Ebay makes big payment change for millions in DAYS as customers brand move ‘ridiculous’ and threaten to boycott
EBAY is making a huge change to its delivery options in weeks which will affect all of its buyers and sellers.
From April 15, private sellers on eBay will only be able to list items on the platform using its “Simple Delivery” shipping method.
This means sellers will no longer be able to arrange their own shipping and must pay for the item to be delivered via eBay.
This will make it harder for sellers to choose which courier they want to use to deliver items to their buyer.
The service will be applied to eligible listings from April 7.
Ebay said the service will be an “all-in-one delivery solution” designed make the process smoother and save customers money.
It said sellers will save 20% on postage costs due to competitive rates with couriers including Royal Mail and Evri and will also speed up the payment process so sellers will receive their profit faster.
But eBay users have slammed the change, describing it as “eBay’s most ridiculous move ever”.
Meanwhile, others have said: “Great marketing for Vinted, I will be looking at moving my listings.”
Sellers have said they will need to travel further to drop items at courier points, which will make the process more complicated.
They have also said the system makes it more difficult to choose to send items with the Royal Mail, which is their preferred courier.
Meanwhile, experts have previously told The Sun that the change risks forcing vulnerable and sellers to pay more to post items to their buyer.
How does Simple Delivery work?
Simple Delivery is already an option on eBay, but the change coming in April will make the process mandatory for sellers.
When listing an item via Simple Delivery, eBay recommends the size and weight of the item and the seller will need to confirm this information is correct before they can post it.
Once an item is sold, the seller will receive a printer-less QR code and prepaid printable label and can choose which one is easiest.
The seller then has to take the item to their nearest carrier location or can book a home collection.
How to spot valuable items
COMMENTS by Consumer Editor, Alice Grahns:
It’s easy to check if items in your attic are valuable.
As a first step, go on eBay to check what other similar pieces, if not the same, have sold for recently.
Simply search for your item, filter by “sold listings” and toggle by the highest value.
This will give you an idea of how much others are willing to pay for it.
The method can be used for everything ranging from rare coins and notes to stamps, old toys, books and vinyl records – just to mention a few examples.
For coins, online tools from change experts like Coin Hunter are also helpful to see how much it could be worth.
Plus, you can refer to Change Checker’s latest scarcity index update to see which coins are topping the charts.
For especially valuable items, you may want to enlist the help of experts or auction houses.
Do your research first though and be aware of any fees for evaluating your stuff.
As a rule of thumb, rarity and condition are key factors in determining the value of any item.
You’re never guaranteed to make a mint, however.
But sellers have warned this could make it easier for items to go missing.
One said: “I really do trust Royal Mail more than others. You read such horror stories. Drop off at shops means things can easily be stolen.”
And while sellers will in theory be able to select the courier they want to use, Liz Morton, expert at Value Added Resource, said eBay may not honour these preferences in certain circumstances.
She said: “While sellers have the ability to set shipping preferences (either EVRI, Royal Mail, or both), eBay has made it clear that they are under no obligation to honour those preferences and that in some situations, sellers may still be provided a shipping label from a non-preferred carrier that they must use.”
Meanwhile, in eBay’s FAQs it warns that if you exclude certain carriers from your preferences that your delivery costs may increase and your items may be available to fewer buyers.
Ebay has also said if you need to have items collected, then you should exclude Evri – one of the cheaper couriers – from your preferences.
But choosing to send items with Royal Mail instead of Evri would add 77p to the cost of sending a 1kg parcel.
Meanwhile, it will cost £3.29 less to send a parcel that weighs 10-15kg with Evri than with Royal Mail.
This could put sellers with disabilities or those in remote locations at a disadvantage as they will need to alter their preferences to make sure their items are collected.
Payment changes
The move will also change when sellers will receive their profit after they have posted an item.
Sellers will be paid two days after they receive the delivery confirmation if they use one of eBay’s prepaid labels.
But experts have warned that this could cause issues for sellers if a buyer does not properly follow the instructions to confirm that an item has been delivered.
Buyers could forget to process that they have received an item and eBay has not made it clear how it will deal with this issue.
Tracking updates
The secondhand platform has said buyers will have peace of mind if an item is lost or damaged in transit.
The labels will come with automatic tracking so buyers will always know where their items are.
Ebay has said it will handle claims with buyers so sellers do not have to.
But Martyn James, a consumer expert, warned that there will still be issues with disputes between buyers and sellers.
He said: “By taking the process of dispatching a parcel in house, they are removing one of the most common and costly areas of dispute.
“However, the system can still be gamed by dodgy sellers and buyers – so it remains to be seen how disputes over the quality of goods will be handled in the future.”
Meanwhile, other delivery services already offer compensation if an item is lost or damaged in transit.
For example, if an item was sent by first or second class post with the Royal Mail you can claim compensation of up to £20.
But if it was posted by special delivery by 1pm you can get the value of the item up to £750 or more if there’s extra insurance for the item.
Meanwhile, Evri will compensate you up to the item value you give it.
For instance, if your parcel is worth £15 then it will give you £15 in compensation to match the value of the contents.
What else has eBay announced?
The move is the latest in a series of changes that were announced last year.
The secondhand website updated its Buyer Protection rules from February 4 in a huge shake up.
The fee is now included in the item price when buying an item from a private seller.
Buyers now pay up to 4% of the item price, plus an extra 75p.
For example, if they see an item listed for £20 the fee of £1.49 will already be part of the price.
This means there are no additional costs or fees at the checkout.
Meanwhile, for items from business sellers, shoppers will get the buyer protection benefits at no extra cost.
Introducing a buyer fee was designed to bring eBay in line with competitors such as Vinted and Depop, who have both swapped seller fees in favour of a buyer fee recently.
The secondhand platform also eliminated its “regulatory operating fees” for private UK sellers in October last year, just six months after they were introduced.
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