It’s easy to list bulky items online, but it’s much harder to ship them once sold. eBay is trying to solve for that problem in the UK with a new feature that allows sellers to offer delivery and assembly services right on the eBay platform.
eBay announced the generically named “Seller Managed Services” as part of the UK Seller Update announced on February 1, 2023. In a nutshell, eBay is giving sellers in the UK access to bulky parcel pricing from HubEurope:
“We’re taking the hassle out of handling deliveries for large, bulky items by offering exclusive rates on delivery, assembly, old item removal, and more through HubEurope’s award-winning service. You’ll get access to multiple specialist carriers, providing the right services and competitive rates for your business, with all your eBay orders in one simple portal. HubEurope supports seller managed services on eBay.”
While there hasn’t been much discussion about the new service, eBay Category Manager Hannah Richards will be attending Linnworks’ Meet the Marketplace event later this month where she’ll discuss it, referring to Seller Managed Services in a social media post as “eBay’s answer to improving the furniture purchase & delivery experience.”
eBay isn’t the only marketplace that sees the appeal of furniture. Etsy said it would take a more category-focused approach to marketing this year, including running TV commercials in the home furnishings category.
Has it gotten easier to ship bulky items online, or is this an area where large brands with high-volume shipping discounts will dominate? And if you were to ship furniture or other bulky items in the US, which service would you use?
Hmmm interesting..i am intrigued