Deal or Desperation? eBay Cuts 10% Off Gift Cards To Juice Q2 Numbers
UPDATE 6-30-25
While the banner still indicates the eBay Gift Card coupon is still active, the discount is no longer being automatically applied and clicking "promo available" does not work either - so it appears eBay may have ended this promotion a few hours early.
eBay puts a twist on discounting strategy, offering 10% off purchases of eBay Gift Cards in last minute Q2 2025 revenue and GMV push.
The new promotion launched today, hoping to entice shoppers to buy gift cards before the ends of the month.
Less guesswork. More celebration. A treat for any occasion.
Max $20 off. Ends 6/30 or while supplies last. Terms apply*
How to redeem your discount:
- Shop for eBay Gift Cards on ebay.launchgiftcards.com
- Pay for your eBay Gift cards at checkout by 2:00PM Pacific Time on June 30, 2025.
- The discount will be automatically applied at checkout.
Promotion Terms & Conditions:
This promotion is a 10% discount applied to the purchase of eBay Gift Cards valued at $100+ on https://ebay.launchgiftcards.com/. This promotion is valid from 9AM Pacific time on June 18, 2025 through 2:00PM Pacific Time on June 30, 2025, or while supplies last.
The discount must be used within a single transaction (which can include multiple Gift Cards) and will be applied automatically to your order total presented at checkout. The maximum value of the discount applied to any transaction may not exceed $20. Discount may not be combined with any other coupon, discount, or offer. Limit one discount redemption per user.
There's no code required to receive the discount - just add gift cards in a qualifying amount to your cart and eBay will automatically apply the discount.
Shoppers who wish to take advantage of the deal will want to note the "while supplies last" language as a similar promotion for Mother's Day in 2024 "sold out" in less than 24 hours, leaving many disappointed buyers.
Liz Morton
Gift cards are a particularly clever way to go about trying to goose quarterly financial metrics as there is typically some period of time between gift card purchase and redemption, and a certain percentage of gift card balances may never be redeemed - allowing eBay to sit on that income for a longer period of time.
The move comes as eBay CEO Jamie Iannone continues to lean heavily into discounting to boost GMV and Revenue, despite previously saying he was moving away from such "legacy" tactics deployed by his predecessor.
Liz Morton
Iannone had been highly critical of previous CEO Devin Wenig's frequent discounts (paid by eBay) to try to attract more buyers in 2018-2019.
Those 15-20% off flash sales proved to be a double edged sword - once buyers get used to receiving discounts, they'll often wait for a sale before making a purchase, creating "one and done" or only occasional buying patterns.
Wenig's strategy was considered such a failure that Iannone felt the need to explicitly distance himself from it when he took the helm, telling investors in 2021:
We've discontinued legacy tactics that led to low value, infrequent or one and done buyers. Our buyer base is starting to evolve based on this strategy. These high-volume buyers are growing compared to a year-ago and their spend on eBay is growing even faster. This higher-quality mix of buyers increases value for sellers and will lead to improved health of our ecosystem over the long-term...
..This is something that I laid out last July when we talked about the tech-led reimagination as being focused on turning buyers into lifelong enthusiasts on the platform and moving away from the tactics that we had in 2019 what was really just about the number of active buyers even low value buyers or one and done buyers.
However, despite his criticism of those past tactics, it's hard not to see that eBay is increasingly putting themselves in a similar position with frequent discounts on both the seller side (Final Value and Ad Fees) as well as recent eBay-funded buyer facing coupons which have also led to disappointing experiences with "while supplies last" disclaimers allowing the offer to end early.
Liz Morton
And eBay has been throwing money at making a splash with the expansion of Klarna partnership to the US with a tiered discount offering to boost Buy Now Pay Later adoption in Q2 as well.
Liz Morton
While gaining new buyers, boosting GMV and promoting new features or payment methods may be worthy goals for the company (and may even be worth allocating additional marketing or discount dollars), as always the devil is in the details and execution.
If Iannone is confident his discounting strategy will create long-term, sustainable growth without the significant downside risks he criticized his predecessor for taking, then he should have no problem candidly discussing how much growth can be attributed to these initiatives as well as costs and return on investment on the next earnings call.
If instead he and/or new CFO Peggy Alford try to present any (presumed) growth as proof their "magical" strategy is working while not disclosing any of that crucial context - investors would be wise to dig deeper, demand honesty and transparency, and take a hard look at the near to long-term prospects for the company if eBay remains under current leadership.
