You can get free shipping by either purchasing the items from shippers who offer free shipping or making your total purchase value meet eBay’s standard free shipping. The 3rd way is buying with a local pick-up.
What is eBay?
eBay is an American e-commerce company. Its headquarter is in San Joe, California. eBay was founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar. eBay operates in about 32 countries worldwide. eBay’s revenue in 2021 is 10.42 billion.
Is eBay a trusted site?
eBay is a legitimate e-commerce website. The most famous characteristic of eBay is its online auction. Anyone can bid on the item they like and offer the price they think they can win.
eBay owns Paypal from the year 2002 to 2013. in 2014 Paypal is an independent company again. eBay acquired the Japanese division of Qoo10, and also owns roughly 28% of craigslist.
Is eBay free to sell?
eBay is free for you to list a limited number of items. Once you reach the limited listings you will need to pay listing fees and additional selling fees when your items are sold. The average selling fee is about 10~12% of the total amount of the sale.
Is eBay free shipping?
whether you get free shipping or not depends on the shipper. If the shipper offers free shipping then you will not have shipping charges, if the shipper charges for shipping then you have to cover the shipping cost.
If the shipper does not offer free shipping, you can try to purchase multiple items from one seller, or you can purchase multiple items at one time. Once you reach the amount, you might get free standard shipping. The order value is around $45 to get free standard shipping.
Another way to get free shipping is by picking up your item locally. If the seller is happen located in the same area or a close area to where you live, you can choose the shipping option as buying with local pick up, then there is no shipping charge.
What shipping method does eBay offer?
eBay offers free shipping from sellers, buyer-paid shipping, free local pick-up, and a GSP program for international shipping.
eBay works with nine carriers to deliver packages inside the US. As a seller, you can choose any one of them to deliver your products to buyers. These nine carriers are:
- eBay delivery services
- United States postal service (USPS)
- FedEx
- UPS
- DHL eCommerce
- OnTrac
- Lasership
- Spee-Dee Delivery
- Lonestar Overnight
Buying with local pick up
Some eBay sellers offer free local pick-up, especially for large items which difficult to ship. if you happen to live in the same area as the seller, you can choose the shipping option as local pick-up. You can collect the item in person, and inspect it before bringing it home. Buying with local pick-up saves you money for shipping.
if you purchase an item that is available for local pick up, you will receive information on the item’s location at check out. Once the transaction is complete, eBay will send an email to you with a local pick-up code ( a QR code and a 6-digit code).
You can contact the seller to arrange a time and place to collect your item. You need to show this pickup code when you collect items. The seller will scan or enter the code on the eBay app to confirm you have picked up your items.
eBay’s Global shipping program (GSP)
eBay offers a Global shipping program for sellers who want to sell their products globally but do not want to deal with the hassle of international shipping and customs.
This is how this GSP program works. Once you join the GSP program, you will send eligible items to eBay’s domestic shipping center. when your product reaches eBay’s shipping center, your job is done. The GSP will manage the shipping and customs clearance for you.
There will be listing charges and seller charges for sellers.
Based on eBay sellers, this GSP program fits better for small business sellers. The GSP program does give these sellers access to the international market and removes custom issues for them. But this GSP program sometimes causes more headaches to big business sellers than helps them.
The number one complaint is the shipment delay and careless handling of the shipment. Many sellers experienced that international buyers claimed damaged items but GSP claimed it is not.
If the package is missing, it takes eBay over 30 days to sort it out. The money is on hold while eBay is investigating it, so the buyer can not get a refund. The long processes upset both the buyer and the seller.
Some sellers turn off their GSP because they feel the small increase in their sales does not justify the trouble and time to deal with missing, damaged items, and angry customers.
eBay vs Amazon as a seller
eBay has a much simple listing process than Amazon for 2nd hand items. But If you want to sell your product quicker, amazon should be your choice.
I tried to sell several books on both eBay and amazon. Nobody contacts me on eBay, I end up selling all my books on amazon. I also tried to list several used purses on Amazon but after going through all processes, tried 4 times and still did not see my listing, so I give up finally. I listed my items on eBay for several months but still did not sell them, finally, I give them to goodwill.
In summary that Amazon is a good platform for selling brand-new, large-volume products. Amazon has more shoppers than eBay. Amazon is not an easy platform to sell used items, the listing process is impossible.
eBay has a simple listing process for used items, but it takes time to sell them.
eBay vs Amazon as a buyer
I have purchased stuff from both eBay and amazon. I prefer Amazon to eBay because of Amazon’s easy return, and more variety of products.
I used to purchase foreign stuff from eBay because eBay has more international sellers, but now I see amazon has a more and more broad seller base, including global sellers.
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Why Do People Hate Paying For Shipping? (3 Minutes Read)
Resources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EBay
www.ebay.com
