EBay Inc. is inviting tens of thousands of its U.S. marketplace sellers to join its new fast-delivery program, Guaranteed Delivery.
EBay in March announced Guaranteed Delivery, a program that offers eBay customers delivery in three days or less. Consumers will have the option to filter eBay’s listings by delivery date for items in the eBay Guaranteed Delivery service beginning this fall, the marketplace says. It is similar to how Amazon.com Inc. allows its Prime customers to filter search results for items that are Prime-eligible—meaning those products qualify for free two-day delivery.
Currently, eBay sellers that meet certain requirements can opt in to the program at no additional fee. Sellers with an average of four transactions per day are eligible for the first phase of this rollout, eBay says. Merchants that opt in but aren’t selected as part of the initial group of sellers will be placed on a wait list.
Within the Guaranteed Delivery program, sellers have two options: Handling Time and Door-to-Door.
As part of the Handling Time option, sellers guarantee same-day or one-day handling to eBay and must use eBay labels, but eBay determines the guaranteed delivery date to consumers. With this option, eBay covers the shipping cost of a refund or free return label if the seller meets its handling time.
In the Door-to-Door option, sellers determine guaranteed delivery dates based on their ability to deliver to various regions and their knowledge of their shipping carriers’ service. Sellers cover the shipping cost of a refund or return label.
For both option, sellers must offer returns. Also, only fixed-price listings—no auction listings—are eligible. Sellers can choose which listings receive a guarantee delivery date. EBay handles the customer service for late deliveries for both options.
If a guaranteed item arrives late, a buyer has several options: If the product wasn’t eligible for free shipping, the customer can ask for the cost of shipping to be refunded; if shipping was free, the customer will receive a $5 coupon she can use toward her next eBay purchase. In addition, the customer can choose to return the item at no cost.
“While the majority of items on eBay already ship within three 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, eBay’s senior vice president of North America, said in March. 63% of eBay packages already are delivered within three days, the marketplace says. 67% of eBay purchases ship for free. EBay lists 1.1 billion items on its site.
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