Opt in Now Guaranteed Delivery

[totommyto]

Hello all,

On my Seller Hub, there is a little blue clicky box to Opt in to the Guaranteed Delivery.
How has it been going so far for those of you who were first?

I sell mostly one offs, collectibles, old toys and bric a brac land items. All shipping is done from my zip with USPS. I’m a TRS.

So, if I Opt In, add Priority Shipping, and continue doing everything else the same way, that’s it, I’m good?
Going over the Help pages, the Shipping Rate tables section looks confusing. Are there more steps to this program? Hiccups, snags?

My apologies if I am retreading here. After some searching in the forum, it seems OK to ask. Please direct me to any past threads, or maybe this is a good time to talk about this (could be a game changer caliber?) program.

Thanks,
Tom

[VintageTreasures]

Ditto on the above! I think I remember seeing something here that stated that priority should be the first option on your shipping so more of your items would qualify for guaranteed delivery?

[totommyto]

Hi VintageTreasures,
Yes, something like that or maybe exactly that. I still have not opted in, seems like a natural progression if you are already shipping next day and a all else remains the same. I’m going to wait it out a bit, maybe today I’ll opt in, seems like only advantages here if your already hustling.

[totommyto]

I realize I am behind with the program compared to others, but for me all new.
After speaking to a rep yesterday, it appears I am already opted in since I have already been offering 1 day handling. So I am in the ‘Handling Time’ version, not the ‘Door to Door’ version, which I am not interested in right now.

I went over my listings and:
1. Made sure all my BIN was set to pay immediately.
2. Made sure Priority was first shipping option.

I left about a dozen items as they were since they are larger and in storage. I don’t want to get stuck paying the shipping if I cannot get one of these items shipped out on time. Also, I left my three local pickup items alone.
When I searched some of my items and switched the 3 day Guaranteed Delivery on, sure enough there they were. On several items, competition was reduced from many items like a dozen and more, down to a few or even none others visible.
This could be a really good thing late in the year when buyers are in a hurry for gifts. We shall see.

[AdventureE]

totommyto,

Ebay is still onboarding sellers into the guaranteed delivery program. They have been doing it in parts and gathering data while they do it. By the holidays, there will probably be many more sellers onboarded, so you may see more listings before and after yours. Since they are now making free shipping, free returns, and guaranteed delivery all competative/selling points, it will change how buyers are able to search and as to what results come up.

[BigSally]

Rookie question Guys, kinda related – Priority mail is so much more expensive than FedEx when I calculate shipping, am I doing something wrong?

[totommyto]

BigSally,
I’m strictly USPS for all. Shipping services is just one of those areas I simplify so I don’t have too many moving parts going on in my business. With another full time job, I have to decide where to and where not to branch out so to speak.

[totommyto]

It will be interesting to see where all these changes eventually land, how permanent they may be, and how they will evolve.

[T-Satt]

EGD has worked well for us. Priority is not a requirement for your item to be part of it, but it definitely helps. We usually have the cheaper options first (First Class and Parcel), but Priority is always on the item as an option. When we talked with the team at eBay Open last year, as long as one of your items as Priority, your item should qualify.

They do their own algorithm based on where you are, where the buyer is, and your shipping options to determine how many days it will take for your item to get to the buyer. So if you are close to your buyer, First Class may qualify.

[MyCottage]

Agree with T Salt…no need to put Priority first. Best to understand how this works (simplified version)—if I offer, say, first class and priority mail, ebay will look at the buyer’s zip code and my zip and history and at which filter period buyer selects…let’s say buyer is in Zone 8, and ebay won’t guarantee first class, but will Priority…then ebay will select priority as the GD method. Of course, if buyer selects one day as his GD filter, then my listings won’t show at all, because no way will my item get there even with priority, not with my one day handling time. If buyer is near me, ebay might use first class and priority for the GD.

[T-Satt]

I had a nice email conversation with Griff at eBay today on a related issue I have with Guaranteed Delivery. He confirmed that Priority does NOT need to be the first option for Guaranteed Delivery, and he showed me proof on our listings.

He showed one of our listings in search in regular mode (he as the buyer is not selecting Guaranteed Delivery). The cost of shipping was our Parcel Select pricing. He then turned on Guaranteed Delivery in search, and our listing was there as well, but now with the Priority Shipping cost.

[Part Time Picker]

So I opted in I think. I clicked the link and it wanted me to update listings. Then it said I had no listings that needed to be updated. But my listings aren’t showing guaranteed delivery in search. What step am I missing?

[T-Satt]

I would check to ensure you are using same day or 1-day handling, and that you have Priority as an option for shipping. Also make sure that you are requiring immediate payment.

If your listing is still not showing, I would contact Customer Support.

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