Guaranteed Delivery may guarantee a drop in sales ...

[mr_lincoln]

Last Tuesday I was put in Guaranteed Delivery ... unfortunately, my sales have not tripled so there must be a glitch ... as a matter of fact, weekends are usually pretty busy with sales but not this one so I just Opted OUT of GD in Site Prefs earlier this evening.  If my sales had tripled or even doubled I would have stayed in.  I just don't think its suited for Collectibles, Vintage and Antique type stuff ... maybe diapers, t-shirts and other commodities in high volume categories ...

[nawlinsron2]

That GD is a wonder...it's a wonder what pupose it serves.
Anytime I click that 3Day toggle at the top of a search, after the initial search, I get about .5% of the items in the original search.

[mr_lincoln]

@nawlinsron2 

I have not read too many positive things about it and I have my suspicions about its true functionality considering it is was a "me too" feature added to keep up with Home Office's main competition, who by the way, is geared to sell more new items then old and used ... but that's just my humble opinion ...

[pburn]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

" . . . weekends are usually pretty busy with sales but not this one so I just Opted OUT of GD in Site Prefs earlier this evening."

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I'm not sure I would've chosen a three-day holiday weekend by which to judge my sales, but that's just me. I probably would've considered the fact that most people are celebrating Memorial Day weekend as the kick-off of the summer season's activities, which probably wouldn't include buying items on eBay.

But, hey! You gave it from Tuesday to Sunday--what, six days? If you didn't see an uptick in sales in six days--including two days of a holiday weekend, then that program definitely wasn't working for you.

[nawlinsron2]

I may have gotten jaded as I've gotten older, but somehow relying on a microwave mentality for business success is like assuming every purchase has a Christmas Day anticipation attached to it.
Quality and price still sell...how many buyers have to take Melatonin the nite they purchase because anticipation has them on edge?
We buy and life goes on...

[scalemotorcars]

I tired it for about 2 months and its a joke. No increase in sales at all in fact my sells fell by about 60%. To be 100% honest that's when they required immediate payment and that just doesn't work for some reason. Now they don't require it but Im not risking it again. Drop it while you can.

But rest assured eBay will eventually make everyone do it, its just a matter of time. 

[pburn]

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@scalemotorcars wrote:

I tired it for about 2 months and its a joke. No increase in sales at all in fact my sells fell by about 60%.  

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What else was going on at that time? Remember the fallacy: "**bleep** hoc ergo propter hoc."

**the "bleep" is to replace the Latin word meaning "with." Neither eBay nor Publix has a sense of context. SMH.
'

[scalemotorcars]

I looked into it extensively and nothing major. It was a good time of year and I had great products listing all the time doing all the stuff I normally do. The only change was the Guaranteed Delivery. I ditched it and sales went up. They didn't rebound 100% since eBay has been on a steady decline for at least the last year but they definitely got better. 

Besides. Most all postal carriers don't guarantee shipping unless its Express and none of us are paying for that. 

[ted_200]

I don't think it's going to make one scintilla of difference for sellers of not new, not bar-coded, not urgent need collectibles, antiques, etc. 

On a broader level, it's probably going to guarantee less buyers on eBay, in the long run.  Most buyers don't need any "guaranteed" delivery date (if they did, they'd be willing to pay for Express Mail, and just how many of those do you ever see?).  But for those who do, the USPS won't guarantee delivery, it's going to not be met sometimes.  And once you guarantee something and then fail to deliver on it, it erodes trust and confidence. 

[slippinjimmy]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

  If my sales had tripled or even doubled I would have stayed in. 

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Do you think perhaps your expectations were a bit on the high side?

If it brought just one or two more sales for doing nothing different than you normally do why would that not be a worthwhile thing?

[ted_200]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

  If my sales had tripled or even doubled I would have stayed in. 

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Do you think perhaps your expectations were a bit on the high side?

If it brought just one or two more sales for doing nothing different than you normally do why would that not be a worthwhile thing?

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I can't answer for mr lincoln, but for me I'm not willing to "guarantee" something I can't actually guarantee just to get another sale or two.  Never mind the issues that will result if a buyer becomes agitated because the guarantee was not met.  eBay may remove any neg., but I may lose a repeat customer over it.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@ted_200 wrote:

I don't think it's going to make one scintilla of difference for sellers of not new, not bar-coded, not urgent need collectibles, antiques, etc. 

On a broader level, it's probably going to guarantee less buyers on eBay, in the long run.  Most buyers don't need any "guaranteed" delivery date (if they did, they'd be willing to pay for Express Mail, and just how many of those do you ever see?).  But for those who do, the USPS won't guarantee delivery, it's going to not be met sometimes.  And once you guarantee something and then fail to deliver on it, it erodes trust and confidence. 

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I I strongly agree; I think it is prudent (and best) to underpromise and overdeliver.  Businesses knew this and ran with this for years.  Companies traditionally chose an expected delivery timeframe that would guarantee the  customer would get their order SO much quicker, they couldn't fail to be impressed and delighted.  It also saves time and money for the company~in most cases, you couldn't fail to get your order much faster than expected, thus eliminating anxious customers calling about their late order.

[nawlinsron2]

Seems like the futurists at ebay look at GD as the coming sine qua non of e-commerce shopping...
...good luck with that notion coupled with "China is our future".

[slippinjimmy]

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@nawlinsron2 wrote:
Seems like the futurists at ebay look at GD as the coming sine qua non of e-commerce shopping...
...good luck with that notion coupled with "China is our future".

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With the two of the top three online retailers in the US pretty much doing that right now you don't need to be a futurist to see what is happening. I don't see eBay ever taking over from Amazon & Walmart but I hope they can maintain their current position. The "perks" they offer buyers have to keep pace or they will whither, at least in relative terms.

[jonathankirkland]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

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@nawlinsron2 wrote:
Seems like the futurists at ebay look at GD as the coming sine qua non of e-commerce shopping...
...good luck with that notion coupled with "China is our future".

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With the two of the top three online retailers in the US pretty much doing that right now you don't need to be a futurist to see what is happening. I don't see eBay ever taking over from Amazon & Walmart but I hope they can maintain their current position. The "perks" they offer buyers have to keep pace or they will whither, at least in relative terms.

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The problem is ebay keeps trying to compete in spaces where they don't belong instead of focusing on what made them who they are in the first place.

It's sad really, to watch them struggle so much in spaces they have no business being, and who gets punished for it the most? Sellers.