Simple delivery is awful

[jezzagold]

I list a few things on ebay occasionally, but this new simple delivery is just rubbish for sellers. It assumes that ebay actually know the size and weight of items And that everyone can easily get to Evri or other courier services easily. Why did they have to stop the seller from deciding how to post items? Put me right off bothering to use Ebay.

[drew77drew-0]

Preach it.

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[http://gfx2.hotmail.com/mail/w3/ltr/emoticons/smile_shades.gif] Drew

[drew77drew-0]

"It’s Sunday afternoon, and I’ve got three parcels to post (two of them over 4kg) eBay has forced me to use Evri, even though the Yodel shop is much closer. After going through all the hassle of finding parking and carrying the parcels to the shop, guess what? Evri’s printing system is down. Unbelievable!"

Sadly very believable.

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[http://gfx2.hotmail.com/mail/w3/ltr/emoticons/smile_shades.gif] Drew

[xyz307xyz]

For Evri postage you can write down a 6 character code and use it at a Evri point which has a printer (I don't know if they all do or not) to print the label.

For Royal Mail postage you should soon be able to book them to collect from you and bring the labels. Ebay says that is available now - but some other people have reported the postman/woman not bringing the label.

[scruffandstuffwinch]

Simple delivery is a headache! They have now dictated what couriers i am to use...put it back to how it was. Marketplace to date is becoming a better place to sell items, ebay....tread carefully here as your market share will fade before your eyes.

[tressygirl]

@drew77drew-0  you replied to me with ......   If a 'community manager' says you can photograph your label screen on a camera then that seems like a lot of work when before you could just stick a stamp on a letter. I haven't got all day to photo graph each label and would probably never remember which photo goes with each letter/parcel - are these people insane!

I'm not gonna deny anything you said above,  as anything but correct!  It is a faff, but I believe the community manager was only offering what is for the moment, a workaround for those without printers or phones, who still wish to try,  and carry on selling 🤗.

It's caused me to stop , so as said,  I cannot disagree with your observation !

@drew77drew-0 

[koi-bricks]

Totall agree its impossible to choose what I want. overcharging all my customers

[jonatjonatjonat]

It would appear you potentially have some item you are selling that you could sell on a business account (Koi Food for example) - you can have both a Business Seller account and a Private Account if you wish - the business seller account would let you charge what you require for postage.

[infohelps]

I have worked in the corporate world for 30 years and it makes me laugh when people have the assumption that changes to the way a large corporation interfaces with its clients must be well thought out, as so much money is available to throw at it.   As you say, software developers move from company to company.  Their programming is only as good as the information they are given by the management of the individual companies.  That is where the problem lies.  Most managers these days do not know how their company works on a day to day basis, and they rarely seek input from those that do, before commissioning changes.   They, like the software developers, move from company to company in search of more lucrative contracts.  These days they rarely work their way up from the shop floor.  The bigger the company, the more distanced the management are from their customer base, and therefore the less likely things are to go smoothly. 

Here is an example from when I worked in an insurance company.  A software update was brought in to save money (i.e. cut staff from a specific department although that wasn't how it was pitched of course!) and the whole company had to attend meetings to show how wonderful it would be.  When my team attended the meeting, we noticed that a function that we used on a day to day basis had been removed.  When we highlighted this, we were told "Oh we didn't think anyone used that any more".  Well, if you'd asked us we'd have told you.  After a few days they provided us with a 'work around'.  (Oh how corporations love that phrase!).  The trouble was the work around meant a task which took minutes, now took hours as it involved manual processes and phone calls to clients.  Never mind, the senior management got a pat on the back from shareholders because the goal was to get rid of staff in a specific team (not ours).   They were able to use this example of money saved to get them better paid positions in other companies which they did within a few months.  In the mean time, my department had to fight to get extra staff to do the job which used to be quick and easy.  By the time some of the staff who had been made redundant were rehired to work on my team, the management had already left for lucrative pastures new. 

That's the corporate world, folks.  They really couldn't organise a pass up in a brewery (intentional typo of course!)

[tjfromdevon]

I'm an occassional ebay seller, their new SD system is *bleep*!!. I sold two items to the same seller, auto generated the postage labels and have to send one via Royal Mail and the Other via Evri. I live in a rural area so now have to make two trips by car to post the items. As I understand it I have to use both labels or the system won't register the fact that both

pacels have been shipped and then received - ITS *bleep*E!! and I won't be using ebay to sell on again.

[mssv-20]

The eBay Simple Delivery system appears to have been designed without proper consideration for the realities faced by sellers. It should not be mandatory. Sellers should have the option to either use this system or choose their own preferred method of postage. eBay’s focus should be on ensuring that items are delivered to buyers within the specified timeframe, not dictating how they are posted.

For instance, an item valued under £20 can be sent via Royal Mail 2nd Class Large Letter for just £1.55, which already includes compensation for up to £20. However, with eBay Simple Delivery, the buyer is forced to pay nearly double that (around £3) for no added benefit. In such cases, the system is neither cost-effective nor necessary.

Simple Delivery may have some value for higher-value items (e.g., over £20–£30), where buyers or sellers may prefer more tracking or insurance. But for lower-value items, it simply inflates postage costs and creates unnecessary limitations. This system should be optional, not enforced across the board.

[department28]

It sounds like the buyer bought the items separately, rather than asking for a combined total?

'If you're a private seller, items listed with Simple Delivery will automatically be combined at checkout. If a buyer completes checkout in separate transactions, the postage won’t be combined. To ensure you're protected, you should send items that aren’t combined using the Simple Delivery label provided.'

So, apart from cancelling & relisting so you can post both items together, yes, I think you'll have to post them both individually.

Unless it's possible for you to pack both together, and update the tracking so it registers that both items have been shipped? Not sure if that would work, as both items would end up with the same tracking number...?!

Posting has become a nightmare... 😱

(Or perhaps they couldn't be combined because one was Evri, & the other was RM?) 

[cobwebcottage]

'However, with eBay Simple Delivery, the buyer is forced to pay nearly double that (around £3) for no added benefit.'

In one word, tracking. SD includes insurance against loss and damage. How can they pay out for loss if the item is not tracked? they would be inundated with false claims.

What you should be concerned about is why your prices are inflated by a buyer protection fee because you have certified that you are a private seller.

[110kay]

Just removed most of my items from ebay. This simple delivery is far from simple and din't even know it existed until today. Another nail I'm afraid ebay.

[tressygirl]

It was announced in eBay messages that Simple Delivery was to be mandatory for Private sellers last year,  around October I think.  

Then, another announcement to say it was starting from April 1 5th this year.  It was a slow roll out , some sellers hanging onto Custom Postage,  until recently.

There have been changes,  one of note is that payouts from 6th August will be released within 24 hours when tracking shows delivery.

There are still many areas which need ' fixing' e.g. combined postage Still not available, custom postage not being shown for items which are exempt from SD.

However,  there are some bonuses.  Use Simple Delivery,  and if an item is lost in the post,  or arrives damaged in transit to the buyer,  eBay pick up and pay that refund,  and the seller keeps the payment from the item.

Take a peek here,  at this link which explains SD, make an informed decision if you have only just heard of it today,  whether to go,  or weather the storm and stay ! 🤔

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sellercentre/postage/simple-delivery?mkevt=1&mkpid=2&emsid=0&mkcid=8&bu=43952...

@110kay 

[xyz307xyz]

Some Post Offices also take Evri items.

If you do want to sell again. You could turn off one of them here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/ship/prf/simpledelivery

Ebay may still give you a label for the turned off one as an exception.

And turning off one makes some postage bands more expensive. See https://www.ebay.co.uk/sellercentre/postage/simple-delivery

[ferg3196]

Yes, utter sh*t show for so many reasons.

New 12 hour day shifts mean I am often not able to post myself.

My 84 year old mother who lives 50 yards from the post office had been posting for me.

She does not have a mobile phone so unable to share qr codes with her.

Once my listings have sold I am finished with eBay.

[ferg3196]

👏👏👏

Very well said, sums up my feelings exactly.

[edwardian-dreams]

How did she post for you before without qr codes ? Either you or her had a printer?

You can get collections with Royal Mail now too (apparently though I think there’s some unclarified thing about it all) good luck finding a way 

[drew77drew-0]

The more I read, the more shocked I am at how, in so many ways, Ebay has made the lives of is seller so bad. I am glad they reduced the buyers protection fees but Ebay has to rethink simple delivery. It needs to be optional not enforced. Can't Ebay see they are driving away sellers who are also often buyers?

[geosacha007]

I thought ebay were responsible for any errors in weight and size if the seller accepted the recommended postage.  But when listing it says you should make sure you get the weight and size right or you will be charged.

So are ebay or are they not responsible if you use their recommendation?