This May, we enhanced the Local Pickup experience on the eBay mobile app. Local Pickup provides an alternative shipping solution to transactions facilitated within the same region, enabling buyers to purchase items online and pick up directly from sellers in their vicinity, saving them money on shipping fees. This allows for a more streamlined delivery process.
We updated the Local Pickup feature by securing the transaction with a formal tracking event. By using the code scan functionality, the transaction history is immediately updated with a "Picked Up" tracking event. This confirms that the exchange took place and formally closes the transaction.
In the midst of a global pandemic, promoting the health and safety of our users is crucial to us at eBay. To prevent the spread of COVID-19 during a Local Pickup transaction, we recommend following appropriate social distancing protocols.
eBay seller Trad’r Don has been selling through his eBay store Garbsafari since 1998. Hoping to stay competitive during the pandemic, he conducted his first socially distanced, face-to-face transaction using the updated Local Pickup feature.
“This was the first time that I was able to use eBay’s QR code for Local Pickup,” said Trad’r Don. “It is very intuitive and gives me access to even more buyers that are right in my backyard. Avoiding a high shipping cost and a means of safely completing a legitimate transaction makes local pickup an attractive option for nearby customers.”
How it Works
Now live on the eBay mobile app, the updated experience leverages camera application and QR code scan capability to confirm and finalize the transaction.
For Buyers
To pick up a package, a buyer and seller communicate using eBay’s member-to-member platform to identify a meeting location for the transaction. Upon arrival, the buyer provides the seller with the purchase confirmation and a secure eBay QR code. At this point, the seller scans the QR code using the eBay App on their mobile device.
For Sellers
By scanning the QR code, the seller marks the transaction as completed — in this case, “Picked Up.” The tracking API then generates an eBay Tracking Number with both date and time stamps, and propagates it across eBay selling tools, APIs and buyer delivery experiences.
Benefits
The updated feature ensures a safe transaction for both buyers and sellers, while notifying eBay that an item has been securely exchanged. With this solution in place, eBay provides fulfillment flow clarity and the added security of a pickup confirmation signal, allowing for increased adoption across our marketplace.
Disputes and claims are handled easily with the provided tracking data, and any money transacted on eBay is now protected from fraudulent chargebacks.
Launch
The enhancement to Local Pickup is the brainchild of eBay’s 2018 Hack Week. A team of six employees worked diligently to build an end-to-end shipping solution that would benefit buyers and sellers worldwide.
The feature is already enhancing the eBay shopping experience for millions of customers across the U.S. and will continue to roll out in the U.K., Germany, Australia, Canada, France, Italy and Spain this summer. The feature will be available to all buyers and sellers across iOS and Android devices.