Simple Delivery nightmare! Until yesterday I could choose custom and choose my carrier etc

[disneymania56]

How do eBay know the carrier, price, weight, size of box used to pack etc ?  Large letter is charged at 1kg even if it’s 250grams.  RM the box has to be 16cms max.  It jumps from 2kg to 10kg with no 5kg offered. 

I always added a tiny amount towards the postage charge to help cover the jiffy envelope, packaging and mile drive to drop off.  Sometimes I was short and had to pay more than I guessed when listing but I was sure the parcel was the correct weight and size.  

Now they not charging customers £2.70 for an item that cost £1.55 to post surely this affects our rating on postage charge?  One item sold was 20 cms longer than the max size for the option they charged my buyer and there is no way to purchase the correct label 🤷‍♀️😩

This is madness!  

[tommystrezures]

It is madness, but you have to trust ebay's AI to get it right. If the label once you printed it has Market Place Seller on it you should be covered.

[akemp1]

Apparently on SD the feedback rating on postage charges does not count against the seller but the rest of SD is unwelcome guff as you say particularly the LL rate makes it uneconomic to sell small low value items here.

It's so bad I signed up elsewhere where I am now making 80% of the purchases I would have done on ebay. I am also selling around 50% there now.

It never occurred to me to go multi platform until they dumped this on us and it's not even mandatory on my account yet. Once that happens those percentages might shift further away from ebay.

The people running ebay must be on a bonus scheme that pays out for deploying this BPF and SD e-waste regardless of if they kill the platform.

[phillsvinyl]

Yeap the dredded simple delivery is now on my listings  - after being able to choose which one i want previously - where i had no compliants and all tracked perfectly.

I now have to use this - and its more expensive  - unless you use evri 😞

This new system will just be good for the wrong uns  - if you know you know!

Ebay you have right royaly cocked this up just to make a proffit for yourselves.

You have not listened to anyone in the community chat  -you have not listened to anyone on the message boards  - just we will get back to you, we dont know, ill check this out.

RUBBISH

I used to do free postage for all my items - not anymore - ill do what everyone else is doing and charge different prices on P&P - will i be able to sell my collection who knows who cares - eBay does not - they are making teh proffits from the postage and BPF,

Shame really as so many are moving away from a once good platform

[disneymania56]

so you have to weigh every item when you list it and know exactly which box you are going pack it in!

For example I sold a Disney video and lithograph set last week which I guessed would be 2 kg and it turned out to be 2.2 kg. I charged my customer £3.71 and it cost me £5.70 to post. Now the label would be up to 2 kg there is no way of changing it so I worry the customer could be charged more the other end and give me negative feedback. Also once over 2 kg it now has no 5 kg offered and you have to charge for 10 kgs.

A large letter item that is only 150 g and would cost £1.55 as a large letter they are charging £2.70 as 1kg is the minimum weight. Again we could get a low star rating for our postage and packing charges.

With RM the package has to be under 16 cms well the price doubles so now when we list an item, I presume we are meant to have the correct box and weight when we list and occasionally items are on months before they sell. 🤦‍♀️

[belle_visage]

I too have this problem. I am trying to list a small item for £6 weighing 90g and is a large letter.  According to ebay this should be exempt from simple delivery, but the custom postage option has gone and ebay want to charge me £2.72.  There is nowhere to put the actual weight of the item, I am being forced to overpay for postage.  Simple delivery its not, its a nightmare and I feel like giving up!

[disneymania56]

Yes it’s anything but simple.

Because when you revise listing the last week it just said your postage has been updated for a few days I feared that custom was about to be dropped and this became a reality yesterday. 💔😩

[vinylscot]

Large letters are not exempt from simple delivery, unless the item contained is on the excluded list.

[a45heaven]

Large letters are not exempt from simple delivery, unless the item contained is on the excluded list.

How do ebay know an exclusion is actually in the package? And not just in the typed description ?

[belle_visage]

My item is on the excluded list (clothing), its not working and ebay are ignoring all of the sellers having this problem

[belle_visage]

Why would you suddenly be doubted that you are not selling what is advertised?  Surely the description, photographs etc.  Private sellers are being discriminated against totally, there is no option to put in the actual weight and dimensions, so how can the price charged by ebay be acurate?  Ebay and royal mail are going to be well in with all of the overpayments.  Mine should be £1.55 not £2.72 that ebay want to charge.

[department28]

'so you have to weigh every item when you list it and know exactly which box you are going pack it in!'

Yes. Obviously it is not really possible or practical to pack items before listing, but if you don't provide accurate sizes & weights for your parcel, the Simple Delivery AI thing may issue you with an inaccurate postage label... 🤖

@tommystrezures  'It is madness, but you have to trust ebay's AI to get it right...'

🤣

God help us all...

[xyz307xyz]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/simple-delivery?id=5575#se...

"When you're creating your listing, we'll recommend the weight and dimensions of your parcel, as well as the delivery service. If you think our recommended parcel size is incorrect, you can select a different size from the available pre-set options. If we can't determine the parcel size, you'll be asked to provide the details."

So, if ebay guessed the weight/size and it turns out to be a bit bigger/more when packed up, I don't think you need to worry. Clearly, if you know ebay's guess is wrong then you should correct it.
If ebay couldn't guess, you would "need" to determine the size and weight - which you "would have to do" on non SD items, if you wanted to set the correct postage - similar to your sold video. If you don't want to get the scales and ruler out, I would expect (I don't work for ebay) that if it is occasionally a bit more that it won't cause any issue. But I would expect anyone who tries to fool the system/repeatedly uses smaller sizing/weight will be tracked down, at some stage.

"I worry the customer could be charged more the other end and give me negative feedback." That did happen at the start of SD, when not everyone at RM (or the PO) knew about SD. I can't literally tell, but there seems to be less reports of it recently.

[xyz307xyz]

I don't have any inside info, but where is says Excluded Categories: 

• Clothes, Shoes & Accessories (e.g. Hair Accessories, Wallets)

I think it doesn't mean all subcategories of Clothes, Shoes and Accessories. On another thread there was someone being able to opt out of SD on some Collectables subcategories but not all of them (for the same item just changing the subcategory).

[xyz307xyz]

I could be wrong but I think it is mainly/only by subcategory. I don't know if they even "AI" scan the text.

[a45heaven]

@belle_visage 

Very interesting to know and note - as ebays search is questionable at best, bringing potential buyers to your listings becomes more key -  thank you

[belle_visage]

That may be so, but they are still overcharging for large letter postage as everything is being charged for 1kg at £2.72, mine item weighs 90g so the actual postage is £1.55.  Why?

[belle_visage]

All I want is for the correct postage to be applied not the inflated eBay price, why should my 90g envelope be charged the same as a 1kg envelope?  Its not RM overcharging but eBay overcharging all because not all shipping sizes and weights have not been made available.  I don't care how I purchase my labels but I do care about being deliberately overcharged.

[belle_visage]

Unfortunately there is nowhere when listing you can put accurate sizes and weight.  I know my exact size and weight (large letter 90g) but there is only an option for large letter up to 1kg, so we are being deliberately overcharged for postage!

[belle_visage]

The pre-set options are 'lumping' all large letter items up to 1kg.  Mine weigh 90g but there is not option for this which would be £1.55 not £2.72 as SD is charging, the pre-set options mean that buyers are being deliberately overcharged by eBay.