eBay Runs Sweepstakes to Encourage Recommended Shipping Practices

eBay is running a splashy sweepstakes to encourage sellers to use its recommended shipping practices, such as offering free and fast shipping. The ShipShipHooray sweepstakes offers four weekly prices as well as a grand prize that includes a trip to San Francisco; a consultation with the eBay shipping team and a branding agency; an expert redesign of the seller’s eBay store, logo, and custom banner ads; and $15,000 worth of digital advertising on eBay.

“If you’re a successful eBay seller, you’re probably already offering expedited shipping, free shipping, and one-day handling, and using eBay labels. You know that doing so helps you attract more buyers, increase sales, and take your shipping game to the next level.”

Sellers must register for the sweepstakes and then participate in at least three of the four weekly shipping challenges. The first week’s challenge: offer free shipping on at least one new or active listing; the prize: a shipping station worktable and $500 in eBay-branded shipping supplies.

eBay desperately wants to offer shoppers free and fast shipping, but it doesn’t own the inventory for sale on its marketplace. Instead, it uses a carrot-and-stick approach to getting sellers to follow its recommended practices; the current shipping sweepstakes is an example of a “carrot” approach.

The weekly sweepstakes challenges are: Week 1 – offer free shipping; Week 2 – offer expedited shipping; Week 3 – offer zero day handling; Week 4 – use eBay Labels.

Sellers who complete three out of the four challenges by Sunday, February 11 will be entered to win the grand prize. Sellers will also be presented opportunities to tweet a pre-pouplated message on Twitter, for which participants will receive one sweepstakes entry into the weekly drawing.

SOURCE: eBay Announcement

Ina Steiner

Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com.