eBay UK Invoice Option Disappears, Leaving Sellers In The Dark With Conflicting Answers From Support
UPDATE 4-9-25
While eBay has yet to make any announcement, sellers say this issue has now been fixed and they are once again able to send invoices for combined shipping.
eBay UK sellers say they no longer have the option to send invoices for combined shipping to buyers as conflicting answers from support add to confusion and frustration.
The issue appears to be most heavily impacting private sellers, leading to speculation it may be related to recent changes which added a Buyer Protection Fee to items sold by private sellers.
One post about the problem in the eBay UK community forum has garnered almost 350 replies in the last two weeks, showing it is a widespread and ongoing issue.
Option on sold listings to ‘send payment details’ has disappeared and I’m unable to send people invoices for combined orders like I normally do. I did a live chat with customer service, but I don’t really think they knew what I was talking about.
I have buyers waiting to pay, but are reluctant to pay for the entire postage cost in one go and have me refund due to the amount of money they would have in limbo.
There was another post earlier about the same thing but I don't think anyone from eBay replied yet.
The problem seems to be BPF [Buyer Protection Fee] related if you are a private seller. eBay charge a fee for each item, but you cannot refund that, as it's theirs.
Also with their new terms and conditions if you cancel the orders and relist together you could fall foul of their new "any attempt to circumvent BPF fees could result in sanctions" policy. I'm paraphrasing there but that's basically what it means.
Some sellers shared the error message they receive when trying to combine shipping, saying they believe that points to this being a technical issue.
If you click on Combine Items you get the option to collate all items for the same buyer however it is not working at the moment you get this message:
Sending invoices is temporarily unavailable
We're working to fix this issue as soon as possible. In the meantime, if you want to send combined postage discounts, we recommend refunding the postage difference to your buyer after purchase.
At least this suggests that there will be an upcoming fix
Community rep Marco posted on February 25th that it was a technical issue and eBay is working to resolve the issue, but he has not come back with any further updates since that time - including during yesterday's weekly chat session where he said he is still waiting for an update.
Hi all, thanks for your messages.
This is a technical issue from our end, and I will go through the thread now to start reporting the impacted accounts.
Unfortunately, other users are getting very different stories when contacting support, leading to even more confusion and frustration.
Some say they've been told it will take up to 90 days for the problem to be fixed, while other say they've been directly told by support that it is an intentional change to discontinue the invoicing functionality all together.
I asked via "X" and inbetween the sheets of waffle got this:
Recently our Tech teams have determined that the invoice option is no longer available due to compatibility updates within our system. This change was made to ensure a more streamlined and efficient process.
Side note: I was unable to find that post on X, so it may have been deleted - just like @AskeBay deleted their responses to me when I asked about delays in launching the Buyer Protection Fee.
The only response I've found from eBay on X about this invoicing issue just vaguely references the site undergoing changes and a "hope" that the invoice function will be available again at some point, but doesn't offer any real details about why it's not available now or when the issue might be fixed.
Thanks for getting in touch with us. Our site is undergoing some changes, and we hope to see the invoice function be available again. At this time we don't have information on when this might be. ~Lonnie
— Ask eBay (@AskeBay) March 4, 2025
If all of that sounds familiar, that may be because sellers on the US site went through this exact same scenario, complete with conflicting information from support, in 2023.
Liz Morton
After initially being told it was a technical issue, eBay eventually admitted it was actually an unannounced change meant to cut down on sellers sending invoices in situations where eBay believed it is unnecessary because buyers already received payment reminders automatically.
eBay eventually reversed course in the US after massive seller pushback and reinstated the invoicing option.
If this issue in the UK isn't being caused by the Buyer Protection Fee, then one other theory may be that it is an intentional change planned to go along with the original timing of making Simple Delivery mandatory for private sellers.
Liz Morton
With Simple Delivery, eBay's FAQ says combined postage could be available to buyers purchasing multiple items, but that doesn't mean it necessarily will be and either way, that will be determined by eBay, not the seller.
That could indicate eBay believes private sellers will no longer need that option, since eBay will be handling it under Simple Delivery, just like how in the US in 2023 eBay believed sellers would no longer need that option due to changes they had made around requiring payments.
CEO Jamie Iannone had originally said Simple Delivery would become mandatory in Q1 2025, many believing it would likely happen around the same time as the Buyer Protection Fee and other changes were due to launch, but on the most recent earnings call he advised the mandate has now been pushed out to Q2 2025.
It's entirely possible the tech team didn't get that memo and changes to invoicing availability which may have been planned to coincide with the Simple delivery mandate went ahead anyway.
Either way it is ridiculous that this problem has dragged on for weeks with no definitive answers from eBay about what is really going on, whether or not the invoicing functionality will return, and if so, when.
How is this eBay UK invoicing issuing impacting your buying and selling on the platform? Let us know in the comments below!
