Ina Steiner EcommerceBytes Blog
News and insight focusing on ecommerce.
by Ina Steiner, Editor of EcommerceBytes.com
Fri Mar 3 2023 11:05:00

Would You Use an eBay Fulfillment Service?

By: Ina Steiner

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eBay offers fulfillment services to sellers in Germany and Australia - and today it reminded sellers of its fulfillment program in the UK. We wonder what sellers think of fulfillment services offered by online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay.

Today's eBay UK announcement board post also had us wondering, whatever happened to eBay Managed Delivery (FBE) in the US?

In 2019, eBay introduced Managed Delivery that sounded like its version of Amazon Prime. It was looking for sellers who could turn over their inventory within 3 months and split their inventory into at least two locations.

However, it was a pilot program, and as we reported the following year, eBay seemingly abandoned the project.

One EcommerceBytes reader said they had participated in the program, having been sold on the idea that items sent to eBay partner's warehouses would be shipped out same-day with guaranteed delivery, and enticed by the promise of seller protections for goods fulfilled through the program. 

However, the reader claimed eBay's third-party fulfillment service did not perform as promised and said eBay parted ways with its fulfillment partner. (This is the only such report we've seen.)

What about other marketplaces? Sellers might not think of Etsy as being a candidate for offering fulfillment services, since most items are one of a kind (handmade or vintage), though they do allow the sale of supplies. However, sellers the on Amazon Handmade marketplace use Amazon FBA, so don't count Etsy out on being interested in offering such a service.

Another possibility: with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy focused on making the US Postal Service profitable and business-like, might it consider offering fulfillment services to companies and online marketplaces? What would you think if the USPS went down that road?

As we pointed out in 2019, eBay had been floating the idea of offering its own fulfillment program on and off for the past decade, actually surveying sellers in 2009. Could it (and should it) consider a "Fulfillment by eBay" program again?



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Readers Comments

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This user has validated their user name. by: iheartjacksparrow

Fri Mar 3 12:04:21 2023

Would I use an eBay Fulfillment Service? (Bleep) no! They can't even keep their site running properly, so how could I trust them to handle my merchandise? Could I trust them to properly pack my items so they arrived as described? No. Could I trust them to mail as expeditiously as I would? No. Would they reimburse me if my item arrived broken or damaged and the buyer demanded a refund? Probably no ("It's the cost of doing business"). Would they protect me against negative feedback? Probably no.

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by: Snapped This user has validated their user name.

Fri Mar 3 12:25:52 2023

USPS won’t do this.  They don’t want to ‘store’ packages.  They want to move them out of the facility as soon as input to the mail stream.  Bad enough as it is they may have to hold them for pickup with limited space in any given facility.  

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by: DingDong This user has validated their user name.

Fri Mar 3 13:15:47 2023

No Way.

They don't take care of all the problems with the eBay site.

There are complaints about eBay authentication department where the items "are stolen" from there, the shoe box is missing the top, and so on and so on. Switching tags and being shipped to the wrong buyer.
If they can't handle the problems they already have, why would you trust them with your items.

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by: toastedmutt This user has validated their user name.

Fri Mar 3 13:33:43 2023

Might work for the big Diamond and Platinum eBay sellers.

For us regular small business owner / operators and mom and pop sellers, probably not.

Count me out.  

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by: GetAGrip This user has validated their user name.

Fri Mar 3 13:35:28 2023

Would you want the maid to do open heart surgery on you. Ebay isn't compentent enough to keep the site running much less keeping track of your inventory.

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by: RL15 This user has validated their user name.

Fri Mar 3 15:47:02 2023

no way

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by: ebayout This user has validated their user name.

Fri Mar 3 21:56:25 2023

I offer next business day shipping. If I get a sale, and it's paid by 1PM on the sale date, it goes that day with rare exception...and I ship paid 1st Class orders from late Friday and early Saturday on Saturday.
I'm a control freak. ebay is a fee freak. We're at cross purposes.
Short answer...no.

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This user has validated their user name. by: Bill

Fri Mar 3 23:44:49 2023

I have one thing to say:

Why?

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This user has validated their user name. by: Marie

Sat Mar 4 03:44:14 2023

I personally would not do this with any site to include Ebay or USPS.  I don't like the idea of mixing my stuff with other sellers like stuff at all.  

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This user has validated their user name. by: toolguy

Sat Mar 4 10:33:47 2023

I sell used items so it's 100% NO

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This user has validated their user name. by: toolguy

Sat Mar 4 10:35:20 2023

@iheartjacksparrow

"They can't even keep their site running properly"

Can you elaborate on that?

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by: WaLK-aWAY This user has validated their user name.

Sat Mar 4 11:22:31 2023

@Marie

We will sleep better now that we have your endorsement on this Marie.

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by: OnlyPollyPocket This user has validated their user name.

Sat Mar 4 13:22:19 2023

Simple answer:  Not a prayer!

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This user has validated their user name. by: Marie

Sat Mar 4 13:58:15 2023

@WaLK-aWAY

So childish.  Many have said the same thing, but it is my post that you zero in on.

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This user has validated their user name. by: iheartjacksparrow

Sat Mar 4 18:05:34 2023

@toolguy: Do you even read the articles on this site? Practically every day Ina has an article about something that went belly up on eBay. Would you like me to go back through a couple of months worth of blog posts to refresh your memory?

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This user has validated their user name. by: Rexford

Sun Mar 5 06:33:00 2023

No.  My inventory stays in my hands.  Delivery services are already a part of the equation therefore I don't want to add any more middle men.

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by: CT Bay This user has validated their user name.

Sun Mar 5 07:36:21 2023

This how Amazon turns “business owners” into employees they can pay nearly nothing. Oh they will be happy to do most everything for you, for a fee. For a linty of fees actually. FBA sellers are just Amazon product finders making $2/hr.

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by: ebayout This user has validated their user name.

Sun Mar 5 12:33:26 2023

I can misplace my items by myself. Why pay someone else to do that?

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by: kselgado This user has validated their user name.

Sun Mar 5 17:51:06 2023

So what they can suspended my account and keep my merchandise...thats a NO for me. USPS should monetize on their informed visibility program and tracking for letters. I currently pay 0.25 per tracing to another company that uses USPS informed visibility....so another company profiting from usps with their free API....

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by: pace306 This user has validated their user name.

Sun Mar 5 19:57:47 2023

Would they treat me and my merchandise as good as they treat Uncle Griff???

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