eBay's testing Amazon Prime-like shipping service in Germany
Amazon Prime offers many benefits to its subscribers, starting with super-fast shipping on web purchases. Not surprisingly, retail competitor eBay must try to match this. Over in Germany, the company has started trialling a program slightly similar to Prime, reportedly called eBay +, which will be launching in the second half of this year. Buyers there are said to have to pay between €15 and €20 (roughly $17 and $22) per year, an amount that would be reasonable considering the service's main purpose: free, fast shipping and other undisclosed exclusive benefits.
Meanwhile, sellers who participate in the loyalty program can reap a variety of rewards, including being able to have their products highlighted on search results -- the site does plan to charge them "a small annual fee" to be a part of it, however. For now, eBay's testing it amongst top-rated German sellers, but more groups could be let in before the program's wider rollout. We reached out to eBay to find out if this could be headed to the US or other parts of the world, and we'll let you know if and when it gets back to us.
[Image credit: Associated Press]
