eBay is telling shoppers to go shop elsewhere. The San Jose-based website has introduced a new local shopping tool GiftsNearby, which, as its name implies, shows users where to find gifts at nearby stores. GiftsNearby shows local retail prices for each item, directions to the closest store with inventory availability, and an option to browse eBay for the gift, according to The New York Times.
If you ordered a gift from eBay today, it's very unlikely you'll get your purchase under the Christmas tree by Saturday morning. If you enter a zip code on the eBay site, you'll see if it's in stock at a store down the street, be able to compare prices between local stores, and even get driving directions. Unfortunately, this will require having to leave your computer and make the purchase the old-fashioned way, but it's better than telling your loved ones that Santa just couldn't get you a gift on time.
GiftsNearby is powered by Milo.com, a shopping search engine eBay acquired earlier this month for $75 million. Using Milo's existing partnerships, the feature only shows products that are actually in-stock at 25 national retailers. Best Buy is the only retailer that is working with eBay to let users reserve and purchase the gift online; they can then skip the line, pick up the item up at their local store, and earn eBay Bucks in the process.
It looks like eBay would rather have potential customers get their gifts from elsewhere than be unhappy that the website can't deliver on time. eBay has also added Milo technology to its RedLaser barcode scanning app, which lets consumers comparison shop, for iOS and Android.
https://www.techspot.com/news/41714-ebay-tells-late-shoppers-to-go-elsewhere.html
