eBay customers have been warned of a major postage change set to take effect from October 6, impacting millions of users. The cost of postage charged through Royal Mail will increase for both individual buyers and marketplace sellers.
The price hikes will affect Royal Mail's Special Delivery Guaranteed, Signed For, and Parcelforce Worldwide Express services. eBay generally offers delivery via Evri or Royal Mail, and sellers can choose whether to cover postage costs or pass them to buyers.
This follows earlier increases in April, when first-class small parcels (up to 2kg) rose from £4.79 to £4.99, and second-class parcels from £3.75 to £3.90. First-class stamps increased from £1.65 to £1.70, and second-class stamps rose by 2p to 87p.
Royal Mail, privatised in 2013, has regularly raised prices in recent years. It has also trialled delivering second-class letters on alternate weekdays, not Saturdays, at 37 delivery offices, slowing delivery times.
An eBay spokesperson said: "Royal Mail is making changes to its consumer postage rates effective from October 6th. As part of keeping our business sellers up to date, we communicated this news to them. For people selling privately on eBay, the most cost-effective way to ship items is via Simple Delivery. This offers a tracked and fully covered service, and we recommend opting in to 'all couriers' so that we're able to offer the most competitive rates."
