Simple Delivery Postage Warning

vigman

Hi. I recently sold an item with buyer paying postage (£5.54) and chose not to use the Simple Delivery prepaid label. I did this as I knew the item was heavier than the label cost allowed for and did not want my buyer paying excess postage at the other end.

So I created my own label and indeed the postage came to £6.55.

When I looked at my account, eBay had only paid me the item amount and not the postage amount paid by the buyer, even though I had not printed the prepaid label.

Therefore I had received the item amount £12.99 and it had cost me £6.55 to post privately!

The online chat assistant said there was no way of reimbursing me for this honest mistake.
Having had a long typed chat and getting nowhere, I finally spoke to the eBay leadership team.

I explained that I didn't want my buyer being charged excess postage so paid privately. They said I must use their label, but I pointed out that the postage cost would have underpaid and they said this wouldn't have mattered!

I said what if I had estimated my item as a small parcel but when packed was a medium or large parcel. They said it would still get posted. I pointed out that this was open to abuse!

I also explained that I don't wrap. measure and weigh my items first (might not sell!) and so don't know by the time I'm finished if it will be a small, medium or even large parcel of a certain weight. I often accepted the fact that I charged my buyer a nominal £5 postage but it could be more than that, indeed sometimes double.

Having told them it was a terrible system open to abuse and that I would (genuinely) have closed my account of 26 years, they finally credited me with a £5 coupon towards my lost postage.

Interested to hear comments on this new system please?

TIA

soolin

vigman said:

Hi. I recently sold an item with buyer paying postage (£5.54) and chose not to use the Simple Delivery prepaid label. I did this as I knew the item was heavier than the label cost allowed for and did not want my buyer paying excess postage at the other end.

So I created my own label and indeed the postage came to £6.55.

When I looked at my account, eBay had only paid me the item amount and not the postage amount paid by the buyer, even though I had not printed the prepaid label.

Therefore I had received the item amount £12.99 and it had cost me £6.55 to post privately!

The online chat assistant said there was no way of reimbursing me for this honest mistake.
Having had a long typed chat and getting nowhere, I finally spoke to the eBay leadership team.

I explained that I didn't want my buyer being charged excess postage so paid privately. They said I must use their label, but I pointed out that the postage cost would have underpaid and they said this wouldn't have mattered!

I said what if I had estimated my item as a small parcel but when packed was a medium or large parcel. They said it would still get posted. I pointed out that this was open to abuse!

I also explained that I don't wrap. measure and weigh my items first (might not sell!) and so don't know by the time I'm finished if it will be a small, medium or even large parcel of a certain weight. I often accepted the fact that I charged my buyer a nominal £5 postage but it could be more than that, indeed sometimes double.

Having told them it was a terrible system open to abuse and that I would (genuinely) have closed my account of 26 years, they finally credited me with a £5 coupon towards my lost postage.

Interested to hear comments on this new system please?

TIA

It's unfortunate but there is nothing in your situation that isn't covered in the FAQs.

For future reference, if a simple delivery label isn't used and it was a buyer pays, then refund goes back to buyer. If it was a seller pays then sellers can submit a claim form and 'may' get the original SD label cost back that they didn't use. 

If you check under the SD label page it does have a link to 'what to do if label doesn't cover postage' but basically the sale can be cancelled without penalty .

It is a very long thread now, but this is the main discussion thread that covered this.

eBay simple delivery (merged) - Page 50 — MoneySavingExpert Forum

vigman

Thanks. Actually as it is in the process of being rolled out, on my PC I could get the buyer's name and address to create my own label, but not on the iPad or iPhone app.

Also, it does say somewhere that items under £20 won't have to use simple delivery.

Anyway, the next time I sell a giant crystal chandelier I'm going to get a label for a large envelope! (Joking, just joking, but I still think it is a stupid system)

swingaloo

When you are listing the item you must have a rough idea of the weight and size. It should be obvious if the item is roughly an envelope/shoe box/2kg/5kg.

You really wouldn't list something and estimate it as a small parcel if it was a large.

jeffuk

vigman said:

Thanks. Actually as it is in the process of being rolled out, on my PC I could get the buyer's name and address to create my own label, but not on the iPad or iPhone app.

Also, it does say somewhere that items under £20 won't have to use simple delivery.

Anyway, the next time I sell a giant crystal chandelier I'm going to get a label for a large envelope! (Joking, just joking, but I still think it is a stupid system)

Be aware that opting out of Simple Delivery does not cover all categories.

Opting out

The option to opt out and select Custom postage is only available for items in specific categories that are priced £20 and under. This includes items which are typically letter or large letter-sized and 100g or under. The £20 limit applies to the item price only and excludes the Buyer Protection Fee.

You can see if your item is eligible for Simple Delivery, or if you have the option to choose Custom postage, when you're creating your listing.

Source.
Simple Delivery | eBay

vigman

swingaloo said:

When you are listing the item you must have a rough idea of the weight and size. It should be obvious if the item is roughly an envelope/shoe box/2kg/5kg.

You really wouldn't list something and estimate it as a small parcel if it was a large.

My packing is always overkill, and I get good feedback on it. What should be a small parcel is often a medium parcel and of a higher estimated weight with packaging. Also with the old system I could charge a nominal amount towards p&p but know I was going to be paying more towards it. This system doesn’t allow for that. This item was more complicated as it was a heavy tube. 

savergrant

vigman said:

Thanks. Actually as it is in the process of being rolled out, on my PC I could get the buyer's name and address to create my own label, but not on the iPad or iPhone app.

Also, it does say somewhere that items under £20 won't have to use simple delivery.

Anyway, the next time I sell a giant crystal chandelier I'm going to get a label for a large envelope! (Joking, just joking, but I still think it is a stupid system)

The exemption to simple delivery is for letter-sized items under £20, not parcel-sized.
When you list an item ebay suggests a size and weight and offers a guarantee against extra charges if the parcel is overweight (as long as it doesn't exceed the maximum carrier weight) so unless you have overridden the default option you and the buyer are both protected.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

vigman said:

swingaloo said:

When you are listing the item you must have a rough idea of the weight and size. It should be obvious if the item is roughly an envelope/shoe box/2kg/5kg.

You really wouldn't list something and estimate it as a small parcel if it was a large.

My packing is always overkill, and I get good feedback on it. What should be a small parcel is often a medium parcel and of a higher estimated weight with packaging. Also with the old system I could charge a nominal amount towards p&p but know I was going to be paying more towards it. This system doesn’t allow for that. This item was more complicated as it was a heavy tube. 

System isn’t really set for this, you either have to set it as a medium parcel to begin with or reconfigure your packaging to suit a small parcel.

I tend to over pack stuff but if it safely fits in a small parcel it’s going as a small parcel. The buyer will pay x overall so if the postage is a small parcel I’m a couple of quid up compared to over packing it into a medium parcel. 

If the item is lost or damaged eBay refund the buyer, not sure what happens with underpaid postage, going back a good few years now but I’m sure mail on account that was underpaid was billed to the account rather than the recipient.

If I were eBay I’d be more concerned about people posting a vase in nothing more than a Jiffy bag instead of those opting for lighter labels than required! 

savergrant

I'm not aware of anyone having experience of 'damaged in transit' on simple delivery but I'd guess there is a clawback from ebay in case of insufficient packaging. 

tombaba

I'm not keen on Simple Delivery. Have had chats with eBay and was advised to sell smaller things (e.g. Football Card - 87p postage but kept coming up as £2.70 Simple) as "free postage but increase your sale price to cover actual cost of postage" then "just don't use the Simple label and you'll be refunded for non-use". It seems a palaver to actually get that £2.70 Simple Label refunded as I know now that a Form needs to be completed

savergrant

tombaba said:

I'm not keen on Simple Delivery. Have had chats with eBay and was advised to sell smaller things (e.g. Football Card - 87p postage but kept coming up as £2.70 Simple) as "free postage but increase your sale price to cover actual cost of postage" then "just don't use the Simple label and you'll be refunded for non-use". It seems a palaver to actually get that £2.70 Simple Label refunded as I know now that a Form needs to be completed

It has been said that you can only claim a refund for the postage label if you use an alternative TRACKED service, so not 87p. And if the postage was buyer pays it's the buyer that receives the refund.