eBay to pilot 'click and drop' service at Argos stores

EBay is launching a new “click and drop” service, which could help sellers cut the cost of delivering items to customers, it has emerged.

The online marketplace is to pilot the scheme with a handful of Argos stores, allowing eBay users to drop sold items at their nearest outlet, for packing and shipping by eBay. If successful, the trial will be extended to 700 Argos stores.

According to Tanya Lawler, vice president of eBay marketplaces, this is a “world first”, and “not one that can be easily replicated by other players in the market”.

The first Argos stores have not yet been selected, she said, but details will announced within weeks.

“We’ve created a service that makes it quick for sellers to drop off items so they can focus on growing their businesses and targeting domestic and international buyers, rather than waiting in a line,” she added.

The “click and drop” project follows eBay’s roll-out of “click and collect” across Argos stores nationwide. Sellers ship to customers’ local Argos stores for easy collection.

eBay said that the click and collect scheme, which launched in September, has passed 1m sales. Some 90pc of the 160,000 click and collect subscribers are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Amazon has partnered with the Post Office to offer a similar service.

In the 15 years since eBay launched in the UK, sellers have sold over 3bn items. There are 250,000 British SMEs on eBay, selling to 150m customers worldwide.

Source : Rebecca Burn-Callander - The Telegraph
www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11500272/eBay-pilots-new-click-and-drop-scheme-for-sellers.html