Guaranteed Delivery - being objective.

[mr_lincoln]

I think there is a place for Guaranteed Delivery but I am truly curious about the categories it would really support from a Buyer demand and quickest delivery standpoint?  I received a message about it today which was a little confusing ... the message states "60% of Buyers are more likely to chose a seller who accurately predicts a delivery date*."  My first thought was the delivery has nothing to do with the seller and everything to do with the carrier.  I know there is an asterisk after the word "date" that further explains things but the message implication is what it is.

For what I sell I have not seen any demand for fast shipments on collectibles and when an item is heavier than First Class I offer both Parcel Select and Priority Mail ... only rarely has a Buyer selected Priority due to cost ... I think one Buyer did early this year but I think that was due to their lack of buying experience.

So from a curiosity standpoint it would be great to see the real numbers on those who want a guaranteed delivery ... publishing the 60% number I personally think is high and with the words "are more likely" is speculation, not factual ... just IMHO ...

[mr_lincoln]

@missjen831  Again you have nailed it ... eBay has done this to keep up with the Jones of course and I think for some special items it may have merrit.  But for the vast majority of things people are not that concerned.  Since eBay states they will bite the bullet on late deliveries if the Seller ships within their handling time they are opening themselves up for a built in annual loss depending on 3rd party carriers to compensate for all kinds of natural disaster delays, thus creating late shipments ... not to mention additional pictorial reaons below (out of everybody's control).

[bigchief2472000]

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@lemarcheaupuces wrote:

alright...

but what is the advantage of opting in the option 2 (1 days handling).

what do i have to gain as a seller?

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The only "advantage" I'm aware of is that your listings will be visible to buyers that want their products asap.  As a buyer, I've rarely found myself in a position where I needed something guaranteed to be in my hands within 3 days.  Anytime I have been in that position, I gladly paid the premium for next day air shipping.

[missjen831]

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@bigchief2472000 wrote:

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@lemarcheaupuces wrote:

alright...

but what is the advantage of opting in the option 2 (1 days handling).

what do i have to gain as a seller?

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The only "advantage" I'm aware of is that your listings will be visible to buyers that want their products asap.  As a buyer, I've rarely found myself in a position where I needed something guaranteed to be in my hands within 3 days.  Anytime I have been in that position, I gladly paid the premium for next day air shipping.

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So how do buyers find sellers using guaranteed delivery then? I can't find a single seller OR a search filter. I am assuming it has actually rolled out since one buyer is claiming they purchased an item with it. 

[missjen831]

Yep. And ebay will only pay off the unhappy buyers for so long. I don't expect much from this new program. Its going to cost ebay. It won't generate revenue for them. 

[mr_lincoln]

@missjen831

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@missjen316 wrote:

Yep. And ebay will only pay off the unhappy buyers for so long. I don't expect much from this new program. Its going to cost ebay. It won't generate revenue for them. 

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I think you are right, they've given Sellers the ability to opt in or out BUT they can make public the fact that they offer it ...

[campesinoplastic2014]

What is the advantage to being an online dollar store with "guaranteed delivery times" ?   When things do not arrive by those dates and the customer realizes that they could have driven four blocks and bought that same chinese garbage and had it within an hour instead of waiting 4 days.

[calntom]

Whatever it is I buy, I like to receive the product asap and I am normally checking the tracking to know when it is coming. The sooner the better. Guaranteed delivery sounds like a plus to me. 

Already doing 1-Day Handling and my buyers like it delivered quick. I know that having feedback comments pertaining to quick shipping helps to drive more sales.

I am in. 

[mr_lincoln]

@calntom

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@calntom wrote:

Whatever it is I buy, I like to receive the product asap and I am normally checking the tracking to know when it is coming. The sooner the better. Guaranteed delivery sounds like a plus to me. 

Already doing 1-Day Handling and my buyers like it delivered quick. I know that having feedback comments pertaining to quick shipping helps to drive more sales.

I am in. 

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Absolutely nothing wrong with being "in" the program ... for myself and what I sell there is no demand for G.D..   From a business standpoint on eBay's part it is a bad decision because they have initially stated they will cover the late shipments if Sellers upload tracking within their handling time.  Now, the downside to that loss is that it will most likely be passed on to Store Owners with increased fees ... which I hope do not start to appear on the Fall Seller update but I suspect it will happen no later than the Spring update. 

[div_style]

"having feedback comments pertaining to quick shipping helps to drive more sales."

I agree.  It's pretty obvious to me that buyer like getting their stuff fast by the number of FB comments that include "fast shipping".  If it did not matter they would not say it.

[deep-garnet-red]

My favorite part of that graphic is "and eBay will take care of the rest".

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...really? So if I opt in eBay will make sure the item arrives quickly? No? Didn't think so.

For the most part, my buyers don't demand fast shipping. In fact, I have a three day handling time because eBay kept screwing up and claiming my packages were late.  I ship mostly smalls. They get delivered in 2-3 days via FCP.

Really, the only time my customers get antsy about shipping time is before Christmas.  Being  a procrastinator myself, I understand that.

Personally, I may opt to not buy from sellers in this program.  I see this program as promoting the change over to new junk being sold on here. It also promotes that whole "I wanted it yesterday" attitude I despise so much.

And I guess I'll quit putting "fast shipping" in my FB. When I say that I only mean it took less than a month to get here.

[honestabe411]

I opt'd in to guaranteed delivery the day they sent out the message to me. I did everything they asked..then a week later there was something else added on..it then said I needed to change my payments to auto/immediate payment required...

so am I not opt'd in just because I don't do immediate required. I am ok with buyers taking a few days, and some need to. I feel accepting only immediate payment is a bad idea and can hurt business. 

[llllady]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

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Absolutely nothing wrong with being "in" the program ... for myself and what I sell there is no demand for G.D..   From a business standpoint on eBay's part it is a bad decision because they have initially stated they will cover the late shipments if Sellers upload tracking within their handling time.  Now, the downside to that loss is that it will most likely be passed on to Store Owners with increased fees ... which I hope do not start to appear on the Fall Seller update but I suspect it will happen no later than the Spring update. 

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1. This is for U.S. sellers only that have opted in.

2. The door-to door part of the guaranteed delivery is geared toward the big sellers, and eBay is not on the hook for that.  The sellers are.

3. eBay will only be on the hook for the sellers who choose the 1-day handling time option and do not meet that obligation.  Since most of these sellers are already TRS with 1-day handling, and they've already had a 10% discount taken away, these sellers will hold the line.  That pretty much leaves things to fate...delivery vehicle accidents, isolated weather conditions, etc.

4. Buyers are not going to automatically be refunded if the door-to-door delivery or 1-day handling time are not met. The buyer will have to request it.  Essentially you're left with scammers who will be the biggest abusers of this program.  

With that said, I do agree with you, Mr. Lincoln, that eBay will end up raising seller/store fees to cover 100% of the costs of this program.  It will be much like them taking away half of the TRS discount to pay for advertising. 

[747cable]

I am on the wait list for GD, and I think it may give me a small competitive advantage.  My sister and several friends are signed up for Prime on the river, and they often tell me they get most things in 2 days.  They want it fast.

Also, maybe this will give eBay a reason to negotiate with USPO for preferred shipping like the river has.  Best!

[bigchief2472000]

@calntom wrote:

Whatever it is I buy, I like to receive the product asap and I am normally checking the tracking to know when it is coming. The sooner the better. Guaranteed delivery sounds like a plus to me. 

Already doing 1-Day Handling and my buyers like it delivered quick. I know that having feedback comments pertaining to quick shipping helps to drive more sales.

I am in. 

I like to get whataever I buy in a timely manner, but what I I consider to be a timely manner is 1 week on most things I buy.  If a seller takes an extra day to get it mailed off, no problem, if the shipping company takes an extra day to get it delivered, no problem.  I'm not going to complain and expect to get some free money just because something took an extra day or two to get to me.  Like I said before, if a person is in that big of a hurry to get their product, they should be willing to pay some extra money for the "guarantee".

Just as an example I calculated a price from USPS, UPS, & Fedex.

Ship from 71118 (Shreveport, LA) to 90210 (Beverly Hills, CA)

Package dimensions - 12" H x 8" W x 6"L

Package weight - 1 LB

Declared value (Insured amount) - $300

USPS Priority $11.90 - Estimated 2 day delivery

UPS Ground $16.30 - Guaranteed 3 day delivery*

Fedex Ground $16.63 - Guaranteed 3 day delivery*

Notice the little aterisk next to the "guaranteed" deliveries, that's because there's a whole page of stipulations on what does and doesn't qualify for a "guarantee", as well as stipulations on how much of the original shipping cost a person will actually get back.  If all those stipulations were removed, I'm pretty positive the price would increase even more, and I'm also pretty positive that ebay isn't implementing all those stipulations on their "guarantee".

I've always shipped out anything I sold the next business day, but I still have no desire to cater to impatient people that want to hold me accountable for things that are out of my control.

@missjen316 wrote:

So how do buyers find sellers using guaranteed delivery then? I can't find a single seller OR a search filter. I am assuming it has actually rolled out since one buyer is claiming they purchased an item with it. 

I think I remember seeing something about it being rolled out for buyers in September.  I'm not 100% sure on that though.

[sandmansales]

So you have party a (ebay) guaranteeing a delivery date by proxy from party b (seller) who in turn relies on party c (PO) to comply with party a's promise of getting the package to party d (buyer.) With the understanding that party a, b, c and d have absolutely no relationship whatsoever in the process unlike Amazon who has distribution warehouses across the world.

Putting aside the sheer laughability of all of this. How is 'opting in' to GD going to change anything? Are packages going to magically be delivered faster because you are now a GD member. Nothing is going to change. Shipping and delivery will go on EXACTLY as before.

How is giving a buyer currency if the package is late going to get his package there any faster. Wasn't the end goal getting his item on time.

ebay - you are not a retailer. That is not your business model. Stop trying to be something you're not.

Just one more layer of nonsense sellers have to endure while ebay puts non-GD members further down the search  results yet again.