Feature idea: “ We're Packing now ! —make an offer and it ships tomorrow”
Summary: hollywoodhillsvintage proposed a 'Packing Window' feature for eBay sellers to create urgency by notifying interested buyers when sellers are preparing to ship. The idea is to allow short offer windows without permanently altering prices, aiming to boost sales and efficiency. Some participants, like ten_o_nine and theteamsetguy, expressed disapproval, while gurlcat humorously compared it to a 'Hot Donuts' sign at a donut shop. Concerns were raised about buyer interest, potential for increased notifications, and handling complexities, with several participants, like onlinecentral and fern*wood, indicating they would opt out or find it unnecessary.
eBay should give sellers a temporary “Packing Window” button in Seller Hub.
Here’s the real-world situation: I already have sold items to wrap and ship tomorrow. This would be the perfect time to alert interested buyers:
“The Seller (YOUR STORE NAME) is packing tonight. Make an offer now and your item can ship tomorrow.”
The seller could:
• Select eligible listings
• Set a short window, perhaps one to three hours
• Notify watchers, cart shoppers, or other interested buyers
• Accept, decline, or counter offers normally
• Have the alert expire automatically after the packing cutoff
This would not require permanently lowering the public price or running a storewide sale. It would create genuine urgency, help sellers combine shipping trips, produce faster handling, and give eBay another opportunity to convert interested shoppers into buyers.
To prevent spam, eBay could limit how often sellers use it and only notify buyers who have already shown interest.
Would other sellers use a “Packing Window” or “Ships Tomorrow Offer” feature?
mam98031
·2 weeks agoThis option wouldn't be something I'd use either. Besides, while sellers are online a whole lot of the time, the same isn't true for buyers. They typically shop, purchase what they want and then move on to other aspects of their life.
You can extend offers already to those that are watching your items. You can do that right from the Seller Hub, whenever you want. https://www.ebay.com/sh/lst/active?pill_status=sioEligible
gloryglorygifts
·2 weeks agoWhy would I want to lose more money on a sale that is probably being mailed tomorrow anyway? I wouldn't want to use a feature like that.
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 weeks agoHope springs eternal in the human breast.
kandf_vintage_finds
·2 weeks agoI would not use this. I agree when packing orders it would be nice to get them all within a certain window. With that said I don't think buyers would jump on this to make it more convenient for sellers.
fern*wood
·2 weeks ago · EditedI wouldn't use that. It feels like an unnecessary salesman tactic, which has the potential of annoying more than helping. Keep in mind that offering money off items annoys many buyers already, plus most expect a purchase to be packed and shipped immediately anyway.
onlinecentral
·2 weeks ago1) Purchases may be put into the undesirable 7-Days-To-Pay timeframe.
2) Would sellers need to set their alarm clocks an hour earlier to have time to process these Add On purchases before going to their day jobs?
3) Will seller's Late Shipment metric increase?
4) Sellers issuing partial refunds for combined shipping.
4) Buyers being disappointed at the amount of the refund.
5) Sellers being unable to issue partial refunds for combined shipping, in some cases, without taking a loss.
6) Buyers being unable to understand that.
7) More purchases leads to more cancellations.
8) Voiding shipping labels.
My buyers would ignore this new feature since I rarely get a combined purchase for the items I sell. Buyers just need the 1 part they are buying for an install or the 1 replacement part they intend to replace.
98 Buyers purchase 1 item
1 Buyer purchases 2 items
1 Buyer purchases 2 items
===
100 Packages total
I would opt out of the proposed new feature, if I could.
inhawaii
·2 weeks agoThat wont work for some sellers like me who pack orders within hours of receiving them.
dhbookds
·2 weeks agolie
redmodelt
·2 weeks ago · EditedSorry went over my head. LOL See below. :)
dhbookds
·2 weeks agosorry, was an attempt at humor.......
dhbookds
·2 weeks agoI kind of like the idea.......as said, it would make it "urgent" to buy....... whether ebay could get it up properly ( in time) worries me a bit...would be most beneficial in/on searches.
ryry-jj
·2 weeks agoIsnt that what our handling time is all about? I mean 1 day, or same day shipping, it's going to get packed up ASAP regardless if we're packing up any other orders
christworks
·2 weeks ago@ryry-jj In essence yes, but what @hollywoodhillsvintage is suggesting is more of a marketing ploy which would bring the handling time front and center. Right now eBay buries the handling time. It isn't even on the main page of the listing. You have to click "See details,' then read half way down the pop up.
The buyer facing handling time is also poor defined unless you click yet another link. On the pop up window, it reads,
"Will usually ship within [X] business days of receiving cleared payment."
What are business days? To a buyer, eBay operates 24/7. It never closes, not even on Christmas.
From a seller perspective, I want to know what does "cleared payment" mean? To me it means the funds have finished processing so that if I must cancel an order, the refund will come from the funds the buyer paid with rather than out of my own pocket. eBay certainly does not defined "cleared payment" to mean that. It's 11:15pm as I type this. If an order comes in within the next 45 minutes, I have to ship it tomorrow to meet my 1-day handling time. The funds from that sale won't process and clear until tomorrow night. I certainly do not get to wait until after they've cleared to ship. Yet that is what eBay implies by the language it has chosen to use on a buyer facing pop up window.
With @hollywoodhillsvintage 's idea, a simple red banner on listings in search that says, "This seller is currently packing orders. Order now and your item will ship tomorrow." It could even be a setting that temporary overrides the standard handling time. Just a way to boost sales through creating a sense of urgency. Maybe it is only available to TRS. You don't want sellers leaving it on all the time, even when they aren't packing. Maybe you can turn it on for an hour or two?
ryry-jj
·2 weeks agoYup, as they say, open 24/7/365 and you are always the first in line when buying!
lakefor94
·2 weeks agoPretty sure buyers and sellers both are receiving enough notifications at this point and time.
gurlcat
·2 weeks agoomg ^THIS^
gurlcat
·2 weeks agoLike the Hot Donuts sign at Krispy Kreme. Oh crap now I want that.
ten_o_nine
·2 weeks agoIt's like eBay live, but instead they show the seller packing for a few hours.
christworks
·2 weeks agoI don't think buyers need to visually see the seller pack. Just a banner, on a seller's listings when they are actively packing orders. It should be visible in the search list. Maybe even a storing option. It should override a seller's standard handling time so that if a buyer orders while the seller is packing, they must ship it the next day.
gurlcat
·2 weeks ago · EditedI think they were joking about hours-long packing videos. Or at least I found it really funny.
christworks
·2 weeks agoThere are many YouTubers who do packing videos, some of them live. But it isn't connected to their store.
That is where I have seen some of the most horrendous packing jobs ever.
gurlcat
·2 weeks ago · EditedI know what you're talking about but that's not what I was picturing at all. Like not tutorial, not talking to or looking at the camera at all. Basically just CCTV-esque footage of a seller packing boxes for hours. Like you know how there are dudes who'll pay for 'voyeur-cam' stuff like pretty young ladies cleaning their houses or whatever -but this would be your typical median-age-57-or-whatever eBay seller, doing the most uninteresting thing imaginable.
If that's not what ten_o_nine meant, I don't want to know, because that sh cracked me up.
inhawaii
·2 weeks agoDamn you!
We don't have Krispy Kreme here!
redmodelt
·2 weeks agoover rated! They are only good hot and fresh and still are not that great. LOL
gurlcat
·2 weeks agoI would say not overrated but WAY overpriced. Then there's the absurd amount of time waiting in line (indoors or drive-through).
Maybe you live somewhere with really good Mom n' Pop donut shops? I used to, but alas now if I absolutely must have donuts it's either KK or Dunkin. 😔
theteamsetguy
·2 weeks agoI think it’s a terrible idea.
ten_o_nine
·2 weeks agoI would not.