eBay Seller Coupon Programme

[5216elisabeth]

Hi

I am just wondering if anyone who has joined this programme would be willing to share their experience of it with me please?  Good or bad.  I'm wondering in particular whether you have found it to be cost-effective or costly, and if it increased sales.  I don't do promotions but I am considering whether to try this. 

[bravergrace]

There's one thing I've noticed with these:  Buyers don't know how the coupons are funded. 

- So if there is a 20%-off coupon , some will make an offer of 21% off, assuming that since "the seller" is already offering 20% off, this is a trivial request.  But it costs the seller a lot more than just 1%.

- Other buyers assume that eBay funds the coupons in full.  So they ask you for a 20% reduction in addition to the coupon price.

- Other buyers assume you're offering 20% off because you're desperate, and make offers of the "I'll take it off your hands for..." variety.  Which some sellers find very irritating.

[sheba-knows-best]

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@bravergrace wrote:

There's one thing I've noticed with these:  Buyers don't know how the coupons are funded. 

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I'd say they also don't know how the coupons work ie they don't realise they can use the code if your item is already on a sale (or they forget to use the code, who knows).  This is a strong reason I use them. I think signing up for the coupons gives increased visibility that you don't always pay for... but it's a bit of a lottery.

[pegr-834437]

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@sheba-knows-best wrote:

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@bravergrace wrote:

There's one thing I've noticed with these:  Buyers don't know how the coupons are funded. 

---

I'd say they also don't know how the coupons work ie they don't realise they can use the code if your item is already on a sale (or they forget to use the code, who knows).  This is a strong reason I use them. I think signing up for the coupons gives increased visibility that you don't always pay for... but it's a bit of a lottery.

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Whilst I agree it gives increased visibility I'd argue its very little and very badly marketed. If I went into Sainsburys (or any other supermarket) and only got told the item could be discounted after I picked it up I'd be thinking thats pretty bad. I guess eBay dont want a lot of sales from the coupons as really in the search it should be highlighted that its active in the 10/20% off discount.  Once you click on a eligible item its not even a banner, its a small line if you use the app, really it should be a banner across the top of the item and then again if you click into item description. They should also send 1 or 2 push notifications to anyone watching that said item to let them know that theres a coupon code specifically for that item. Instead of running a code every week sometimes 2 a week they should really just do one each month or even one every 2 months but really push it, its getting like the 70% off when they are running so many coupons its a bit silly.

[golf_trader_uk]

Hi, thanks for this post.  I have a similar issue currently.

I'm in the UK and my accountant is advising that because ebay's invoice for my portion of the co-funded coupon is not subject to VAT we are effectively bound to pay VAT on the full sale amount and not after discount.  Did you experience a similar result or did you receive some different advice?

[scratchthesurfacerecords]

In addition to the VAT liability on the original price you also pay variable Final Value Fees on the original price. Neither of these are recoverable on the eBay funded portion. 

[padanpcparts]

So, I noticed that the current coupon that's running isn't showing on the splash page again. How is it possible that one week the coupon shows, and the next it doesn't? 

[freddieforeverrico]

my thoughts  eBay's coupon 10% 15%  and end month 20%   the buyers  know the cycle and wait to buy till end of the month for the coupon launch,    and they don't deduct the eBay share until 6 weeks after when you've long forgotten about the coupon,   then your riding high with £500 in the pot.   then the coupon fee lands,  ouch.

always worth doing for 15%  and 20%  do increase business,   better than greedy promoting.

[liamtoretail]

Hi,

Just been reading through this thread and I'm currently on one of EBAY seller coupons at the moment, running for the next 7 days.

How do you find out at the end of the 7 days which items were discounted through the coupon? I tried looking a few weeks back when I had another EBAY seller coupon running but couldn't seem to find any reports at the end of it. I looked on my transactions as well but everythings sold for full value and there is nothing in the fees to suggest a coupon discount.

Just wanting to find out how to do this so I can budget for the the 60% share/fees invoice coming my way in future.

Cheers

[pegr-834437]

If you go via your portal and then coupons and then past coupons you can tell how many sales and how much you owe, I'm yet to find a way to work out which order has used a coupon and I have no idea why eBay wouldnt just tell us when the buyer checked out as they tell me if a buyer has used one I have created so the software is available. 

[liamtoretail]

Yeah would make sense wouldn't it to tell us when the buyer has used it on the purchase and for them to factor it into the fees at that point. Would save having to budget for the bill later down the line.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, just found it and got the total I owe from the last EBAY coupon that ran.

[eyewear247]

If VAT registered it makes the bookkeeping very difficult for both the buyer and the seller.

As mentioned as you initially receive 100% of the listed price so you have to account for VAT at that price when in effect the buyer may only of paid 80% of the listed price, therefore you will be issuing VAT receipt to the buyer at the wrong amount paid causing bookkeeping issues for both yourself and also the buyer. 

[liamtoretail]

Messy isn't it.

It would work so much better if  the sellers share was taken off when they sale goes through rather than down the line.