eBay Invites Sellers To Join May & June Sales Events, But Watch Out For Fine Print On Fees
eBay is inviting sellers across multiple categories to take part in upcoming sale events, offering increased visibility for those who are willing to offer discounts - but as usual, the devil is in the details and sellers should read the fine print on fees before signing on the dotted line.
Several sellers in certain Motors Parts and Accessories categories report receiving a message about the May Powersports coupon opportunity - requiring a 10% discount for participation, with eBay funding a portion of the coupon.
We’re inviting you to participate in our upcoming 10% coupon on all Powersports and other vehicle parts from May 27, 2025 - June 9, 2025. This opportunity is available to select sellers only, and eBay will fund a portion of the discount as well as provide extra visibility across eBay to drive buyers to participating sellers’ inventory.
Coupon Event Offer Details
- Seller funds 70%, eBay funds 30% of the 10% off coupon
- eBay will take care of the marketing as well as banner placements
- Sellers’ full store inventory in the eligible categories listed below will be opted into the event
- Buyers will only be able to use the coupon 2 times
- There is no minimum dollar amount, and the maximum discount will be $75 per transaction
Whole store inventory in the following categories will be included in the promo:
- ATV, Side-by-Side & UTV Parts & Accessories (CatID: 43962)
- Aviation Parts & Accessories (CatID: 26435)
- Boat Parts (CatID: 26443)
- Commercial Truck Parts (CatID: 184646)
- Golf Cart Parts & Accessories (CatID: 170140)
- Motorcycle & Scooter Parts & Accessories (CatID: 10063)
- Motorcycle Maintenance, Stands & Towing (CatID: 25622)
- Personal Watercraft Parts (CatID: 124107)
- RV, Trailer & Camper Parts & Accessories (CatID: 49759)
- Snowmobile Parts (CatID: 100448)
That might sound like a tempting offer to some sellers, but it comes along with several major caveats.
First, you don't get to pick specific items to put on sale - the discount will automatically apply to your entire store inventory in those categories.
Second, this coupon will "stack" with other discounts and coupons, so you'll want to carefully review any other promotions you may be running at the same time to make sure the total combined discounted would still be within an acceptable margin range for your business.
And most importantly - due to how eBay sets up these offers, you will be invoiced for your portion of the discount in one lump sum at a later date and you will be paying the Final Value Fee on the full not discounted price, including shipping and tax.
How the Coupon Will Function
- The coupon can apply, or stack, to any existing sales or promotions you already have in place. Please keep this in mind and consider your existing offers and ads budget.
- Example: a $100 item is purchased
- The seller will receive the full amount of $100 even though the buyer will only pay $90 if the code is applied.
- A FVF will apply on the $100 amount.
- The seller will be invoiced for their share of the $10 once the promotion has ended and after returns have been processed.
That part is important enough to bear repeating: if a buyer purchases a $100 item and applies the code, they will only pay $90 but the seller will receive $100 (plus tax and/or shipping) in their payment account - and the seller will pay the full Final Value Fee for their category on that $100 (plus tax and/or shipping).
Since eBay is covering 30% and the seller covers 70%, in this example the seller would then be invoiced at a later date for the $7 that would be their portion of the coupon on that $100 item.
But it gets even more complicated - sellers who have participated in similar sales events in the past say they were simply billed one lump sum after the promotion ended, with no documentation or reporting showing a line by line break down of how eBay calculated the amount owed.
Since the seller receives the full amount up front, there is also nothing on the individual order or any Seller Hub reports that indicates the buyer used a coupon, so when that lump sum invoice shows up, the seller simply has to take eBay's word for it - there is absolutely zero ability to cross check or verify for yourself how many/which orders used the discount, making it impossible to do even the most basic return on investment (ROI) calculation.
Liz Morton
Not only is this set up an ethically dubious way for eBay to do business with their sellers, it also raises serious questions about the ethics and accuracy of their quarterly financial reporting to investors and the SEC.
eBay defines Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) as "the total value of all paid transactions between users on our platforms during the applicable period inclusive of shipping fees and taxes."
So how does the way eBay structures discounts and coupons impact the way GMV is counted?
Let's say for example a seller has an item that would normally sell for a total of $100, including shipping and tax.
If that seller simply ran their own 10% off sale using eBay provided markdown tools or if the buyer received a full eBay-funded 10% coupon - the buyer would pay $90, the seller would received and pay Final Value Fees on $90 and eBay would count $90 for GMV based on that being the total value of the paid transaction.
It's not entirely clear if it would be counted the same way in a scenario where the seller would be receiving $100, being charged FVF based on $100, and paying eBay back a portion of the 10% discount after the promotion ends - but I suspect it's likely eBay would count that as $100 in GMV if they think they can get away with it.
This all comes at a time when eBay continues to struggle with lagging GMV growth, but CEO Jamie Iannone finds himself in a tough spot as he has also claimed to have abandoned "unhealthy tactics" to buy traffic (and GMV) with frequent eBay funded discounts like his predecessor Devin Wenig used in 2018-2019.
Wenig leaned heavily on sitewide 15-20% "flash sales" throughout the year, but those promotions 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.
That strategy was considered such a failure that Iannone felt the need to explicitly distance himself from it when speaking to investors in Q2 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, Jamie didn't completely abandon them - he's just finding new and different ways to slice and dice the same rehashed failed strategies.
Liz Morton
And if all of that isn't enough, sellers who wish to take part in the sale event are required to review and sign legally binding contracts in order to participate - part of which typically includes a non-disclosure agreement preventing them from talking about their experience with the promotion.
It also appears that this Powersports event isn't the only offer eBay is currently sending out to sellers.
Ryan at the Galaxy CDS Rocks and Flips Reseller Talk Podcast also recently reported receiving an invite to participate in a June seller promotion which requires a 15% discount with no contribution from eBay for any portion of the coupon.
From the screenshare in Ryan's video, it looks like participating sellers will receive the full amount of the sale and then be invoiced for the 15% discount at a later date - so most of the same caveats still apply, including the fact that you will be paying full Final Value Fees on the non-discounted amount and will not receive any reporting or documentation showing a breakdown of how eBay calculates the amount you owe after the promotion ends.
So the question remains - is it worth it for sellers to pay final value fees on the full pre-discount amount in exchange for (hopefully) additional visibility and sales volume driven by eBay's marketing efforts?
I don't expect we'll get an answer from participating sellers about how these promotions end up performing, considering the NDA requirement, but if you'd like to share your thoughts or results privately - contact VAR!
