eBay's service to deliver everything from big-screen TVs to groceries on the same day is officially dead

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AP

eBay has officially shut down eBay Now, a same-day delivery service that allowed online shoppers to have everything from electronic devices and office products to groceries and toys quickly shuttled to their doorsteps, according to the company's website on Monday.

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eBay Now, launched in 2012, was supposed to give eBay a service similar to other same-day delivery services like Postmates and Instacart. Tech giants such as Amazon and Google have also ramped up efforts to offer online shoppers same-day delivery in recent years.

eBay tried to differentiate itself by partnering with large-scale retailers, like Walgreens, Home Depot, and Best Buy, but failed to gain much traction, as its complicated logistics made it difficult to scale quickly. The service was only available in a few cities including San Francisco, New York, and Chicago.

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There were already signs that eBay's commitment to same-day delivery was waning. Last year the company shut down the eBay Now mobile app in December, and stopped expanding its pilot program.

The company said on Monday that it will shut down all eBay Now services, including its pilot program in Brooklyn, and put a heavier focus on in-store pickup services instead.

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"While we saw encouraging results with the eBay Now service, we always intended it as a pilot, and we are now exploring delivery and pick-up/drop-off programs that are relevant to many more of our 25 million sellers, and that cover a wider variety of inventory that consumers tell us they want," it said.

According to CNET, eBay's decision to walk away from same-day deliveries was based on the fact that it's a model better-suited for smaller items like groceries. Also, a lot of eBay's merchants sell collectibles and antique items from home, making it difficult to set up the on-demand, same-day logistics work on its service, it said.

As part of its announcement on Monday, eBay also shut down three other mobile apps - eBay Motors, eBay Fashion, and eBay Valet - continuing its effort to narrow down its business to its main marketplace segment. Earlier this month, eBay sold its enterprise business to a private-equity firm for $925 million, and spun off its payments service PayPal, its fastest growing business.

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