eBay Local – sell more with the shipping option "pickup"
In September, we launched “eBay Lokal” under the motto “Make local deals near you. No back and forth” – the buying and selling experience for anyone who wants to sell, buy, and pick up products in their local area. That raises the question of what role this initiative plays for commercial sellers on eBay.
Our podcast hosts Isabell Butterwegge and David Philippe explain in this episode what “eBay Lokal” is all about, what benefits it offers commercial sellers, and what listeners need to keep in mind if they want to offer local pickup to their customers. Enjoy listening!
**Important links**
- HDE Consumer Monitor Sustainability
- More information about “eBay Lokal”
- More information about “eBay Lokal” for commercial sellers
- eBay Community
- eBay for Business on Facebook
- More info on the eBay podcast “All top. Happy to come again!” and our podcast hosts
** Chapter markers **
- 00:01:34 to 00:04:12: What’s behind “eBay Lokal”?
- 00:04:12 to 00:11:55: What benefits does “eBay Lokal” offer commercial sellers and how do I become part of it?
- 00:11:55 to 00:15:49: Why does the “pickup” option make transactions safer?
Isabell Maybe you’ve already heard about it, maybe not: In September, we launched "eBay Lokal" under the motto "Make local deals near you. No back and forth" - the buying and selling experience for everyone who wants to buy and sell products in their local area. Today we’re talking about what exactly “eBay Lokal” is, what benefits this product change brings for commercial sellers on eBay, and what you need to keep in mind if you want to offer local pickup for your customers. Enjoy listening!
David: Another nice thing is that, especially if you’re a seller who also has a physical store, you can of course do additional cross-selling once the customer is in the store. That also means making further sales, follow-up sales, and of course selling more things to the customer who comes from eBay. Welcome back to another episode of “All top. Happy to come again!” the eBay podcast about retail and e-commerce. My name is David Philippe, I’m Seller Engagement Manager at eBay Germany, and with me in the studio is Isabel Butterwegge, also Seller Engagement Manager at eBay Germany. Hi, Isabell!
Isabell: Hey, David, yes, and today, for once, we haven’t invited any guests because we want to give our listeners a quick and concise update on the launch of “eBay Lokal.” I already teased that in the intro. So let’s not beat around the bush any longer and get straight to answering all the important questions about it.
David: Yes, Isabell, why did we launch “eBay Lokal” in the first place?
Isabell: eBay has been committed to local commerce for quite a long time and wants to support sellers who operate locally or have a local business for a very, very long time. And we also clearly see that there is a trend back toward local shopping. Many consumers associate local commerce with sustainability. We also conducted a study on this. 64 percent of the consumers surveyed said that they see local products as a definition of sustainability. And that’s why we want to enable our sellers on the platform to participate in this trend too.
David: Isabell, pickup was already possible before, but we’re now putting it even more in focus, right?
Isabell: Exactly, the “pickup” option has been on the platform for a super long time already. What we’ve done now, though, is basically roll out the whole framework around this option again from scratch. That included smaller content changes, like in emails, so it no longer says “shipped” there, but “pickup.” But we also made the whole topic more prominent on our site. You just said it: pickup was already possible, yes, but it was a pretty hidden filter in our eBay search. That wasn’t the only change, either. At the same time, we also launched a “local hub,” so basically a dedicated environment, if you will, where you can really find local products, get a bit inspired, and, if needed, also dive a little deeper into the topic of who around me is actually a local seller nearby. We also put our sellers a bit more front and center there.
David: So behind the term “eBay Lokal” there’s actually a lot more than just pickup, in quotes, on site. So a lot, a lot more has happened.
Isabell: Yes, definitely! And as we always like to say, we’ve also put some marketing dollars behind it. So when we talk about the launch in September, we’re basically primarily talking about, I’d say, the start of the campaign. That was really the starting signal for us, where we went out and said, hey, we’ve taken the “experience” to the next level, basically. And we’re not done with it either; this is a long-term investment from us, so to speak, so there will still be plenty more in the future. But it’s now at a point where we can say, hey, pickup is working really well for us.
David: Nice. For our sellers, understanding their customers’ perspective is of course always very, very important. So at this point I’m naturally asking myself: what do buyers want, and how does this interest connect with “eBay Lokal”? You already mentioned that many consumers see local products as a definition of sustainability. But it goes even further, right?
Isabell: What’s exciting about our marketplace is that we are a global marketplace. That means we have a huge number of products that also come from other countries, and we see that buyers also buy the newest sneakers from the US, they buy electronics from the Far East, and they can do that on eBay too. But we’re also seeing the trend that they want to buy locally and support commerce right on their doorstep, so to speak, and simply enjoy the benefits for sellers. Our numbers confirm that too. 60 percent of consumers are increasingly focusing on sustainability when shopping. And 64 percent of online buyers want to help local brick-and-mortar retail in their city when buying locally. So, we’re a diverse marketplace, and local commerce has now found its place there too. And alongside all these local and sustainable ideas, fast item availability is of course also a super important point. After all, I can save on shipping costs. I can pick up the item immediately if that’s agreed on both sides. That means if I need a birthday present for my grandma today, I can quickly pick it up around the corner. I’ve already mentioned a couple of positive aspects. David, what do you think are the other positive added benefits of “Local” for our sellers?
David: What’s of course helpful is that you can agree on a binding price upfront. That means the haggling on site is eliminated right away. You agree on the price, the purchase price, in advance, it’s paid in advance too, and then it just gets picked up. Another nice thing is that, especially if you’re a seller who also has a physical store, once the customer is in the store, you can of course do more cross-selling. That means making more sales, follow-up sales, and thus naturally selling more things to the customer who comes from eBay. Another nice thing is that payment processing also happens through eBay. That has advantages in terms of security, both for buyers and sellers. After all, you don’t know—if you’re buying something for 2,000 euros or more, really higher-priced items. For example, I recently bought new winter wheels. That quickly turned into 1,000 euros or more. And I don’t want to pay cash on site, so I was very happy that I could pay online and then just pick them up. That’s why eBay is actively promoting “eBay Lokal” through various channels, to build interest in it, because we simply see the many advantages for both sellers and buyers and truly believe that this has an incredibly positive impact that we can offer our sellers. As you already mentioned, we now also show in the “local hub” which sellers are in the area where I could buy something. And that’s naturally very helpful for our buyers to find items, to find inspiration, and possibly become aware of sellers they may not have had on their radar at all. And that then of course perhaps greatly increases the sales opportunities for more “niche” sellers and simply brings more visibility. But it’s also an advantage for buyers. They can just go directly to the store and, I, I, I wanted to say the gift from your idea just now. So for that, but also other items you buy, just pick them up directly. So it’s simply that we are following the trend that exists in retail, as you’ve said several times, and we want to make it even more accessible for our sellers, but also for our buyers.
Isabell: I think you can clearly see here again that we position ourselves as a partner to retail. Now the question remains, of course, how I, as a seller, can make sure that my listings are also included in eBay Lokal, so to speak.
David: That’s relatively easy, Isabel. You just need to activate the “pickup” option when listing the item. And if the item location is within the buyers’ search radius, then the item will be shown, even if you’ve also selected the “shipping” option. So you don’t have to offer pickup only—you can combine pickup and shipping. But as soon as you select pickup as well, you’re included in this local search too. Um, we already mentioned it earlier: yes, “eBay Lokal” isn’t just us saying, hey, pickup is great now! It’s also technically a bit more than that. You touched on it briefly, but could you maybe go into a bit more detail about what exactly changed technically with “eBay Lokal”?
Isabell: Yes, quite a lot has changed, and to cover everything, that would definitely go beyond the scope of this episode. But to name a few, I also briefly mentioned this at the beginning. We launched the “eBay Lokal Hub.” That’s basically an integrated page right on the homepage. So if I open the eBay app or desktop, for example, I see it integrated directly at the top in the tab. In general, we optimized the pickup search. You just mentioned the postal code. So now I can also see, when I’m searching for items near me, how far away they are from me. In general, the whole search for items in my area, meaning in my postal code area, has improved. For example, I can now filter by 10, 25 kilometers, and so on. But quite a lot has also changed on the eBay item page itself: it’s now shown much more prominently that items are ready for pickup, and of course the transaction process too. You just spoke about the annoying haggling on site again. That doesn’t happen anymore. So, we no longer allow cash payment. It’s now super secure to offer pickup, basically. And we’ve also introduced a few “trust signals,” as we call them internally. Everything needs an English term, of course. So, a few signals intended to represent a bit more trust have also been added. For example, I can now see how long someone takes to respond to me, also to manage expectations there. And I didn’t want to mention so many changes, and now I am after all. We improved the “QR code experience.” So when I pick up an item, as the buyer I get a QR code, and as the seller I can then scan it. And that means we also have complete technical insight into whether the item has been picked up. So we at eBay can then really see, hey, the item was handed over. Everything worked. The transaction is now really complete. And then there were a few smaller changes in the eBay messaging system and also in Seller Cockpit Pro. Um, so if I manage my order there and don’t want to scan buyer QR codes in person with my smartphone, I can now simply enter this code in the Orders tab in Seller Cockpit Pro, and as I said, that means everything is then technically complete on our side.
David: Exactly, we’ve already mentioned it several times. Security is also an important and major topic when it comes to “eBay Lokal.” The QR code—how exactly does it work and what exactly? You said proof of pickup. Why is that so important?
Isabell: Yes, we asked ourselves the question: how can we make the whole thing as secure as possible? And with the QR code, it works like this: after the buyer has paid, they receive it, for example, by email. But they can also view it in their own purchases or in the messaging system. So if they contact the seller, they can open the QR code directly in eBay’s messaging system, and through the scan we simply have proof that the item was picked up. And when buying and selling, there are always cases where something still doesn’t quite fit, where the item is different from how it was described. You don’t always have the chance on site to thoroughly check the item. And if a case does need to be opened, then we at eBay have the technical proof that the item was handed over and that the buyer, for example, has the right to open that case. Or vice versa, for the seller, as proof that the buyer actually does not have the right to open that issue because no scan has happened yet.
David: And you already mentioned that if you don’t have a smartphone handy and can’t scan the QR code, you can simply do it in the “Orders” tab in Seller Cockpit Pro. So there’s always a six-digit code for the QR code too, and you can enter that there if you don’t have a phone handy to scan it, right?
Isabell: Yes, exactly, and some people are sure to wonder now, yes, but I don’t use Seller Cockpit Pro at all. I manage my orders with a third-party solution. Maybe we can briefly address what sellers can do if they’re currently working with a third-party provider.
David: Um, yes, on the one hand, you can have a written proof of pickup with the buyer’s signature. In that case, it’s a good idea to have a printout of the order, maybe the invoice too, where the order number is definitely included. That’s very important so it can be matched correctly, and then have the buyer sign it once. You can then manually mark the order as shipped. And be careful: depending on the integration, additional processes may be triggered, such as printing shipping labels and so on. You definitely need to keep an eye on that. It may need to be adjusted accordingly. That always depends on the particular third-party solution you’re using. So we can’t say this is how it works in general. But as I said, that’s one way to do it. The important thing is that the customer, i.e. the buyer, has signed once, and specifically where the order number is shown and where everything is documented, so that you can prove it. Yes, Isabell, maybe to wrap up, you can briefly explain why we decided to remove the cash payment option. You mentioned it briefly earlier. Why?
Isabell: Yes, cash payment is of course one of the least secure payment methods, and with cash payment on site, a lot of it simply involves haggling again. And generally, we’re in the year 2023. I think Germany is still one of the countries that’s lagging the most when it comes to card payments. So with online payments or with our payment system, we simply want to convey security and reliability. We want to encourage online payment so that trust is created in the transaction and the handover. And exactly this point: no haggling on site. It’s a transaction, it’s completed, and the item just needs to be picked up so that it’s simply quick, secure, and binding.
David: So, security for both sides, simply. No “oh, the device isn’t working right now” or “I don’t actually have that much cash with me,” just security for both sides. But before we wrap up, a quick note for our listeners. We’re always happy to receive feedback on the podcast, ideally in our eBay Community or on our Facebook page “eBay for Business Deutschland.” There you can, for example, write to us about whether you’ve already offered local pickup. What experiences have you had with it, or are you maybe thinking about it? You’ll of course also find all the relevant links to all the information we mentioned today in the show notes. So, Isabell! Normally we always ask our guests at this point what they last bought on eBay. But fitting for the episode, I’d now like to know from you, Isabell, what was the last thing you picked up? So, bought and then picked up, not just picked up!
Isabell: Yes, yes, of course we thoroughly tested the eBay experience, and I think many eBay employees have picked up items recently. For me, it was AirPods. They’re supposed to be a Christmas present for my dad. I hope he’s not listening to the episode yet. But that was pretty cool, someone got them with a contract renewal, so they were able to sell them at a fairly good price. Yes, then I could just pick them up at my leisure. But I didn’t do it on the same day, I did it a few days later.
David: So almost the gift for grandma, just this time the gift for dad!
Isabell: Exactly, and without the time pressure! And what about you, David? What did you last pick up?
David: Um, I already mentioned it earlier, it was winter wheels. And we recorded today on a day when it was minus one degree at my home this morning. So, it was really necessary. And actually, shipping winter wheels is also incredibly exhausting and cumbersome. I bought them from a seller and saw that pickup was possible—however, in North Rhine-Westphalia. But my best friend lives only ten kilometers away! And I could ask him, hey, would you have time to go by there? And that was quite interesting because I could simply coordinate with the seller through these messaging features, which we also changed a bit just now: hey, would it be okay if a buddy of mine picks them up in a week? Earlier than that doesn’t work. And he then said, no problem at all, and on this and that day I’ll be there between this and that time, and so on. Yes, it went back and forth a bit, but it wasn’t a problem. And the QR code and proof of pickup were naturally quite interesting there. I just gave my buddy this six-digit code, and the seller could then enter it. And I found it quite interesting that the seller immediately said, please remember to give the QR code to your buddy, otherwise I can’t hand it over to you. So, huge praise to the seller, who was already fully on this “eBay Lokal track” and really understood it. And for me it was ideal, because my buddy could pick up the wheels. Then a week later I was already with him anyway, packed them up and took them with me, and I’m very, very happy with them.
Isabell: Yes, that nicely underlines the security aspect again, doesn’t it? The seller doesn’t have to worry that you won’t come for three weeks because you’ve already paid. So he could be very sure that, even though you live a bit farther away, the tires would definitely be picked up. Isabell: Yes, that’s it for this short podcast episode about the launch of “eBay Lokal.” And as we’ve already announced, we’re always very happy to receive your feedback. And as I said at the beginning of the episode, “eBay Lokal” is a long-term project for us, and we’ll keep working on it so it keeps getting better, so local buying and selling continues to grow. So please feel free to share with us what changes you’d still like to see on our platform. But of course we’re also happy if you help our podcast grow by leaving us a subscription or a like wherever you’re listening to us right now.
David: Yes, and otherwise we can only say thank you very much for listening and see you next time!
Isabell: Bye!
David: Another nice thing is that, especially if you’re a seller who also has a physical store, you can of course do additional cross-selling once the customer is in the store. That also means making further sales, follow-up sales, and of course selling more things to the customer who comes from eBay. Welcome back to another episode of “All top. Happy to come again!” the eBay podcast about retail and e-commerce. My name is David Philippe, I’m Seller Engagement Manager at eBay Germany, and with me in the studio is Isabel Butterwegge, also Seller Engagement Manager at eBay Germany. Hi, Isabell!
Isabell: Hey, David, yes, and today, for once, we haven’t invited any guests because we want to give our listeners a quick and concise update on the launch of “eBay Lokal.” I already teased that in the intro. So let’s not beat around the bush any longer and get straight to answering all the important questions about it.
David: Yes, Isabell, why did we launch “eBay Lokal” in the first place?
Isabell: eBay has been committed to local commerce for quite a long time and wants to support sellers who operate locally or have a local business for a very, very long time. And we also clearly see that there is a trend back toward local shopping. Many consumers associate local commerce with sustainability. We also conducted a study on this. 64 percent of the consumers surveyed said that they see local products as a definition of sustainability. And that’s why we want to enable our sellers on the platform to participate in this trend too.
David: Isabell, pickup was already possible before, but we’re now putting it even more in focus, right?
Isabell: Exactly, the “pickup” option has been on the platform for a super long time already. What we’ve done now, though, is basically roll out the whole framework around this option again from scratch. That included smaller content changes, like in emails, so it no longer says “shipped” there, but “pickup.” But we also made the whole topic more prominent on our site. You just said it: pickup was already possible, yes, but it was a pretty hidden filter in our eBay search. That wasn’t the only change, either. At the same time, we also launched a “local hub,” so basically a dedicated environment, if you will, where you can really find local products, get a bit inspired, and, if needed, also dive a little deeper into the topic of who around me is actually a local seller nearby. We also put our sellers a bit more front and center there.
David: So behind the term “eBay Lokal” there’s actually a lot more than just pickup, in quotes, on site. So a lot, a lot more has happened.
Isabell: Yes, definitely! And as we always like to say, we’ve also put some marketing dollars behind it. So when we talk about the launch in September, we’re basically primarily talking about, I’d say, the start of the campaign. That was really the starting signal for us, where we went out and said, hey, we’ve taken the “experience” to the next level, basically. And we’re not done with it either; this is a long-term investment from us, so to speak, so there will still be plenty more in the future. But it’s now at a point where we can say, hey, pickup is working really well for us.
David: Nice. For our sellers, understanding their customers’ perspective is of course always very, very important. So at this point I’m naturally asking myself: what do buyers want, and how does this interest connect with “eBay Lokal”? You already mentioned that many consumers see local products as a definition of sustainability. But it goes even further, right?
Isabell: What’s exciting about our marketplace is that we are a global marketplace. That means we have a huge number of products that also come from other countries, and we see that buyers also buy the newest sneakers from the US, they buy electronics from the Far East, and they can do that on eBay too. But we’re also seeing the trend that they want to buy locally and support commerce right on their doorstep, so to speak, and simply enjoy the benefits for sellers. Our numbers confirm that too. 60 percent of consumers are increasingly focusing on sustainability when shopping. And 64 percent of online buyers want to help local brick-and-mortar retail in their city when buying locally. So, we’re a diverse marketplace, and local commerce has now found its place there too. And alongside all these local and sustainable ideas, fast item availability is of course also a super important point. After all, I can save on shipping costs. I can pick up the item immediately if that’s agreed on both sides. That means if I need a birthday present for my grandma today, I can quickly pick it up around the corner. I’ve already mentioned a couple of positive aspects. David, what do you think are the other positive added benefits of “Local” for our sellers?
David: What’s of course helpful is that you can agree on a binding price upfront. That means the haggling on site is eliminated right away. You agree on the price, the purchase price, in advance, it’s paid in advance too, and then it just gets picked up. Another nice thing is that, especially if you’re a seller who also has a physical store, once the customer is in the store, you can of course do more cross-selling. That means making more sales, follow-up sales, and thus naturally selling more things to the customer who comes from eBay. Another nice thing is that payment processing also happens through eBay. That has advantages in terms of security, both for buyers and sellers. After all, you don’t know—if you’re buying something for 2,000 euros or more, really higher-priced items. For example, I recently bought new winter wheels. That quickly turned into 1,000 euros or more. And I don’t want to pay cash on site, so I was very happy that I could pay online and then just pick them up. That’s why eBay is actively promoting “eBay Lokal” through various channels, to build interest in it, because we simply see the many advantages for both sellers and buyers and truly believe that this has an incredibly positive impact that we can offer our sellers. As you already mentioned, we now also show in the “local hub” which sellers are in the area where I could buy something. And that’s naturally very helpful for our buyers to find items, to find inspiration, and possibly become aware of sellers they may not have had on their radar at all. And that then of course perhaps greatly increases the sales opportunities for more “niche” sellers and simply brings more visibility. But it’s also an advantage for buyers. They can just go directly to the store and, I, I, I wanted to say the gift from your idea just now. So for that, but also other items you buy, just pick them up directly. So it’s simply that we are following the trend that exists in retail, as you’ve said several times, and we want to make it even more accessible for our sellers, but also for our buyers.
Isabell: I think you can clearly see here again that we position ourselves as a partner to retail. Now the question remains, of course, how I, as a seller, can make sure that my listings are also included in eBay Lokal, so to speak.
David: That’s relatively easy, Isabel. You just need to activate the “pickup” option when listing the item. And if the item location is within the buyers’ search radius, then the item will be shown, even if you’ve also selected the “shipping” option. So you don’t have to offer pickup only—you can combine pickup and shipping. But as soon as you select pickup as well, you’re included in this local search too. Um, we already mentioned it earlier: yes, “eBay Lokal” isn’t just us saying, hey, pickup is great now! It’s also technically a bit more than that. You touched on it briefly, but could you maybe go into a bit more detail about what exactly changed technically with “eBay Lokal”?
Isabell: Yes, quite a lot has changed, and to cover everything, that would definitely go beyond the scope of this episode. But to name a few, I also briefly mentioned this at the beginning. We launched the “eBay Lokal Hub.” That’s basically an integrated page right on the homepage. So if I open the eBay app or desktop, for example, I see it integrated directly at the top in the tab. In general, we optimized the pickup search. You just mentioned the postal code. So now I can also see, when I’m searching for items near me, how far away they are from me. In general, the whole search for items in my area, meaning in my postal code area, has improved. For example, I can now filter by 10, 25 kilometers, and so on. But quite a lot has also changed on the eBay item page itself: it’s now shown much more prominently that items are ready for pickup, and of course the transaction process too. You just spoke about the annoying haggling on site again. That doesn’t happen anymore. So, we no longer allow cash payment. It’s now super secure to offer pickup, basically. And we’ve also introduced a few “trust signals,” as we call them internally. Everything needs an English term, of course. So, a few signals intended to represent a bit more trust have also been added. For example, I can now see how long someone takes to respond to me, also to manage expectations there. And I didn’t want to mention so many changes, and now I am after all. We improved the “QR code experience.” So when I pick up an item, as the buyer I get a QR code, and as the seller I can then scan it. And that means we also have complete technical insight into whether the item has been picked up. So we at eBay can then really see, hey, the item was handed over. Everything worked. The transaction is now really complete. And then there were a few smaller changes in the eBay messaging system and also in Seller Cockpit Pro. Um, so if I manage my order there and don’t want to scan buyer QR codes in person with my smartphone, I can now simply enter this code in the Orders tab in Seller Cockpit Pro, and as I said, that means everything is then technically complete on our side.
David: Exactly, we’ve already mentioned it several times. Security is also an important and major topic when it comes to “eBay Lokal.” The QR code—how exactly does it work and what exactly? You said proof of pickup. Why is that so important?
Isabell: Yes, we asked ourselves the question: how can we make the whole thing as secure as possible? And with the QR code, it works like this: after the buyer has paid, they receive it, for example, by email. But they can also view it in their own purchases or in the messaging system. So if they contact the seller, they can open the QR code directly in eBay’s messaging system, and through the scan we simply have proof that the item was picked up. And when buying and selling, there are always cases where something still doesn’t quite fit, where the item is different from how it was described. You don’t always have the chance on site to thoroughly check the item. And if a case does need to be opened, then we at eBay have the technical proof that the item was handed over and that the buyer, for example, has the right to open that case. Or vice versa, for the seller, as proof that the buyer actually does not have the right to open that issue because no scan has happened yet.
David: And you already mentioned that if you don’t have a smartphone handy and can’t scan the QR code, you can simply do it in the “Orders” tab in Seller Cockpit Pro. So there’s always a six-digit code for the QR code too, and you can enter that there if you don’t have a phone handy to scan it, right?
Isabell: Yes, exactly, and some people are sure to wonder now, yes, but I don’t use Seller Cockpit Pro at all. I manage my orders with a third-party solution. Maybe we can briefly address what sellers can do if they’re currently working with a third-party provider.
David: Um, yes, on the one hand, you can have a written proof of pickup with the buyer’s signature. In that case, it’s a good idea to have a printout of the order, maybe the invoice too, where the order number is definitely included. That’s very important so it can be matched correctly, and then have the buyer sign it once. You can then manually mark the order as shipped. And be careful: depending on the integration, additional processes may be triggered, such as printing shipping labels and so on. You definitely need to keep an eye on that. It may need to be adjusted accordingly. That always depends on the particular third-party solution you’re using. So we can’t say this is how it works in general. But as I said, that’s one way to do it. The important thing is that the customer, i.e. the buyer, has signed once, and specifically where the order number is shown and where everything is documented, so that you can prove it. Yes, Isabell, maybe to wrap up, you can briefly explain why we decided to remove the cash payment option. You mentioned it briefly earlier. Why?
Isabell: Yes, cash payment is of course one of the least secure payment methods, and with cash payment on site, a lot of it simply involves haggling again. And generally, we’re in the year 2023. I think Germany is still one of the countries that’s lagging the most when it comes to card payments. So with online payments or with our payment system, we simply want to convey security and reliability. We want to encourage online payment so that trust is created in the transaction and the handover. And exactly this point: no haggling on site. It’s a transaction, it’s completed, and the item just needs to be picked up so that it’s simply quick, secure, and binding.
David: So, security for both sides, simply. No “oh, the device isn’t working right now” or “I don’t actually have that much cash with me,” just security for both sides. But before we wrap up, a quick note for our listeners. We’re always happy to receive feedback on the podcast, ideally in our eBay Community or on our Facebook page “eBay for Business Deutschland.” There you can, for example, write to us about whether you’ve already offered local pickup. What experiences have you had with it, or are you maybe thinking about it? You’ll of course also find all the relevant links to all the information we mentioned today in the show notes. So, Isabell! Normally we always ask our guests at this point what they last bought on eBay. But fitting for the episode, I’d now like to know from you, Isabell, what was the last thing you picked up? So, bought and then picked up, not just picked up!
Isabell: Yes, yes, of course we thoroughly tested the eBay experience, and I think many eBay employees have picked up items recently. For me, it was AirPods. They’re supposed to be a Christmas present for my dad. I hope he’s not listening to the episode yet. But that was pretty cool, someone got them with a contract renewal, so they were able to sell them at a fairly good price. Yes, then I could just pick them up at my leisure. But I didn’t do it on the same day, I did it a few days later.
David: So almost the gift for grandma, just this time the gift for dad!
Isabell: Exactly, and without the time pressure! And what about you, David? What did you last pick up?
David: Um, I already mentioned it earlier, it was winter wheels. And we recorded today on a day when it was minus one degree at my home this morning. So, it was really necessary. And actually, shipping winter wheels is also incredibly exhausting and cumbersome. I bought them from a seller and saw that pickup was possible—however, in North Rhine-Westphalia. But my best friend lives only ten kilometers away! And I could ask him, hey, would you have time to go by there? And that was quite interesting because I could simply coordinate with the seller through these messaging features, which we also changed a bit just now: hey, would it be okay if a buddy of mine picks them up in a week? Earlier than that doesn’t work. And he then said, no problem at all, and on this and that day I’ll be there between this and that time, and so on. Yes, it went back and forth a bit, but it wasn’t a problem. And the QR code and proof of pickup were naturally quite interesting there. I just gave my buddy this six-digit code, and the seller could then enter it. And I found it quite interesting that the seller immediately said, please remember to give the QR code to your buddy, otherwise I can’t hand it over to you. So, huge praise to the seller, who was already fully on this “eBay Lokal track” and really understood it. And for me it was ideal, because my buddy could pick up the wheels. Then a week later I was already with him anyway, packed them up and took them with me, and I’m very, very happy with them.
Isabell: Yes, that nicely underlines the security aspect again, doesn’t it? The seller doesn’t have to worry that you won’t come for three weeks because you’ve already paid. So he could be very sure that, even though you live a bit farther away, the tires would definitely be picked up. Isabell: Yes, that’s it for this short podcast episode about the launch of “eBay Lokal.” And as we’ve already announced, we’re always very happy to receive your feedback. And as I said at the beginning of the episode, “eBay Lokal” is a long-term project for us, and we’ll keep working on it so it keeps getting better, so local buying and selling continues to grow. So please feel free to share with us what changes you’d still like to see on our platform. But of course we’re also happy if you help our podcast grow by leaving us a subscription or a like wherever you’re listening to us right now.
David: Yes, and otherwise we can only say thank you very much for listening and see you next time!
Isabell: Bye!
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2 comments
lolly030
·7 months ago · EditedHello,
I also feel extremely pressured. Above all, the choice of payment methods :
„ Add payment methods not supported by eBay" can be selected and also saved. However, it is then not accepted when creating the listing. I’m at a loss for words!
Cash payment can only be enabled for all listings, but that is exactly what I do not want!
gartenwolfi58
·8 months agoHello,
I sold an item with pickup as the requirement because of the weight, the sale also went through successfully the buyer paid for the item at pickup ( not cash ) and took it with them, why am I supposed to send a pickup confirmation now, which I also didn't know had to be a thing.
I've already been waiting 6 days for my money , buyer is in Syria and ???
How do I get my money now?