We are Ebay closing down valid current conversations !!

[gmij1961]

Twice in the last 2  days a thread about  Not selling due to SD 

This reprehensible approach will only cause more discontent about so called "SD" 

[buttonsandbowskettering]

As if it's going to make the issue go away. This forum is for sellers to give their opinions freely, the MODS job is to make sure that there is no profanity, racism ect ect, it is NOT to affect free speech.... Ebay you should be ashamed !

[gmij1961]

Meant to call this "Why are Ebay closing down valid conversations" but I ten to make silly typo's when I am cross 🙂

Really cannot believe what Ebay are doing currently .  

Upsetting long term sellers will not solve their self inflicted problems .

Someone needs to point out to Ebay that they are now approaching prime selling season and if they really want to make last year loss of "free to sell" without BPF they need to sweet talking potential sellers and not making them more annoyed.

Made my mind up I will not be returning to selling this year !

[*vyolla*]

There are so many threads now about SD, why not just add a post to those?

Having loads of threads about not selling due to Simple Delivery seems a bit over the top, if it's not working out for you and you are going to stop selling then simply stop selling. You need to do what you feel is best for you, but I'd leave your account open in case you do want to buy anything, or decide to sell again in the future (if you close the account you'll need to start all over again and will lose your high feedback score, which is good provenance for potential buyers).

[suelel1968]

When a thread becomes the biggest the forum has ever had, it’s no longer just a seller discussion—it’s a signal flare with Visibility and Influence:

Why Size Equals Risk

Amplification Effect: A massive thread means hundreds (or thousands) of sellers are engaging, watching, and sharing. That’s not just internal chatter—it’s a public record of dissent. The longer it stays visible, the more likely it is to be cited in media, investor forums, or regulatory submissions.

Narrative Control: eBay prefers to manage its messaging through curated channels—webinars, help pages, and sanitized Q&A. A sprawling organic thread undermines that control. If the thread includes strategic framing (e.g. references to consumer law, CMA scrutiny, or shareholder impact), it becomes a reputational liability.

Momentum and Mobilization: Big threads often birth coalitions. Sellers find each other, align grievances, and start organizing. That’s when eBay’s risk calculus shifts—from tolerating criticism to fearing coordinated action.

External Attention: If journalists, watchdogs, or regulators start lurking (and they do), the thread becomes a live exhibit. eBay may preemptively close it to avoid quotes being lifted or screenshots circulating.

Regards Copilot

PS the UK accounts are due for publication this month. 

[crn303]

Spot on with your comment etc

[gmij1961]

I have seen the supposed reason why this was removed and to quite frank it absolutely stinks and Ebay should be thoroughly ashamed of their actions

Without falling foul myself , I would like to point out the context, content and spirit of this post had not really changed from its inception  5 months  ago , so to quote the reasons given this thread was approaching nearly 10K posts is pathetic and thinly veiled attempt to shut down very valid criticism of Ebay cynical named Simple Delivery product 

The result is I will be refocussing my efforts and the recent announcement on surcharging Ebay buyers and sellers If they only select Royal Mail as their chosen courier is totally acceptable , and possibly illegal as it creates on unfair advantage for Evri as well as discriminating against those who require a collection service 

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Announcements/Simple-Delivery-pricing-changes-from-1-September/ba-p/...

[punzel9072]

could you please tell those of us that can't find them what eBay's reasons were 

[pegr-834437]

Its not just SD posts they have closed, there was one yesterday where a seller was saying somebody has collected the item or replied to messages and they said they were just going to refund without postage (which they cant do) but that was closed without any valid answer being given.

Kind of agree theres 573 different threads on SD, but they should just merge them and delete duplicate posts or just ones saying SD is bad as it doesnt really add anything to the conversation, keep it to actual facts (not opinions) and they can use it to improve the service. In the end that super thread was basically back slapping and finding ways to avoid SD which was always going to get special attention. I cant believe the mods have allowed any posts on how to avoid it tbh.

[gmij1961]

Its was supposedly to  with questioning the moderators and how that supposedly breaches the rules .   However if that was really the case than you have to ask why the original thread stayed up so long 

I would genuinely like to hope that is was done as an individual misjudgement rather that a tightening down in Ebay's approach from a senior level  . As taking the original post does little but inflame the situation .

I have no doubt that Ebay's management will be paying attention to these posts  and they really need to take action  as sensible moderation is one thing , censorship is something else which will not go down well at all , when very few of Ebays customers have a good word to say about SD etc 

[tressygirl · Accepted solution]

The thread has been reinstated @gmij1961 

[thepillenwerfer]

The problem with a lot of long-running threads is that so much information and advise within them is now out-of-date, especially with something that has been a fluid as Simple Delivery.  Of course had more thought gone into it before launch fewer changers would have been needed afterwards.

Pushing ten thousands posts to it doesn't make ten thousand dis-satisfied customers as the same ones repeatedly posted in it.  It would be far more interesting to know how many individuals have made posts across all threads expressing dis-pleasure at Simple Delivery and what percentage of active private Sellers (let's say people who have sold at least once in the last year) on e-Bay UK that represents.

[4_bathrooms]

---

@buttonsandbowskettering wrote:

As if it's going to make the issue go away. This forum is for sellers to give their opinions freely, the MODS job is to make sure that there is no profanity, racism ect ect, it is NOT to affect free speech.... Ebay you should be ashamed !

---

Maybe a read of the Community Guidelines would help. Even this thread is likely to vanish into the either as it is "not permitted to discuss or repost removed content."

These are eBay's boards and they decide what can be posted or not. The boards are not a platform for exercising "free speech" nor are they required to be.

[gmij1961]

So , Everyone I have spoken to who use Ebay to some degree have  not had a good word to say about SD . None of them post on the Ebay forums

So the volume of posts does not reflect the amount of dissatisfied customers but then it could also be a lot more than just 10K  . The posts are just indicators

As Ebay have tweaked up the discontent  a few notches , I have taken time to read some other posts , they really don't read well for Ebay and SD either .

What shocks me about SD are dysfunctional  complications are being added every day . 

Ebay had a model that worked well for all kinds of reasons . just as there are all kinds of reasons being posted why SD is so bad

[gmij1961]

I glad because that really was the sensible option  for Ebay 🙂

[thepillenwerfer]

I can't speak to people about e-Bay as I don't personally know anybody else who uses it.  If I ask why people say they just never have, think it's "Tacky" or that they don't want second-hand goods or to mess about with auctions which shows e-Bay has an image problem with or without Simple Delivery &c.

As for the people you've spoken to not using these fora I don't doubt it as only a minority do.  Of that minority more people are likely to do so to complain that praise and given the hostility to Simple Delivery some people are likely to feel intimidated into not saying anything positive about it. 

I like it and make no secret of it.  I listed some books the other day where could have used Custom Postage but didn't.  Why would I want to pay Royal Mail 30p to collect any that sell when it's free with Simple Delivery?  Why would I want to risk them arriving damaged or not at all and having to refund the Buyer and then mess about getting compensation out of RM, maybe unsuccessfully?

[missdollydaydream]

Ebay you should be ashamed !

Surely to be "ashamed", you need a modicum of self respect!

[messier44000]

Most of my threads have been about making videos to point traffic to listings = more sales 

= more fees to pay eBay for sellers who follow my advice.

All well received by members here and had plenty of DMs asking for advice. None were removed

But keeping on the same topic, the last one was removed by an over zealous  mod.

I asked for the exact reason this post was different to the rest that were allowed and got no response.

Maybe they get extra points for each post they remove, or was a little embarrassed to reply, knowing 

they had no credible response.

By the way in the last week my videos alone have got me over £1k in extra sales. Just think  how 

much extra fees eBay could get if I were allowed to once more inspire others to to the same.

But my lips have been sealed.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

so because you like it yourself that means everyone should have to do it?   They introduced it on a voluntary basis last year and if it was so good they would not have needed to enforce it on everyone.   The only reason they did so was so they could make a vast amount of money at both buyers and sellers expense with no actual improvement for anyone.

[thepillenwerfer]

I could just as easily say that just because you don't like it that means everybody else should not.

A large proportion of threads I've seen complaining about it appear to be from people who either haven't read the available information on it, have but not understood it or have read and understood it but think they somehow know better.

"no actual improvement for anyone."  Well, I no longer have to weigh or measure parcels, I have them collected for free and my Buyers pay less because Simple Delivery Prices are marginally lower than with Royal Mail direct and e-Bay often under-estimate the cost; neither do I have to recover a 30p collection charge.  If something is lost or damaged I'm not chasing compensation from RM.  These all seem like improvements to me.

My point is that people like me who prefer it, or are indifferent to it, aren't endlessly banging-on about it here which makes its popularity or otherwise impossible to accurately access. 

Time will tell.  If it doesn't suit the majority of e-Bay customers they'll stop using it and things will have to change.