eBay Simple Delivery Managed Shipping: What Private UK Sellers Need To Know For Q1 2025 Mandate
Private sellers in the UK will be required to use eBay's Simple Delivery Managed Shipping service for eligible items starting in Q1 2025 as part of larger consumer to consumer (C2C) initiatives - here's what we know so far about the program!
Simple Delivery was introduced in May 2024 and was initially limited only to clothing sales, causing some to speculate the program was designed specifically to compete with Vinted.
Liz Morton
But eBay quickly expanded the program to include most categories on the platform, though it is still limited to private sellers only and is not available for business sellers.
Here's how Simple Delivery works, according to eBay:
We automatically select the appropriate postage options so you don’t have to waste time getting out the tape measure and scales, or worry about making a costly mistake. Your buyer will have the flexibility to choose either a standard or express delivery option at checkout.
After your item is sold, you’ll be provided with a printable label and printer-less QR code. For clothing items,* you’ll receive a Packlink label, and for all other eligible categories, you’ll be provided with a label from eBay.
Generate the label or QR code from your account, and follow the instructions to drop off your item at the nearest carrier location. All items with Simple Delivery will be tracked and fully covered.
Simple Delivery is available for eligible listings by private sellers on the eBay.co.uk site. Labels are only available for domestic deliveries within the UK.
Basically, eBay automatically decides which shipping options to show on the listing, the buyer pays whatever rate is shown (with that money going to eBay), eBay then provides a pre-paid label to the seller and eBay pockets any difference there may be between what the buyer pays and the rates they have negotiated with the shipping carriers.
In that way, Simple Delivery is similar to pre-paid shipping requirements eBay added to the Authenticity Guaranteed program for sneakers where buyers are charged a mandatory flat rate $14.95 shipping cost and eBay provides a pre-paid label to the seller to ship the shoes to the authentication center.
Liz Morton
Sellers are highly encouraged to read the full help and policy pages , terms and conditions, and the extensive FAQ eBay has provided about the program, but here are a few quick highlights:
Delivery Cost Transactions
What will the transactions look like for the delivery costs?
For clothing categories:
When your buyer pays for delivery at checkout, the amount will be credited to and deducted from your account and paid to Packlink, the label provider. You'll receive a postage label and QR code to post the sold item.The label cost, covered by the buyer's payment, is included in your eBay sales earnings.
For all other eligible categories:
Your buyer will pay for delivery at checkout and you’ll receive a postage label and QR code to post the sold item. Delivery costs are paid to eBay.
Fees, Returns & Protections
The good news: there are no fees charged on shipping costs with Simple Delivery, but that goes without saying since Simple Delivery is currently only available for private sellers and eBay no longer charges selling fees on those sales.
How are transaction fees dealt with for the prepaid postage label provided?
There are no transaction fees applied to the delivery costs when using the prepaid Packlink delivery label that comes with Simple Delivery.
The bad news: it appears sellers may be on the hook to refund the shipping amount on returns, even though that amount is actually paid to eBay.
What happens if the buyer wants to return an item?
Should the buyer request a return, you may be responsible for refunding the buyer any outbound delivery costs for the label provided to you (including for express delivery), in addition to the item cost.
Items shipped with Simple Delivery are also protected against loss or theft.
How is my item covered?
Items are protected against loss or damage from the moment they are scanned into the carrier's delivery network until they are marked as delivered by the carrier. In the event that a buyer raises a claim for an issue that occurs during transit, you'll not be held responsible.
Does Simple Delivery have a cover limit for items during transit?
No, there is no cover limit within Simple Delivery for eligible items; they are fully protected for the amount they sold for on eBay.To ensure this complete coverage:
- Use the prepaid label provided by eBay.
- For clothing categories, comply with the Packlink terms and conditions of carriage. For all other eligible categories, comply with the eBay Simple Delivery terms and conditions.
Item Eligibility
What listings are eligible for Simple Delivery?
Simple Delivery is currently available to private sellers in the UK selling:
- Clothing items that have a ‘Buy it Now’ price, auction starting price, or reserve price of £500 or less
- Items in all other eligible categories that have a 'Buy it Now' price, auction starting price, or reserve price of £750 or less
Items (once packaged) within the following dimensions and maximum weight:
For shop drop-off: where no side exceeds 120cm in length, the volume is no more than 245cm and the package is up to 20kg. To calculate the volume: add together the two shortest sides and multiply it by two, and then add the length.
For locker drop-off: 61cm x 46cm x 46cm and the package is up to 15kg.
Authenticity Guarantee and bulky listings are currently excluded from Simple Delivery.
Simple Delivery is also being touted by eBay as a way to "get your funds faster" now that they have decided to delay private seller payouts until after delivery as part of the fee-free C2C selling shake up.
Liz Morton
That framing may be a little disingenuous as Simple Delivery will still not get your funds paid out as quickly as they had been before the policy change - it just means since it is a tracked service you're payout will be processed within 2 days of confirmed delivery rather than the 14 day delay that could apply to shipments sent without tracking.
eBay is ramping the rollout of Simple Delivery by making it the default shipping option in the listing form for most private sellers, though currently sellers can still choose to opt out when creating a listing.
However, that opt out choice will be removed sometime in Q1 2025 as eBay plans to make Simple Delivery (also sometimes referred to as Managed Shipping) mandatory for private sellers on all eligible items - though an exact date has not yet been set.
That news wasn't announced directly to sellers, but rather dropped into the Q3 2024 earnings call with CEO Jamie Iannone explaining to investors how Managed Shipping will be phased in to boost the company's revenue.
With managed shipping, we are completely overhauling our shipping experience for C2C sellers in the UK in two phases.
The first phase completed in early October, extended the simplified shipping experience we first rolled out in pre-owned apparel to all categories. Within the new native listing flow, UK C2C sellers now see a consolidated list of shipping options based on the estimated package size and weight.
And since implementing this change, we have observed a significant reduction in time spent on shipping in a listing flow.
The second phase of managed shipping; radically simplifies the experience and creates a new revenue stream for eBay. Similar to managed payments and eBay international shipping, Managed shipping leverages our scale and expertise to create a better experience for customers while generating incremental revenue and operating income dollars.
When listing eligible products sellers simply confirm the pre-selected package size and eBay handles the rest. Buyers receive competitive shipping rates and sellers are fully protected against loss or damage.
Managed shipping is currently live for C2C pre-owned apparel listing in the UK. In Q4, we plan to expand managed shipping horizontally on an opt-out basis, before mandating the program for eligible items listed by C2C sellers during Q1 of 2025.
Investors had mixed reactions after the call, mostly due to eBay providing weaker Q4 revenue guidance than they had previously indicated.
Liz Morton
That weaker revenue guidance was primarily driven by the fact eBay dropped selling fees on private sales in the UK for most categories starting in October and plans to "remonetize" those sales through buyer fees and mandatory Managed Shipping won't fully kick in until Q1 2025.
Some sellers have wondered which items will be "eligible" for this mandate and while Iannone didn't get into specifics on the earnings call, it's a safe bet at least initially the mandate will apply to all items from private sellers that meet the current eligibility criteria listed above.
But given that eBay has positioned this to investors as not just a break even deal, but something they expect to be a revenue generating profit center, I won't be surprised if they test and tweak the eligibility criteria in the future to try to get more items included in the program if and when it makes sense from a revenue and risk/reward perspective.
Business sellers so far do not appear to be included in eBay's Simple Delivery Managed Shipping plans, but if they find it to be a relatively low risk revenue opportunity, I also wouldn't be surprised to see it expanded at least on a voluntary basis to business sellers or possibly even mandated for some shipments like with the sneaker authentication program.
Sellers in the US and other countries are not currently impacted by these changes, but it's good to keep an eye on what eBay is doing in other markets as there's always a possibility successful initiatives may be expanded to more locations in the future.
What do you think of eBay's plans to mandate Simple Delivery Managed Shipping for private UK sellers next year? Let us know in the comments below!
