Making shopping on eBay simpler

Imagine you went to a grocery store for your weekly shopping.  Now imagine you are in that store without a shopping cart.  Maybe you juggle things in the air as you make your way to pay for them.  Or maybe you bring one item to the cash register, pay for it, then go back, choose another item, pay for it, and so forth.  Yikes!

Now let’s turn the spotlight on ourselves.  Sure you can use Buy it Now to check out quickly if you are buying a single item from one seller, but what if you are buying multiple items from the same seller, or if you are buying multiple items from multiple sellers?  And what if you had won an auction, committed to buying an item with Buy it Now, and then wanted to simply check out and pay for all your items at the same time?  Enter the eBay Shopping Cart, to make your life easier.

The great thing about a shopping cart is that it’s pretty self-explanatory.  Everyone knows what they are, even if they are known by different names (for example, they are shopping baskets in the United Kingdom).  The tricky thing about the eBay shopping cart is understanding how it works with the various different buying formats available on eBay (Buy it Now, auctions, and best offer).  Luckily the eBay Shopping Cart team has created a comprehensive FAQ on the subject that you can find here.

Here is a summary of the relevant features:

• First off, Buy it Now is not going away.  The eBay shopping cart offers an additional choice to eBay shoppers.  We left the Buy it Now button in the same place, and placed the Add to Cart button right below.  That way, if you only want to buy one thing, you simply click the Buy it Now button just like always.
•  When you click Buy it Now you are committing to buy the item, same as always.  You can then pay right away or add more items to your eBay shopping cart and check them out all together.
• If you are considering buying an item, but not ready to commit, you can hit the Add to Cart button, which places the item in your eBay shopping cart for later.  Use the shopping cart feature to browse inventory, save items to purchase later, comparison shop, adjust your quantities, and check your total bill.  When you are ready to check out, you can ring up all your purchases or choose to pay for only certain items or to pay a particular seller.
• Remember: if you have not finished checking out with your eBay shopping cart, you have not actually purchased its contents!  This is important since some items are limited in quantity.  If the item in your cart happens to be the last one, someone could swoop in and grab it!
• Conveniently, though, eBay lets you know if it is the “last item” or “ending soon” with a note in the eBay shopping cart, so you stay aware of the scarcity of the item.
• Who doesn’t love a deal?  The shopping cart feature helps you surface discounts such as seller promotions and combined shipping.
• When you bid on an auction, the item shows up in your eBay shopping cart.  If you win the auction, you can conveniently pay for it directly from your eBay shopping cart.

With the new eBay Shopping cart you can have fun browsing items, comparing prices, then taking all of your items through one checkout session when you’re ready to pay.

Read an interview with eBay Shopping Cart product manager Chris Rice over on the eBay Ink blog for a behind-the-scenes look at the roll-out of this new product feature.  And take a look at the video, below, which further explains some of the eBay Shopping Cart features and how you can use them. If you have any questions for Chris, let us know in the comments below.