It’s official, eBay has dropped the Fast ‘N Free tag from its platform. Shoppers will no longer see the eBay Fast ‘N Free badge on listings that provide fast delivery. Instead, they’ll display tags such as Free 3 day shipping and Free 4 day shipping on relevant listings based on a shopper’s zip code. Shoppers may also see the more uncommon 2-day and 1-day delivery promises on eBay.
This change benefits buyers who want to know exactly how many days their item will take to reach them. Whereas Fast ‘N Free doesn’t highlight any exact days for shipping speed, the new tags show a timeline expectation at a glance.
Before: eBay Fast ‘N Free
Previously, eBay displayed a Fast ‘N Free tag over a guaranteed by date. In order to get a Fast ‘N Free tag, listings had to qualify for eBay Guaranteed Delivery.
Today: Free 3 day shipping / Free 4 day shipping
Now, the new listings show the exact days of shipping an item will take, such as Free 2 day shipping, Free 3 day shipping, and Free 4 day shipping in bright green.
Note that Deliverr focuses on Free 3 day and 4 day shipping.
Why it’s important to get the eBay Free 3 day shipping and Free 4 day shipping tags
Much like with eBay Guaranteed Delivery and eBay Fast ‘N Free, getting fast shipping tags on your listings brings many benefits.
1) Increased trust
Trust is particularly tricky to establish on eBay. Not only is buying from an unfamiliar seller online risky, but shoppers often class eBay as a free-for-all platform. The fact that anyone can list pretty much anything on eBay can make shoppers more risk-averse (we’ve all been there with a second-hand top that looks nothing like the photograph).
The eBay fast tag signals trust to shoppers, because of the eBay association and guarantee. It acts as an official stamp of approval that you’re a fast shipper, a vetted seller, and someone to trust.
2) Search visibility
The eBay fast tag, alongside the delivery date estimation, makes your listings stand out in the search results among other listings.
Shoppers looking for fast delivery will immediately recognize the tag, while other shoppers will see the tag and subconsciously compare slower listings against your own.
3) Reduced abandonment
According to eBay, 43% of shoppers have abandoned their cart based on delivery time. This could be out of a need or want for expedited shipping, or simply because your competitors are delivering quicker.
Free 3 and 4 day shipping removes this source of cart abandonment, increasing your chances of getting shoppers over the purchase line.
4) Rank higher
While there’s no direct correlation between fast shipping tags and higher search ranking, the tags can indirectly improve your eBay SEO.
Ranking high in eBay’s search results requires a combination of free shipping, fast handling times, positive reviews, competitive pricing, and SEO-optimized listings.
5) Enhanced customer experience
The customer experience is inextricably linked to the delivery experience. In fact, more than a third of customers will never buy from an online seller again following poor delivery.
By qualifying for eBay’s fast tags, you immediately enhance the customer experience through fast and free deliveries. And, we all know that positive customer experience is the cornerstone of social proof and referral marketing.
6) Higher average order value
Ninety-three percent of shoppers are encouraged to buy more products when free shipping options are available – that’s nearly all of your customers.
Free shipping creates a sense of value that makes shoppers feel like they’re getting a bargain. This gives them more money to play with and ignites the reciprocity principle, whereby they spend more to say thanks for their freebie – increasing your average order value.
7) More sales
Finally, eBay fast tags increase sales, there’s no doubt about it. At Deliverr, we’ve seen increases of 112% for art supplies after adding eBay fast shipping tags, and that’s just one category.
eBay Free 3 day shipping and Free 4 day shipping provides shoppers with a guarantee of fast delivery, so they can shop with confidence. It reduces the risk of ordering from you and provides a set timeline for them to expect their items.
This helps with conversions with last-minute purchases and impatient shoppers. The proof is in the numbers; We’ve seen some merchant conversions double when they enable fast shipping.
The above benefits, coupled with increased visibility in the search results, all feed into a positive customer journey, making it easier, more compelling, and more worthwhile to buy from you.
Challenges of eBay fast tags
While eBay’s new fast tags come with significant advantages and help you to provide a better service for your customers, resulting in increased conversions, it can be challenging meeting the requirements – especially when it comes to shipping.
Reducing your handling time to 1-day or fewer, using multiple warehouses to expand your customer reach, and offering expedited shipping for free can drain your profits, time, and morale.
Fortunately, there are ways to overcome these challenges to make things work for your store. These include:
- Using a fulfillment cost calculator to calculate the cheapest method for qualifying for fast tags.
- Reducing your eBay seller fees to cover the cost of free shipping.
- Using an outsourced fulfillment partner to meet the fast shipping requirements for you.
How to activate eBay fast tags on your listings
According to eBay, “We are changing the design to highlight shipping speed, such as ‘Free 3 day shipping’ or ‘Free 4 day shipping.’ There is no change to how we estimate delivery speed or the protections available for qualifying listings.”
eBay fast tags operate differently from programs such as Amazon Prime and Walmart TwoDay Delivery because they’re awarded, rather than applied for.
To receive an eBay fast tag, you must ship items in 4 days or less for free, and then your listings will automatically show the shipping speed messages.
How to offer free shipping
Offering free shipping can be an expensive pill for many eBay sellers to swallow. However, the following cost-cutting tactics can help:
- Reducing your eBay seller fees, using zero insertion fees, annual subscriptions, and top-rated seller benefits.
- Using non-branded boxes to reduce your packaging costs and to streamline packing; and
- Adopting all-inclusive pricing to incorporate your shipping costs into the product price, without pricing yourself out of the market.
What does this mean in practice?
This means you need the tools, capacity, and margins to ship orders quickly, for free.
For in-house fulfillment, this requires a seamless pick, pack, and ship operation that delivers orders within 3-days, regardless of how busy you are or how much it costs. Manageable for a large eCommerce brand, but challenging for a smaller business with limited resources, cash flow, and profit margins.
Or, you can use Deliverr to make your listing automatically eligible for eBay fast shipping tags.
Deliverr’s direct eBay integration directly connects with your eBay store or multi-channel system to import products, switch on fast tags, and download/update orders.
This powers you to:
- Deliver items and provide tracking information in-line with eBay Guaranteed Delivery requirements, to qualify for fast tags;
- Save storage, packaging, and shipping costs through Deliverr’s economies of scale and all-inclusive fulfilment pricing, to offset the costs of free shipping;
- Surpass seller expectations by offering speeds of up to 2-day and next-day across the US, to outpace your competition; and
- Grow your eBay store, product selection, and sales channels without worrying about the additional staff, space, and requirements needed to maintain your fast shipping tags.
eBay Free 3 day shipping and Free 4 day shipping tags are small badges with a big impact. Aside from increasing visibility in the search results, fast tags increase trust, reduce abandonment, enhance customer experience, increase order value, and boost sales.
Plus, you automatically achieve a fast shipping tag as soon as your listings qualify. All you need to do is ship orders fast and for free, either in-house or using an eBay fulfillment service. It couldn’t be easier.
The easiest way to get fast tags on your listings
The most straightforward way to get on eBay Free 3 day shipping and Free 4 day shipping is to use a fulfillment partner that guarantees delivery dates on behalf of your brand. You simply ship your inventory to their warehouses, for them to fulfill orders for you.
Here are 3 ways Deliverr eliminates headaches for sellers who want to succeed on eBay.
- Deliverr can provide rate tables, so that buyers see accurate delivery dates based on where the inventory is.
- Deliverr has a 95% coverage rate for fast delivery across the USA, which means more shoppers will see those fast shipping tags on your listings. (Note: See updated coverage during COVID-19)
- Deliverr has transparent pricing, so you know exactly how much your margins are from the beginning.
Plus, merchants who use Deliverr for eBay fast tags also get a competitive advantage when it comes to multi-channel selling, since they can also access fast shipping programs on other marketplaces to improve conversions across your business.
