eBay UK Makes Massive Price Hike For Simple Delivery Royal Mail 0-1kg Medium Parcels

eBay UK has announced a massive price hike is coming for private sellers forced into using Simple Delivery managed shipping if they choose to limit the carrier to Royal Mail only.

The update was posted today in the eBay UK community forum, informing sellers the rate change will take effect on September 1, 2025.

Simple Delivery pricing changes from 1 September

Simple Delivery Pricing Update

From 1 September sellers who opt-in to send items via Royal Mail only for the Simple Delivery programme will see the below price changes. These changes will apply to all new and existing listings.

For items sold between £0-100

Service: 0-1kg Medium Parcel

Old Price: £3.64

New Price: £5.15

For items sold above £100

Service: 0-1kg Medium Parcel

Old Price: £3.94

New Price: £6.16

Simple Delivery was introduced in May 2024 and was initially limited only to clothing sales, but eBay quickly expanded the program to include most categories on the platform and announced it would be mandatory for all private sellers of eligible items to use Simple Delivery, starting with a phased rollout in April that has finally kicked in for most items this month.

As the Simple Delivery mandate continues to impact more and more private sellers, concerns have been raised about exemptions for some smaller/lower value items, whether eBay really will cover all items for loss or damage in transit, and accessibility concerns for those who are disabled or who may live in remote areas without easy access to drop off locations.

Eventually, eBay added in an option for at home collection to address those accessibility concerns, but it’s only available through Royal Mail – so in order to make sure they can use it, sellers need to set their Simple Delivery preferences to Royal Mail only.

Following the launch of Simple Delivery, we’re excited to introduce the ability to select carrier preferences to give you more flexibility and enhance your selling experience.

Please note that this feature is being gradually rolled out and will be live for all eligible sellers in the coming weeks.

Available carriers
With Simple Delivery, you have access to two trusted carriers: Royal Mail and EVRi. By default, you’ll be automatically opted in to use both carriers. However, if you have a specific preference because the drop-off location is too far from where you live, you can easily adjust your settings.

How to set your preferences
To customise your carrier preferences, head over to your postage preferences. Under the Simple Delivery settings, you’ll find a toggle next to each carrier. You can choose which carriers to include or exclude based on your needs.

Please note that excluding carriers might lead to increased delivery costs and could limit the number of potential buyers for your items. If you require a collection from your address for all your items, consider selecting Royal Mail only, as they provide collection for Simple Delivery items.

Some things to consider
We will always strive to honour your carrier selections. However, there may be some instances where we are unable to, such as when the weight or dimensions of your item requires a different carrier. In such cases, we may provide a label for a carrier you have chosen to exclude.

Delivery options for buyers
When your buyers reach checkout, they may have the option to select between standard or express delivery. If express delivery is chosen, rest assured that your handling time remains unchanged – express simply refers to the speed at which the item travels through the carrier network.

While the introduction of carrier preferences was a welcome change and move in the right direction, it’s still concerning that in some cases, sellers may be forced to use a carrier that is not “preferred.”

That means sellers with disabilities or those who live in remote areas could, in some situations, still be required to use a carrier which doesn’t offer collection or an easily accessible drop off point, so this is not really a solution to one of the largest concerns sellers have expressed about Simple Delivery.

And on top of that, if the seller selects to limit their Simple Delivery carrier preference to Royal Mail only, their buyers will likely be charged higher shipping rates than if they leave the option open for eBay to decide to use Evri or DHL for larger shipments.

That’s always been true for many levels of service through Simple Delivery, as we can see from the current rates most are higher if the seller chooses to limit the option to Royal Mail only compared to if they chose Evri only or both.

But that difference will be even greater starting September first on 0-1kg Medium Parcels, creating an even wider disparity in pricing for those items if the seller opts for Royal Mail only.

And while Simple Delivery is currently only available for private sellers in the UK, it may behoove US-based sellers to pay attention as well – they’re clearly gauging seller sentiment on the possibility of bringing a similar program state-side and if they do, you can bet they’ll likely be playing similar rate games between the proposed USPS and FedEx shipping options.

eBay Tests US Seller Sentiment On Potential Simple Delivery Expansion In Managed Shipping Survey

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What do you think of eBay Simple Delivery how will these Royal Mail only rate increases impact your selling on the platform? Let us know in the comments below!