Three Week Update of Implementation of eBay Payments

It has been less than a month since eBay rolled out managed payments and today they company provided a three week update.

eBay says they are seeing positive results for their business and from sellers in this experience.

Since introducing managed payments on a small scale in the U.S., eBay has already intermediated more than $20 million in GMV. If annualized, this would represent nearly half a billion dollars.

eBay also claims sales for the initial sellers in managed payments are going well. Some sellers report seeing increased sales velocity compared to their sales before signing up.

And according to eBay, many sellers report it’s easier to manage all of their transactions in one place and they’re enjoying the lowered costs.

eBay provided a positive experience example with eBay seller Danny Hone who sells t-shirts through his eBay store Honeville1.

“I was expecting a slowdown, but within an hour of being opted-in I had my first cha-ching,” Danny said. Moreover, Hone says his overall sales for the last 30 days are up and especially likes the savings eBay Payments provides him.

“When I decided to sign up for managed payments, it was really about the 30 cents savings. I do more than 5,000 sales in a year, so that savings adds up to over $1,500 back in my pocket. If you’re a higher volume seller, that 30 cents adds up fast. It’s a huge advantage for me.”

Danny Hone, eBay Seller

Reduced Transaction Fees

Overall, eBay says sellers in managed payments are enjoying reduced costs:

• A 25% reduction in their payment processing fees
• This reduction represents approximately $175,000 in seller savings to date
• This translates to almost $4 million in seller savings on an annual basis.

For invited sellers who are interested in understanding their own savings in managed payments, eBay created a calculator to show seller savings here.

eBay further noted that offering more payments options is also proving to be a driver for buyers.

For instance, over 1 in 10 eligible transactions are being completed on Apple Pay, a new option for buyers using their iPhones to shop in the new experience.

eBay believes this positive momentum is because of the simplified checkout experience enabled by managed payments.

“Everything is working well. Visibility and access to my funds from the Payments tab in My eBay is really nice. Our customers are easily paying with their credit card without any problems or issues.”

Brian Kearns, who sells auto parts on eBay store ReadyToMount

Sellers on Internet Forums Not as Positive

Certainly, eBay is interested to provide a positive view of the new eBay Payments experience. And one should not discount that these are real sellers and that many sellers that opted in are happy with the new experience.

But there have also been a fair amount of negative comments in Facebook Groups and Internet forums regarding eBay Payments.

Most of the negative experiences by sellers stem from the inability to accept PayPal and not being able to use eBay’s Global Shipping program. Some sellers in Facebook groups claim lower sales since changing to the eBay Payments.

The good news is that eBay has been very accommodating if sellers really wanted out of the program and usually within 72 hours allowed sellers to revert to the PayPal processed payment system.

This is a tough time for sellers to be part of a new program. Many sellers rely on holiday sales and opting into a beta is a risky proposition.

And some sellers were quick to condemn the program after just a couple of days, but sellers should really give it about a month before judging success or failure.

It would always be a hard sell to transition long time eBay sellers from PayPal to eBay Payments.

One wonders why eBay made it more difficult by choosing the holiday season to start the beta with the limitations of not being able to accept PayPal and not being able to use Global Shipping. It seems that could have been managed better.

READ MORE: eBay Begins Intermediating Payments on Its U.S. Marketplace

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