Last year, eBay began testing a same-day shipping service called eBay Now in San Francisco. Merchants in the test group were able to offer the service to customers for $5.
eBay reportedly also has some other interesting options in pilot phase. All Things D’s Tricia Duryee spoke with several eBay execs about a handful of tests the company is running including eBay Now.
One of the tests lets would be sellers have eBay employees come to their homes to pick up items and deliver them to “experts” who will then attempt to sell the items for a 25% cut of the selling price. Duryee’s report shows a picture of an eBay van (complete with new logo) that says “Selling Assistant” and “We pick up. Your stuff sells. You get paid.”
The third test reportedly lets sellers drop off clothes and electronics at mall kiosks.
eBay says it needs to “innovate at a quicker pace,” and that it “can’t get complacent” in the space, and one trend in online shopping, interestingly, is moving to more offline options.
For example, Amazon is offering lockers in some places, where consumers can pick up their orders at nearby stores. Likewise, Google recently acquired BufferBox, a provider of similar lockers.