eBay Looking For Private Sellers For Paid Case Study & Media Exposure

[valueaddedresource]

In case you missed it, eBay is apparently looking to recruit private sellers in the UK for a paid case study and opportunity to share their selling journey through eBay’s marketing channels and media outlets.

Posted on the official eBay UK LinkedIn profile, which seems odd since LinkedIn, being a professional social networking site. would likely be a better place to reach business sellers, not private:

However, the link leads to a Google form where they make it clear that this is a paid opportunity and the offer is for private sellers only.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf9rFOSrsrnYJTDGA3qPvYBvwVQnRW-yKLPoQmi_-peAJccAA/viewform 

In addition to requesting name, city, and seller ID, sellers who wish to be considered are asked to answer questions like:

• How long have you been selling on eBay?
• What kinds of items do you typically sell on eBay?
• To your best estimate, how many items have you sold on eBay?
• How much have you earned on eBay? (Total or monthly average)
• What has been your biggest or most surprising sale?
• Are there any hobbies, activities or life milestones you've funded from money made on eBay?

I thought it was kind of strange that eBay didn't a post an announcement here in this community, but then thought about it some more and figured if the goal is to place "positive" private seller stories in already friendly media outlets...based on the many threads here about Simple Delivery, delayed payouts, buyer protection fees etc....maybe this isn't the crowd they are looking for and in fact maybe they're hoping to produce content for highly visible media placements specifically to counter the prevailing private seller feedback one might encounter in this forum.

And if that is the case, all the more reason why I thought it might be important to give regulars here a heads up and a chance to apply for this amazing opportunity. 😉

[moonlight-rhapsody]

So you don't get paid for "sharing your story", you only get paid if you're selected as a case study.  I note it doesn't say how much you get paid.  Why would anybody do this?

[valueaddedresource]

@moonlight-rhapsody  agree it seems like an odd pitch especially to private sellers.

I can see why a business seller might be interested in participating in something like this - for a business, being featured in eBay marketing campaigns and media spotlights could potentially be even more valuable for the brand building/exposure than whatever they might earn for the case study.

But I would think brand building and media exposure aren't exactly something that most actual private sellers (not businesses posing as private) would normally seek out or benefit from. 🤷‍

[jonatjonatjonat]

Well it would be intriguing if the private sellers they spotlight turn out to be businesses, wouldn't it.

[valueaddedresource]

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@jonatjonatjonat wrote:

Well it would be intriguing if the private sellers they spotlight turn out to be businesses, wouldn't it.

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@jonatjonatjonat  very true.  😂

[lewisksince2007]

I will do it and tell everyone to avoid eBay because of simple delivery

[jonatjonatjonat]

fingers crossed they are selecting entries at random

[valueaddedresource]

@jonatjonatjonat  unfortunately I do not believe there's any way that eBay's partner in this, Edelman, would let that happen.

For those who are unfamiliar, Edelman is one of the worlds largest PR/marketing firms.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edelman_(firm)

Also probably worth noting Edelman is infamous for their "astroturf" campaigns - which is a fancy name for creating fake "grassroots" organizations which are really frontgroups for industry/corporate clients.

Just a short excerpt from that wiki entry:

But don't worry, I'm sure this time they're really looking for actual grassroots seller stories, not another carefully manicured astroturf campaign. 😉

[akemp1]

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@jonatjonatjonat wrote:

fingers crossed they are selecting entries at random

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Maybe they want the good looking and professional ebay users who are active on Linkedin rather than the untidy and ragged lynch mob who hang out on their own forum :0)

[akemp1]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

For those who are unfamiliar, Edelman is one of the worlds largest PR/marketing firms.

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Ebay would do better to focus their efforts on making their proposition attractive again not paying PR firms and employing stooges. They really have lost their way in recent years, sadly.

[valueaddedresource]

More food for thought about eBay's partner in this endeavor, for those who might be interested:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/a-top-pr-firm-promised-big-oil-software-that-can-convert-average-cit...

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2006/oct/17/marketingandpr.newmedia

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/jan/15/edelman-pr-firm-davos-trust 

[pegr-834437]

Didn't this happen a few years ago and the awards they give out when the person who won was on a private account but was most clearly a business. Sure it was 3 or 4 years back and still there has been no meaningful change in stance from eBay but to allow the issue of accounts breaking the law on their site.

[theelench]

What a waste of time and money.

Why doesn't ebay just use the same "members" that don't buy or sell, never post new topics or reply to existing ones.  All they appear to ever do on ebay is give "Helpfulls" to ebay News and Announcements.

Their main job, IMO, is probably filling in "Leave Feedback" forms, ticking the boxes ebay tells them to, so ebay can say "We Listened", but only to what it wants to hear.  What a farce ebay is, is anything what it appears to be?

[valueaddedresource]

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@theelench wrote:

What a farce ebay is, is anything what it appears to be?

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@theelench , I think this quote from a former Edelman executive in one of those articles I linked to probably answers that question, at least in so far as any initiatives where they are working with/for eBay.

“What you want to do if you’re under fire is deflect blame and promote false solutions, pretending like you’re solving the problems that you’re actually driving. Edelman is putting into practice some of the tactics and strategies we know it has helped clients execute.”

[*vyolla*]

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@jonatjonatjonat wrote:

Well it would be intriguing if the private sellers they spotlight turn out to be businesses, wouldn't it.

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You just know that's going to be the case. 

"I bought 3,000 fake labubu dolls, 750 bottles of perfume and 500 pairs of Yeezys from a popular Chinese site for resale but I'm absolutely a private seller".

[thesmokingrunner]

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@pegr-834437 wrote:

Didn't this happen a few years ago and the awards they give out when the person who won was on a private account but was most clearly a business. Sure it was 3 or 4 years back and still there has been no meaningful change in stance from eBay but to allow the issue of accounts breaking the law on their site.

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@pegr-834437 

Yes, it did happen.  I remember it well: the eBay for Business Award 2021 was given to a business selling limited edition trainers operating on a Private account. Caused a bit of a hoo-ha, that did, and the account was registered as a Business rather quickly.

I even remember the name (although obviously I cannot post it here) and the big 'I am' interview given after the award was announced. All mouth and trousers - how they'd started in their bedroom, sold so many pairs of trainers they'd moved into a storage unit and then invested the money saved up for a house deposit because trade was so good.

I've just checked to see how it's going these days. Hmmm... 6 items for sale, 1 sale in the last 90 days. Trade's going well then...

Still - good to know eBay picks winners, isn't it?

[dave@ebay]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

In case you missed it, eBay is apparently looking to recruit private sellers in the UK for a paid case study and opportunity to share their selling journey through eBay’s marketing channels and media outlets.

Posted on the official eBay UK LinkedIn profile, which seems odd since LinkedIn, being a professional social networking site. would likely be a better place to reach business sellers, not private:

However, the link leads to a Google form where they make it clear that this is a paid opportunity and the offer is for private sellers only.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf9rFOSrsrnYJTDGA3qPvYBvwVQnRW-yKLPoQmi_-peAJccAA/viewform 

In addition to requesting name, city, and seller ID, sellers who wish to be considered are asked to answer questions like:

• How long have you been selling on eBay?
• What kinds of items do you typically sell on eBay?
• To your best estimate, how many items have you sold on eBay?
• How much have you earned on eBay? (Total or monthly average)
• What has been your biggest or most surprising sale?
• Are there any hobbies, activities or life milestones you've funded from money made on eBay?

I thought it was kind of strange that eBay didn't a post an announcement here in this community, but then thought about it some more and figured if the goal is to place "positive" private seller stories in already friendly media outlets...based on the many threads here about Simple Delivery, delayed payouts, buyer protection fees etc....maybe this isn't the crowd they are looking for and in fact maybe they're hoping to produce content for highly visible media placements specifically to counter the prevailing private seller feedback one might encounter in this forum.

And if that is the case, all the more reason why I thought it might be important to give regulars here a heads up and a chance to apply for this amazing opportunity. 😉

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Hi @valueaddedresource 

Apologies I deleted your post in the weekly chat by mistake. 

The department that is running the study will usually choose where to share these announcements. I haven't received a request for a post yet, but it could possibly be shared at a later date.

Thanks,

Dave

[valueaddedresource]

Thanks dave@ebay - disappointing my post in the chat was deleted, but appreciate the follow up here.

[rainbowtrax]

IIRC one of the sellers that they had on stage at the 2022 Open for the seller success stories thing was trading on a private account. 

[akemp1]

Maybe this year they could have a private seller who benefited from an account exclusive loan offer to buy stock to grow their private sales...