eBay Plus is a subscription programme for buyers in Germany which promises fast and free premium shipping, simple free returns and premium customer service. Sellers benefit from better visibility and eBay-paid returns and when processing all eBay Plus orders on the same working day, sellers receive an additional 20% discount on the sales commission.
Up until now, sellers have had to promise to despatch same day for orders placed before 2pm and next day despatch for orders placed later in the day as well as being Top Rated on eBay. The programme was trialled in May 2015 and fully launched in September the same year.
Now as announced in their latest German Seller Release, eBay are going to relax the shipping requirements and invite more sellers to join the eBay Plus programme in Germany. From April 2018, eBay Plus will also gradually be available to ‘Above Average’ sellers and for offers with a processing time of up to 1 business day (rather than same day for pre 2pm orders). Sellers will also have to offer 30 day returns rather than 14 day which has been the standard on eBay Germany.
Nothing will change for sellers already qualified to offer eBay Plus, but this represents a wider offering and opportunity for more sellers to benefit from the eBay seller protection for shipment with tracking and additional marketing of eBay Plus offers. eBay Plus offers are exclusively included in regular marketing campaigns and in special newsletters on eBay (e.g. a monthly special newsletter to all eBay Plus customers promoting exclusively eBay Plus offers), as well as being highlighted with an eBay Plus search option.
eBay Plus benefits
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Fee Discounts
20% off the sales commission on eBay Plus transactions
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Better Search Visibility
eBay Plus items are tagged with a logo and are easier to find through a search filter.
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Return Costs
eBay will pay for the return shipping costs and provide buyers with free return labels from Hermes.
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Increase in sales
Gain new customers and retain existing customers more strongly. Details can be found in the next section “Marketing Your eBay Plus Articles”.
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Flexibility
Decide for yourself which of your articles you would like to offer in the program.
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Seller protection
For shipment with tracking. If the item arrives at the buyer on time or if you have delivered the item to the shipping service provider in good time, you will receive:
- Defects for shipping time and supposedly not received items removed
- Negative and neutral reviews associated with shipping removed
Why eBay Plus is interesting
It’s hard not to compare the service costing €19.90 per year to Amazon Prime as well as of course to eBay Guaranteed Delivery in the US (which is subscription free and available to all buyers).
Buyers shopping on eBay.com can filter items by a guaranteed delivery date, including the next 1-2 days and similarly on eBay Germany buyers can filter for eBay Plus items. We know that in many cases shoppers are looking for expedited shipping and both eBay Plus and eBay Guaranteed Delivery offer this reassurance that items will be delivered quickly.
The interesting question is which of the two programmes will be rolled out more widely across eBay’s other EU and worldwide sites. For instance, would buyers in the UK be wiling to pay a subscription if it offered fast shipping and free returns as well as premium support or is this a step to far for Brits?
If you could choose to offer either eBay Plus or eBay Guaranteed Delivery, which would be your favoured option?
