Simple Delivery now optional for items under £20 including Large Letter

[moonlight-rhapsody]

New email just received says:

We’ve listened to your feedback and made Simple Delivery optional for more items priced £20 or less. This includes items in categories like Trading cards, Coins and Stamps, which are typically letter or large letter-sized and 100g or under. 

It’s an update that gives you more choice. You can choose a low-cost, untracked delivery option when protections aren’t essential, or stick with Simple Delivery to benefit from prepaid labels and automatic tracking, all at competitive prices. Learn more about this update. 

I note it specifically includes "Large Letter"

[thepillenwerfer]

Tracked 48 is the normal service with Simple Delivery provided you switch Evri off here https://www.ebay.co.uk/ship/prf — it's what I always use.  A Small Parcel will cost you £3.38 to send via Simple Delivery against £3.45 direct with Royal Mail and a free collection, if you want it.

[crn303]

Are you correct ? Please read eBay notice again.

[24-bridgest]

Agree... just make Simple Delivery optional across the board...

[moonlight-rhapsody]

The option to opt out and select Custom postage is only available for items in specific categories that are priced £20 and under. This includes items which are typically letter or large letter-sized and 100g or under.

"Again nothing to say items MUST be under 100g."

The way I read it, items do have to be under 100g, otherwise why mention a weight at all.  If they hadn't mentioned a weight, then the RM limit of 750g would have applied for Large Letter 1st or 2nd class post.  But they DID mention a weight, so although it's a badly structured sentence, that surely means that 100g is an ebay-imposed limit.

[akemp1]

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@moonlight-rhapsody wrote:

The way I read it, items do have to be under 100g, otherwise why mention a weight at all.  If they hadn't mentioned a weight, then the RM limit of 750g would have applied for Large Letter 1st or 2nd class post.  But they DID mention a weight, so although it's a badly structured sentence, that surely means that 100g is an ebay-imposed limit.

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Yes it's written really badly perhaps because the purpose of the comms was to look like a significant concession while not really being much to write home about so my guess is they wanted to present the category and weight constraints as 'including' rather than 'only' else as you say it wouldn't have been worth mentioning them if they were no longer relevant.

It's just ebay trying to mislead and confuse us with doublespeak as usual.

[adroit-cds]

The custom postage option now appears for CDs listed as large letter postage and priced under £20. Weight isn't a factor.

[retroman303]

All very confusing, as usual!

Genuine question: What's to stop sellers from simply selecting 'Large Letter up to 1kg' in the postage options - whatever the weight & size of their item - in order to bring up the custom postage option (in permitted categories)?

There must be some kind of barrier or downside to it, otherwise surely loads of sellers would be doing it to circumvent SD?

[vinylscot]

No need for that. I have always caveated my posts with a comment that SD is not fit for purpose, and has many issues which need addressed. That is still the case. I am not a "mod", just another user, like you.

I'll admit I was pleasantly surprised by this. It is one of the areas I have previously highlighted as needing attention.

[akemp1]

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@vinylscot wrote:

I'll admit I was pleasantly surprised by this. It is one of the areas I have previously highlighted as needing attention.

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Unfortunately at this rate it's going to take them about 3-5 years before they resolve all the other SD issues.

They really need to pick up the pace of accepting what needs to be done to make SD acceptable.

[thepillenwerfer]

You are, of course, free to interpret it as you wish; no doubt we'll learn for sure when people actually test it.

I've just tried changing one of my listings from Simple Delivery to Custom and could choose "2nd Class Large Letter" with no warning about a maximum weight popping up, which, granted, doesn't prove much.

[runninginlane4]

That's great news. I've intended to get rid of my cheaper cigarette card sets and a few more expensive duplicate single cards for a few years. I even bought a lot of large letter 2nd class stamps just before a massive price increase by RM at few years ago. Used some but now I can use the rest. I was refusing to list the cards as postage was going to be about £2.70 under SD. The card sets only ranged from £1.50 to £2.50 in price so who was going to pay £2.70 postage for those? I  can now sell at over a pound cheaper for postage.

[hail.caesar]

Probably a silly question, but does this apply to BINs only,  if it does include auctions too how would that work where the final price isn't known until the listing ends?

[moonlight-rhapsody]

"You are, of course, free to interpret it as you wish; no doubt we'll learn for sure when people actually test it."

I've seen people say that they've now been able to custom-list items that are less than £20 but over 100g, and in fact that weight hasn't been mentioned.  So it appears that the proof is in the pudding, and since that's evidently the case, what I don't understand is why ebay has mentioned 100g at all if it clearly isn't an issue.

[moonlight-rhapsody]

"does this apply to BINs only, if it does include auctions too how would that work where the final price isn't known until the listing ends?"

Ebay haven't specified BIN only, but nor have they mentioned what happens in the case of auctions.  I would assume though that if the final price goes over £20, that SD will kick in.  If the issue of auctions isn't clarified by ebay in the next few days, I would recommend asking in Wednesday's Community Chat.

[akemp1]

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@moonlight-rhapsody wrote:

I've seen people say that they've now been able to custom-list items that are less than £20 but over 100g, and in fact that weight hasn't been mentioned.  So it appears that the proof is in the pudding, and since that's evidently the case, what I don't understand is why ebay has mentioned 100g at all if it clearly isn't an issue.

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Maybe ebay just haven't implemented the 100g cap on custom postage yet?

[crn303]

Thanks for your reply.

Todays news from eBay regarding Large Letter concession was welcome and unexpected.
Probably more change of mind will be forthcoming eventually.

Grateful  for your concern …. As I stated there are posters with egg on their face.

[moonlight-rhapsody]

"Maybe ebay just haven't implemented the 100g cap on custom postage yet?"

I hadn't thought of that but it's certainly a possibility.  It wouldn't be the first time that the technical side hadn't caught up with the policy announcement .

PS.  Perhaps they're waiting for everybody to custom-list heavy items under £20 and that's when they'll implement the policy and switch the listings to SD.....  Cynical, moi? 🤣

[jjambadger27]

Thankfully this also applies to 7" vinyl. What is a bit odd is VAT being added on to the shipping amount - so if you choose an amount of £3.50, £4.20 will be shown as the cost on the listing. 

[gjalp]

I think they have actually listened. On my last survey I specifically mentioned items under £20 and if it was letter or large letter, SD made things more complicated and tracked really wasn’t needed.

[suelel1968]

 "If the issue of auctions isn't clarified by ebay in the next few days, I would recommend asking in Wednesday's Community Chat."

I'm not sure about cynical, but definitely a comedian.