eBay to Launch eBay Plus in Germany By The End Of September

The e-commerce American firm has been testing its new Plus service since May according to the Wall Street Journal and will offer its German users with quite a number of perks.

In order to compete with its competitor Amazon.com, eBay the e-commerce giant is launching its new service eBay Plus in Germany. Ebay Plus is a paid membership that the users in Germany sign up for. The online shopping website promises to deliver over 2 million items within two days for free. The new program will launch in Germany by late September but will be available for all the users in Germany by early October.

In a Press Release by eBay Germany, the firm stated that the cost of eBay Plus’ membership will be $22.50 or 19.90 euros annually. This new offer by the American retail firm was announced during its 20^th anniversary celebration. It also offers a 30 day return policy after the purchase of an item. The e-commerce firm had started lining up sellers since May, which is when the news came out that the company might be launching a new service. The Vice President of the online shopping company Carl Gish stated that most of the program fee will go into speeding up the shipping process, as that has always been a challenge for the company.

As for the retailers that eBay has, there is no extra fee for them but they should be able to make the deliveries in one days-time if the order has been placed before 2:00pm. A 15% discount will be given to the sellers in return also their listings will also improve. The firm has introduced this service in order to attract new customers to its new platform. It basically allows customers to have a better and faster shipping experience along with free returns. The Vice President stated in an interview that this was the new kind of eBay and that this is the next stage to their innovation that they need to offer to their consumers.

This service is in direct competition with Amazon’s Prime service which also requires membership and carries free shipping. In Germany, Amazon Prime costs $55.44 or 49 euros which is twice as much as eBay Plus’ fee. According to a research conducted by the e-commerce firm, 1 out of every 3 Germans, return matters a lot of every purchase. It is one of the major fact while shopping online for a German customer. The Wall Street Journal informed that the online firm has been testing the Plus service since May and has gathered quite a few sellers now. Through the service, the users will get exclusive deals, promotions and added advantages.

The Plus service is the new way through which the American Corporation can revive its slow growth and further invest in its new startups such as Poshmark and Thredup. The company’s aim is to become more active in the marketplace.