eBay is advising sellers to opt in to its new eBay Guaranteed Delivery program and provides the three steps sellers must do in order to participate. eBay said Wednesday it has begun rolling out the program to buyers, who will be able to filter search results to isolate listings that offer guaranteed delivery. The new delivery option will be available to all eBay shoppers by late October, though not all sellers can participate until next year, the company has said.
Press release follows:
We’ve been talking about eBay Guaranteed Delivery for a few months now, and we’ve encouraged all qualified sellers to opt in before it goes live to buyers. Well, that day is here. eBay Guaranteed Delivery has started rolling out to buyers and will be available to all eBay shoppers by late October.
eBay Guaranteed Delivery guarantees delivery dates for your items based on your location and the location of your buyer. It offers buyers assurance that their package will arrive within three days, and it increases buyers’ trust in the eBay shopping experience. We already know that 72% of online shoppers say on-time delivery is the top reason they are loyal to retailers. This Holiday season, buyers may increasingly look to sellers who can ensure their items will arrive on time.
Opting into eBay Guaranteed Delivery helps set your listings apart, protects you from negative feedback related to delivery when you meet your obligations, and allows eBay to handle customer service related to late delivery.
The Buyer Experience
When buyers browse listings, the default view is to show items with free shipping first. On the search results page, buyers can toggle to filter the results by items guaranteed to arrive in three days or less, they see only listings that:
– are from buyers who opted into eBay Guaranteed Delivery
– meet the criteria for an eBay Guaranteed Delivery listing
– will arrive in three days or less based on the seller’s and buyer’s locations
– will be shipped domestically
Two-thirds of items sold on eBay already arrive at their destination in three days or less, so we know our sellers are shipping fast. But, if you want your listings to show up when buyers filter for items to arrive in three days or less, there are three things you need to do right now.
1) First, opt in.
You’ll need to opt in if you qualify. Right now, the option to opt in is being rolled out to sellers in phases. If you’re on the waitlist, keep your eyes out for an email telling you when you’ve been added to the program.
2) Ensure your listings are eligible.
Opting into eBay Guaranteed Delivery does not mean that all your listings will automatically be included. Not all listings are eligible, and you can decide on a listing-by-listing basis which of your eligible listings you want to guarantee.
To be eligible, an item must be able to reach the buyer in three days or less and have an immediate payment requirement.
There are two guarantee options: handling time and door-to-door.
If you’re a small or medium business, the handling time option is probably best for you. Set a same-day or one-day handling time on the listings you want to guarantee. eBay will determine the guaranteed delivery date for that listing based on your and your buyer’s locations. Once you’ve sold the item and received payment, make sure the item is scanned by your carrier within the handling-time window.
The requirements for guaranteeing listings using the handling time option are:
– same-day or one-day handling time
– use eBay labels, either direct through eBay or using one of our Shipping Partner Platforms, Shippo or ShipRush
– Additional requirements as outlined here
With eBay labels, you also receive discounted shipping rates, and validated tracking is automatically uploaded to eBay when your label is printed. Using an eBay label enables eBay to reimburse buyers for any late deliveries as long as you meet your same-day or one-day handling time.
If you run a larger business and want to guarantee your own delivery dates, opt for the door-to-door option. To qualify, you’ll need to set up rate tables for your shipping and associate a rate table with each listing you want to guarantee. You can create rate tables based on the item (ideal if you sell items that are mostly the same weight) or by weight, which calculates a minimum price plus a cost per pound based on the weight you give at the time of listing (ideal if you if you sell items of various weights).
You can create up to 20 rate tables to cover different types of items or account for shipping from multiple warehouses. Rate tables are the best way to let buyers see the shortest delivery times and most competitive prices in your listings. If you don’t want to use rate tables, you can switch to the handling time option.
3) Understand and prepare to meet the performance requirements.
Sellers who fall below the minimum requirements may become ineligible for eBay Guaranteed Delivery, which means your listings may no longer show up to buyers as guaranteed (and get that visibility boost). The requirements for the handling time option include a 97% or higher on-time handling rate 95% or higher usage of eBay shipping labels (through eBay or through Shippo or ShipRush). For the door-to-door option, the requirements are a 97% or higher on-time delivery rate and 95% or higher tracking upload rate.
Whichever method you use, door-to-door or handling time, you’ll need to ensure you meet these requirements, or risk being removed from the program.
The Holiday season is quickly approaching, so get your listings ready for eBay Guaranteed Delivery now. Make sure you’ve opted in if you haven’t already, choose the delivery method that’s best for your business, and ensure your business is prepared to meet the required performance standards to participate in the program.
SOURCE: eBay Announcement
We’re certainly not going to switch from our highly streamlined and integrated multichannel ShipStation solution (Amazon, Ebay, Etsy, BigCommerce) that ships several hundred packages a day just so we can use Ebay labels or thier “partners” in order to join this program. They lost our interest right there…
Dream On Fleecebay.
Still don’t understand how they think this will work. I’m fairly certain it’s going to be a big money loser for them. No way to control the PO or the weather or natural disasters. More spaghetti on the wall. Right now the post office doesn’t even upload on time nor does ebay even record delivery tracking correctly.