eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, was recognized by the U.S. Postal Service this week for driving technology innovation with the USPS to make shipping and billing faster and easier for sellers on eBay. Patrick R. Donahoe, Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer, USPS, presented the prestigious Partnership for Progress award to eBay at the annual National Postal Forum.
eBay received the recognition for technology and financial innovations for eBay and USPS customers, driven by one-bill and one-click solutions for shipping costs and label printing. These innovations save customers large and small significant time and money, with almost 8 million labels generated during 2004, the year eBay and USPS joined forces to offer comprehensive, integrated shipping and label solutions. Since then, the program has grown tremendously.
"This is an example of eBay and USPS continuously improving the products, integration, and pricing for our customers," said Jay Hanson, vice president, eBay Managed Marketplaces, who accepted the award on Monday. "eBay's innovations are immensely popular because they allow our customers to save considerable time and money, whether they're an individual entrepreneur, a small business or a retailer. This ultimately means better and faster service for shoppers."
The prestigious award represents the USPS' dedication to recognizing innovation in a rapidly evolving technology environment. "eBay has been a true technology innovator, working with the USPS to help our customers save money while generating more than $800 million in postage last year alone," said the Postmaster General. "Our collaboration with eBay demonstrates the transformative power that technology can have for our industry."
The Partnership for Progress award recognizes eBay's ongoing enhancements to make shipping easier and simpler for sellers, and more reliable and affordable for buyers. A second program launched in October 2011 - eBay Fast 'N Free - delivers innovation to the customer experience by highlighting listings with free shipping and fast delivery time. Through extensive data mining that factors buyer and seller location, shipping history, and seasonality, eBay is able to identify listings that will arrive in four or fewer days. More than 3 million items have sold Fast 'N Free since the program launched.