime.

What could possibly go wrong there? 😯

[j.p.greenwood]

Do not underestimate how much senior management will 'curate' facts to suit their pre-existing objectives, after all their multi million dollar bonuses rely on telling 'their' story.

Just in case anyone didn't know already, here's some recent E-Bay management history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay_stalking_scandal

[edwardian-dreams]

Still doesn’t excuse them not being able to organise a pee up in a brewery lol

if it couldn’t be done (as evidenced in reality) then they needn’t have started to be told to try 

Harsh of  me  but maybe I’m under the illusion that large rich companies have the means and resources to make things happen seamlessly instead of taking months  and frustrating and confusing all its users ??? Many decades ebay loyal users ?Hmm 🤷🏼‍♀️🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🧟‍♂️

I think some call it collateral damage or who gives a stuff 

[j.p.greenwood]

Large, rich companies are often staffed by professional social climbers at the upper echelons, they are great at taking the credit for others successes and casting the blame elsewhere for their failures.

They, seldom in my experience, are genuine innovators and leaders.

[edwardian-dreams]

Yeah I know

didn’t think eBay would have sunk to those  levels  though

used to be such a lovely company lolol

having said that they haven’t put me out personally except for allowing no one to view my items hahahahahaha 

but their new fangled postage boa constriction on everyone is a step too far imo 

[valueaddedresource]

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@j.p.greenwood wrote:

It's almost as if, instead of us all complaining in an echo chamber that's not even listened too, never mind acknowledged, a new more direct and general newsworthy way could be found to expound our complaints, but of course who would fund that?  After all, it's the shareholders that the message really needs to get to.

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@j.p.greenwood  I wholeheartedly endorse this message, though I would counter that funding isn't necessarily an obstacle - many social media accounts can still be made for free as can a substack or other blogging platform account.

The real trick is presenting seller issues in ways that capture shareholder and other stakeholder attention/speak to their interests, which is something I may have a bit of personal experience with but this is not the forum to go too deeply into all that. 😉

[edwardian-dreams]

Sellers don’t have issues ebay does therefore they created seller issues with their sd 

🥸