This is going to mean the end for many small private sellers. "Buyer Protection Fee"

[vinylscot]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/buying/paying-items/buyer-protection?id=5594

75p plus 4% buyers fee, so something which was priced at £5 will be £5.95 in February.

[sml192]

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@vintique*violet wrote:

Is the 75p added before the 4% or afterwards - as it will make a difference. 

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The 4% is calculated first. 

Fee calculation example:

Item price set by the seller  £20

Buyer Protection fee variable (4% of £20)  £0.80

Buyer Protection flat fee. £0.75

Price that buyer sees for the listing  £21.55 + postage

[sml192]

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@suema_62 wrote:

The real elephant in the room is if they persist in mandatory 'Simple Delivery' in order to monitor delivery. Not all have smart phones, QR knowledge, or computer printers/label printers. A drop off location is not known until a sale and label process. Ebay are unaware there are people who reside outside towns or dont have transport to travel to a drop off point. There is no home collection.

Collection is available for items sent with Royal Mail through Simple Delivery:

Collection is available for items sent through Simple Delivery with Royal Mail labels only. You can book a collection on the Royal Mail website after you create your Simple Delivery label.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/simple-delivery?id=5575&st...

[adrian_in_the_uk]

As a regular reader of this board, I often wonder whether some posters even use eBay or whether they just like scaremongering! considering the amount of wrong information I see being thrown around.

I have an account that is over 10 years old, 500 ish feedback and 100%, I probably sell 2 items a month but since eBay scrapped PayPal a few years ago, every time I sell an item - I don't get paid until after it is delivered.

This new rule isn't really making selling an item any different for me - I have no issue with not being paid until after the item is delivered as you can get delivered notifications for 2nd class postage, from large letters to parcels - but not small letters.

Also, ever since I first started using eBay, I calculated the eBay fee for the sale plus the fee they take from the postage fee and added it on to my item price to cover those costs - when eBay became free I removed those extra costs from my item prices.

Pretty much every eBay seller I know added the costs onto the item price in the same way, so it's a common thing.

Now this new fee is being introduced, when eBay add it to my items the price the buyer pays will probably be around the same as it used to be when I was adding the eBay fee onto my items - so I don't really see an issue with that.

[papso22]

A sensible balanced response! 

Too many people are making 2 plus 2 equal 5.

[vintique*violet]

I have an account that is over 10 years old, 500 ish feedback and 100%, I probably sell 2 items a month but since eBay scrapped PayPal a few years ago, every time I sell an item - I don't get paid until after it is delivered.

Why do you not get paid until after delivery now? 

This is not in force...  I am paid the next day after an item is sold no matter what  payment method is used.

I have never added " costs" to any of my listings... not even for packaging materials,  if it states free postage , it is exactly that with no hidden extras and post is always flat rate at cost I pay the post office .  Whilst this may be done by some sellers not everyone does. 

[*devils.advocate*]

Perhaps considered as a 'new or infrequent' seller?

[insidethe93]

"Now that has been taken away, you get no reward for providing a good service." Except, as ever, hopefully repeat business from satisfied customers.

[johnwash1]

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@sml192 wrote:

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@suema_62 wrote:

The real elephant in the room is if they persist in mandatory 'Simple Delivery' in order to monitor delivery. Not all have smart phones, QR knowledge, or computer printers/label printers. A drop off location is not known until a sale and label process. Ebay are unaware there are people who reside outside towns or dont have transport to travel to a drop off point. There is no home collection.

Collection is available for items sent with Royal Mail through Simple Delivery:

Collection is available for items sent through Simple Delivery with Royal Mail labels only. You can book a collection on the Royal Mail website after you create your Simple Delivery label.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/posting-items/setting-postage-options/simple-delivery?id=5575&st...

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So that would work for me IF the buyer has selected RM.  What if they've selected Evri?  I've given up Hermes/Evri long ago, several instances of the driver taking 10-15 days to do the collection, even after chasing up their support.

[incredible_how]

It's very curious - I've sold clothing through 2024 (as has my mother) and never come across simple delivery. I have been buying labels via eBay recently, since they did the not giving weekly fund deposits, it was good for the money to be taken from the sale. BUT it always gave the postage amount assumed - sometimes getting it wrong, light items being large letter, because I hadn't put in dimensions. So was it that I wonder, but not called simple delivery?

I just tried making a listing in clothing section but it doesn't say simple delivery anywhere...
I mostly use royal mail and arrange collection. If I use Evri it has to be collection because there is no drop off near me, more than 7/8 miles away.

[incredible_how]

I have been buying the royal mail postage via ebay then arranging the collection myself - when done through ebay it seems to set it up a day later.
And yes when printer bust or no electric for printer like in recent storm, postie does the label.

[incredible_how]

@belascos

most of my problems with non delivery or item not delivered have been with business sellers

Any failed deliveries I have had as a seller have been covered by the courier: Evri and GSP, Royal mail has been late but not failed.
I was annoyed as a seller with someone marking me down for a one day late delivery without asking for proof of posting, eBay saw the proof and removed it!

I think the 75p per item is really steep and will reduce small items like stamps and postcards being for sale

[incredible_how]

royal mail do a collection service, which includes bring a label, I usually print out but when we had 4 days of no electric I just booked the postie brings the label system. 

[leafan1]

I am interested to see how this works, because right now, if you book a collection for a pre-paid label, they will not bring a label with them.

You can buy postage online and book a collection at the same time, which is what I currently do, but if you just buy the postage and then book a collection later, they will not bring a label.

[incredible_how]

yes you are right about that. When we had no electricity I booked the complete postage with Royal Mail to make sure they brought the label. I can't actually remember what happens when you buy the label via ebay, you could book a collection, but seemed like a day later than if through Royal Mail's website, so I only did the collection bit via eBay once!
I am assuming the QR code works for Post office (or drop off point) to print out label for you.
I don't have an evri drop off point within sensible distance!

[vintique*violet]

With Buyer Protection, you'll benefit from:

• New! Private sellers paid after delivery: When you purchase from a private seller, payment will be sent after the order has been successfully delivered.
• New! 24/7 customer support: Connect anytime with a person by phone, or send a chat to get quick answers.
• Secure transactions: All payments are encrypted end-to-end and handled by our trusted payments partners.You'll also continue to benefit from free leading services like eBay Money Back Guarantee, as well as Authenticity Guarantee (for eligible items and categories).
   
  Most purchases are covered by eBay Money Back Guarantee, our free protection programme that offers refunds if the item didn't arri...
  Our new Buyer Protection programme gives you even more reassurance with your purchase, knowing private sellers are paid after delivery, and you can talk to a real person 24/7 if you have any issues or questions.
   
   
  Buyer Protection is a new programme that applies to all purchases on eBay.co.uk, and includes 24/7 customer support. Additionally, when you buy from a UK-based private seller, seller funds are sent after an item is considered delivered, and a mandatory Buyer Protection fee is included in the item price.
  eBay Money Back Guarantee is an additional layer of protection on your purchase. If an item doesn't ...
   
   
   
  So this is basically telling buyers that eBay are not trusting of their private sellers to post items and them being delivered by the postal service... Buyers can now speak to a human being with any concerns , or maybe just have a chat about the weather? or would it be I don't want this now and funds held longer?  AND  transactions are secure as encrypted ( were they not anyhow, if not this is very concerning)  AND that  BPF actually does not cover the item purchased as it is the MBG.
   
  Did eBay ask the buyers if they wanted this? 
   
  Do eBay really think that sales will increase? 
   
  Are eBay another Poshmark?
   
  Are eBay misleading its " customers" with what the BPF really is? 
   
  Have eBay discriminated against private sellers? 
   
  Are buyers encouraged by eBays New  FEE to part with their hard earned money even more?
   
  Are buyers  clear of what it actually covers and  happy with the " benefits" it provides?
   
  Are private sellers disappointed at them being singled out and penalised by having funds held for  something which really does not exist...?
  
   Edit to add purple colour bold 😉 
   
   
  
  

[maujohwai]

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@leafan1 wrote:

You can buy postage online and book a collection at the same time, which is what I currently do, but if you just buy the postage and then book a collection later, they will not bring a label.

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Good point, I hadn't discovered that. Have you tried cancelling the postage, then buying again with collection?

[bojangled]

@myriad*seller 

They have admitted they do:

https://www.valueaddedresource.net/ebay-payment-terms-update-october-2023

In particular in the updated payment terms in 2023:

Receipt and Settlement of Funds

Added a section to clarify payments are not deposits, are not FDIC insured and any interest earned will be retained by eBay, not paid to the seller.

New section:

You do not have any ownership interest in these investments and any interest earned from these investments will be retained by us. To the extent you may have any beneficial ownership in the interest or proceeds of these investments, your acceptance of these terms constitutes an assignment of any right, title or interest therein to us.

 Jo

[maujohwai]

A buyer fee amounts to the same as a selling fee — it's just eBay's cut — but it could be much more difficult for sellers to cope with. What price will be shown when we create or edit a listing? When they change all our existing listings, will we be able to see the price we have now, so that we can reduce it to keep the price the same for buyers? I have not yet found any information like this.

[twosheds03]

eBay have been defecating in their own back yard for over a decade, continue to do so and show no intentions to not do.

I have been using ebay for 23 years and have sold ( my own items ) all over the world but since Brexit/PayPal, and ebay becoming an ‘Agent’ instead of a platform, all none UK ( excepting northern Ireland ) has stopped. The killer was the purchase of a rare part for a German camera, from a private seller in Austria. By the time I had committed to the purchase ebay had added vat to the whole…..

So now we have eBay ( that certainly does not understand English English ) throwing around the claim of ‘Free’ when there is no such thing; ‘Free delivery’ ( for instance ) is not and never was—it is ‘Delivery included’.

Personally, I object to sending prior to having My money in My account and up-to last week included narrative in my listings explaining the delay in eBay returning to the dark ages with 3-5 day bank transfers; ironic that I removed this section 3 days before ebay announced the changes . Now we have a return ( if memory serves me correctly ) to part of what caused ebay to start transacting with Paypal ( all those years back ) and that is escrow. It is bad enough that ebay now ( from Feb. ) holds payments to private sellers until delivery but what might be the next step? Holding payment until the buyer confirms that they are satisfied with the item?…. Now this will really kill-off private sellers…

From the time that ebay introduced its shipping my antenna twitches. I can, generally, predict the next negative change.

The real issue ( for me ) is that there is no other platform that can compete with ebay on ‘Used item private selling’ so there really is nowhere else to go

[kawas67]

I agree, most of my purchases are from private sellers which makes it cheaper for me to buy, and prevents it going to the dump which helps recycling. I get a bargain the seller gets rid of something they do not want and it helps the environment.

also a lot of my local charities no longer take, Books, CD's, DVD's and will search through your box you take to them refusing a lot of the items. This makes it pointless to take to charity!