Ebay forcing sellers to offer free shipping in certain categories

[Janit]

What categories? I recently got a message about changes eBay will be making over the next few months, but I didn't see anything about mandated free shipping...

One alarming thing was buried in the description of the new dispute resolution process that they will be implementing. They are now saying that buyers can win an "item not received" claim if the item hasn't arrived by (seller's handling time + USPS estimated delivery time + 3 days). Over the past two months I have seen serious deterioration in Parcel Post service, with delivery times 50% longer than in the past. My last shipment to HI took 21 days

[voodoopenguin]

Janit wrote:
What categories? I recently got a message about changes eBay will be making over the next few months, but I didn't see anything about mandated free shipping.

Maybe it's just here in the UK, this is what they say:

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The categories we've selected are extremely competitive in the UK with online retailers increasingly offering free delivery. We believe this is the market price for P&P for those categories in the UK.
In which categories do I have to offer free P&P?
Your first domestic postage option must be free for these categories:

Clothes, Shoes & Accessories:
Women’s accessories
Men’s accessories
Boys’ accessories
Girls’ accessories
Clothing & Shoe care

Video Games:
Accessories
Games
Internet Game Accessories
Merchandise / Books

Mobile & Home Phones:
Bluetooth Accessories
Mobile Phone Accessories
Mobile Phone Batteries
Mobile Phone Cases & Pouches
Mobile Phone Chargers
Mobile Phone Data Cables
Mobile Phone Fascias
Multimedia Cards / Memory
Pagers
Sim Cards

Consumer Electronics:
Accessories
Batteries & Battery chargers
Gadgets
MP3 Player Accessories
TV Accessories

Computing:
Books & Manuals
Cables/connectors
Laptop Accessories
PDA Accessories
Printer Ink & Cartridges
Printer Paper & Accessories

Photography:
Books, Manuals, & Magazines
Camcorder Accessories
Digital Camera Accessories
Digital Camera Batteries
Digital Camera Chargers
Digital Camera Memory Cards
Digital Memory Card Readers
Film
Film Camera Accessories

[Janit]

voodoopenguin wrote:
[quote=Janit]
What categories? I recently got a message about changes eBay will be making over the next few months, but I didn't see anything about mandated free shipping.

Maybe it's just here in the UK...
Wow, that's brutal. This will certainly kill the auction-type listings for these categories in the UK. The only way to be sure to get a reasonable price will be to use a fixed price that factors in shipping costs.

[Lux Interior]

Shipping in the UK? Can't you basically walk anywhere in the Kingdom and hand-deliver it over your lunch-break?

Bill Bryson wrote:
There are certain idiosyncratic notions that you quietly come to accept when you live for a long time in Britain. One is that British summers used to be longer and sunnier. Another is that the England soccer team shouldn't have any trouble with Norway. A third is the idea that Britain is a big place. This last is easily the most intractable.