Tag: eBay

Market forces raise the bar for delivery

Posted by | Jul 1, 2007 | |

While retail web sites work to differentiate themselves from stores with web-only features, personalized services, detailed imaging and other tactics, there always will be one thing that separates sites from their braicks-and-mortar counterparts: a reliance on delivery services to fulfill online customers’ orders.

And as shoppers have become more accustomed to online retail, their expectations of timely and reliable delivery services—across a variety of delivery options—have only increased. A comprehensive shipping policy has become a crucial part of e-retailing, experts say.

“A critical component of the online checkout process is the determination and selection of a shipping option,” says Rob Garf, vice president of retail strategies at research and advisory firm AMR Research Inc. “Retailers must offer multiple delivery methods, including overnight, ship-to-store and split shipments, and be crystal clear regarding cost and timeframe.”

For Internet retailing, the average postal rate increase comes to about 6 pct, says David Marinkovich, senior vice president of sales and marketing at DHL Global Mail. “The cost of fuel is having a big effect on retail shippers, but the Postal Service rate change that went into effect May 14 is the most dramatic postal rate change ever,” he says. “Some retail organizations that sell products like CDs, video games, books and apparel are looking at rate increases of about 54 pct.”

Read More

Google gives discount to FedEx users

Posted by | Jun 19, 2007 | |

Google Inc., owner of the most- popular Internet search engine, is offering discounts to customers of its online payment service who ship items with FedEx Corp., stepping up competition with EBay Inc.

Merchants using Google Checkout can save as much as 21 percent on express shipments, which are delivered in one to three business days, Mountain View, California-based Google said today on its Web log. Smaller discounts are available for international, ground and home deliveries.

“With the addition of significant shipping-via-FedEx savings, Google now offers merchants an even more compelling reason to adopt Google Checkout,” Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Gene Munster said in a report. He rates the shares “outperform.”

The accord follows a similar agreement last week between EBay, which has a rival service to Google’s, and United Parcel Service Inc. EBay, the world’s largest online auctioneer, decided last year it wouldn’t offer Checkout as a payment option on its sites. Last week it also reduced advertising spending with Google.

Google unveiled Checkout a year ago as part of a plan to expand beyond its Internet-search business. The company added the service in the U.K. in April.

Read More

Up for auction . . . 75,000 items that were 'lost in the post' by Royal Mail

Posted by | Jun 17, 2007 | |

Royal Mail has admitted selling off thousands of items that got ‘lost in the post’ to help meet its running costs.

The troubled company sells the contents of about 75,000 undelivered packages every year, at the risk of enraging hordes of customers already frustrated that their post has gone astray.

Even customers who paid over the odds for premium ‘secure’ services to cover valuable items have been shocked to find their goods put up for auction, in an operation that could be netting the postal giant millions of pounds a year.

The scandal was exposed by retired teacher John Beattie after he discovered that a set of antique bagpipes, which Royal Mail had lost, were for sale on internet auction site eBay.

He had originally sold the rare 1910 Henderson bagpipes to a fellow collector in Belgium for Pounds 1,500 last July, and despatched them using the Royal Mail’s Airsure premium airmail service, described as ‘fast, secure and reliable’.

Although the package was correctly labelled, it vanished without trace.

However, in March this year a friend spotted the bagpipes online.

It turned out that the package had spent three months languishing in the national undelivered mail centre in
Belfast, before the Royal Mail sent it to Surrey auctioneers Wellers.

In turn, they sold the bagpipes to an online bidder for Pounds 60. The instrument then turned up on eBay, advertised by a man in the Glasgow area.

Wellers has an exclusive contract to sell Royal Mail’s undelivered post, but senior auctioneer Glen Snelgar refused to comment on their arrangement.

Read More

Royal Mail flogs 75,000 'lost in the post' items

Posted by | Jun 17, 2007 | |

Royal Mail has admitted selling off thousands of items that got ‘lost in the post’ to help meet its running costs. The troubled company sells the contents of about 75,000 undelivered packages every year, at the risk of enraging hordes of customers already frustrated that their post has gone astray.

Even customers who paid over the odds for premium ‘secure’ services to cover valuable items have been shocked to find their goods put up for auction, in an operation that could be netting the postal giant millions of pounds a year.
The scandal was exposed by retired teacher John Beattie after he discovered that a set of antique bagpipes, which Royal Mail had lost, were for sale on internet auction site eBay.
Royal Mail spokeswoman admitted: “About 500,000 undeliverable parcels are sent to Royal Mail’s return letter centre every year.
“They are kept for up to six months, after which a proportion – about 15 per cent – is sent to auction, with the proceeds making a contribution to the centre’s annual GBP 10million running costs.”
She said some of the money was given to charity, but would not disclose how much.

Read More

UPS – they did it again: UPS Stores revisits eBay Drop-Off model

Posted by | Jun 11, 2007 | |

It appears UPS Stores and Receller are testing an eBay consignment model. A search on eBay for List-Pack-Ship in “Title & Description” reveals auctions from List-Pack-Ship, a service with “several retail locations in the Chicago-land area at which you can sell your items on eBay using the easy List-Pack-Ship service.” The About Me page for “listpackship5608” shows a list of 20 UPS Stores that are participating in the service.

Receller launched in late 2005 to help consumers sell items on eBay. Consumers send Receller pictures, and a Receller Listing Coach calls them and guide them through the listing of the item using the consumer’s own eBay account. Receller charges USD 9.95 for an individual listing, exclusive of eBay fees, PayPal fees, or any other third-party fees.

Combining UPS Stores and Receller might look like this: a consumer drops off an item at a UPS Store location. The store staff takes pictures and sends the pictures to Receller. Receller lists it on eBay – this time using List-Pack-Ship User IDs, apparently.

UPS Stores had tried the eBay drop-off model previously, but in that iteration, the UPS Stores staff sent the item to AuctionDrop’s centralized processing center where it would be listed on eBay. With this new model, it looks like the item stays in the UPS Store – but still has the advantage of a centralized listing service.

We’ve been unsuccessful in touching base with a UPS Stores representative to get details on the List-Pack-Ship service, but will update this story as we learn more.

It’s not clear which eBay drop-off store model may be the winner – if there is one. But what is clear is that companies can’t stop trying to make it work.

Read More

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

What's the future of the postal USO?

Thank you for voting
You have already voted on this poll!
Please select an option!



View ResultsHide Results

Post & Parcel Magazine


Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

Subscribe to the Magazine

 

Pin It on Pinterest