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Tagged: Guaranteed Delivery
- This topic has 18 replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 4 years, 5 months ago by
T-Satt.
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03/28/2017 at 8:14 am #15449
Nancy let us know about this official link on eBay about the new program:
http://cc.ebay.com/guaranteed-delivery/There isn’t much meat to the details. I know there are outside articles that discuss it, but I’m waiting for official announcements on eBay’s website.
–When does the program start?
–It doesnt say who will pay for the shipping if it doesn’t arrive on time.
–It’s also not clear if buyer’s must pay for priority shipping to get the guarantee.We ship quickly anyway so we’ll most likely be joining. It’s what we do anyway.
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03/28/2017 at 11:44 am #15470
Hey Jay. I agree on the lack of written info from eBay on this. We heard about this on the eBay Radio podcasts last week. They have had eBay personnel talking about this and providing more detail, but as it is still early, I think they are still getting the “Official” policies nailed down. The official page eBay Guaranteed Delivery will be where the details and the rollout will be distributed, and the opt-in is supposed to be in July.
I feel that just behind the Spring Seller Update, they wanted to get the buzz going on this, and then have the time to get the official policy in July (also around “eBay Open” in Vegas at the end of July).
There may be minor tweaks, but the basic framework is this:
The buyer will now have a way to filter their search results by a guaranteed delivery time (1, 2, or 3 day). There are two options for the program: Handling Time and End-to-End. End-to-End means that as the seller, you guarantee the delivery date and will pay for late shipments in all cases (eBay is not at risk in any way). This would be for the larger companies that can control the process.
Most of us would be in the Handling Time option. Each item’s delivery time will be calculated by eBay based on the seller’s handling time and each offered shipping solution (First Class, Priority, etc.), and the distance from the buyer to the seller. Regarding who pays if it is late, the Handling Time option would be that as long as the seller had the label printed within their stated handling time (and a follow up scan from the carrier), then eBay would pay the buyer the shipping cost if it is late (so eBay is taking on that financial risk of the USPS / FedEx not doing their side). The buyer would be reimbursed their shipping cost if it is late, or given a $5 coupon if there was “Free Shipping”. The seller’s only risk is to ship on time, and get a scan (which is why we started using the Bulk Shipping option and printing a Scan Sheet for our Postal Carrier during Package Pickup at our house). If the seller doesn’t make their handling time, they have to pay. If they make their handling time, eBay pays.
I think you are right, there are some “devil in the details” on this, but eBay is doing this to compete with Amazon, and mostly on the PR side. eBay reps have stated numerous times that 67% of all domestic packages shipped through eBay are delivered in 3 days anyway, but the public perception is that buying on eBay, people don’t ship on time.
My largest question will be on the First Class shipping, since we ship so many items that way, but First Class now shows on our shipping options as 2-3 days, and that matches what we have seen, so should be no issue on our items being shown and making their delivery times.
I would highly encourage everyone to listen to the eBay Radio podcasts from last week. They have done a really good job of laying out verbally what they plans are. Details will still be important, but the basic plan is one that will help everyone, buyers and sellers.
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03/28/2017 at 1:18 pm #15485
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03/28/2017 at 2:19 pm #15490
They have said that they will, and I’ll bet they will. As I run through the risk model:
They state that 67% of all shipments arrive within 3 days. So at worst, they are on the hook for 33% of shipments. Then, reduce that universe for sales that meet ALL of the following:
1) Seller opted in to the Guaranteed Delivery program
2) Buyer chose Guaranteed Delivery at time of sale
3) Seller was in the Handling Program (not End-to-End)
4) Seller met their Handling Time
5) Item was delivered late
6) Buyer logs into eBay to ask for a refund on late deliveryI couldn’t guess what that comes out to, but you can bet that eBay did that calculation. eBay will be on the hook sometimes, but that will be offset by the increases are they getting in higher sales due to the advertisement and branding that buyers can shop on eBay and get Guaranteed 3-Day delivery. They are filtering the results on search by items they are pretty darned sure will make 3-Day delivery (can’t have a failed roll-out, or it will really damage their image). Amazon can do 2 day with their distributed warehouses nationwide to shorten the delivery to the customer. eBay is WAY more distributed than Amazon (millions of households in the US), but eBay can’t control the process (we aren’t employees).
The big item I heard on eBay Radio was that eBay sales fall off in December around the 15th-17th. That rings true from what we have seen in past years. They stated that eBay sales fall off well before other platforms do in December. This is all a plan now to get those sales back and bring shoppers to eBay to get that better experience (I can get it when I want it).
I have to believe that they have done the math on this to get it right, they just need us to do our part. Since you guys (as well as many of us here) treat this as a business, offer professional service and quick shipping, we will not be affected. And sellers who don’t opt-in or who don’t ship as fast will be naturally weeded out by their filter.
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03/29/2017 at 12:33 am #15530
To help those that have not heard the eBay Radio podcast on the Guaranteed Delivery, click on the link below. You can listen to the “EBay Radio Show”, Episode 674 – Segment 3. This was the first lengthy discussion of the program. Also listen to the “Ask Griff & Lee Show”, Episode 452 – Segment 2 (starting about 15 minutes in) and Segment 3. That provides a great review of the program, discusses a bit on how eBay will calculate the delivery time, states when eBay will refund the buyer, etc.
Some finer details seem to still being worked out (and still will between now and July), but the overall basis of what the program will be and what they are going for is laid out.
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03/30/2017 at 10:27 am #15625
Also, here’s the announcement from eBay about Guaranteed Delivery: http://community.ebay.com/t5/Announcements/Coming-Soon-eBay-Guaranteed-Delivery/ba-p/26768418
Sounds like they’ve created tools to help better provide appropriate shipping times:
With Guaranteed Delivery, you’ll be able to guarantee a delivery date for your items, and buyers will be able to filter their search results based on the guaranteed delivery date they need. Guaranteed Delivery will also utilize two tools we recently announced in our 2017 Spring Seller Update: location-specific shipping rate tables that let you provide buyers with more accurate shipping charges, and a calendar tool that lets you customize the days you work and your cut-off time for same-day shipping.
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04/06/2017 at 5:49 pm #16151
FYI – Updated FAQ on Guaranteed Delivery…
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04/06/2017 at 6:07 pm #16154
So if you shipped something with “Free Shipping”, how will that be treated if shipment is late?
Technically buyer did not pay for shipping…… Is this another way for EBAY to push for free shipping?
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04/06/2017 at 6:36 pm #16160
If the item arrives late, ebay will provide the buyer with a coupon (out of ebay’s pocket). I suppose one could say that provides some incentive for sellers to use Free Shipping.
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04/06/2017 at 6:49 pm #16162
True, but eBay only pays if you ship within your handling time. If you offer Free Shipping, and you don’t meet your handling time, my understanding is that they will ding you for the $5 coupon.
The puzzling part is on the Door-to-Door solution, they state that if you guarantee Door-to-Door, and offer free shipping, that eBay foots the bill.
“If a seller chooses the door-to-door option and the item is delivered late, the seller recompenses the buyer. However, in the case that the buyer wants to keep the item and shipping was free, eBay will provide the buyer a coupon to be used toward a future eBay purchase.
???
That is puzzling. Why wouldn’t I always do that then? eBay holds the risk in that case (if that is really what they meant). I heard something similar when I listened to the eBay Radio podcast. I rewound that section multiple times to make sure that is what I heard, and now I see something similar in the FAQ. I wonder if they really mean that, or if it is a mistake.
Or a maneuver to have people move to Free Shipping to compete with Amazon?
Or did they mean that they will provide the $5 coupon to the buyer, and then take it back later from the seller?
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04/06/2017 at 8:46 pm #16165
So, whether I choose end to end or handling time option, if the item is late, and even if I missed my handling deadline, eBay will pay for the coupon IF I use free shipping, is that correct? So there is a built-in incentive to offer free shipping?
Yes, if a guaranteed item arrives late, eBay will provide the buyer a coupon if the seller offered free shipping.
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04/06/2017 at 8:49 pm #16166
The post I made up there is quoting my question to ebay, and ebay’s answer, during the Weekly Chat ebay held about Guaranteeed Delivery. So, unless ebay misunderstood my question, ebay is picking up the coupon cost for late delivery with free shipping, period.
Does this create an incentive to use Free Shipping? Yes. Does it create a major incentive to use Free Shipping? No, not for me.
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04/06/2017 at 9:39 pm #16169
Interesting. This is an area that I would love to dig into deeper. Between what Greg said on the EBay radio podcast, and what I’m seeing in the FAQ, it may seem like EBay is trying to drive sellers into free shipping. If EBay is picking up the tab, it won’t matter to me if I offer free shipping for some items.
Jay this would be an interesting area to drive into.
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04/06/2017 at 9:48 pm #16170
What types of items would you offer free shipping on because of this?
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04/06/2017 at 9:51 pm #16171
Anything under 1lb. We do a lot of clothing, so the first class shipping is pretty small. Chances of it not being delivered, or getting a return, are pretty low. We did free shipping for many years, until recently.
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04/06/2017 at 10:08 pm #16172
why did you stop?
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04/06/2017 at 10:23 pm #16173
We wanted to test if charging for shipping changed our sell through rate. It didn’t. In fact, for heavier items (over 1 lb), we have seemed to increase.
So if EBay wants to have an incentive for Free Shipping, we would have no problem doing that for anything under 2 lbs, or even heavier if it can fit in a flat rate or Regional A box, as we can predict the cost. We would provide a lower acceptable price for international shipping.
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04/06/2017 at 10:30 pm #16174
I think that’s a smart way of looking at it. This is not a big enough incentive for me to add free shipping to everything I sell, but I can see where it could help me feel better about offering free shipping on , for example, first class items. But it wouldn’t be the only reason to offer it….it would still have to make sense for the type of item and the type of shipping.
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04/06/2017 at 11:36 pm #16176
Agree. Once you know your cost, factor into your price, adjust for potential returns, you can make the right decision. For us, free or charged shipping is no issue for the majority of our items. For others, it may be different.
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