eBay India takes cue from Amazon, Flipkart, begins 9-hr delivery service in India

Online marketplace eBay India has launched its '9 Hour Delivery' service in India.

The e-commerce giant follows the lead of other e-tailors like Snapdeal and Tradus who have recently introduced same day shipping and delivery. Other biggies like Flipkart and Myntra already offer assured 24-hour delivery on select products in some cities.

The trend seemed to have kicked off with Amazon India guaranteeing same day shipping for select cities back in December 2013. Amazon has also been in the news recently for testing the concept of deliveries through unmanned drones called Octocopters, which can deliver packages under 2.3Kgs in less than 30 minutes.

However, the service could take up to five years to start. The US Federal Aviation Administration is yet to approve the use of unmanned drones for civilian purposes. eBay’s 9 hour delivery applies to purchases of select technology products within nine hours of it being purchased on eBay India, and as of now is restricted to Mumbai. The company has set up a microsite - www.ebay.in/Mumbai - to feature products available under the service.

Under the scheme, Mumbai customers will receive before 9PM products purchased online before 12 noon the same day. Purchases made after 12 noon will be delivered the next day. There are no additional shipping charges or fees levied on this service.

"The '9 Hour Delivery' concept gives consumers a faster and improved shopping experience. This is the first phase of the service, which is available to our Mumbai customers on popular technology product categories and will be scaled to key cities in India in a few months. The service is a good option for convenience oriented savvy shoppers who are in a hurry to get their hands on their favourite gadgets," Vidmay Naini, business head - technology, PaisaPay & PowerShip, eBay India, said.

The service is available on popular models under product categories across mobiles, laptops, digital cameras and tablets.