Local Fulfillment

Buy it on eBay. Get it in 1 hour.

The goals

To standardize post-purchase user experience.
To create a risk-mitigated model for eBay’s warranty protection.
To create a branded E2E experience for buyers.
To reduce environmental impact by 30%.

My role

Concept creator and promoter. Finalist of Product & Design competition.

2012 | eBay San Jose, CA

Context

In the cozy kitchen, Saturday morning unfolds. The aroma of coffee fills the air. You revisit your short wishlist on eBay, eyeing an item you’ve long desired. Hesitant to pay full retail price, you’ve patiently waited. Now, there it is - a great deal from a reputable seller. Your heart races as you click “Buy Now.” A joyful moment, but only the first step on the winding path of consumer experience.

Far too often what follows is series of declining steps along the way of end-to-end consumer experience. What’s worse, the bulk of them lies beyond the buyer’s or eBay’s control.

Buyer pains

Speed & tracking

Unpredictable in-transit times. Hard to time delivery to an event or occasion.

Messy packaging

“I once received my purchase wrapped in an old t-shirt.”

Not as expected

The item may be damaged or otherwise fall below buyer expectations.

Perceived risks

In the absence of a platform-level refund policy consumers feel hesitant to commit to an expensive purchase on eBay.

Shipping cost

Speed drives cost. You can’t have it both ways with the traditional shipping methods.

Environmental impact

Two often identical items are being transported cross country.

Opportunity

28%

Dropout rates for 1st time buyers (30 days after making a purchase). This severely impacts loyalty and the resulting metrics.

$7.4M

Avg annual cost on remediating claims, returns and escalations stemming from subpar fulfillment.

Carbon footprint

At any interstate fuel station there will be trucks carrying exact same items in different directions across country.

$820M

Potential for additional annual revenue share from key C2C verticals.

NPS impact

Great experience results in consumer loyalty. Loyal customers not only stay with your brand but also advocate for it.

Company image

eBay has the potential of becoming the greenest marketplace in the space, in addition to tax advantages and social image benefits.

Glaring redundancy

Purchased item makes a long journey from seller to buyer.

But what if there is a “clone” purchase is taking place in near real time but in reverse order? This is a frequent instance in a handful of top verticals, specifically electronics, where a buyer and seller from two different transactions are located within a 50-mile radius of each other.

The solution

Capturing nearby identical transactions in near real-time would allow eBay to create local supply-demand ecosystems, all while keeping existing browsing and purchasing habits intact.

Buyer makes a purchase

A familiar thrill of a bargain hunt leads to a purchase. No changes to well-established buyer habits on the platform. The great deal is found and the purchase is made.

Local match found

Original buyer receives full payment, but the buyers receives an option to have exact same item delivered locally for free, along with many added benefits.

Buyer accepts local item

Buyer receives back the shipping fees they have paid to original seller. Local (same or next day) delivery is free to buyer.

Branded same-day delivery

Brand continuity is critical for prolonged consumer loyalty. eBay is now able to fully own fulfillment for items on the marketplace.

Free 30-day warranty

A major sale pitch in the electronics, appliances, gaming and many other verticals.

Delightful and predictable

Buyers expect the same rewarding experience every time they opt-in for local fulfillment. They save time, money and anxiety.

Mechanics of a local ecosystem

When a buyer opts-in local delivery it sets in motion a rather simple concept of localized fulfillment, solving for multiple stubborn pain-points without a large up-front investment for eBay:

Purchase price fluctuations

Since the buyers are free to shop eBay-wide, this would inevitably result in purchase price differences between many near identical items. The fact is, however, that within top verticals (i.e. Electronics) the range of purchase prices for items in similar condition is around 5%. In case of popular items (gaming consoles, home electronics, GPS navigators etc) at peak demand the range is often even tighter. Those 3%-10% differences can be equalized by the volume of locally fulfilled transactions (“we gain some, we lose some”), resulting in the target zero-sum outcome.

Comparing two experiences

FAQs

So buyers shop as usual?

Yes. Nothing changes in the well-established behavioral patterns of shoppers. The local option only offered after the original transaction has been validated and only when local supply is able to accommodate it.

Does eBay need to invest in a massive infrastructure?

Instead of an upfront build-out, eBay could recruit from existing thousands of proven power sellers already selling on the marketplace to share ~10-20% of their working capacity to fulfill on platform’s behalf. Power sellers can trade their expertise for additional sales as a part of local fulfillment chain.

Who will locally deliver?

eBay would contract local delivery companies to transport purchased items from local power sellers to the respective local buyers. Almost all companies that run a local fleet can take up a portion of the delivery volume on eBay’s behalf with a standardized delivery protocol.

How can eBay offer a warranty for electronics?

Without outright owning any of the inventory, eBay is now able to physically inspect the item along the fulfillment checks and verify basic functionality and its physical condition. This will greatly mitigate the risks of extending a free warranty to buyers.

Where does the local inventory come from?

As the program ramps, additional inventory fills the local supply “pockets”. eBay can control the inventory levels in each location by the throttling the local delivery option to buyers. If the supply is high in one location, then more buyers in that specific area will see this offer after purchase. If the inventory runs dry, it can be filled in from the local power sellers’ existing inventory, as additional fulfillment incentive.

How do you build the eBay Brand?

Local power sellers, acting as eBay’s representatives, will utilize the meticulously crafted branded packaging before personally handing over items to delivery drivers. Keep in mind that the branded experience extends far beyond mere logos and packaging—it encompasses every interaction, from the smallest to the grandest, across the entire consumer journey.

Next: eBay Light

Average U.S. household has $3,400 in unused items. We made it easy for you to find, list and sell using new and emerging technologies.

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