If you buy something through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.
For now, it’s probably only important to consumers and large retailers. But there’s a faster way to get home delivery of online purchases than Amazon — at least in some cities.
The service is called Ebay Now. For a $5 fee, Ebay will deliver merchandise ordered over its Web or mobile Ebay Now platform the same day — often within the hour.
To accomplish this, Ebay is working with local retailers in the cities where the service is offered. Ebay’s local partners offer the merchandise for sale on Ebay’s platform. Then a courier delivers the merchandise from the local retailer to the customer.
It’s a new venture for a company up until now associated with online auctions. But it may end up being a real shot in the arm to brick and mortar businesses too. And that could even include small businesses someday.
Ebay Service Continues to Expand
Ebay added Dallas to the list of communities it serves with its same day delivery program this month. The company is touting its service as giving customers an opportunity to “shop locally.”
However, all the partners it is working with so far — Home Depot, Best Buy, Target, Office Depot and Macy’s to name a few — are national chains, reports The Dallas Morning News.
But it may not be that way indefinitely.
Will Small Businesses Benefit from Ebay Now?
In a post on the official Ebay Inc. blog in July, the company explained:
“Through eBay Now and other innovations coming later this year (such as the integration of in-store pickup onto eBay.com and a new shopping experience that connects consumers to small businesses in local neighborhoods), eBay is providing another channel for retailers to reach customers, while giving consumers additional choice in where, when and how they shop.”
So this suggests local small businesses might also someday be able to offer their merchandise for sale and speedy same day delivery through Ebay’s new service.
On the Other Hand…
Recently Ebay CEO John Donahue called Amazon’s plan to deliver packages by aerial drone a long-term fantasy, Bloomberg TV reported.
Ebay’s plans may be a bit far out too.
Consider that Ebay has currently launched its new service in five communities — Manhattan and Brooklyn, NYC Queens, the San Francisco peninsula, Chicago and Dallas.
There’s a goal of reaching 25 next year. However, the company had hoped to launch the service in Dallas and another city earlier this summer, so roll-out is clearly taking longer than expected.
The same may be true of launching partnerships with more than a handful of really big chains. So it could be a while before Ebay works with your business — or even comes to your town.
Image: Wikipedia
Aira Bongco
We all love eBay because it is a trusted selling website. I guess they will not be left behind. So with the Amazon drones, the same day delivery sounds to be a good decision. And since it is dealing with human delivery, I may even decide that it is better because it is fast and safe.
Ahron Weiss
Consumers are finally being treated like royalty .Ebay is trying to up Amazon’s latest offerings including same day delivery & Amazon Locker. Smaller startups are in the space as well . An iPhone app InstaTrade lets you instantly search for any product you need by Keyword & Geo location. You communicate instanly with the seller. The product you want may just be down the street.Now that is instant service. I’m liking this.
Aira Bongco
It’s a nice addition, right? It is amazing how a little competition can do to business. It seems that this has helped them improve their services which is good for consumers.
Troy Bombardia
Wow that sounds pretty darn awesome. I guess it’s in direct response to those Amazon drones with 1 day delivery. Can’t wait to get my next item from eBay (unfortunately, I don’t live in the Dallas area).
Same day delivery is just crazy to me. I love it.
Aira Bongco
Makes you wonder how they pull it off. It may be harder for them but it is perfect for those last minute stuff that you need to buy. Now you can buy them from eBay.
Rich Vernadeau
Like most big corporations, ebay maintains a massive propaganda campaign of “polished PR activities” and reputation management. For numerous reasons, mainstream media isn’t bothering to investigate ebay much beyond the surface of whatever press releases ebay gives them or whatever spin some ebay top brass puts out in a speech. It has been said that most ebay buyers are apathetic towards the plight of sellers. That may be the case. HOWEVER, i do not believe the purges and numerous other egregious actions by ebay can continue to go on indefinitely unnoticed. Somewhere in the thousands of people purged is someone who is an attorney or has a friend who is. Somewhere in the thousands is someone who has a friend who is an investigative reporter at a newspaper or TV station. Somewhere in the thousands are a small group of intelligent articulate people who won’t just take it sitting down, they will in fact call attorney generals offices in the states wherein they reside, they will in fact call the FTC, they will in fact call the SEC, they will in fact- and many already have been- engage in blogging across the internet about what ebay is doing. Ebay is not invincible. The right combination of interested or authorized regulatory authorities just hasn’t come together yet with the facts of what is going at ebay. Nixon managed to forestall the Watergate scandal over a two-year period but it gradually unfolded- slowly at first and then it gained incredible momentum. And that’s the U.S. government at the Presidential level. I cannot believe that ebay is more powerful than that.
With amazon working on drones, eBay has to find innovation in its processes in order to stay at pace with competition. I agree that drones are not exactly a solution which we are gonna see anytime sooner, but it does conveys to them the area of the focus of their competition. This should be an eye opener for eBay
Lee Salisbury
I agree that this time, competition between eBay and Amazon is a good thing for customers. I would also like to note that, like it or not, propaganda campaigns work; instead on focusing on one side of the story, we should try to see the whole picture. There must be another reason why eBay is so popular, apart from a successful propaganda campaign.