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 ! 🤔 🙄 😁   

[mikle65]

i would rather pay a selling fee again. They tought the free selling will compensate for the deterioration of the service. Wonder how much the sales fallen off in the past couple of years in this recession and if this actually make them more profit.

[troopster2525-per]

come mark the new simple delivery is actually mandatory so you will get zero choice to use it or not...you will be using it if you keep selling. 

[kendabulldog]

GO LEAVE QUIT is my advice

[troopster2525-per]

the new simple delivery ebay are putting out will be enforced in march so every private seller will have simple delivery and we can not use other ways. when it comes into play in feb we can opt out of it when we make each new listing BUT only till march and then thats it...no opting out

[malmallyn]

shipping is now a prime concern . its going up every year . once this was never an issue . Sellers are trying hard to give customer's a deal on small items , small items are now restricted due to the cost of simply sending  

[lucy_farmer]

'There's no probably about it - eBay has openly acknowledged they earn interest on processing and held funds in their Payments Terms of Use since October 2023.'

Yep, this is not a nice little side-benefit of ebay 2 weeks hold on sellers funds 'just to make sure the money is still there to refund the buyer in case the item doesn't arrive'.

It's a business investment decision.

 After all, ebay have said they will be the ones refunding a buyer in a case of item-not-arrived. (Providing it's all on Simple Delivery of course!)

So whether it's been marked as delivered, feedback left or not doesn't matter, *ebay* are covering the refund from their own coffers.

They don't need a 2 week wait for any reason at all.

But ebay's responsibility for the refund means postage *has* to be tracked. Otherwise, who's to say crooked sellers wouldn't just *say* they'd posted the item. Keep it and the payment and ebay refunds the buyer....

[vintique*violet]

Thank you for your pertinent information... Question about the following...

After all, ebay have said they will be the ones refunding a buyer in a case of item-not-arrived. (Providing it's all on Simple Delivery of course!) 

So, where does this apply as this is on eBays own policies...If an item has gone missing and hasn't arrived, you'll either need to provide additional/more detailed tracking details, or offer a refund

[valueaddedresource]

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@vintique*violet wrote:

Thank you for your pertinent information... Question about the following...

After all, ebay have said they will be the ones refunding a buyer in a case of item-not-arrived. (Providing it's all on Simple Delivery of course!) 

So, where does this apply as this is on eBays own policies...If an item has gone missing and hasn't arrived, you'll either need to provide additional/more detailed tracking details, or offer a refund

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@vintique*violet the policy you linked to is for seller managed shipping.

Under Simple Delivery, the seller's responsibility is just to package the item and get it into the hands of the currier - once there is an acceptance scan, eBay will cover claims for loss or damage in transit.

That is because with Simple Delivery, eBay is the one purchasing the label and they would be the customer of record with the currier - they control which shipping methods are shown to the buyer, the money the buyer pays for shipping goes to eBay, eBay purchases the label and then just forwards it pre-paid to the seller.

Under the FAQ section for Protections & Returns:

How is my item covered?

Items are protected against loss or damage from the moment they are scanned into the carrier's delivery network until they are marked as delivered by the carrier. In the event that a buyer raises a claim for an issue that occurs during transit, you'll not be held responsible.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sellercentre/postage/simple-delivery 

[lucy_farmer]

Think that needs a special 'Simple Delivery' update! 

which I'm sure will arrive in due course...... when ebay decide to enlighten us.

[*maetrix*]

Maybe all sellers should put their sales on hold from Feb 4th...that would put a cat amongst the pigeons...cause a stand-off until eb back down & see the error of their ways...

[patchdog51]

Me too soon as that come in mandatory 

I'm gone 

[vintique*violet]

Thank you for the clarification value 😉 I always appreciate your knowledge. 

Interesting if this includes covering fragile items ( or will there be list of exclusions as before?) as no postal courier covers breakages for glass/pottery and considering many of my items sold have been fragile,  I pack with extreme care with plenty of packaging ( purchased by myself new ) and sturdy boxes which are sometimes double the size, to ensure safe for transit, and I only charge the buyer postage fee at cost and cover the rest , ( and the risk if any, there hasn't been and only have used RM)

 I just cannot find a way that this will work for me re sizing and other things such as the buyer chooses what courier etc. 

Edit.. spelling (  my fingers sometimes want to go faster than they can ) 

[department28]

'Maybe all sellers should put their sales on hold from Feb 4th...that would put a cat amongst the pigeons...cause a stand-off until eb back down & see the error of their ways...'

Yes, I'd be up for doing that! I'd happily stop eBaying for 1 month from Feb 4th. No selling or buying. 

'The Simple Delivery & Buyer Protection Fee Boycott' 😄

[patchdog51]

I'm pretty much out already,  definitely the moment simple post is mandatory, I'm already looking at options to sell more of my product direct to private buyers that I have a few of already,  I shall drop the small sales and just fund other ways to sell bulk direct to customers , money direct yo my bank , nice .

It will be disappointing to lose the eBay option for my small packet items but it's simply NOT VIABLE  with no pay received untill delivery confirmed and not being able to use royal mail 48 to have control of my delivery nationwide even to the Scottish Highlands. 

Like many others after 14 years I shall just leave ebay 

[johnwash1]

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@vintique*violet wrote:

Thank you for the clarification value 😉 I always appreciate your knowledge. 

Interesting if this includes covering fragile items ( or will there be list of exclusions as before?) as no postal courier covers breakages for glass/pottery and considering many of my items sold have been fragile,  I pack with extreme care with plenty of packaging ( purchased by myself new ) and sturdy boxes which are sometimes double the size, to ensure safe for transit, and I only charge the buyer postage fee at cost and cover the rest , ( and the risk if any, there hasn't been and only have used RM)

 I just cannot find a way that this will work for me re sizing and other things such as the buyer chooses what courier etc. 

Edit.. spelling (  my fingers sometimes want to go faster than they can ) 

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Right, that'll be a big change for me, now I can forget scouring the supermarket for bubblewrap, just sling everything in a box and have a laugh as ebay refunds.  Somehow I think there'll be something in the fine print, so I'll sit back and watch.

And I imagine the buyer will only get to choose amongst the couriers the seller offers.  So you and I will offer RM only.  No problem.  Except for the lack of collection by my nice postie.  That's a deal breaker if it happens.

[da-vids]

Long story short if folk want to live in la la land too sort your packaging out and use tracking! Has anyone ever suspected their part in their failed post in the threads you mention with their ridiculously lacklustre packaging. Do they think postmen and women risk their job stealing parcels of which they don't even know the contents of the parcel.

[mikle65]

i posted 1 reply and got 20 emails since, i did unsubscribe and muted notifications and they still coming trough, how to stop them?

[valueaddedresource]

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@johnwash1 wrote:

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Right, that'll be a big change for me, now I can forget scouring the supermarket for bubblewrap, just sling everything in a box and have a laugh as ebay refunds.  Somehow I think there'll be something in the fine print, so I'll sit back and watch.

And I imagine the buyer will only get to choose amongst the couriers the seller offers.  So you and I will offer RM only.  No problem.  Except for the lack of collection by my nice postie.  That's a deal breaker if it happens.

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@johnwash1 in Simple Delivery there is no such thing as "couriers the seller offers" - that's the whole point, the seller isn't offering or in control of it, eBay is.

As the program currently stands, the seller does not have any ability to say they will only ship with Royal Mail.

eBay chooses which options to display based on factors like "buyer’s location, the item location, your distance to a convenient drop off point, the appropriate delivery service for the item you're posting, whether the buyer has selected a standard or express delivery service at checkout" and more - and the seller is simply provided with a pre-laid label for whatever service the buyer selects from the list shown to them by eBay.

Of course, eBay's ideas about appropriate services and convenience may differ significantly from sellers', but it's just tough luck and sell somewhere else if that is the case - eBay will be determining what is offered to buyers, use of the service will be mandatory for private sales of eligible items and that's that.

Which is again why I strongly advise all private sellers to take the time now to become familiar with how Simple Delivery actually works so you can be prepared for what is coming and/or have time to make whatever choice you feel is best for your personal circumstances as far as whether or not to continue selling on eBay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sellercentre/postage/simple-delivery 

[da-vids]

eBay 'Best match' post services, could be fun, they'll have you running around dropping off all over town, remember the simple delivery thingy is optional, so everyone opt out, reject their idea, see how eBay like them bananas. Leave simple delivery to simple people.

[johnwash1]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

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@johnwash1 in Simple Delivery there is no such thing as "couriers the seller offers" - that's the whole point, the seller isn't offering or in control of it, eBay is.

As the program currently stands, the seller does not have any ability to say they will only ship with Royal Mail.

eBay chooses which options to display based on factors like "buyer’s location, the item location, your distance to a convenient drop off point, the appropriate delivery service for the item you're posting, whether the buyer has selected a standard or express delivery service at checkout" and more - and the seller is simply provided with a pre-laid label for whatever service the buyer selects from the list shown to them by eBay. 

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Wow!  Many thanks.  Since you're one of the consistently reliable sources of info on here, rather than all the conjecture from many that we're suffering, I'm particularly obliged to you.

In my defence, I didn't imagine it could possibly be like that.  No company would be that stupid, I thought... which goes to show... something... I guess.

OK, I'm not in a wheelchair, unlike some around here, but this week I've made a couple of low value sales, and I certainly wouldn't be inclined to get in my car and drive a mile or two to some drop off point, not to mention the hassle of finding parking.

Ebay is reinventing itself.  I'm glad I don't have shares in it.