Simple delivery: will I have to stop buying my postage elsewhere?

[johnwash1]

At present I use RM's Click and Collect.  Very convenient for me.  And it means ebay don't know when I dispatch earlier than they expect (my buyers do, because I message them) and so they don't use their 'algorithm' to screw over my EDDs.

Does 'Simple Delivery' mean I'm going to be forced to use ebay for postage?

[johnwash1]

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@sml192 wrote:

It currently only applies to items sold in the clothing category but will eventually be expanded to other categories. 

Opt out is on a listing by listing basis:

Can I opt out of Simple Delivery?

Yes, you can opt out of Simple Delivery when you’re creating the listing.

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Let's hope before it comes into other categories that there's an account setting so you can turn it off for all your subsequent listings.  Or even all your existing listings, if it's been quietly slipped in (which wouldn't surprise me).

Otherwise I forsee a lot of calls to CS.

[dougbat20]

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@wyntersemporium wrote:

I hope not I think you can opt out of simple delivery . As I get my mail collected from my door via Royal Mail. I don't trust Evri at all. As they lost loads of mine in one day.

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I hope that I can opt out as well, because UPS is completely out of the way for me to get to, that it'd be cheaper to pay for a collection myself - and I wouldn't touch Yodel with a 100m barge pole.

In fact, I wish eBay sellers wouldn't use Yodel as Yodel is atrocious  !!

[camerapartsuk]

I think it's a good idea personally, like a domestic version of GSP.

I've had a couple of late or lost GSP items which I've happily guided the buyer through the item not received case as I know both the buyer and myself are covered.

I'm also not fussed if the postal service ends up actually delivering the item 3 weeks later.

In the UK, if I sell a high valued item I have to jump through hoops trying to get a postal refund for lost items. Royal Mail want an original purchase receipt and if you buy wholesale, that would mean the cost is not the price it sold for, thus you lose out.

So for higher valued items or items I'd usually be using a tracked service for, I'll be jumping for this as long as the price is the same as before.

[papso22]

It's funny that when this was first announced one of the selling points was no FVF on the postage element, but now there are no fees at all for private accounts (with some exceptions), so that 'advantage' has gone.

[rowenaldos]

Looking at it now it’s forcing you on to it by April, you’ll have no choice between RM or Evri although your item is fully protected until deliver which is a massive plus that eBay will likely regret.

instead of buying postage everything wool be QR codes, drop offs or printing and drop off, sounds like there’s no collection option so my heart goes out to the disabled or those unable to get anywhere.

EBay getting more involved is a disaster because they’re absolutely inept and incompetent in every instance I’ve needed them.

”hi eBay my not received order has been delivered as you can see on your tracking but I can’t get hold of seller, so can you release funds?”

ebay

no not for 3 days, even though we can see your not received item has now been recieved .

logic

[dougbat20]

Looks like eBay is trying to copy Vinted now, with a fee for private buyers to private sellers (because private sellers no longer pay fees), this Simple Delivery which if I am forced into, I won't be selling on eBay anymore (because I'm not using dodgy couriers or couriers I can't even get to) and now you don't get paid until after the item is delivered!

The only plus of using eBay was that you got paid quickly (most of the time)! Time for privates to go elsewhere!

[department28]

If it is not going to be possible to deselect the courier/s you don't want to use, and if there is no option to get parcels collected from home, a lot of sellers will have no choice but to go elsewhere, or give up altogether. 

[johnwash1]

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@dougbat20 wrote:

Looks like eBay is trying to copy Vinted now, with a fee for private buyers to private sellers (because private sellers no longer pay fees), this Simple Delivery which if I am forced into, I won't be selling on eBay anymore (because I'm not using dodgy couriers or couriers I can't even get to) and now you don't get paid until after the item is delivered!

The only plus of using eBay was that you got paid quickly (most of the time)! Time for privates to go elsewhere!

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Yes, but the question is: WHERE?

[rob-lucas]

Oh no...where does it state they are charging fees now?

[sml192]

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@rob-lucas wrote:

Oh no...where does it state they are charging fees now?

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If you are referring to the new 'Buyer Protection' fee then you should have received an email from eBay.  You can also see full details here (see the 'Buying FAQs' section at the bottom):

https://pages.ebay.co.uk/buyerprotection/?mkevt=1&mkpid=2&emsid=e99011.m2.l1&mkcid=8&bu=43153737291&...

[dfernand101]

So will ebay's 'Simple Delivery' be mandatory in April 2025 ? I don't understand why that would be,  using Royal Mail dropping off my pre-printed tracked postage labels at the Post Office 'drop shop' 1 minute walk away from my home works perfectly well right now, I've sent hundreds of parcels and via Royal Mail and all have been delivered successfully. If it aint broke why fix it ?

I try and find somewhere online where it will tell me where the closest Ebay 'Simple Delivery' drop off shop is to where I live and I cannot find even that function to tell me where I can drop it off. 

Am I right in stating that 'Simple Delivery' forces you to use a certain carrier and a specific drop off shop which may be miles away ? This doesn't sit right with me at all. 

[jma2815]

The buyer will be presented with postage options at check out, at the moment the options seem to be Evri, Yodel and Royal Mail. Buyer selects one and pays for it and you are sent the label and it is then your responsibility to get it into that carrier’s system. It won’t be one eBay drop off shop so you could end up having to go to three different drop off places every day if you live somewhere reasonably accessible and sell a fair bit, especially as mandated despatch times will be shortened to (I think) two days from receipt of order. 

It will be the end of my selling here. I gave up on etsy because of micromanagement like this. 

[johnwash1]

@dfernand101 

"If it aint broke why fix it ?"

Indeed.  But you're forgetting this is ebay, where if it ain't broke, keep changing it until it is.

Mandatory Simple Delivery requiring drop off will be the end of my ebaying.

[medealady]

Wonder if ebay realise Evri dont cover anything with a glass or ceramic component to name but a few? Correct you may not know whee to drop the parcel until you get the label. My reading and understanding is you can eventually opt out of Simples individually when creating each listing. You wont then get the 'benefits' but Royal Mail offer compensation anyway and a tracking number on small parcels etc.

[jma2815]

Mm. My understanding is that any choice to opt out of Simple Delivery will be removed sometime this quarter. Some of us don’t have it yet but for those that do and can at the moment opt out when creating each listing…they won’t be able to. Once it’s compulsory no private seller will be able to control their own postage so that will be me out. 

[reasonable-robert]

i stopped using royal fail and went to evri ...touch wood problem free

the service is good its RM themselves

as the japanese would say...road of clap...

[lucy_farmer]

'Wonder if ebay realise Evri dont cover anything with a glass or ceramic component to name but a few?....'

Yep, the Evri 'exclusions' list is hysterically long .. (posting clothing or a teddy bear would probably be ok , but that's about it 😂)

This is where the NON 'one-size-fits-all' simple delivery would have to come into it- where ebay take what the item you are selling *is*, into account, when putting up the listing to only offer delivery service 'choices' that will deal with/insure whatever it is.

Otherwise : If you sold something, posted it using the service mandated BY ebay and the carrier refused to carry it (because it contained batteries? or was perfume? etc) that would make Simple delivery a laughing stock.

Or sold something, Evri carried it and broke it; then ebay have shot themselves in the foot as they have *said* 'once the (simple delivery) parcel has been handed to the courier it is covered' ...BY ebay, not the seller.

Unless ebay have negotiated themselves a massively better insurance deal with Evri, than that which is available to us proles....

(all of the above in the future , from when Simple Del. becomes compulsory, I think.. not at the moment!)

[sawjuggler]

I use RM most of the time as I have a large amount of stamps I inherited from my late father (he told me they are only worth face value) so until Ive used those Im not using any other carrier unless the item requires it.

Evri is a joke and I refuse to give them a penny.

What does concerns me about simple delivery is that the T&C's state

"15. Opt out.

You may opt your item out of the Simple Delivery Services at the time of listing only. "

What happens to existing listings. Do I have to end them all and then relist ?

[dfernand101]

The thing with Simple Delivery I don't like is that it is very open to  scammer buyer postage exploits, so say a buyer knows of a certain delivery carrier that operates in his local area and the buyer knows that the delivery guy for that carrier often doesn't scan the items or there is some glitch that causes the delivery to never have a system status of 'delivered' then that scammer will choose that flawed delivery service via Simple Delivery and claim bought items haven't arrived when it actually has arrived.

[lucy_farmer]

'....flawed delivery service via Simple Delivery and claim bought items haven't arrived when it actually has arrived.'

The buyer may get a refund but not from the seller!

The (only) good thing about Simple Delivery is that ebay themselves will be responsible for non-delivery refunds.

Not the seller. 🙂

(seller will have to wait 14 days to get paid if there's no delivery confirmation, but they'll get the sale money eventually)

If ebay's alorithyms do discover certain carriers, routes or *addresses* are geting suspiciously high numbers of non-deliveries, I'm pretty sure they'll change things somehow....