eBay "Simple Delivery"

[Moonraker]

I've just had an email from eBay announcing that its "Simple Delivery" will be introduced for all private sellers on February 4. When I glanced through all the electronic bumf, my eyes quickly glazed over and my brain froze. Googling led to this article, and my suspicions that this would Not Be a Good Thing for me were confirmed by the first comment: "It will certainly destroy the collectables category at Ebay, stamps, postcards etc if introduced and push up prices greater than buyers will accept. Just have a look at what has happened on Delcampe since it was introduced, devastated their business."

Questions that come to mind include how much will the fee be (more than the cost of a second-class stamp, I bet, and perhaps even of a first-class one), and will it be disproportionate to the price of, say, a £10 postcard. (Currently I'm "watching" one with a starting bid of £2.99). And where will be the nearest "Simple Delivery" drop-off point - not as close as the nearest letter-box, for sure, nor my sub post-office, which is the first shop I go past when slipping to the shops?

But ... after I calmed down, I saw that a seller can "opt out", though will have to do so every time they list an item. And if they continue to use Royal Mail, how will eBay know an item has been delivered so that it can pay the seller, which suggests using a tracking service.

[eastlondonpostcard]

It is clear that eBay are no longer interested in the private seller and are recouping their costs after their enticing offer of 300 free listings per month.
In essence it will kill off those sellers and drive them to other platforms in my opinion.

[Moonraker]

Since my original post, I've been visiting various forums where "Simple Delivery" is being discussed. Dismay is almost universal among private sellers, including those of stamps and postcards, and in the eBay forums there's some sarkiness from business sellers aimed at prolific private sellers, some of whom say they're selling off personal collections and inherited items (as I used to do).

Every day there are some 100+ postcards listed that fall within my collecting interest and of my last year's 35 purchases perhaps one-quarter are from vendors I recognise as dealers and who are presumably registered as businesses, the rest seem to be "dabblers", listing from 20 to 150 cards.

I was reassured that many of those posting in the forums were as bewildered as I was about Simple Delivery. And it seems that Evri is eBay's carrier of choice for larger items ...

[kevinramsdale]

Simple delivery is only one of the imminent changes for private sellers on eBay from Feb 4th - and at least is not (yet) compulsory

For untracked sendings (which must include a great many postcard sales) eBay will not release the funds to sellers for 14 days

Quite how this benefits buyers is unclear, but it certainly boosts eBay's revenue stream

Then there is the "Buyer Protection Fee" of 75p plus 4% to be added to all private sales - which basically offers buyers the square root of nothing over and above the existing Money Back Guarantee

The entire announcement is very poorly done and transparent spin, attempting to mask a significant fee increase by citing so called "benefits"

Happy New Year

[Moonraker]

Judging from the other forums that I'm visiting, I'm not the only one NOT finding it "Simple"!

[PontefractWanted]

I wish more sellers would list on eBid to be honest.

I buy on eBid, Delcampe, and eBay, I enjoy buying on eBid and it seems to offer the best value from a buyers perspective as the huge fees savings are often reflected in the asking price.

Always chuffed when I find a card I want on eBid.

[kevinramsdale]

Simple delivery to become compulsory on eBay from April 15th - but an interesting development - it could be that items listed at under £10 and weighing less than 100g may be exempt:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/pos ... ligibility

it's there near the bottom of the page in the "opting out" section

[Moonraker]

Which may lead to lots of listings starting at £9.99 or less? Which is more than enough for most of the postcards that I see on eBay.

Happily my selling days probably ended on Saturday when I went to the Westbex stamp and postcard fair in Thatcham, wanting to get rid of some left-over postcards from a batch I bought in December and a high-value Gold Coast stamp that I found at the bottom of a drawer a month after I'd sold my collection. (They hadn't attracted any interest on eBay.)

It was at a fair in Thatcham 29 years ago that I started collecting postcards. I'd gone along for the stamps and spotted a box of Wiltshire cards that included one of a military camp, which I bought.

This time around I bought two cards for their uncommon postmarks and a third for £2 that I would have paid £12 for.

[lorisjames]

Given the potential cost imbalance for lower-value items like collectibles,Retro Bowl do you think this change might push more sellers toward alternative platforms like Delcampe or even Facebook Marketplace?

[Moonraker]

I've never found much on other sites within my admittedly narrow collecting interest - and that was on eBid: a desirable card, the scene on which hardly anyone else would be able to identify, and at a low price. Everything else of relevance that was listed was dross.

[dianereese]

I had the same reaction when I saw the email — totally overwhelming and not at all reassuring.

For small-time or occasional sellers like many of us in the collectables space, this could be a real headache.

The idea of having to manually opt out every time is frustrating, and you're right — the cost of "Simple Delivery" could easily outweigh the value of lower-priced items like postcards or stamps. That completely changes the dynamic for buyers and sellers alike. And I agree, nothing beats the convenience of dropping something in a letterbox or stopping by the local post office.
slope
I really hope eBay reconsiders how this is implemented, or at least offers a proper blanket opt-out.

[Moonraker]

It may be my imagination, but I think that the number of listings by the "smaller"vendors has decreased.