Ebay has decided to close Instant Sale, a service on the site used to quickly sell used electronics for cash that had generated nearly 4 million offers since rolling out in 2011. The move comes just weeks after the online auction site revealed a new layout reminiscent of pinboard-style website Pinterest.
In a statement e-mailed to TechCrunch, an eBay spokesperson said Instant Sale was discontinued in North America based on the results of recent selling pilots as well as the company’s development of more simplified and personalized selling experiences. That said, eBay will continue to work with CExchange to explore additional selling options and programs to give customers the best value and experience.
True to their word, there’s virtually no sign of Instant Sale anywhere on eBay’s website. The main landing page for the service as well as links associated with it now redirect back to the homepage.
AllTechWholesale, one of eBay’s partners in the service, told the publication the service was discontinued on February 28. In an e-mailed statement, they said the service has been discontinued but that may change in the future. The only thing they were told was that it was shutting down at the end of last month – no explanation was given.
The service first surfaced as a pilot program in October 2010 as a way for people to trade in goods for instant cash instead of having to wait for an auction to run its course. The service was conceived by a team of eBay employees, we're told.
https://www.techspot.com/news/51860-ebay-closes-instant-sale-service-following-site-redesign.html
