eBay has thrown down the gauntlet against Amazon Australia, following the local launch of its new membership delivery service ‘eBay Plus’. Initially $29 annually, members receive unlimited free delivery and returns for items bought via Australian eBay sellers.
Scheduled to go live in mid-June, eBay Plus memberships revert to $49 after the introductory period ends.
The news makes Australia the second country in the world to receive eBay Plus, following its launch in Germany in 2015.
eBAY ANZ Chief, Tim MacKinnon, affirms Aussies will now receive complimentary shipping and returns on over 15 million items.
As per afr, eBay Senior Director of Product and Shipping, David Ramage, claims e-commerce in Australia is “underpenetrated”, with only 8% of retail expenditure attributed to online-shopping.
Ramagage asserts eBay Plus endeavours to lift the statistic to 15% – 20% over time.
The soon to be launching ‘eBay Plus’ takes on the likes of Amazon’s Prime service, which offers users expedited shipping, product discounts and access to Amazon Video for a monthly fee.
Whilst Amazon Prime Video is available for Aussies, its wider Prime service is set to launch later this year.
eBay sellers will reportedly not receive an incremental portion of Plus proceeds, with membership fees reportedly funding the new program.
Consensus is, eBay Plus will roll-out locally ahead of Amazon’s Prime membership service. The later is tipped to be more expensive, however, does include access to Amazon’s video streaming library.
As an added sweetener, eBay Plus members are set to receive additional product discounts, and accrue double Flybuys points.
Further information, and pre-registration, is available on eBay’s website .
