THE EBAY OF 2025 - WHAT TO EXPECT AS A SMALL PRIVATE SELLER - SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO ?

[bittyboy101]

Just as the title says...

Apparently a few disturbing/concerning changes to eBay coming in January & February 2025... 

1) eBay Managed Shipping.

2) Payment Holds until delivery of a sold item has been confirmed.

So I'm a bit confused about number 1 - eBay's managed shipping... Not sure how this is going to work ? and whether it will be something like Packlink (only made compulsory instead of optional) ... or will it be like an "eBay Global Shipping program" type of setup where we send our sold items to eBay's 3rd party distributor and they then forward the item to the buyer by their default postal service ??... something tells me this could be Evri  (Hermes ! )  - Not happy or comfortable with this !  knowing Evri aren't always great !  😞

Moving on to number 2 - payment holds/delays until a sold items has been confirmed delivered (or 14 days have passed since buyer purchased the item and the buyer hasn't opened any cases during that time)... This can now be time consuming to get paid... Like eBay's new managed payments wasn't already slow enough !... now it's getting even slower !... not ideal if you've  got little money in the bank that week and have to 'find money upfront' to pay for posting sold items (this can get pretty expensive if 2 or 3 heavy items which cost £20 to post sell on eBay at the same time to different buyers)... Oh wait a moment... Conveniently eBay now does managed shipping and  they'll let you have an advance on your buyer's payment to cover shipping costs PROVIDING YOU BUY IT AT AN INFLATED RATE FROM EBAY ONLY !... How nice !  😞 

Now the debate of whether I should stay ? or go ?

I have always loved buying and selling on eBay for many years... Would it be worth carrying on with these new changes which are very worrying... or would it be better to do what the old saying says and QUIT WHILST YOU'RE AHEAD ???

All comments welcome - The good, the bad and the ugly - Let's know what you all think !

would a small private seller be skinned alive by the new 2025 eBay ? I wonder ! 🤔 🙄 😁   

[bittyboy101]

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@podlingsmum2007 wrote:

Sometimes I find buyer address is slightly incorrect. Wrong postal town when I check it on the Royal mail site, part of it missing, or a mis spelling. I correct this so the item gets there. Will ebay correct these errors in addresses before issue of a label I wonder.

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You brought up a very good point,

I too have had this... and normally use google to tell me what the buyer's address should be if I suspect it may wrong or incomplete.

Also eBay sometimes gives wrong suggestions of how a buyer's address should be and I just ignore it once I've used google to confirm everything is OK.

This could cause delivery problems if eBay auto corrects some buyers addresses and gets it wrong ! 😯 If that happens then it should be on eBay's neck not the seller's as they only copied what eBay gave to them ! 🙄

[sweetcharity.2013]

Another concerning thing about this delivery cost determination. As a buyer I look at an item, including delivery costs to see if it's worthwhile. If the delivery costs "can also change based on the item's final sale price", I won't know if it's still in budget or not when I bid. AND.... "combine postage COULD be available"? What ??? If a seller has told me or states combined shipping & ebay overrules it like they've done with the offers debacle it's a pain all round buyer & seller. 

 

[scirocco_dave]

GO!! I'm away from here, just came into discussions to see how disguntled other private sellers were, I am in no way surprised at what I read. Good luck.

[bittyboy101]

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@scirocco_dave wrote:

GO!! I'm away from here, just came into discussions to see how disguntled other private sellers were, I am in no way surprised at what I read. Good luck.

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Thanks man !  😎

[kempseykate]

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@bittyboy101 wrote:

I've always used Special Delivery on all my small to medium items and taken about 60% of the hit, I usually charge £4.95 and it is now something like £9.45 ! as Royal Mail put their prices up recently and will probably do it again in 2025  😞

Coming back to eBay... If like you say eBay forces everyone to use Special Delivery... it won't bother me too much as a seller, because I do this anyway to safeguard myself against items getting lost or stolen in the post... but under eBay's new managed shipping I am wondering could this be the end of most sellers being able to use 1st and 2nd class untracked post ? 

I

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Not Special Delivery - Simple Delivery.

2 entirely different things.
Simple Delivery is going to be forced on private sellers, not Special Delivery.

[bittyboy101]

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@kempseykate wrote:

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@bittyboy101 wrote:

I've always used Special Delivery on all my small to medium items and taken about 60% of the hit, I usually charge £4.95 and it is now something like £9.45 ! as Royal Mail put their prices up recently and will probably do it again in 2025  😞

Coming back to eBay... If like you say eBay forces everyone to use Special Delivery... it won't bother me too much as a seller, because I do this anyway to safeguard myself against items getting lost or stolen in the post... but under eBay's new managed shipping I am wondering could this be the end of most sellers being able to use 1st and 2nd class untracked post ? 

I

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Not Special Delivery - Simple Delivery.

2 entirely different things.
Simple Delivery is going to be forced on private sellers, not Special Delivery.

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Yes I worked that out a little while after posting that message.

It certainly remains to be seen just how simple this "Simple Delivery" really is... 🙄 🙄 🙄   

[dch2112011]

Simples - click the button and the things you don't want your family to find out you are buying simply arrive at the neighbours house  who lets the whole neighbourhood know what you are buying, courtesy of Evri - ebay's preferred simple delivery firm

What more could you ask for !

[valueaddedresource]

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@ett1954 wrote:

@valueaddedresource   Thanks for your 'layman's' explanation of the objective of this new feature; I hadn't looked at it from this viewpoint but it makes complete sense.  Hoodwink Wall Street and the investors for another quarter; or maybe a year if they are lucky.  However this time next year if eBay can't sustain their incentivisation of this programme they may see a dramatic drop-off in their 'enthusiastic buyers' in the following quarters.  No doubt the eBay board will be aware of this but will be grateful of the breathing space which gives them the time to come up with the next 'Grand Plan'.

It demonstrates eBay's business plan succinctly - short term measures to satisfy investors from one quarter to the next rather than commitment in a long-term plan to drive sustainable growth in buyers through which to increase GMV.  No wonder business seller confidence in the UK is at an all time low; they are totally reliant on existing buyers and private sellers to 're-invest' their sales income into the platform.  Is this what is meant by a circular economy? 🤔

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@ett1954 Unfortunately, yes I think that is what eBay means by "circular economy" only increasingly it doesn't even necessarily require re-investing sales income - as they continue to push Promoted Listings ads (especially cost per click), seller money gets recirculated to eBay even if there is no sale to be had.

[bittyboy101]

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@dch2112011 wrote:

Simples - click the button and the things you don't want your family to find out you are buying simply arrive at the neighbours house  who lets the whole neighbourhood know what you are buying, courtesy of Evri - ebay's preferred simple delivery firm

What more could you ask for !

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LOL ! 😁

[wgwillia]

Hi Ebay have messed other things up over the years now they having a go Postage system and after that what next ????.

[abrahamtoast]

Thanks to @valueaddedresource  for providing more information regarding "Simple" delivery. I had begun to read the page some time ago, but decided very quickly it was not for me, so I just opted out.

One of the worries many of us had was that we might be sent around half a dozen drop-off points, as buyers selected different carriers.

Reading the SD page, that does not seem to be the case. However, in real life, it is even worse.

In the FAQs, in the "How To Post" section, is the following exchange, copied verbatim:

What carriers are available on Simple Delivery?

All postage labels will be from Royal Mail and Evri.

So, the choice for buyers will be Royal Mail, which would probably be the choice (from these two) of 90% of sellers, and only ONE alternative, a courier known for its cheaper prices and its appalling service.

I have used Evri before off eBay, and both my nearest drop off points have, on occasion, refused small packages from me due to space concerns, and the nearest lockers have been full every time I've tried, whether that be early morning, daytime, or evening.

eBay does state that the seller is covered once the parcel enters the network, but I wonder how long they'll do that for, when the volumes really rack up exponentially.

[galloway_cycles]

Thanks for this link to the actual policy.  Also noticed this:

Can I opt out of Simple Delivery?

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

So whilst I will wait to see what its like once live, sounds like its one of those things thats been introduced  like the dreadful AI description tool & Simple Listing Tool (or Whatever it is) in the phone App to help less able sellers, which will hopefully raise the overall quality of listings.

Most of the people posting on these fora are articulate and comfortable with written communication. There will be people out there who are not and this might make things simpler for them.

[abrahamtoast]

A major part of this discussion is because the option to opt-out of SD is being removed for private sellers sometime early in the new year.

So yes, opt out for as long as you can, but it won't be for long.

The account you're posting from is a business account, so it won't be affected, yet, although any private accounts you may have will be.

[galloway_cycles]

Ok thanks - will wait and see when it goes live then.  

Yes this is my business account,  I do have a private account for personal purchases  as well.

As said up thread, I wont sell if I have to use Evri due to lack of service in my geographical area and poor past performance.  Talking to my regular local Evri guy (who tbf is excellent), cost cutting policies are making it worse as well.

[bittyboy101]

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@abrahamtoast wrote:

A major part of this discussion is because the option to opt-out of SD is being removed for private sellers sometime early in the new year.

So yes, opt out for as long as you can, but it won't be for long.

The account you're posting from is a business account, so it won't be affected, yet, although any private accounts you may have will be.

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My thoughts exactly.

I think the option to opt out of simple delivery will be removed once eBay's revised managed delivery kicks in on 15th January 2025... then we will be stuck with it whether we like it or don't !... just like eBay new messages which I really hate now ! yet they won't do the decent thing and give us the option to go back to eBay classic messages which I loved  😞 

[bittyboy101]

Right I'm now off to celebrate the new year 2025 so will catch you all on the other side 😎

I wish you all a very happy and prosperous new year for 2025 and hope that the new changes eBay makes during this coming year will be helpful and that we are all able to carry on as normal...

All the very best BittyBoy101   

[department28]

With such a drastically different system, eBay should be allowing a lot longer 'trial time', with the opt out option available indefinitely.  Let those who want to use it do so, & leave the rest of us alone.

eBay ought to be more cautious with their drastic changes, before many more of us decide to 'opt out' of eBay permanently...

[kempseykate]

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@bittyboy101 wrote:

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@abrahamtoast wrote:

A major part of this discussion is because the option to opt-out of SD is being removed for private sellers sometime early in the new year.

So yes, opt out for as long as you can, but it won't be for long.

The account you're posting from is a business account, so it won't be affected, yet, although any private accounts you may have will be.

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My thoughts exactly.

I think the option to opt out of simple delivery will be removed once eBay's revised managed delivery kicks in on 15th January 2025... then we will be stuck with it whether we like it or don't !... just like eBay new messages which I really hate now ! yet they won't do the decent thing and give us the option to go back to eBay classic messages which I loved  😞 

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Currently we haven't been told when forced Simple Delivery will start, or anything about how it will work.  Why do you think it's 15th Jan?

[kath3735_wxmjn]

It is a (bleep word) lot simpler now!  I list item, say what delivery is (RM for me every time), have a guess at the cost and when sold wrap and take to PO.  99% of the time i am accurate, the other i either take the loss or refund the customer.   Now they want to make it difficult for me.  No thanks, e bay you will have crossed my tolerance line.   And yes, before any of the avid e bay can do no wrong supporters interject i  know they will not care about my comments or whether i stay or go.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

EVRI cannot cope now, they will certainly not be able to cope when this happens.  Unless of course sellers show sense and just choose RM.   I have never bought a label from E Bay, i prefer to give my money to the local PO direct, it is a sub one so they need every penny to stay afloat.