It’s a great day on eBay, for the first time ever I can see items on the view item page and within search results which can genuinely ship fast. eBay have at last retired the ‘Fast n Free’ messaging on eBay UK, in favour of 1, 2 or 3 day ETAs in what they are calling a Simplified Postage Message.
The fast ‘N Free badge was first introduced in 2012 when a three day delivery was pretty rapid, but today a 3 day delivery is considered an economy with next day being the gold standard for fast (and sometimes same day delivery). It’s been a constant personal gripe with eBay that they beat sellers up to offer Premium Service but as a buyer I couldn’t actually search for items that qualified for Premium Service. Now (possibly with a few amendments to your listings), if you can ship an item which will arrive next business day I’ll be able to spot it right in search as well as it being highlighted on the view item page.
With the Simplified Postage Message, buyers will see delivery times, from next day to 3 business days. Listings showing the Fast & Free logo will be automatically updated to the new postage design so if you’re ready there’s nothing for you to do. If you can offer delivery in less than 3 business days then it’s time to tweak your listings so that buyers can see this.
Listing qualification for Simplfied Postage Message
In order for your listings to show the new Simplified Postage Message, you’ll need to meet the following critera:
- Estimated delivery of the item is three working days or fewer (from receipt of cleared payment), based on the dispatch time, the postage service you’ve specified, your location and the buyer’s delivery address.
- You offer free postage and packaging as your first (default) position.
- You don’t offer collection in person or freight as your first (default) delivery option
- Both the item and the buyer are located in the United Kingdom, with the exception of the Hebrides, Shetland and Scilly Islands.
- The listing isn’t in the Classified Ad format.
- On eBay Motors, the new postage message will only be used in the Parts & Accessories category.
This is a change that I’ve wanted for years as an eBay buyer – to be able to scan a list of search results and pick a product that will arrive tomorrow when I need it urgently. Of course I hear the righteous (and justified) indignation from those who say their buyers don’t want to pay extra for speedy delivery.
I too often make purchases that I don’t mind if it takes a few days for them to arrive. But there’s always that one item I want fast and an Amazon Prime account and slightly higher prices is so much easier than clicking into multiple listings on eBay to find a product that ships fast. Now I’ll probably spend more on eBay as I’ll know from the search page which listings can be shipped with next business day delivery and I’m sure I’m not the only one that will welcome this change.
13 Responses
Yes it’s great, Sadly my buyers are seeing 2nd Class delivery as delivered on Tuesday despite the fact they won’t be posted till Monday – and yes my settings are correct it’s Ebay error’s again!!!!!
Maybe ebay could come up with a system that shows the percentage of deliveries that the buyer sends delivered in the time frame promised. And take into consideration locations where it is sent from and two.
If a item has to get from one end of Scotland to the bottom of England there is greater chance the parcel won’t meet it promise as opposed to a parcel to a buyer 20 miles away and it only goes through the one sorting hub.
If a sellers shows same day dispatch and next day delivery. Show what percentage of these are achieved with the service offered by the seller.
Well my 1st class option shows as Thursday… so I don’t know what’s going on…
Also here is something I have just noitced… not sure if it is just me….
If you look at an item / your item on the Ebay app…. before you even get to all the description and info you will see 2 rows of other sponsored items…
so chances are people will click though to that instead if you aren’t the cheapest / quickest…
I think that’s a right sneaky move
also why isn’t this an option when you charge for postage??? as if it’s still quick… well its still quick.
People are not stupid & know the postage cost is included.
“Amazon Prime account and slightly higher prices is so much easier than clicking into multiple listings on eBay to find a product that ships fast” – good point, I read that actually on so many items, Amazon is becoming one of the most expensive places to shop. Price tracking data shows that best sellers (top rank/top reviewed items) tend to increase in price over time, especially if they are sold 3rd party via Prime delivery (FBA or SFP).
The reason why they are still so popular despite potentially being higher than the market price is that Prime buyers will purchase them due to convenience/ease of use and the fast delivery.
It is often that the same item is available for less when purchased with a delivery upgrade from an ebay seller – but like you said, it is not easy to often find that ebay seller and if you want to do something quick on your phone then Amazon is still a “go to” place, especially for paying Prime customers.
It would be good if ebay can genuinely promote and offer search filter for buyers to find: 1. fast delivery, 2. UK stock/UK seller.
we use prime for most everything we buy online,
its only if we perceive the price to be steep ,that we even bother to check on ebay
So hang on…. you STILL CAN’T search for next day delivery as a buyer!?! I don’t care about what the listing shows when i have pages of them to scroll through, I want to be able to add next days delivery to my search.
Sadly although welcome as a step in the right direction, it shows how behind and out of touch ebay are.
SAtill i see royal mail 48 showing as 2 day delivery to buyers, yet when i list it correctly identifies as 2 to 3 days. I get far too many buyers, finding that tey are unable to open a INR case on the 2nd day, instead messaging me demanding to know where it is and why it is late! Oh and for many many months our rm24 has shown the same delivery date as rm48 and often our next day shows as 2 days. Yes i have checked our settings…
What makes me laugh is i can check 2 different listings of ours, both offering same service, and get 2 different delivery dates! The whole system is a mess and nobody at ebay wants to accept it, ( trust me i wrote to ceo and was passed to person in charge of it… usual ebay bs which failed to match what i have been seeing for several months.
I sell on other platforms and it is only ebay i have all these issues with. Maybe they should be looking at what they do differently… and scrap it.
As with many others, if you want it fast, you go to amazon.
“The fast ‘N Free badge was first introduced in 2021” – it was 2012…
Good spot… got my 1s and 2s the wrong way round!
And of course eBay have got this wrong (again). I don’t do Fast N Free. I have a 3 day handling time but eBay in their wisdom are showing as that as ‘free 3 day delivery’ so basically they’re showing buyers that their order will arrive in 3 days, not that it will be posted in 3 days.
I don’t generally wait 3 days to post orders, I mostly have a 3 day handling time because of a) Covid delays and b) eBay’s inability to get estimates right.
I need to check my delivery times, we dispatch the next working day, however, postage can sometimes be out of your control once you have posted it. Interesting to see how many people have late deliverys?
Due to ebay’s usual incompetence and inability to code anything correctly, I have dropped my 1st class postage to 2nd class – what is the point of bearing the extra cost to give a better service (and increase sales) when ebay proudly show it as the same 3 day delivery as everyone else’s 2nd class… as always, utter garbage from ebay.
IF PACKLINK WAS TO INTIGRATER AND MAKE A ONE TIME POSTAGE CXHRAGE EVERYTHINK TRACKED AND SIGNED I THINK THE SCAMMERS ARE DONE AND BURIUD COME ON EBAY YOU NOW IT MAKES SENSE STANDERED TRACKED AND SIGNED THRUGH PACKLINK VGOODBY SCAMMERS