ebay still tryinmg to fix things on the fly... where they have zero business to begin with. hilarious!
eBay Now: The Promise and Pitfalls of Same-Day Delivery
By Harry McCracken
Dec. 04, 2012
teaser:
Wait a sec. How can eBay turn a profit when it's buying products at full retail price, selling them without any markup and charging little or nothing for delivery?
Well... it can't. The company says that it's just trying to get the service rolling, and will figure out ways to make money later. For instance, it might establish deals which involve retailers paying a finder's fee, or it might raise the delivery charge for at least some products. For now, the $5 fee even covers bulky stuff like 50" HDTVs.
In other words, eBay Now doesn't yet have a workable business model in place, which gives it something in common with Kozmo even though its startup costs are presumably vastly lower.
Meet Kaushik Mishra, a New School scholarship student who earns extra money as an eBay Now courier in New York City. Which means if you order $25 worth of merchandise and are willing to cough up a $5 delivery fee (plus tip), Mishra will bring you whatever your heart desires from eBay's partner stores - box stores like Best Buy, Target, KMart, and Home Depot) - wherever you happen to be in Manhattan, Queens, or Brooklyn within about an hour. (The service is also available in the Bay Area and is rolling out to more locations soon.)
"Whenever you get orders for condoms and lube, those customers expect you to be there within an hour," ...