eBay Expands UPS Integration

After publicly expressing frustration with the United States Postal Service (USPS), eBay has announced the expansion of its partnership with additional shipping options for the company’s buyers and sellers. The key addition is the use of UPS as a preferred shipping method – or as eBay calls it, an “integrated service.” UPS will be added to eBay Labels, available in both desktop and mobile.

The integration will add new features for selling and shipping, including 48 percent to 62 percent discounts that will be available automatically. It will also add 85,000 drop-off locations for eBay customers, including Michaels and CVS stores.

“We’re always looking for new ways to ensure our sellers have the tools they need to successfully run their businesses on eBay,” said Vice President of Seller Operations and Engagement Marni Levine. “Customers want and expect to receive their packages in the fastest and most reliable way possible, which is why our collaboration with UPS comes at such a critical moment. eBay is proud to deliver sellers more choice and flexibility when it comes to their shipping, which also benefits our buyers.”

In a recent blog post, Levine expressed concern about the ability for the USPS to deliver the company’s packages in a timely fashion. The UPS integration also comes at a time when UPS and FedEx are both ramping up surcharges for holiday package deliveries, a development that should have a negligible effect on most of eBay’s seller community, but could hurt a larger swath of customers.

“For the first time, peak surcharges to handle ‘standard-size’ parcels, the familiar packages that carriers process through their automated conveyor systems, will be pegged to a range of shipper volumes,” says Yahoo! Finance. “And it will be the big shippers, companies accustomed to leveraging their massive volumes to win rate discounts, that bear the brunt of the fees. Small to mid-size customers that typically pay higher rates throughout the year will be exempt from the surcharges unless their volumes exceed thresholds that would be hard to reach even during the holidays.”

Although Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has pledged to curtail changes in the postal service until after the Nov. 3 election, the service is still tardy on shipping times, especially for priority mail.

A new survey, conducted by shipping software company Shippo, compared USPS’ Priority Mail and First Class Package Service (FCPS) between July-August and May-June. It found that 17.45 percent more packages were delayed during the two midsummer months, and that 9.03 percent more parcels were taking longer to arrive. First-class package delays increased by 31.2 percent, while parcels took an average of 8.8 percent longer to arrive than during the May-June time frame. Parcels are considered more lightweight and wrapped items; packages are more expensive and usually boxed.