Stamps.com now supports the “door to door” version of the eBay Guaranteed Delivery program and will pick up the costs for its customers in cases where a package does not get delivered in time.
eBay Guaranteed Delivery promises shoppers delivery in 3 days or less on eligible items. If a guaranteed item is delivered late, the buyer can either keep the item and get a refund on the shipping cost, or the buyer can return the item for a full refund, with a free return label.
There are two versions of the program from the seller’s point of view:
– Handling time option: Sellers guarantee same-day or one-day handling and use eBay labels. eBay determines and guarantees the delivery date.
– Door-to-door option: Sellers choose to take full control over their guaranteed delivery dates, based on their ability to deliver to various regions and their carriers’ service level by region. With this option, sellers cover the shipping cost refund or return label instead of eBay.
Stamps.com now supports the latter option, and it will cover the shipping cost both ways instead of the seller having to do so.
Company spokesperson Eric Nash told EcommerceBytes that Stamps.com will pay the eBay seller’s shipping cost and/or return shipping label if a package is delivered late; this only applies to packages using Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail and/or First Class Package Service.
Why might some sellers wish to use Door to Door option, given the fact they would become responsible for costs, unlike the “Handling Time” option where eBay picks up the tab? Because of the requirement that sellers using the latter option must use eBay to print the shipping labels.
As Nash explained, many multichannel sellers use shipping software to print shipping labels, which allow them to consolidate all of their orders into one interface. “Some sellers like to pick/pack all of their international orders at once, others may want to process all of their blue widgets together (regardless if they were sold on Amazon or eBay). For these sellers, the Door-to-Door program allows them to continue to keep their shipping operations efficient while also enjoying the benefits of the new eBay Guaranteed Delivery program.”
Nash said eBay sellers can opt-in to the program within the seller UI. To get there, go to: My Account/Account Settings > Site Preferences > eBay Guaranteed Delivery (sellers can select each option).
It’s important to note that not all sellers have access to Guaranteed Delivery yet. “eBay is rolling out the service to sellers in a tiered rollout,” he said.
See more information about the Stamps.com refund program for Guaranteed Delivery on the Stamps.com blog.
