Guaranteed Delivery will be rolled on eBay in the US this summer with the aim of providing faster and more precise delivery dates for shoppers.
At launch, eBay will guarantee delivery in 3 days or less on 20 million eligible items, millions of which will offer free shipping.
“While the majority of items on eBay already ship within 3 days or less, as well as for free, Guaranteed Delivery will give shoppers even faster delivery options and the confidence that their items will arrive on time.”
– Hal Lawton, Senior Vice President of North America at eBay.
eBay Guaranteed Delivery
There are three fundamental principles which will underpin the eBay Guaranteed Delivery:
Guaranteed Delivery Dates
Items arrive by the promised delivery date, guaranteed
More Search Options
Buyers to get the ability to filter, sort and search items by a guaranteed delivery date
Increased Confidence
If an item doesn’t arrive by the delivery date, eBay will make it right. The buyer can request to have their cost of shipping refunded. If the shipping was free, then the buyer will receive a coupon to be used towards their next eBay purchase. Alternatively, the buyer can also choose to return the item at no cost.
Why eBay REALLY need this to work
Without a doubt eBay are losing sales to Amazon. I have an Amazon Prime account so if I need something in a hurry I know I can order it and it’ll arrive tomorrow. Every time I (or millions of other customers) use Amazon Prime it’s a sale lost to eBay.
My big problem with eBay isn’t that sellers can’t deliver to me tomorrow, I know hundreds of fantastic sellers that can. My problem is that eBay doesn’t provide the facility for me to search for items that sellers can deliver tomorrow.
eBay allow me to search for “Free P&P” or “Click & Collect” as delivery options, but they don’t enable me to search for “Fast (not very fast in my opinion) & Free”. In search results, I have to click into each and every individual listing to find a seller who offers a next day courier service. Frankly clicking 20 listings and then checking the additional shipping options to discover if they offer a next day courier service is too much like hard work. Amazon here I come!
My big hope for this project is that eBay up the ante even more. In the US, due to the size of the country, two-day delivery is pretty much equivalent to next day delivery in the UK. If eBay Guaranteed Delivery is to be within three days they’re already setting the bar lower than Amazon. Why not go the whole hog, use seller’s cut off times, and give buyers a search option for items which will arrive within two days?
I would love this to roll out in the UK and for it to enable buyers to search for items offering next day delivery. There’s no reason that if I order early in the morning that a seller can’t dispatch the same day and deliver to me tomorrow. I know not all sellers are set up for this and also that many believe their customer don’t want or need a next day service, but for those who can offer it, eBay are doing a disservice to buyers by not letting me search for products from these sellers.
eBay Guaranteed Delivery Benefits
eBay give three reasons why their eBay Guaranteed Delivery will benefit sellers:
- More Sales: Sellers will find new buyers by making items searchable by delivery date
- More Control: Sellers set their own regional rates, working days and handling time cut-offs
- Happier Customers: Guaranteed Delivery is the second most important criterion for online shoppers (right after free shipping)
If you could have your listings searchable by buyers who want an item delivered tomorrow, could you offer the service? Or do you already offer the service and just wish eBay would guide more buyers to your listings?
9 Responses
The difference on Ebay and Amazon is are Buyers prepared to pay for next day delivery on Ebay…The answer is no in my case
I changed my advert to be next day delivery and added £1.00 to the price…guess what sales on this advert stopped
Never understood why ebay removed the express delivery option from search, when as a TRS Seller we offer it, although its nigh impossible to find it.
All very good well maybe for the USA. In the Uk the vast majority of us are stuck with RMG.
We have SD1 and I think can still count on one hand the amount of UK customers WHO have actually ever paid for it (different overseas many will pay the extra for express). Plus you need to stick 10% on it as eBay profit on the service. so essentially they overprice themselves. In reality most customers will just take 1st class subsided post. Plus is you cannot actually search it…
Who’s money are they using to MAKE good with their own or the sellers as per normal for a late delivery that is question I do not see being answered.
PRIME is not Free customers pay for that service, and Amazon charge very high FEES so sellers also Pay for that service which translate into PRICES, plus I have noticed as of late PRIME does not mean exactly next day with Amazon it has become misleading
However eBay do need to do something they are getting well beat now and have become a poor 2nd to Amazon, which is not a good thing as I do not think Amazon dominance is good for anyone long term anywhere.
Personally I say they do it on price as they do not have the overheads, but all eBay think is the next Q and where they can generate short term revenue from what next supermarket they can get on board.
if you receive a heap of crap instantly, its still crap, only instant
We ship as fast as we can on ebay our items are collected by couriers and Royal Mail meaning we can only ship by the speeds they offer.
We ship using a next day courier that collects from us at 12-2pm so if a customer orders we have to know we can get it packed in time for that 12 noon and also booked in and labelled. With many items it would be simple to cut off at 11 am but more difficult items the cut off would have to be 9.30-10am. Then they order on a friday and find the next day delivery is delivered on a monday as saturdays are not a standard delivery date without a £14 surcharge.
The whole systems being put in place are for the big boys only and while everyone keeps singing the praises of what Amazon offer they will all be stung when they are the only players left and suddenly the costs start rising they will own the world and no-one will see it till its too late.
Well, sadly in the US the postal service is not great. I’ve had Express mail ..which is a guaranteed date delivery going missing for 4 days..so there is no guarantee that the US post will give with any mailing, except Express and that is a crap shoot.
How can eBay guarantee this? Dealing with the vastness of this country and so many remote places.. Cities that have highrise buildings with inadequate mailboxes..mail being stolen from front porches and mail people who just do not care..
Seriously?
so ebay guarantee delivery?
or does ebay twist sellers arms and make them guarantee delivery?
i mean, who’s funds pay for the free item, ebays or the sellers?
if its the sellers, then ebay don’t guarantee s**t, as ever.
really dont want to see it here, because as always on ebay, it’s just them ransacking sellers funds because they can get away with it.
I love the idea of guaranteed delivery, amazon can guarantee delivery because they own vans and hire drivers and operate depots and warehouses and actually do real things in the real world, ebay do not.
Some of the questions here have been answered already, if you read the ecommercebytes ‘EB blog’ published 20th March, and the comments following.
There is still a bit of confusion over who pays for refunds on freepost items, even from ebay employees. I imagine the sellers will eventually have to cough up, either instantly for that particular item, or by way of increased fees if ebay shoulders the cost, so the refund payments are spread out over every item listed and paid by every seller.