eBay Germany require specified shipping
July 3, 2008
From this week, sellers on eBay Germany are required to specify at least one domestic shipping service. eBay say that 95% of sellers already do so, but that the remaining 5% will no longer be able to list without specifying at least one shipping method and its cost. ‘Collection only’ is a permitted delivery method.
According to the eBay Developer blog, the policy is also being enforced in Spain now too: I think we can expect this to become a universally-enforced policy on all eBay sites reasonably soon, so if you’re not already specifying postage in the postage field in your listings, now will be the time to reconsider that.
The problem for UK sellers is likely to be that those who use courier services cannot offer one single flat rate to the whole country, as the Highlands, islands and Northern Ireland are all surcharged by carriers. If eBay are going to require sellers to use the little postage box to specify rates, rather than just putting them within the body of the listing, they really need to allow for the reality of shipping too.
German sellers must specify postage
June 17, 2008
Another one to file under “expect this to roll globally any time now”: from 1st July, German eBay sellers must specify postage in the postage field of their listings, and will not be able to simply list postage costs within the item description.
This is a sensible move and frankly should have been made across all eBay sites years ago. There’s no excuse for sellers not to be upfront about their postage costs, and this makes it much easier for buyers to find them, as well, of course, as feeding into a seller’s Best Match rating. What isn’t specified is whether this applies to just domestic postage, or to international costs too.
eBay Germany introduce maximum shipping prices
May 29, 2008
eBay Germany are introducing maximum shipping prices allowed to be charged in 34 categories. Ranging between €5,00 and €8,00, a range of items are included in the new policy, from computer accessories, memory sticks and MP3 players, to silver-plated jewellery, some watches, and pearls. The categories have apparently been chosen because they have generally low DSRs for shipping prices, and the set prices are based on the average within the categories. The new rules come into effect from 15th June.
Many sellers are going to see this as a step too far by eBay. If buyers choose to purchase from a seller with a high shipping price listed, that is their choice; shipping prices are the one area where there shouldn’t be any surprises for buyers post-sale, so why would eBay interfere? In any case now, buyers who didn’t read the listing have the opportunity to mark the seller down on the DSRs anyway. The prices quoted will not cover insured shipping in many cases, nor will they take account that some items are heavier to ship than others: categories like Lamps & Lighting or Wholesale & Metalworking are likely to have a massive range of wildly differing items within them, and trying to standardise a shipping cost is a step too far into the Amazon.
Moreover, sellers who want to avoid the restrictions are likely just to list in a different category, so the whole thing seems rather pointless. Nevertheless, what’s done on one eBay is likely to spread, so expect to see this coming to other sites in the near future.
Vielen Dank to Horst from Shadesavers for the link.
eBay Germany highlights free shipping
May 14, 2008
eBay Germany have just announced the launch of a new icon to highlight items offering free shipping. Germany’s Markdown Manager is also now offering the possibility to lauch “free shipping sales” in Shops.
The same changes were made on .com last month, so sellers on other countries’ sites might expect a wider launch in the near future. As eBay will undoubtedly publicise this very well to buyers, it’s worth considering if it’s something you could take advantage of, even if free shipping isn’t normally your style.
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If anyone has one and wants to spend it with me... - northumbrian: the only fault with that bling thing is if anything it makes the item look to good
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