Unlike many other online marketplaces, eBay has to spend as much time making sure its sellers are having a convenient time of things as their buyers do, and to make sure they’re not tripped up by shipping issues, eBay is reaching out a new kind of helping hand.
EBay announced on Tuesday (April 5) that it had officially launched a shipping store to make the process of sending orders out easier and more environmentally conscious for its cadre of sellers. Though a third party will operate the eBay Shipping Supplies online store, all packaging will come with eBay branding for a uniform experience when buyers receive their items. Though options may expand later, sellers can now choose from 10 boxes of different sizes, along with a variety of mailers, packing tape and more.
Manish Joneja, head of North America shipping business at eBay, explained that the program was built from the ground up with the company’s sellers in mind.
“We’re not only excited to introduce eBay-branded shipping supplies to our customers but to do so in a cost-effective, eco-friendly and convenient manner that satisfies the needs of our sellers,” Joneja said in a statement.
The announcement comes just days after eBay sellers were beset by a glitch that allowed buyers to claim free shipping on items that they’d never marked as such. EcommerceBytes reported that sellers suddenly found themselves forced to cancel orders that buyers believed they’d rightfully purchased and running the risk of negative, reputation-harming feedback in the process. Some sellers explained that they went so far as to cancel orders and immediately block angry customers out of fear of bad reviews.
Many called for eBay to pick up the delivery tab of orders that could not be cancelled, which makes the opening of a branded store where sellers can have the privilege of buying shipping materials from eBay a very particular form of retail irony.
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