Simple Delivery

[colcoo-616]

Is Simple Delivery mandatory now ? used to be able to select custom postage option but it’s not available now. Just tried listing and Simple Delivery is the only option for postage 

[goodibags]

"So I'm wondering whether I can still change that to the correct Large Letter rate after the item has been bought."

This is what happens when Ebay ambushes seller listings with SD. By 'upgrading' the postage from large letter to parcel they were going to charge the buyer more, but since you've listed as freepost the postage will be deducted from your sale proceeds instead. I hope they're still above zero?

The good news is, yes, you can buy large letter tracked postage and use that instead. The bad news is you'll have to join the ranks submitting refund claims and waiting for your unused SD label to be refunded. That's if it is, it may prove tricky.

It may be better (whenever you get the chance) to split out postage to get buyers to pay? Then they won't have extra buyer fees charged on top and you won't need to worry about re-pricing everything when the SD rates change.

I'm not sure what happens in the case of express postage but splitting it out so buyers pay would probably save a bit of stress and worry there too?

[incredible_how]

when you make the listing it states what the postage is that you are to pay - but I don't offer free postage so can't say 100% (the customer pays 7% on the invisible "free" postage cost). Think as above you can do your own label and wait for a refund from the SD label

[maujohwai]

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@goodibags wrote:

It may be better (whenever you get the chance) to split out postage to get buyers to pay? Then they won't have extra buyer fees charged on top and you won't need to worry about re-pricing everything when the SD rates change.

I'm not sure what happens in the case of express postage but splitting it out so buyers pay would probably save a bit of stress and worry there too?

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Great reply (and not just the bit i've quoted) — thanks!

I originally used free delivery because I could determine an instantly visible, attractive total price, but I'll look at revoking that, now that, as you make me realise, buyers now pay BPF on that element of the price. This means changing the price of a few hundred individually priced items for the third time this year (thank you, eBay!): first when BPF was introduced, then when they changed the rates.

[goodibags]

Glad to be of help. It's worth doing as while the fixed buyer fee is down to 10p the variable part has gone up from 4% to 7% on everything up to £20. For a £20 item that's £1.40.

[dantwocats]

postage buyer pays £3.38 but click to seller pays its £3.94 ? what is about are sells paying the fees as well

[incredible_how]

Must be a glitch - I don't see that... a lot of glitches still

[goodibags]

"postage buyer pays £3.38 but click to seller pays its £3.94 ?"

Is the item price going over £100, because £3.94 is the postage for items above that?

It seems daft that SD would charge more just because it's including itself, but with SD anything can happen!

@incredible_how - Yes, we still call them 'glitches' but maybe Ebay doesn't? 😉

[goodibags]

Please ignore my attempt at an 'explanation' above. If the item is £99 then buyer postage may take it above that but the rate is £3.38.

If the seller pays then the postage should come out of the £99 anyway. I can't see why it would go up to the next rate band.

[maujohwai]

😉 You had me there for a bit(!)

Reminded me of a scenario I sometimes imagine, where sticking the postage label on a parcel puts into a more expensive bracket; e.g. you pay for postage online for a 1998g Small Parcel, then you stick the label on and in the Post Office it weighs 2002g and they tell you it's a Medium Parcel.

[goodibags]

Yup, there's a reason why postage stamps are now almost 5 times bigger than they used to be! Often when posting Special Delivery you'd need a larger box to fit them on. But a larger box may mean you go over 100 grams.

Still no idea what the deal is with sellers paying more (freepost) for postage than buyers would?

Have you had that happen to you? It's a weird one.

[sml192]

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@goodibags wrote:

Still no idea what the deal is with sellers paying more (freepost) for postage than buyers would?

Have you had that happen to you? It's a weird one.

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This has been reported several times before.  It appears to be a recurring glitch with the listing page, whereby when 'Seller pays' is selected the system is sometimes showing the wrong price.  

[goodibags]

Righto. So, a recurring glitch? Same as simple delivery. 😁

[xyz307xyz]

< deleted >

[rgrahamsmith1403]

"Switch to collection only and IMMEDIATELY switch back to Postage only and there it is - custom postage."

No it isn't. They've cottoned onto that one......

[rgrahamsmith1403]

Anyway - to get back to the fundamental beef we all have about "simple (HAH!) delivery" - it is now COMPLETELY COMPULSORY.  No opt-out possible, even on new listings. What is totally ignored is the cost of packaging - I used to have "custom delivery" with a flat rate of £4 to cover the cost of packaging plus RM 2nd class small parcel postage, painlessly bought online from RM. Now I have to pay for the pre-paid - and pre-charged - simple delivery which does not cover any packaging costs. Rather than increase prices to cover it, I'll have to lose out a bit. What really p***ed me off was finding that all my original listings have been changed from custom to simple delivery. No warning, No notification, No choice. I have just sold a previously listed item and have yet to see if the pre-paid postage label will even work. If it doesn't, then I'm offski. TBH, I always enclose a note with my orders, asking people to order direct from me in future. Some customers do, but I suspect a load more don't read it. Wish they would.

[goodibags]

Maybe not totally so just yet? I'm still able to use 'sell similar' from an older listing that had custom postage.

Scroll down to the postage section and click Add primary postage. The correct custom postage will show in the background, so just cancel the pop up without doing anything.

I can then go back up and make changes to title, description, price, etc. Pretty much anything except the category.

Admittedly this may not work if all your listings were opted in behind your back.

[incredible_how]

Why would the prepaid label not work?
After the first failure I have now been able to book free collection and bring label with Royal Mail via SD, which saves 30p.
Add packaging to the selling price?

[incredible_how]

No not working for me - says this listing has been updated to SD.
But as I quite like the free RM pickup and label maybe not a problem - saves 30p.

[rgrahamsmith1403]

Oh I dare say it will be okay but I was a bit worried because I’m used to
buying my postage label directly from RM and then I know it’s right. And
no, I don’t want to put off buyers by increasing prices.

Graham Smith Sent from my iPhone

[incredible_how]

hope it goes ok. all mine have and have also had free bring label and pick up from royal mail, which is great as they are back to charging 30p now. But that system failed the first time my mother sold and we tried free collection - there seemed to have been some glitches.
Did you use tracked royal mail before SD? If you did then SD now seems to be cheaper for small parcels so any addition in sale price should be covered. I'm only signed up for Royal Mail as Evri drop off is fair distance away. At first the SD prices were higher than RM but that has been adjusted now.

I've always done tracked 48 for everything over £20 and kept it as RM cost.