eBay Commences Next Phase of Guaranteed Delivery

by: pace306

So far so good - Ive not been opted in at all.

Its "always nice to know" that YOUR PARTNER is looking out for you" by changing your listings and opting you into things. NOT

Someone in another thread asked why we discourage people from buying on eBay ... well ... theres this kinda cr@p.

by: Rexford

"eBay CEO Devin Wenig had demonstrated some impatience with sellers' pattern of reluctance to join newly launched programs....."

Sellers have demonstrated impatience with eBay for over 10 years.  Let him stew in his own grease.  All he seems to care about is Wall Street and his precious stock options anyway.

by: Marie

I don't know that I can agree with this statement "eBay CEO Devin Wenig had demonstrated some impatience with sellers' pattern of reluctance to join newly launched programs when he told Wall Street analysts in February that eBay's move to a payments intermediary would be like a "big bang," saying eBay would not "beg" sellers to participate."  

My reason is that Etsy nor Amazon gave sellers a choice either.  So was their reason the same as what is being assumed to be Ebay's reason???  Or is Ebay just following Amazon as is frequently stated here and elsewhere?

As for the GD program, my account has still not yet been opt'd in nor have I received any update email stating when it is going to happen.  I am however willing to give this program a try with the handling time option.  I'll test it out between now and the end of the year.  If I see harm to my selling account, I will opt out immediately, but I'm willing to test it through the end of the year.

I may end up not liking it as I completely understand it is not a good fit for everyone.

by: ebayout

"We want you to know you're always in control of how you sell."
...be nice if that extended to post sale activity.
Instead, we're all hopeless bystanders.

by: eXtinctBay

"....We want you to know you're always in control of how you sell...."

Which comedian did eBay find to write this??

by: Marie

LOL, dang Extinct, how did I miss that one.  OMG I'm at a loss for words and most here knows that isn't easy to do.  LOL

by: grumpwell

I really don't understand this program. I have received multiple emails telling I am qualified to opt in and there is no risk to me as long as I ship on time. This can't possibly be true. Almost everything I ship is by media mail. I live in a very small town in rural northern Vermont. I have been keeping track and while I show 100% shipped on time (I am diligent about shipping every day) only 6% of my packages arrive at their destination within 3 days.  There is no way that eBay is going to refund 94% of my customers, yet they insist I am qualified to opt in. The only other thing that makes any sense is that there is "fine print" somewhere disclaiming their responsibility to honor their guarantee by blaming it on the postal system.  The end result being unhappy customers that take it out on the sellers with negative feedback.

by: mcposty

Wrong..it's not increased visibility! They will only show you to people near you within 3 days!! Their stupid algorithm will ensure you have less sales. Watch.

by: Silver Ice King

@Mcposty

That is exactly what I think and have been saying.  So now buyers that click on that link will miss out on all the items that I have for sale at better prices than those which have 3 day delivery and my sales on here will decrease and so will sales overall in my category as buyers will go elsewhere to buy at the lower prices.

by: pace306

Another dopey idea courtesy of the dopes in San Jose.

Truth be told - its not that dumb .... (theres that coercion again) ... DW and his merry crew of imbeciles have figured out a way to get sellers to provide PRIME level service for FREE (aka out its sellers pockets)!

Hes not as cool as Tony Soprano, but hes just as mean, nasty and THEFTastic .... what a nice man ... NOT.  

by: Ric

"eBay CEO Devin Wenig had demonstrated some impatience with sellers' pattern of reluctance to join newly launched programs....."

Mr Wenig is looking at data that clearly indicates many sellers disagree with the value of those newly launched programs yet he ignores that data and flounders on.

Ignoring he data he has observed is a clear indication he does not understand what sellers need.  Mr Wenig clearly wants to impose his own agenda, even if that means sellers fail.

His failure to comprehend the message his sellers  and are sending him combined with his continued disregard for data points he has obviously observed is directly related to eBay's failure to grow sales across the platform.

This is what happens when a CEO has neither experience with the company he is charged with directing and ignores the needs of his users.

It would seem that Mr Wenig is right on target with the predicted five year demise of his company.

by: ebayout

This program is lunacy itself. I'll explain, at least as far as golf clubs are concerned.
I sell single golf clubs. 95% have a 2 lb shipping weight, so they all go Priority Mail...the fastest/low cost way (forget FEDEX).
I ship same day or next day, so 99% get there in 2 days or 3 days after shipment.
I don't do GD, but I'm an unofficial club member.
All other club sellers are in the same boat...they have to use Priority or Fedex/UPS.
So, in effect, we all offer "3 day" shipping, albeit not guaranteed.
Comes the lunacy...when you hit the 3 day "Guarantee" toggle, you get ONLY those sellers who offer Express Mail or 2 Day Fedex, which cost FOUR TIMES more than PM...even though they're virtually in the 3 day window with their STANDARD shipping.
Wenig owes a lot of brokers some new shoes, if you get my drift.

by: Ina

Grumpwell, eBay states: "Delivery dates are calculated based on buyer location, item location, and listed carrier delivery times." So while your listings may be part of the GD program, they won't show as guaranteed delivery to every shopper, since it's based on their location in relation to you.  

by: iheartjacksparrow

Thank you, Ina. That was a better explanation than eBay's official release.

I sell a lot of my collectibles to Florida and New York, and the majority are mailed as a First Class Package. So if I were still selling on eBay, my best buyers would never see my items since the USPS delivery is generally four to five days from the West Coast.

I'm wondering if, besides trying to compete with Amazon, this is some new sales throttling technique that Devin has dreamed up.

by: comments

Well its not surprising that people are opting out after avoiding the program all together. I couldn't opt out fast enough!

This is yet another "pat on the back" policy for ebay that weaponizes the buyers against the sellers and encourages returns.

I would LOVE to offer guaranteed delivery!,,,,,,but not at the expense of the USPS high failure rate to delver on time. Since this policy will encourage my buyers to return items that are NOT time sensitive then I refuse to participate. If ebay wanted to give my buyers a shipping credit and protect me from bad feedback I would have been all in. BUT my returns are high enough without ebay enticing them by giving them a "its late click here to print a free return label". Returns are important and they do well to problem solve.........but I don't need ebay planting the seed! Buyers know how to return items without the need for a nudge.  

by: Marie

@grumpwell

Being eligible for the program as a seller is NOT the same thing as your listing being available for the program.  While Ebay has told you as a Seller you qualify, that is the first step.  The seller has to be qualified first.  Now it is your listings.  Some may qualify and others may not.

It is going to depend on what type of shipping you offer, what your handling time is and most importantly the location of the buyer that purchases your item.  If all that comes together to amount to about 3 days to delivery per Ebay, then that listing will qualify for the GD program.

Chances are that any listing you have marked as shipping media mail won't qualify for too many buyers as being part of the GD program.

by: Marie

@mcposty

It is a filter located on the left side of the search page where you find other filters.  And yes if your listing or listings are part of the GD program it will INCREASE your visibility IF the buyer uses the filter.

by: Rexford

Ric says "Mr Wenig clearly wants to impose his own agenda, even if that means sellers fail."

Yes, he is cut from the same cloth as  Donahoe.  He was severed from Thomson Reuters and he will be severed from eBay.

eBay seriously needs a VOC program (voice of the customer), and one that they do not manipulate. And I don't mean sending out a survey that they design to get the answers that THEY want.

I'm surprised that Wenig hasn't implemented surge pricing.  LOL

by: Snapped

Here's the smelly part of this GD program.

eBay is in full control of visibility.  But they won't make any guarantee's to their paying customers about it.

eBay is in control of payment processing, but won't guarantee a buyer won't be consistently allowed to renig on theirs.

eBay controls all their data processing and software products, yet can not guarantee their fidelity or liability.  This apparently extends to infect even it's latest GD program processes.

eBay does extend other guarantees daily, during many of their needlessly numerous CS contacts.  They will guarantee an issue is 'escalated'.  They will guarantee a status, report, violation, feedback, etc., will be promptly corrected.  They will guarantee a report of malfeasance, for which evidence is provided, and for which they state agreement, will be acted upon promptly.  They will guarantee a return call in set time frame.  

But there's no guarantee they will honor those guarantees, so they frequently don't, without accountability.  Without liability.

This is how they treat their paying customers, and how they back their own product and services.

And now, they seek to guarantee something they have absolutely NO GD control over to parties who are not their paying customers.  Complete with a 'no cost' claim akin to 'free shipping'.  As in, despite who eventually pulls the levers in the office of administration for transaction floats, who do you imagine will actually wind up paying for this?

It won't be eBay.  Guaranteed.

by: Marie

@snapped

What you explain is not any different from any other site like or similar to Ebay.  It most certainly can be concerning and disturbing at the same time.  There are really only two option to getting away from this type of behavior and that is to stop selling on all of these sites or create your own website.  Those aren't always viable options for many internet sellers for a variety of reasons.