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 ! 🤔 🙄 😁   

[geosacha007]

Ebay have said in the details of simple delivery that they will estimate the label needed, in which case the seller is not responsible if it is wrong. If a seller inputs the size and weight then  the seller becomes responsible.  This will push sellers to accept ebay's estimate I'd guess. And ebay's track record at this is lousy. 

They have also said that if a seller buys their own label because ebay's is wrong they will not reimuburse them.  So a seller could end up with a parcel refused at the PO and be unable to send it.  I wonder if ebay will penalise them for then having to cancel the sale.

[sml192]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

For @dch2112011  and anyone else wondering about how eBay might handle free shipping in Simple Delivery - I have a friend in the UK who helped me get some screenshots of what the current options look like.

Note: this is on a newly created private account, the option was showing in both desktop web and app experiences, and they only saw the Simple Delivery option on drafts in clothing categories - it was not available in other categories for them at this time, which makes sense if the expansion is a phased rollout as the CEO has said.

For clothing items, it shows Simple Delivery as the first/default automatically selected method, with Custom postage as an alternative.

eBay also shows a default weight and size selection and an estimated "starting from" rate that will be shown to the buyer.

The only change the seller can make is to select a different size/weight range from pre-set options.

Other than that, the seller has no input or control over what is shown to buyers - you cannot select which carriers you will or will not offer, what the rates will be, or choose free/seller paid shipping.

Contrast that to the Custom Postage option, which does allow the seller to change/control those aspects.

Allowing for the possibility that there might be some slight differences in different categories and/or changes before it becomes mandatory, I still believe it's reasonable to suggest it will likely be at least similar to this experience after the mandate and eBay will likely just remove the button for the Custom Postage on items they determine are eligible and must use Simple Delivery.

So we can see from those screenshots that what I previously described about the process is true - for items using Simple Delivery, the seller has zero control or input to affect what is shown to the buyer, including whether or not free shipping is an option.

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Thanks for providing this information, very interesting. 

One key point to note, for items in the clothing categories the label is currently provided by Packlink so the only carrier option that will be available for Simple Delivery at present is Evri.  We really need to see an example for one of the other categories, where the label is provided by ebay, to be certain.

[irt303]

Being driven by money is precisely why eBay should be following this thread, if they knew what was good for them! I agree that they probably aren't, or even if they are, it's probably going in one corporate ear and out of the other. What do we know? We're only the lifeblood of the platform.

This thread doesn't exactly give cause for confidence that eBay is intent on securing its own longevity and long-term success, does it? In the space of months, it has managed to alienate huge swathes of buyers, private sellers and business sellers, many of whom have been here for decades.

It's quite a remarkable achievement!

[parsley2003]

I have been selling on here for 20 years and am shocked by this new system as most of my items are under £5.00. A £2 postcard will have about 83p added to it. To make matters worse it will not show the extra to the buyer that goes to Ebay only the seller can see it before they complete listing. Guess i will have to state on every listing what my actual price is and what goes to them. Buyers will want us to reduce prices so in the end we are still paying fees. I can't give free postage if i sell overseas the postage is mostly more than the price of the postcard, this is often the case even with larger items to UK.

Have looked at being a business but am 68 now and on my own doing this which was a hobby and now a survival thing it's not for me. As for postage i always buy mine online from Royal Mail and they collect everything from me as i can't drive or walk to a post office. Ebay do have the Royal Mail collection for large letters and parcels so i can use the money they keep back for 14 days for that postage, but they do not have the option for letter post so i will have to carry on doing it the old way though as i only use 2nd class they are mostly 85p

More trouble ahead as Royal Mail are starting for 37 areas a trial of 2nd class deliveries only 3 days a week and this will eventually become the norm and that will create complaints on delivery time. 1st class at £1.65 per letter is just ridiculous

Tracking is out of the question with small cheap items. Who wants to pay signed for £2.55 for a letter or £8 tracked for overseas. I only post postcards overseas now due to the price and weight complications

The worse problem of all is when we sell multiple items like i sell 10 individual postcards i always combine as one postage price but now almost £10 will be added on that order by Ebay for themselves i won't be able to cover that so it means less single listings and more sets and collections. 

This seriously could be the end for many of us

I want the old system back in the end it can only lose Ebay money and customers by copying Vinted and the other competition who do not sell most of the things that we do on here. I was happy paying the fees that we had before it worked for me for 20 years

[geosacha007]

I've sent offers round on all my watched listings pointing out just that.   I've had one sale out of about 20 offers so far, but it's early days.  Other items are going t be heading for the charity shop in February.

[parsley2003]

I also have all mine collected by Royal Mail. Ebay only do large letters and parcels for RM collection not letters. Have tested it sent 1 parcel and 1 large letter but had to do the letters in my Royal Mail account. Postbox is not really an option i can walk to it but it's a struggle. There doesn't have to be proof of receipt but you will have to wait 14 days for the money. If we do it tracked can get the money in 2 days but i only track parcels, which seem to be cheaper with RM now tracked 48 2nd small parcel is £3.39

[geosacha007]

I've been asking buyers for years to contact me if they want to buy multiple items, but they almost never do.   I stopped asking in the end.

But now when the buyers expect combined postage and have already purchased we are going to have to cancel the sales and put them in one listing.

[parsley2003]

No real alternative really Vinted do mostly clothes and new items, i sell vintage, Etsy are really for new made craft items, i've checked them out but no good for me. 

[parsley2003]

Everything already listed that's there until sold will have these new fees added and i've built up a lot, nightmare wondering what to do, take it all off bundle up sets and start again? It starts Feb 4th and i'm at a loss tbh

[parsley2003]

Have you got stuff like me going round and round until sold? 4th Feb they will add the protection payments to all our listings 🙁

[parsley2003]

I'm more or less disabled no transport and can only have Royal Mail collection now there's no way i can get to a post office or parcel locker unless i pay £10 for a taxi

[parsley2003]

I will only trust and use Royal Mail. Couriers expect us to go to drop off points i cannot do that only Royal Mail collect from me 

[parsley2003]

Well if it's forced on me it's the end. I can only deal with RM can't have people wanting different couriers who don't collect. No transport to get to drop off points. If i can't choose myself how i send items i will have no choice but to leave  

[sml192]

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@parsley2003 wrote:

I have been selling on here for 20 years and am shocked by this new system as most of my items are under £5.00. A £2 postcard will have about 83p added to it. To make matters worse it will not show the extra to the buyer that goes to Ebay only the seller can see it before they complete listing. Guess i will have to state on every listing what my actual price is and what goes to them. 

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Although the buyer protection fees will be built into the listing price buyers will be able to see the breakdown at checkout. 

Those selling low value items will be the hardest hit by the new buyer protection fees.  It would appear that Ebay are looking to reduce the number of low value listings as they are no longer economically viable.  I hope you can still find a way to make your sales work though. 

[parsley2003]

You make this sound like my local facebook page lol

[irt303]

To coin a phrase that's painfully familiar to regular readers of the Weekly Chat, I see where you're coming from. Like you, I am hardly enthused by the prospect of traipsing round a variety of drop-off points. Like you (and scores of other sellers), I want to be able to choose the postage service(s) that suit(s) me best. If a potential buyer wants a different service, they are free to ask (before purchase, please!). If I say no, or if they don't ask in the first place, they are free to try and find another seller offering the same item, and who uses, or is prepared to use, the buyer's preferred courier/service. At least, that's how it should be. 

However, I have to say that I don't think that your suggestion is a good one - quite the opposite. By listing items for sale (even just by having an account), you are implicitly accepting eBay's T&Cs (including their T&Cs for Simple Delivery). It could very easily be the case that your buyer has no knowledge of, or interest in, the issues surrounding SD - they just see a range of postage options, and select the one they want. You'd probably end up cancelling a lot of sales, and the defects on your account would quickly mount up, resulting in account restriction, suspension, and, ultimately, a permanent ban from selling.

So, for your own sake, please reconsider your suggestion (and I hope that other impressionable sellers don't read it and follow your advice!).

I think I understand your train of thought (apologies if I'm wrong) - if enough sellers do as you suggest, then buyers, having been informed of the reason for cancellation, may complain about Simple Delivery to eBay, and if enough buyers do this, then eBay, being more likely to listen to the concerns of buyers than those of sellers, may be forced to reconsider the imposition of SD. But what is more likely is that they will complain to eBay about the fact that you cancelled their order - they will probably be far more bothered about not getting what they wanted and selected than they are about eBay politics.

The crux of the matter - and sorry for repeating myself - is that, by listing an item, you are accepting eBay's T&Cs. Cancelling sales on the basis that you don't want to send the item via the courier/service the buyer selected can only end badly for you. eBay will not look more favourably on your cancellation just because you have explained the reason to the buyer (even if the buyer sympathises and is okay with the cancellation) - if anything, your actions could result in an even more punitive reaction from eBay, since you would not only be in breach of the T&Cs, but would potentially be damaging eBay's reputation (at least, this is how eBay would see it) by sharing your negative view of SD with the buyer.

The bottom line is that eBay takes a very dim view of sellers cancelling orders (unless at the buyer's express request), even for legitimate reasons, as they don't want buyers being disappointed (shame that they're far less concerned about whether sellers are happy too).

I can't see there being a workaround. One poster on this thread suggested stating in the listing that the sale will not be honoured unless the buyer selects the courier/service that the seller wishes to use. I imagine that any such listing would be removed, and that the seller would face punitive action from eBay. Worse still, a malicious buyer might well make the purchase, deliberately selecting a courier/service other than the one(s) that the seller wants to use, knowing that the seller will then cancel the sale and get an account defect.

There are other ways of registering your displeasure with Simple Delivery (or, indeed, any other aspect of selling or buying that you are unhappy about), ways that won't result in defects on your account. Register your feelings on these forums, use the feedback options (not buyer feedback, obviously!), and/or complain on the Weekly Chat.

I'm not claiming that these methods will be highly effective - indeed, eBay not listening to us is a prevalent theme - but at least you won't be disappointing buyers and putting your selling account at risk.

The way it's looking right now is that, if Simple Delivery is made compulsory, and sellers object to it, their only realistic choices will be to list as Collection Only or to not list at all.

[irt303]

Great summary, and I wish I could be as concise as you are!

Re: point 3 - At least one other poster has alluded to the potentially discriminatory aspects of Simple Delivery, since it precludes (or appears to preclude) home collection, and also presumes that all sellers are able-bodied and do not suffer from agoraphobia or social anxiety.

eBay's defence could be that nobody is compelled to use the platform; if someone disagrees with the T&Cs, they are free to not sign up and list.

To me, that would sound a bit like, say, a museum justifying its refusal to install wheelchair access by saying that nobody is compelled to visit it.

The analogy only goes so far, I suppose - an online marketplace is a very different thing from a museum - but, still, I think that the potential legal ramifications could be far-reaching, and I hope that this angle is explored more fully by disability organisations and advocates.

'List it. Sell it. Get paid. But only if you're able-bodied' is not great publicity, especially in an age where organisations are only too keen to promote their inclusivity credentials.

[irt303]

Thanks to you and the others who answered my question.

No, my preferences are set to receive all notifications.

I'm not going to go over it all here, but I discussed this with a Community Manager some months back, as I haven't received these crucial seller notifications for a long time - this is just the latest example. You probably won't be surprised if I tell you that the Community Manager in question never tried to get a solution for me, they just left the whole issue hanging.

This only increases my ire, so, if I have time, I'm going to bring this up on the Weekly Chat. I'm really not a happy bunny!

[1956glyn]

Excellent post.     I am unfortunately agoraphobic. 

[lardzeppo]

Come on get real. EBay are in the game purely for money. Do not expect a half way fair deal. American companies have a wonderful track record of destroying the environment and killing people in the process..Enron,Monsanto,Du Pont .Union Carbide to name just a few. All in the name of the dollar. These big American companies just bulldozer on to hoover up the dollars and if you think eBay are any different then you probably believe Amazon are a straightforward outfit not trying to push Prime on you at every turn. And don’t get me started on Ticketmaster.
There will be nothing in the new eBay deal by way of “ customer experience “ that will benefit anybody but eBay.
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