At this year’s Consumer Electronic Show (CES) held in Las Vegas last week, Meta (a.k.a. Facebook) indicated that they had struck an agreement with eBay to host their listings on its Facebook Marketplace. Here’s a brief synopsis of the announcement.
“Shares of eBay closed up 9% on Wednesday as Meta said it will allow some listings to show up on Facebook Marketplace, its popular platform connecting consumers for local item pickups and more.
EBay stock reached its highest level since November 2021.
The rollout will begin with a test in Germany, France and the United States, where buyers will be able to view listings directly on Marketplace and complete the rest of their transactions on eBay, Meta said in a release.
The partnership could provide a boost to eBay’s marketplace business, which has struggled to compete with e-commerce rivals like Amazon, Walmart, Temu and even Facebook’s own marketplace platform that lets users buy and sell items.
EBay has recently embraced niche categories like collectibles and luxury goods to try and keep buyers and sellers returning to its site. CEO Jamie Iannone told CNBC in an October interview that shoppers were coming to the site, known for its used and refurbished goods, as they sought out discounts amid a rocky macroeconomic environment.
Meta’s move is an attempt to appease the European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, after the regulator fined the company 797 million euros ($821 million) in November for tying its Marketplace product to the main Facebook app.”
Curiously its not clear when this arrangement will take effect, whether or not eBay will share part of its commission with Meta and which listings will be shown on Meta’s far-reaching platform. Thus far, we are awaiting information from both companies concerning further details that will undoubtedly impact our business. According to the announcement, a test phase will be introduced that will enable buyers from the US, Germany and France to be able to view and purchase our products, although its not clear if special overseas shipping rates will be integrated into the system. We are assuming that parcels bound for international destinations will first be sent to eBay and then on to the customer. Its highly doubtful that anything will be sent to Meta. Moreover, arbitration and returns will likely be handled by eBay should a problem develop and messaging between the parties will almost certainly be handled through eBay rather than have Meta get involved.
With the announcement, rumors began circulating online that Meta was interested in purchasing eBay outright as a means of keeping up with certain dominant players in the e-commerce sector. If so, this would have a dramatic impact on the reach and selling capabilities Facebook has long sought to bring to its platform. It would also create a viable revenue stream that made use of both Instagram and What’s App in increasing their overall appeal, reach and marketing power.