Jesus Christ. I just spent 45 minutes in line at my local Post Office yesterday only to watch three different people get turned away with their eBay packages. The poor woman in front of me was literally on the verge of tears. This whole "Simple Delivery" mess is turning into the absolute dumpster fire that anyone with half a brain could've predicted.
So here's the deal. Starting April 15th (that's next Monday, folks), eBay is forcing all private sellers to use their new "Simple Delivery" shipping method. No more arranging your own shipping. No more flexibility. Just eBay's way or the highway.
And it's already a disaster.
Audio Summary of the Article
The Nightmare at Counter 3
The Post Office is flat-out REFUSING to accept parcels with eBay's new labels. Why? Because eBay's brilliant system "guesstimates" the weight and dimensions of your package based on... wait for it... other similar items in teh category. My friend Sarah texted me this morning: "Just wasted my entire lunch break trying to ship a vintage teapot. Post Office weighed it, said label was wrong, and sent me packing. I'm livid."
Sellers are flooding the eBay UK community forum with horror stories. One poor soul wrote: "Just come back from my local Post Offices... both have now instructed their staff to refuse eBay parcels if they are labelled incorrectly." Another added that their sister took three packages to the Post Office - the one with traditional postage was accepted, but both Simple Delivery packages were rejected on the spot.
The cashier apparently told her they'd be "refusing all Simple Delivery items with immediate effect."
What a bloody shambles indeed.
Who thought this was a good idea?
Back in 2018, I sold about $4K worth of collectibles on eBay to fund a kitchen renovation. The process was straightforward - I'd weigh my items on a cheap kitchen scale, print my own labels, and drop everything off at the Post Office on my way to work. Now? eBay wants to play middleman with their half-baked AI weight prediction system.
One forum user nailed it: "Not surprising and can't blame the Post Office for this. Ebay trusted their sloppy AI to get weights and sizes correct and it hasn't delivered."
Sellers have been calling this "eBay's most ridiculous move ever" - and that's saying something for a platform that's made some truly baffling decisions over the years.
So how does this train wreck actually work?
When listing an item via Simple Delivery, eBay recommends the size and weight of your item. You confirm this info (assuming eBay got it right, which... LOL), and once it sells, you get either a QR code or a printable label. Then you take it to a carrier location like the Post Office or book a home collection.
The problem? If you exclude certain couriers from your preferences (like if you prefer Royal Mail's reliability over Evri's... questionable service), your costs go up. Choosing Royal Mail instead of Evri adds 77p to send a 1kg parcel. For heavier items (10-15kg), Evri is £3.29 cheaper than Royal Mail.
And God help you if you live somewhere remote or have mobility issues. You'll need to pay extra to ensure your items get collected rather than having to schlep them somewhere.
The money's tied up too (because of course it is)
Listen. It gets worse. This change also affects when sellers get paid. For tracked deliveries, funds are released two days after delivery confirmation. No delivery scan? You'll wait eight days after the order date (assuming you shipped within three days). Otherwise, it's a full two weeks before you see a penny.
I spent an embarrassing amount of time yesterday trying to figure out how to bypass this system. Spoiler alert: you can't. My editor bet me $20 that eBay would reverse course within three months. I'm taking that bet.
eBay claims buyers will have "peace of mind" with automatic tracking. They also say they'll "handle claims with buyers" so sellers don't have to. But they're suspiciously vague about how that process will actually work.
The latest in a parade of unpopular changes
This Simple Delivery nonsense follows other recent eBay changes that have sellers grinding their teeth. From February 4th, they updated Buyer Protection rules to include the fee in the item price for private sellers - up to 4% plus an extra 75p. So that £20 item you're looking at already includes a £1.49 fee.
eBay claims this brings them in line with competitors like Vinted and Depop. But at least those platforms WORK.
I feel stupid now for not seeing this coming. Last October, eBay removed their "regulatory operating fees" for UK sellers just six months after introducing them. It was a clear sign they were planning something worse.
Poor sellers. Caught between eBay's half-baked system and the Post Office's understandable refusal to accept incorrectly labeled packages. I've already seen three friends switch to Facebook Marketplace this week alone.
His response: "Done with eBay forever. Their loss."
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