eBay Simple Delivery Explained
From 15th April 2025, Simple Delivery will be the only option for private sellers on eBay. We explore what’s changed.
Can I Use My Own Shipping on eBay?
From 15th April 2025, private sellers on eBay cannot use their own shipping and eBay’s Simple Delivery will be the only option available unless your item is:
100g and less than £10 in value
Being shipped outside of the UK and Channel Islands
Over 120cm in length
Over 20kg in weight
Over £750 in value
If the above points do not apply to your items and you want the freedom of choosing your own delivery methods outside of eBay, you’ll need to become a business seller.
While the initial seller fees could be a deterrent for private sellers, it’s a good idea to work out if the seller fees and arranging your own delivery is actually cheaper than using eBay’s Simple Delivery options. This will depend on the size, weight, and volume of the items you sell - find more information on Simple Delivery below.
Business seller fees start from 30p per listing with no monthly charge, or pay £27 a month and get 250 free listings and a reduced listing fee of 10p after that - see all fees explained here. It’s important to remember that you also gain access to a range of benefits when you become a business seller, which we explain below.
Alternatively, you could build your business on another marketplace that can be linked to an integration tool like Smart Send, such as Amazon or TikTok Shop, or create your own website with a platform such as Shopify or Squarespace.
What is eBay Simple Delivery?
eBay has introduced a delivery option called Simple Delivery to their platform. The ecommerce giant describes Simple Delivery as an ‘all-in-one delivery solution’. With Simple Delivery, sellers choose a weight category, e.g ‘Up to 5kg’, and once your buyer purchases an item, eBay will send you a label or QR code.
Items will be delivered by Royal Mail or Evri. Collection services are only available for items sent with Royal Mail through Simple Delivery. This means if you need your parcels to be collected, you’ll have to exclude Evri as a shipping option so that customers only have the choice of buying a Royal Mail label. Once you have your Simple Delivery label, you will then have to visit the Royal Mail website to book your collection.
To avoid this, or if you have a preferred courier, you can choose to exclude certain services in the ‘Postage Preferences’ part of your eBay account settings.
What has changed?
From 15th April 2025, Simple Delivery will be the only option available to private sellers excluding certain weights and destinations listed above, although it will remain optional to business sellers.
eBay’s new Simple Delivery means that private sellers can no longer choose ‘Other’ to use their own delivery options outside of the eBay platform. This means that if you want to arrange shipping independently with different carriers, you’ll need to become a business seller.
Becoming a Business Seller
We know that many private sellers will be frustrated with the recent changes to eBay shipping, so let’s look at the benefits and charges of becoming a business seller.
Business sellers pay seller fees - starting from 30p per listing, or £27 a month with 250 free listings and reduced fees of 10p per item after that. But it's important to know that there are many advantages to becoming a business seller. Some benefits include:
Higher listing limits
Reduced listing fees as you upgrade to higher packages
Greater freedom with shipping preferences and delivery methods
Ability to have a shop-front for customers to visit and view your brand
Access to exclusive business marketing tools
Ability to have auction-style listings
Upgraded customer support with higher packages
How to Become a Business Seller on eBay
To become a business seller you’ll just need to provide your:
Business name
Business email
Location of where your business is registered
Your VAT number (only if your business is subject to VAT)
You can choose not to pay a monthly subscription and your listing fees will be 30p per item, or you can join one of eBay’s monthly subscription packages, which reduces listing fees and gives you a range of varying benefits.
Find an Alternative Marketplace
Advice for Smart Send Sellers
If your eBay account is linked to Smart Send, your eBay orders will still be imported from the marketplace into your Smart Send dashboard. But depending which type of seller you are will determine what happens with your orders:
Business sellers - you can ship using any of the carriers on Smart Send as you usually would as long as you’ve selected to use your own delivery method outside of Simple Delivery on your eBay account.
Private sellers - if you’re a private seller on eBay and you use Smart Send, your orders will be imported into your Smart Send dashboard and available to ship, but be aware that you may have already received a shipping label from eBay. When you download the shipping label from eBay, the ‘New Order’ will disappear from your Smart Send dashboard, or you can create a rule so that eBay orders are no longer imported into Smart Send using Rule Manager. If you’ve already paid for postage with Parcel2Go and no longer wish to use the shipping label, you can request a refund here.
For more help with orders and claims, visit our Help Centre.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you opt out of Simple Delivery on eBay?
From 15th April 2025, you cannot opt out of Simple Delivery unless you are a business seller or your item is:
100g and less than £10 in value
Being shipped outside of the UK and Channel Islands
Over 120cm in length
Over 20kg in weight
Over £750 in value
If you’re a private seller looking for eBay shipping advice, please read our page above for tips on expanding your shipping options. We also explain more about what Simple Delivery is, but please see eBay’s detailed terms and conditions for more information.
Who pays for Simple Delivery on eBay?
The buyer pays for the postage label when they buy your item, but you can also choose to offer free delivery and pay the shipping costs yourself too.
Depending if you have a printer or not, you will receive a shipping label or a QR code once the shipping cost has been paid by the buyer or yourself.
What is the cheapest way to send parcels on eBay UK?
Parcel2Go is the cheapest way to send a parcel in the UK and for eBay sellers. Our shipping starts from just £1.99 exc VAT compared to eBay’s Simple Delivery costs which start from £2.25 exc VAT. And our 1-2kg price starts at £2.69 exc VAT whereas eBay’s 1-2kg price begins at £3.09 exc VAT. And remember we offer regular reductions and exclusive lower prices through Smart Send. You can find a full breakdown of costs per weighted item on the ChannelX website.
At Parcel2Go, we promise lower prices without compromising on a quality service. Not only do we offer many more courier options than Simple Delivery’s Evri and Royal Mail, but our lowest price guarantee means if you find a cheaper price anywhere else, we’ll match it!
Ship with DPD, FedEx, Yodel, and many more - get a free quote to see all your options.
How do I change the default shipping method on eBay?
If you’re a private seller, you cannot choose any option other than Simple Delivery. Your available couriers will be Royal Mail and Evri and in your account you can choose whether you want to exclude drop off or collection, printer or printer-free services. Those choices will determine which of the 2 carriers your item is shipped with.
If you’re a business seller, you have more flexibility with your shipping choices. To select an option outside of the default postage:
Go to the 'Delivery' section of your listing.
Select 'Switch to advanced options' and then click again on the pop up.
Select 'View all delivery services'.
Scroll to the bottom of the list and choose the 'Other Courier' option.
That will allow you to set up your own independent postage. If you’re integrated with Smart Send, this is the shipping option you need to choose.