Tag: eBay

eBay requires specified shipping

Posted by | Mar 25, 2008 | |

eBay posted an update about shipping policies and features on its Announcement Board on Monday. Beginning this week, eBay will begin requiring that all new sellers who are listing for the first time specify their shipping costs using the Shipping Details section. A few months from now, specified shipping costs will become a requirement for most listings on eBay, including listings from third-party listing tools. (Exemptions will apply to certain categories like Vehicles, or services such as Freight.)

eBay’s shipping calculator supports only certain USPS and UPS services. eBay spokesperson Usher Lieberman said, “For sellers who prefer to use shipping services or carriers not included in eBay’s calculator, they can specify “Standard Flat Rate Service”, “Expedited Flat Rate Service”, “Overnight Flat Rate” or “Other (see description)” in their listing and set a flat rate cost. This is something many sellers do already.” However, FedEx and DHL are not flat-rate services, so sellers who use such major carriers are forced to either select flat-rate shipping or select UPS (http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shipping-options.html).

eBay also said Best Match would begin taking into consideration how the shipping cost for an item compares to other items in the same sub-category, and also whether the shipping price is specified. “Items with shipping costs significantly above the average cost for other items in the same sub-category may receive less exposure,” according to the announcement.

One seller writing on eBay’s discussion boards about the policy said, “items in the same sub-category can still be very, very different and have very different packing needs, and shipping weight. This stuff is ridiculous and best of all – will punish the larger size and fragile items of each subcategory. Not for gouging, but just for being big and delicate” (http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000671785).

eBay said the new USPS Priority Mail Large Flat Rate box is now included in the eBay Shipping calculator, but sellers on the AuctionBytes Blog wondered why the new box won’t be incorporated into the PayPal shipping labels solution until later in the summer.

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Chronopost launches new next-day express service and eBay partnership

Posted by | Mar 6, 2008 | |

Chronopost has launched a new express shipping solution “Prêt-à-Expédier” (“Ready to ship”) and improved the shipping service of express parcels on eBay France to better respond to customer needs.

The new shipping solution “Prêt-à-Expédier”, offered in post offices, provides next-day delivery before 13:00 within France, including packaging and transportation. It will be extended to international destinations by end-2008.

Chronopost said the new service targets small- and medium-sized enterprises. A survey last November found that 63 pct of SMEs used next morning express delivery services. In future, its “Chrono 18”, with delivery by the end of the next working day, will be reserved for contract customers.

The new “Prêt-à-Expédier” product range offers five packaging sizes (for weights up to 500g, 1kg, 2kg, 3kg and 6kg) and includes insurance, track-and-trace and POD. The minimum price is EUR 17.56.

Meanwhile, Chronopost has signed a partnership with eBay in France to enable customers to buy and to prepay online their express shipments saving time and ensuring traceability. Customers also receive a 7 pct discount off the delivery price.

EBay users can select transportation by Chronopost and are redirected to the express company’s website. There they can enter their shipment details and print off an airway bill to affix to the shipment. This can then be taken to a post office, Chronopost agency or Chrono Relais service points for pick-up and delivery.

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Over 875 Million Consumers Have Shopped Online – the Number of Internet Shoppers up 40pct in Two Years

Posted by | Jan 28, 2008 | |

More than 85 percent of the world’s online population has used the Internet to make a purchase — increasing the market for online shopping by 40 percent in the past two years — according to the latest Nielsen Global Online Survey on Internet shopping habits. Globally, more than half of Internet users have made at least one purchase online in the past month, according to Nielsen.
Among Internet users, the highest percentage shopping online is found in South Korea, where 99 percent of those with Internet access have used it to shop, followed by the UK (97pct), Germany (97pct), Japan (97pct) with the U.S. eighth, at 94 percent. Additionally, in South Korea, 79 percent of these Internet users have shopped in the past month, followed by the UK (76pct) and Switzerland (67pct) with the U.S. at 57 percent.
Globally, the most popular and purchased items over the Internet are Books (41pct purchased in the past three months), Clothing/Accessories/Shoes (36pct), Videos / DVDs / Games (24pct), Airline Tickets (24pct) and Electronic Equipment (23pct).
Credit cards are by far the most common method of payment for online purchases — 60 percent of global online consumers used their credit card for a recent online purchase, while one in four online consumers chose PayPal. Of those paying with a credit card, more than half (53pct) used Visa.
According to Nielsen, online shoppers tend to stick to the shopping sites they are familiar with, with 60 percent saying they buy mostly from the same site. “This shows the importance of capturing the tens of millions of new online shoppers as they make their first purchases on the Internet. If shopping sites can capture them early, and create a positive shopping experience, they will likely capture their loyalty and their money,” said Paul.

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U.S.-based online seller growth tops 20 pct in international sales

Posted by | Aug 13, 2007 | |

International sales and shipments made by U.S.-based eBay sellers grew 20.1 pct in the past year, up from 14.3 pct the previous year, the fastest growth in three years, says MyStoreMaps.com, a company that tracks worldwide shipping. Growth outpaced other countries mainly because of a weaker U.S. dollar, MyStoreMaps reports.

EBay sellers in all major western economies are seeing increased growth in international sales, says Brian Lawe, president of MyStoreCredit Inc., the parent company of MyStoreMaps.com

MyStoreMaps’ numbers are based the company’s data set of more than 3 million shipments made between buyers and sellers in 162 countries. Sellers outside the U.S. experienced growth at only half the rate of U.S. sellers. “For the same time period, the rate of growth in shipments for all non-U.S. sellers was only 10.6 pct,” Lawe tells Internet Retailer.

The ramp-up for international sales is three to four years behind domestic e-commerce sales, Lawe says. He attributes the past year’s growth to “a lower U.S. dollar rate, primarily, and buyers who have become very comfortable buying online from sellers in their own country.”

Trust has been the main obstacle to more international buying, Lawe says. As shoppers become more at ease buying from e-retailers in their own country, they begin to experiment. If nothing bad happens with their first overseas purchase, subsequent buys become easier, Lawe adds.

The most popular countries that U.S.-based eBay sellers ship to are Canada, at 28 pct ; United Kingdom, 20 pct ; Australia 10 pct ; and France, 6.5 pct , says Antoine E. Hall, vice president, operations and client services at MyStoreCredit.

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