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 ! 🤔 🙄 😁   

[kath3735_wxmjn]

you are kidding?  Even we 'articulate' folk on the forum have trouble understanding e bay instructions!  At the moment it is actually pretty simple to decide that (in my case) you want to send via RM, decide what service you want, sell the item and take said item to the PO.   E Bay want to complicate that by including themselves in the process so they can take their cut of the postage.   I would rather pay the fee than all this c.ap   No thanks!

[kath3735_wxmjn]

wonder how long it will take for them to go after the business customers?   That will be really interesting to see what happens.

[1956glyn]

I think the 15th Jan is just when Ebays terms and conditions are slightly updated and an Ebay annoucement has yet again been misunderstood 😞

[1956glyn]

I am genuinely confused 😞

Can anyone enlighten me and show me where Simple delivery will be compulsory and just not another option for sellers?  

[kempseykate]

Probably. To be honest these boards are so full of misinformation/misunderstanding/speculation at the moment it's ridiculous. Ebay just need to get on and make an announcement about all the changes coming to private sellers over the next three months - when, what and how - clearly set out out so that even the most challenged can understand it.

[bojangled]

@kath3735_wxmjn I raised this concern, many business sellers have courier/collection contracts, I doubt they would tread on those toes.

Jo

[kath3735_wxmjn]

I may be wrong (would love to be actually) but i quote from the meeting CEO Jamie Iannone had last year -  'Managed shipping (simple delivery) is currently live for C2C pre owned apparel listing in the UK.  In Q4 we plan to expand managed shipping horizontally on an op out basis, before MANDATING the programme for eligible items listed by C2C sellers during Q1 OF 2025'.   Now the way i read that is that in Q4 it was opt out (which it has been) and it will be mandated (which i read as compulsory) in Q1 of this year.  Perhaps if you do not believe anyone try reading the statement yourself, it is easily accessible to google. 

[kath3735_wxmjn]

it may be ridiculous but it is also understandable.  Only by coming on these boards do you even get an inkling of what may or may not be being planned for us.  Yes, there are various versions but as long as you treat all of them as only possible events you can investigate further and see what others have come up with.  In this case i too read the CEO statement and sounds to me like it is going to happen.  Not just a rumour but coming from someone in the top position means it is about 99% going to be.   If someone had not seen that and reported it and i looked for myself i would have been sceptical.  What i do agree with you about is that E Bay are at fault because they should be announcing the changes way before they do.  Just like everything they do they leave it until the last minute and then make a mess of implementing it.

[ett1954]

@kath3735_wxmjn  "Just like everything they do they leave it until the last minute and then make a mess of implementing it."

This is because for several years now eBay has been in a 'reactive' mode rather being an innovator.  They are reacting to what their perceived competition is doing rather than driving their own innovative expertise (which has probably long-since disappeared for one reason or another).  Copying the competition to see if it will work for them.

e.g. incentivise Chinese sellers - Shien, Temu and the other Chinese online sites will always be able to undercut foreign investors in the the marketplace; the CCP will see to that.

Clothing - free to sellers, buyers pay Vinted for the postage, hence eBay's Simple Delivery.  Made a small profit last year after years of posting losses; nearly all its employees based in Lithuania - seems to be existing on its brand name.  Other platforms in the US tried the "buyer pays fees" model and quickly dropped it.

The development and marketing teams seem to be devoid of ideas.

Where is the marketing to attract buyers to eBay?  Christmas adverts - "free to sell" !!!

The development team appear to be fixated on changing the basic functionality of the platform in what should be the busiest period of the year by changing features that worked well for years - messages, feedback, payments - the result confusion and anger.

All sellers, private or business, should despair.

[theelench]

Yes, we live in a world where it's the interests of shareholders that count and only their interests.  Buyers, sellers, wider society all count for nothing now, we're just numbers on their spread-sheets.

@valueaddedresource 's explanation was brilliant.

As was the linkage to 'ens****ification' which is all around us.  (just look at super-markets, utilities, insurers,  water and many others)

I made my decision to "Go" when it became clear that ebay was making it compulsory to hand over NINOs.

If I hadn't, these changes would have had the same effect. 

Happy New Year to one and all.

[moldosgifts]

I'm with you but ebay already take a cut of your postage (10%)

[lucy_farmer]

'All postage labels will be from Royal Mail and Evri.'

Do we know if sellers be able to *not* tick the Evri box, so that the buyer will have to choose Royal Mail ?

  '....eBay does state that the seller is covered once the parcel enters the network.....'

Have ebay considered the evri compensation limit is £20, and the exclusion list is as long as your arm....?

If the buyer has the option to choose cheap evri delivery, I'm pretty sure they will do so (as buyer protection will *always* apply)  I just find it hard to believe that ebay will suck up all the refunds, including for expensive things, that often become necessary with evri's wonderful service 😕

I hope it will be impossible for a buyer to choose to have a lap-top, camera etc delivered by evri, when the only way to delivery safely and insured is by Special Delivery ...... ??

[podlingsmum2007]

My local Evri drop off/collection point which was inside the post office has ceased to be. I mostly use Royal Mail which will now be the only choice when I have to use simple delivery. It has been very convenient using a click n drop account and having parcels picked up. A buyer this year had made a claim to their financial institution that they did not recognise the transaction I was able to show ebay proof of sale, collection by RM, purchase of label, it being in my own hands, no use of a middle man. EBay want Packlink to be this middle man. The buyers will be paying the postage but it will cost more than current prices because surely ebay will want to add a bit on for their cut. If it was possible to still have Royal Mail bring these labels and collect my parcels that would work well. But if that can't happen, I don't have a printer, am not going to buy a printer, and the only drop off point for RM with a QR code is between 8am and 10am and a walk into town. 

[department28]

'Have ebay considered the evri compensation limit is £20, and the exclusion list is as long as your arm....?'

I think that's why eBay say the postage 'may vary depending on the value of the item'. If it's a pricier item, presumably the buyer will see it comes with pricier postage, which might well be off-putting.

So, if the seller can no longer set their own postage, they won't be able to offer the incentive of a lower postage price.  I think a lot of us will find this 'taking over' of the postage completely unacceptable.

[sunflowers4me59]

I bought a lot of large letter stamps before they went up, I presume they will become redundant! I have found the local Ebay selling for collection, that will be the only avenue for me, but who will come for a single knitting pattern!!

[manyjamjar]

Will ebay still have that gibberish thing in the adrs when labels are created via ebay ??

Don't know what the heck it is still there for.

[valueaddedresource]

---

@kath3735_wxmjn wrote:

I may be wrong (would love to be actually) but i quote from the meeting CEO Jamie Iannone had last year -  'Managed shipping (simple delivery) is currently live for C2C pre owned apparel listing in the UK.  In Q4 we plan to expand managed shipping horizontally on an op out basis, before MANDATING the programme for eligible items listed by C2C sellers during Q1 OF 2025'.   Now the way i read that is that in Q4 it was opt out (which it has been) and it will be mandated (which i read as compulsory) in Q1 of this year.  Perhaps if you do not believe anyone try reading the statement yourself, it is easily accessible to google. 

---

@kath3735_wxmjn  unfortunately, you are not wrong on this.

Keep in mind, it is only available for private sellers at this time, so everything else I'm about to say only applies to private sellers and also only to "eligible items", the criteria for which can be found in the FAQ on the Simple Delivery page.

Simple Delivery started as an "opt in" feature first in clothing and then expanding to other categories, meaning by default the listing page did not have it selected and sellers had to actively and intentionally choose to opt in to it during the listing process.

Then in Q4, eBay started making it "opt out",  meaning the listing process was changed to use Simple Delivery by default, and sellers who did not want to use had to actively and intentionally choose to opt out. 

Of course many new or inexperienced sellers will just go with the default that is presented to them and may not even realize they could opt out. Also, my understanding is this Q4 change to make it the default was a phased rollout so not everyone may have seen it at the same time.

And now, according to CEO Jamie Iannone, sometime in Q1 2025 it will become mandatory for private sellers to use Simple Delivery on qualifying items.

@1956glyn - eBay has not made any public announcements to sellers about it or updated their policy pages yet, but contrary to what eBay community staff have said in the weekly chat, statements made by the CEO of a publicly traded company during earnings calls are in fact "official comms" and should be taken as such by both investors and the company's customer-base unless/until additional "official comms" to the contrary are made publicly available.

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Chat-with-the-eBay-Community/Weekly-Chat-with-the-eBay-Community-Tea...

Here's what Iannone said on the Q3 2024 earnings call at the end of October, and for additional background this was part of his prepared remarks, not an off the cuff answer to analysts in the Q&A segment - which means this part of the presentation would have been scripted in advance and reviewed by legal, compliance, investor relations and other relevant internal stakeholders before the call.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4731184-ebay-inc-ebay-q3-2024-earnings-call-transcript

With managed shipping, we are completely overhauling our shipping experience for C2C sellers in the UK in two phases. The first phase completed in early October, extended the simplified shipping experience we first rolled out in pre-owned apparel to all categories. Within the new native listing flow, UK C2C sellers now see a consolidated list of shipping options based on the estimated package size and weight. And since implementing this change, we have observed a significant reduction in time spent on shipping in a listing flow.

The second phase of managed shipping; radically simplifies the experience and creates a new revenue stream for eBay. Similar to managed payments and eBay international shipping, Managed shipping leverages our scale and expertise to create a better experience for customers while generating incremental revenue and operating income dollars. When listing eligible products sellers simply confirm the pre-selected package size and eBay handles the rest.

Buyers received competitive shipping rates and sellers are fully protected against loss or damage. Managed shipping is currently live for C2C pre-owned apparel listing in the UK. In Q4, we plan to expand managed shipping horizontally on an opt-out basis, before mandating the program for eligible items listed by C2C sellers during Q1 of 2025.

The above statement is all that has currently been made public about eBay's plans to make Simple Delivery mandatory for private sellers and understandably sellers have a lot of questions about how exactly it's going to work.

I don't have any inside info or special insights, but my fairly educated guess is at least initially the program will likely stay pretty much the same as it is currently as far as item eligibility, carrier availability, seller protection and other terms and policies but eBay will just remove the ability for private sellers to opt out from the listing flow.

Given that likelihood, I strongly encourage all private sellers who plan on continuing to sell here in 2025 to read the current FAQs and policy pages for Simple Delivery to be prepared for what is coming.

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

[podlingsmum2007]

I always delete that bit from the address 😆

[manyjamjar]

@podlingsmum2007 

So it IS possible to edit out that bit before you print the label  ??

[valueaddedresource]

---

@lucy_farmer wrote:

'All postage labels will be from Royal Mail and Evri.'

Do we know if sellers be able to *not* tick the Evri box, so that the buyer will have to choose Royal Mail ?

  '....eBay does state that the seller is covered once the parcel enters the network.....'

Have ebay considered the evri compensation limit is £20, and the exclusion list is as long as your arm....?

If the buyer has the option to choose cheap evri delivery, I'm pretty sure they will do so (as buyer protection will *always* apply)  I just find it hard to believe that ebay will suck up all the refunds, including for expensive things, that often become necessary with evri's wonderful service 😕

I hope it will be impossible for a buyer to choose to have a lap-top, camera etc delivered by evri, when the only way to delivery safely and insured is by Special Delivery ...... ??

---

@lucy_farmer my understanding is sellers will not be able to exclude Evri or any other shipping method, eBay is in full control of what options are shown to the buyer based on their own dynamic criteria - meaning it can change at any time depending on whatever eBay wants to do/believes is "best".

As for whether eBay will allow buyers to choose Evri for expensive items when most sellers have learned from experience why that is a very bad idea - that's where the "dynamic" part of all of this comes in very handy for eBay.

Notice how the FAQ about how they choose which methods are available is extremely vague? 

We’ll take into account the buyer’s location, the item location, your distance to a convenient drop off point, the appropriate delivery service for the item you're posting, and whether the buyer has selected a standard or express delivery service at checkout, amongst a number of other factors.

That is 100% by intentional design because it gives eBay plenty of room to dynamically change things at any time, for any reason with no need to make an announcement or update explicit terms or policies.

Should eBay find they are paying out far more than they are comfortable with on claims for laptops shipped via Evri, that could be enough for them to decide Evri is not  an "appropriate delivery service" for that item/category and therefore it would no longer be shown as an option to buyers.

I don't have any direct insight into the actual technical operations of it, but just by way of a simple illustration of how it could work, it's basically like a database of if/then functions.

They can say, for example, if an item is in x category, above or below y price, shipping within z distance then show the buyer a and b shipping methods but not c - the options are pretty much endless for how eBay can slice and dice things and because they are in full control with plenty of wiggle room, it can be dynamic and ever changing depending on almost any criteria they decide to implement at any given time.

So yes, I believe eBay will eat the costs of refunds when/if they have to based on their published policies for the program...but since this program is being positioned to investors as an overall revenue generator for the company, I also believe they will use all of the data at their fingertips and all of the wiggle room they have granted themselves to their full advantage to mitigate those costs where possible - even if that means less convenience or choice for sellers and buyers.

Unfortunately that could go another direction too - if eBay's data shows them the revenue generated by using Evri outweighs whatever they are paying out in claims, they may be more likely to continue pushing Evri even if it ultimately leads to a worse buying experience in many cases.

If eBay had a history of taking the long view and doing what's right for their customers as a top priority, there may not be much reason for concern, but as others here have pointed out and as many of us know from personal experience...that is not the eBay way.