A new initiative from eBay to make their/our marketplace more competitive – Guaranteed Delivery.

Guaranteed delivery dates on eBay.

Coming later this summer, eBay buyers will see a guaranteed delivery date of 3 days or less on millions of eligible listings. Sellers who qualify will have the tools they need to guarantee delivery by a specified date. And buyers will love that their item arrives when they want it to.

No subscription fees. No complicated processes. It just delivers. Guaranteed.

In the March 20, 2017 article published on cnbc.com, they quote eBay’s announcement and how eBay is trying to compete with Amazon Prime and Wal-Mart**. “Today’s shoppers expect fast delivery and want to know exactly when their purchases will arrive,” the company wrote in Monday’s press release. (Source: EBay is taking on Amazon Prime and Wal-Mart in guaranteed delivery, free shipping)

Panic generally ensues after something is posted regarding “free” shipping or more stringent shipping rules.  It’s easy to see why, too.  Margins are thin for sellers who list brand new items on eBay and Amazon.  Sellers of one-of-a-kind or rarer items have less of a problem as they can set their prices to cover shipping, but competition is getting tougher for all of us.

I’d like to offer my perspective on this announcement:  it’s probably NOT going to change anything for most of us.

USPS Priority Mail already offers 2-day shipping with delivery confirmation and many of us already use it when we print our labels directly from eBay/Paypal. Continue or start shipping within one day and you’ll be meeting the 3-day guaranteed expectation.

I reserve the right to revisit this after the actual particulars of guaranteed delivery program are announced, but for now I don’t see this as a deal-breaker for sellers.

Sign up for eBay’s updates on offering guaranteed delivery at http://cc.ebay.com/guaranteed-delivery/

*Retail Arbitrage: the method of sourcing inventory from retail stores in order to sell it through eBay or Amazon at a higher price.

**Read more about Wal-Mart’s recent merchant platform expansion here: https://www.digitalcommerce360.com/2016/04/14/walmartcom-invites-more-merchants-sell-its-marketplace/

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