eBay Express DE (better than USA?)

eBay.de announced that they will launch eBay Express in the fall (http://www2.ebay.com:80/aw/de/200604.shtml#2006-04-03111741 ). At the same time they have opened access to the eBay Express pre-register site where customers can read all about eBay Express and sellers can register for the new site (http://www.ebayexpress.de ).

Some interesting things to point out that are SUBSTANTIALLY different from the .com implementation:

1. EE.de will have different listings vs. the .com where the listings are store+fp listings.

2. EE.de has a different fee structure - listing fees are low (3 Cent per listing - similar to eBay Stores), but FVFs are quite steep (10% or 12% dependend on category) with tiers for higher ASPs. Full fee structure here: http://pages.ebay.de/ebay_express/gebuehren.html 

3. eBay Express has pretty hard regulations for sellers who want to participate - most interestingly the need for financial background screening (similar to the process you have to go through when you set up a bank account) and you have to inform eBay about your planned business for the first couple of months. All details in German here:

http://pages.ebay.de/ebay_express/voraussetzungen.html 

4. eBay will cover both the buyer and the seller against possible losses – the buyer is insured against non-delivery/delivery of broken or wrong merchandise; the seller is insured against non-paying bidders.

5. EE.de is a much different product than what EE.com will be. It will be interesting to see if this is more successful than the .com version and if the .com version will trend towards the EE.de version over time. Maybe they get us addicted to the EE traffic for store listings in the .com and then introduce the much higher FVF later on?

To summarize the DE vs. .com

·         Different listing type vs. Store+FP

·         More expensive fee structure vs. Store+FP fee structure

·         High seller bar vs. 100 FB @ 98% (low bar)

·         Strong buyer/seller coverage vs. strong buyer coverage

·         Finally it looks to me like the DE folks spent more time and effort on the program than folks in the US.

·         Just check out the site, the PDFs and all of the tons of information – much clearer than the .com program thus far.

Very interesting – what do readers think about this?

Comments

[Robert]

This makes eBay Express expansion around Europe something to watch a bit more closely. So which way will the rest of Europe go, specifically the UK? Could the UK be a "deciding vote"?

[John]

For my product category, the .de fee structure is quite appealing, as the average sell - through for my category is around 20 percent, and my ebay fees equal at times in the low twenties of my total selling prices. Mo betta than 3 plus 15 percent by a bit.

Ebay being who they are, they will merely start at that level and ratchet up the cost of doing business to whatever level benefits them most. Or will the socialistic .de environment prevent that? It will be interesting.

The new product in original box requirement is interesting...

[Dreaded Pirate]

It does indeed seem like Express.de is a better, more focused attempt to move into the Amazon realm. Could be because of a less mature fixed price market or the higher threshold of larger retailers (online and offline) to consider EEDE as a valid channel.

A few requirements not (yet) implemented on EE: no exuberant shipping, reply to inquiries within 48 hours, professional packaging, invoice must be included. Interesting is also that it states that it must be new products in original box – no option to sell used or refurbished as in the U.S.?

[Pong]

Sounds like they got a good deal. I like that there is a higher bar (keeps the competition lower) and the seller protection is a nice touch (it's nice to see ebay actually concerned about the seller's needs and not just the buyers!). Unfortunately we are selling out of the USA. Fortunately we have partners in Austria selling on eBay.at!

I take it Auktionmaster is going to support ee.de?