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.

[podlingsmum2007]

My local post office insist on weighing everything. When I have an item boxed that has exceeded the weight by a bit I find they don't check it at the royal mail sorting office so I take it there.

[xyz307xyz]

See this section (and the whole page for more on SD): @baryon97 
https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/simple-delivery?id=5575#se... 
and
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sellercentre/postage/simple-delivery 

[baryon97]

Thank you; that's useful. So if my parcel exceeds the 2kg small parcel limit, it should be delivered, but I'll be charged the difference plus £1, which isn't as bad as I thought. I'll find out in a few days when my most recent sale (2.1kg) has made its way to the buyer.

[sml192]

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@books1ecb wrote:
The T&Cs clearly state that you can still be surcharged by Royal Mail
for overweight SD parcels.

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Where does it state that?

Ebay does reserve the right to charge extra for under declarations where the seller has selected a size other than that recommended by eBay:

'c) Under declarations.

If you amend the predicted dimensions and weight of your item at the point of listing, and the item is found to be underdeclared, eBay reserves the right to charge you for the under declaration as well as for any applicable administration or other fees.'

However, I'm yet to see anyone posting regarding this actually happening.  The only way eBay would know of any size discrepancy is if Royal Mail informed them.

Due to the way business contracts are structured and the fact that they are usually on a flat rate basis it is highly unlikely that Royal Mail will be concerned with the specifics of any individual item sent.  They will only be interested in the overall profile of all items sent, actual versus projected, which is normally then taken into consideration when the contract is next negotiated, usually on the anniversary of the contract, but can also be used to determine any interim changes to the contract price that Royal Mail deems necessary.

[baryon97]

To complicate matters, the item I've just sold - that turned out to be about 5% overweight - was a BIN listed well before SD came into being. Let's see what happens! If the buyer is hit with a surcharge, I'm going to let him keep the item and refund the whole cost (£25).

[books1ecb]

c) Under declarations.

If you amend the predicted dimensions and weight of your item at the
point of listing, and the item is found to be underdeclared, eBay
reserves the right to charge you for the under declaration as well as
for any applicable administration or other fees.'

that is what I am referring to - thank for posting the precise wording.

[department28]

'To complicate matters, the item I've just sold - that turned out to be about 5% overweight - was a BIN listed well before SD came into being. Let's see what happens! If the buyer is hit with a surcharge, I'm going to let him keep the item and refund the whole cost (£25).'

If your listing was switched over to Simple Delivery, you should be ok with the postage label that SD has 'decided' is correct for your item, even if your parcel is heavier. Not surprisingly, it is this aspect of Simple Delivery that has caused such a lot confusion.

When you list an item, SD automatically selects the postage. Whatever label SD selects, you can go ahead & use, even if your parcel is heavier/bigger than the weight on the SD label - unless it is bigger than the maximum accepted by the courier, ie Royal Mail maximum size 61cm x 46cm x 46cm/weight over 20kg.

Alternatively, if you don't want SD to 'estimate' your parcel weight, you can select your own size/weight when listing. Bear in mind SD might have estimated a lighter size, so it can be cheaper to go with the SD choice... 🤖

Congratulations to those who have got the hang of Simple Delivery... I still feel like I'm at the back of the class, hoping teacher won't ask me anything complicated about it... 😧

[ikmgem]

I agree. 3 parcels booked with this service. 1 delivered late, 1 lost and another not been picked up now for 2 days. Absolute shambles and horrific customer service.

[baryon97]

Interestingly, we've just received a parcel, delivered using SD, that was overweight. Here's what seems to have happened: 

The weight has been written on the label: 2750g against a 2kg limit. The parcel has been delivered, with a sticker saying £5 charge plus £1.50 handling but we, the recipient, do not seem to have been charged. I wonder whether this fee will be recovered from the buyer? 

What a bloody mess!

[wellingnorth]

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@baryon97 wrote:

Interestingly, we've just received a parcel, delivered using SD, that was overweight. Here's what seems to have happened: 

The weight has been written on the label: 2750g against a 2kg limit. The parcel has been delivered, with a sticker saying £5 charge plus £1.50 handling but we, the recipient, do not seem to have been charged. I wonder whether this fee will be recovered from the buyer? 

That is interesting, I wonder if that is always happening in these cases.

I've sent maybe 10+ parcels via Royal Mail using Simple Delivery that have definitely been over weight or size. In most cases I think ebay had automatically selected the size / weight band, but I'm not sure and as far as I know there's no way of checking whether a completed order has used ebay's recommendation or not. So far I have not seen any surcharges and have had no complaints from any buyer.

I wonder whether ebay is imposing surcharges on sellers at all yet, has anyone seen complaints about this on the forums?

[podlingsmum2007]

I left positive feedback to a seller as it wasn't their fault that my recent purchase never arrived due to problems with simple delivery labels (Evri). The feedback has disappeared however. I had mentioned the item didn't arrive due to simple delivery. Is ebay removing positive feedback that negatively reflects the platform? I opened a case to get my refund where ebay arbitrate between buyer and seller, and no mention is made of themselves as the third party in the transaction and therefore the cause of the problem. 

[jonatjonatjonat]

It states in the simple delivery benefits

You can request the removal of negative or neutral feedback about delivery using Seller Help

It specifically states negative or neutral, assume you could request positive feedback removal if you wanted to

[podlingsmum2007]

I had an excellent rapport with the seller so it would not have been her.

[sml192]

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@baryon97 wrote:

Interestingly, we've just received a parcel, delivered using SD, that was overweight. Here's what seems to have happened: 

The weight has been written on the label: 2750g against a 2kg limit. The parcel has been delivered, with a sticker saying £5 charge plus £1.50 handling but we, the recipient, do not seem to have been charged. I wonder whether this fee will be recovered from the buyer? 

What a bloody mess!

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Did the label have 'Marketplace Seller' and 'Paid by eBay Simple Delivery' on it?

What I suspect may have happened is that the parcel was inadvertently stickered but that they subsequently realised that it was a Simple Delivery item and so delivered it as normal.

As it is being sent as part of a business contract there is no need for surcharges to be levied against individual items.

[sml192]

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@wellingnorth wrote:

So far I have not seen any surcharges and have had no complaints from any buyer.

I wonder whether ebay is imposing surcharges on sellers at all yet, has anyone seen complaints about this on the forums?

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I haven't seen anyone posting on the forum to say that this has actually happened yet.  As I stated in my previous post (#644) the only way eBay would know is if Royal Mail was to inform them which due to the way business contracts are structured is unlikely.