Celebrating sellers, communities and what’s next
October was packed with energy, inspiration and moments to celebrate, and I’m excited to share the highlights with all of you.
The month kicked off with a celebration of passion and success at the eBay for Business Awards 2025. Congratulations to all of our winners! Your creativity and dedication continues to inspire our community and contribute to eBay being such a thriving marketplace.
I’m particularly excited about eBay AI Activate, with our next cohort of business sellers being onboarded from mid-November. At the same time, you’ll see new features including customised tools that integrate with your eBay account and a training hub to guide you through the workspace. Spaces are limited, register now to get a head start on turning insights into action ahead of peak!
We were proud to sponsor and headline at the UK Black Business Show Week in London, held from Monday 13 to Saturday 18 October. The event celebrated Black entrepreneurship, businesses and professional growth, bringing together more than 15,000 attendees. It was inspiring to hear so many voices, perspectives and ideas come together in one space. Meeting sellers and entrepreneurs from all walks of life continually reminds me that building opportunity for everyone is what drives our work.
We also took to the main stage at the Blue Earth Summit as this year’s Circularity Partner. From Wednesday 15 to Friday 17 October, the Summit brought together over 4,500 attendees, including over 1,300 businesses alongside investors and innovators focused on scaling solutions for a sustainable future. It was energising to explore how we can accelerate circularity without sacrificing growth, while diving into the solutions needed to scale Recommerce and where eBay can best support.
And as we look towards the busiest months of the year, there’s a huge opportunity for you to make the most of peak season. Our top tips? Connect with your community, enable personalised offers and expand your reach globally. You can read more on how to stand out this peak season by visiting our peak delivery guide.
From preparing listings to ensuring smooth fulfilment, a little planning now can really pay off when buyer demand peaks.
The updates don’t stop there. This month’s blog is packed with plenty more to explore.
As ever, thank you for selling on eBay and for being a part of our community.
Eve Williams, General Manager, eBay UK
Celebrating our eBay for Business Award winners
To start, I want to celebrate the incredible sellers recognised at this year’s eBay for Business Awards 2025 in Mayfair. Here’s a look at this year’s winners:
- Above & Beyond Award: Curated By Kate
- Business Growth Award: Cannon’s Camera House
- eBay Pioneer Award: RCScrapyard
- Community Contribution Award: Retro Recycling
- Start-Up Award: TCGX Ltd
- Social Impact Award: Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice
- Judges Choice Award: Sofab Sports
Congratulations to all our winners, and thank you to every seller who makes our community what it is.
Catch up on eBay OPEN25 UK highlights
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us in person and online for eBay OPEN25 UK. If you couldn’t make it, every session is now available on demand via our eBay for Business UK YouTube channel. From AI updates and peak prep to eBay Live tips and seller insights, there’s plenty to explore.
Catch up, relive the highlights and stay ahead with the latest updates and insights.
Last week to apply for this year’s Up & Running Grant
Submit your Up & Running Grant application before the deadline.
We’re giving 25 UK sellers a £10,000 grant to help take their business to the next level in 2026. What would this money mean for your business? Could it fund new equipment or technology, help expand your product range or give something back to your community? Whatever growth looks like to you, this is your chance to make it happen.
Applications close on Friday 21 November, with winners announced by 20 December. We’re looking forward to seeing your applications, good luck.
There’s still time to join eBay AI Activate
We really want to see our community of small businesses on eBay win, so if you haven’t signed up for eBay AI Activate yet, now’s your chance. The fully-funded programme gives eBay UK business sellers access to advanced AI tools powered by OpenAI and expert training from eBay and our seller community. This means you can save time, automate tasks and make confident, data-driven decisions. This partnership is a global first, designed to give the community of small businesses on eBay access to the same tools as the largest retailers.
There are only 10,000 spaces available, and they’re filling up fast. This is your opportunity to explore practical, cutting-edge AI tools whilst engaging across our seller community to build your knowledge and skills together.
Business sellers: Sign up for eBay AI Activate
eBay Live in action: October’s highlights
From workshops to wardrobes and fandoms, eBay Live kept the energy high throughout October.
At eBay OPEN25 UK, more than 100 sellers joined us for a hands-on workshop covering onboarding tips. We shared guidance on setting a cadence for streaming, so buyers can get familiar with your Shop and engagement best practices, like using surveys to capture feedback early on. For the first time on our Live tour, a seller streamed directly from the eBay Live van and sold sneakers to an audience in real time.
The session showed just how easy it is to start selling live, whether you’re using a simple starter kit or a more advanced setup using Open Broadcast Software and pro cameras.
The energy didn’t stop there. On Thursday 9 October, eBay partnered with the King’s Trust and Trinny Woodall for the Ultimate Designer Sale, a live auction of pre-loved fashion supporting the Change a Girl’s Life campaign. The livestream, hosted by Trinny Woodall and Gaby Roslin, took place in Soho, London with a staggering 13,321 viewers and one special jacket got 85 bids.
On Wednesday 15 October, we teamed up with Vogue for a special eBay Live stream featuring iconic looks from their October issue, styled by Harry Lambert and featuring brands like Louis Vuitton and Balenciaga. Every sale supported Smart Works, empowering women through fashion.
To wrap things up, eBay Live showed up at Comic Con from Friday 24 to Saturday 26 October, hosting three days of trading card, comics and collectables programming, giving fans and sellers alike a chance to experience live selling at its best.
Interested in trying it yourself?
Register to start selling on eBay Live
An inclusive future for entrepreneurs: Share your experience
Every entrepreneur deserves the opportunity to thrive, no matter how they think, work or create.
That’s why we’re proud to be on the committee for Small Business Britain’s Lilac Review, a nationwide research project exploring the experiences of neurodiverse and disabled business owners.
Together, we’re working to find what support, tools and environments can help more people thrive. As part of this, we’re launching a new project focused on neurodiverse entrepreneurs designed to better understand your needs and help build programmes that work for you.
If you’re a neurodiverse founder, we’d love to hear from you. Share your experiences by taking part in our survey below to help shape the future of inclusive entrepreneurship.
Complete the survey
Smarter, faster shipping, now available nationwide
We’re always looking for ways to make life easier for you, and that includes shipping.
After a successful trial in Manchester earlier this year, Smart Shipping is now available to business sellers nationwide.
In partnership with HubEurope and top UK carriers including EVRi, Yodel, DPD and DHL, Smart Shipping makes deliveries faster, simpler and more cost-effective, connecting you to leading UK carriers in one place. All of this is seamlessly integrated within your eBay account.
During our trial, sellers saw savings of up to 40% from £6.60 to £3.95 and faster, more reliable deliveries. Now you can manage all your orders in one place with HubEurope’s HECT system*.
If you’re ready to make shipping smarter, this is the place to start.
Find out more and register for Smart Shipping
More delivery options with Simple Delivery
Drop-off options with InPost and Yodel
Starting this week, private sellers will be able to drop off parcels at over 8,000 InPost lockers nationwide, available 24/7. Choose from thousands of Yodel stores across the UK, giving you more ways to send items when it suits you, with tracking and eBay-backed protection included every time.
New size option for oddly shaped items
We’ve introduced a new size option for those in-between items, up to 120cm, like golf clubs. This means you’ll receive more accurate size recommendations, ensuring the right label from the start. It also includes extra weight breaks, making it a cost-competitive alternative to the “bulky” service.
Changing the fixed fee portion of the Buyer Protection fee
On Tuesday 11 November, we’re updating the fixed fee portion of Buyer Protection from up to £0.10 to a flat rate of £0.10. That means easier calculations and more transparency – nice and simple. This change will automatically be applied to private sellers’ existing fixed price listings on Tuesday 11 November. You can review and adjust the prices of any of your active listings at any time.
Please note: For private sellers, this update will mean an increase of £0.01 to £0.03 to any existing fixed price listings that automatically renew every 30 days.
This update is all about making things simpler and more transparent for you. And if you have any questions, our customer support team is here 24/7 to help.
