eBay Tests US Seller Sentiment On Potential Simple Delivery Expansion In Managed Shipping Survey
UPDATE 9-4-25
eBay sellers are reporting a glitch in the listing form preventing them from adding package weight and dimensions and possibly hinting at Simple Delivery managed shipping expanding to the US.
Liz Morton
As UK private sellers continue to pushback on Simple Delivery mandate, eBay is testing US seller sentiment on potential managed shipping offering that would provide deeper shipping rate discounts and full coverage in case of loss or damage in transit.
A Value Added Resource reader reached out about a survey they recently received, seeking their opinions about the proposed managed shipping service - including asking them to rank which benefits would make the service most attractive.
We are considering adding a new eBay managed shipping service that includes these benefits listed below.
From the list below, select up to three benefits and rank them in order of most to least important to you. To select the benefits, drag them from the list into the 'Ranked Benefits' box. Once selected, you can rank them by rearranging their order within the box using drag and drop.
If you are not interested in any of these benefits, click on the arrow to advance to the next question.
Available Benefits:
- No printer is required with the option to use a QR code
- eBay offers buyers multiple shipping options on your behalf (standard & express)
- Cheaper rates than eBay’s existing discounts off retail rates for shipping labels
- You receive a label that has already been paid for when your item sells
- eBay fully protects you up to the entire item value if it is lost or damaged in transit
- Package pickup from your home is free with USPS
- eBay handles any buyer claims if the item is lost or damaged in transit
It appears eBay would primarily look to use USPS for this service, with the addition of FedEx for larger packages or express shipping, and they're keen to know if using FedEx would be an obstacle to adoption.
That's no surprise as eBay already has a deal with FedEx for mandatory pre-paid shipping for sneakers in the Authenticity Guarantee Program.
It's interesting to see that eBay would dangle deeper discounts on USPS rates than they currently offer as a benefit as well.
Back in 2019, it was revealed that eBay was at that time the second-largest customer of the US Postal Service, a position many sellers have said eBay could and should use to negotiate better discounted rates and (most importantly) pass more of those discounts on to them.
Liz Morton
It's important to note that in a managed shipping scenario, the shipping amount from the buyer is paid to eBay, then eBay purchases the label/pays the carrier and provides the pre-paid label to the seller to use.
That means any benefit or profit from negotiated discounted shipping rates for this service goes to eBay, not the seller.
CEO Jamie Iannone and new CFO Peggy Alford made it very clear on the Q2 2025 earnings call that Simple Delivery in the UK is seen as an important revenue center and the recent consolidation of Ads, Stores, Shipping, Payments and Financing teams into a new monetization-focused "Services" org within the company shows that expanding managed shipping is likely a high priority.
Liz Morton
The survey went on to ask what percentage of the seller's orders are items above $100, how important it is to them to know which carrier will be used for shipping when creating a listing, and what percentage of their orders wind up requiring them to file a claim with the carrier for lost, stolen, or damaged shipments.
Coverage for claims has been one of the major concerns amongst UK sellers with confusion over whether eBay will really honor their protection promises or use carrier exclusion lists as a "get of liability" card to deny compensation.
Liz Morton
Strangely, this survey did not mention the possibility of having the carrier provide packaging services as well - an idea that was floated in a similar survey some sellers received earlier this year.
What do you think about eBay potentially expanding Simple Delivery managed shipping to the US? Would you use the service if it was voluntary or stop selling on eBay if they made it mandatory? Let us know in the comments below!
