Any idea why ebay is giving away so much free money lately?

[Jenx34]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

When you spend the ebay bucks they'll get 1.5 percent back, so the gap is smaller than that, but I am guessing they probably have determined there is a general stimulatory effect on sales with so many people looking for places to spend.

Exactly. It's just part of their overall ad budget and strategy. They're running TV ads too, more than I remember a year or even 6 months ago. Last night, I spent $393 (before 15% discount). The threshold to max at the $50 mark was $333.33. I'm sure I'm not the only one that spent over that threshold.

The simplest answer is just advertising. This is one way they chose to do so. I hope they deem it as effective and keep doing so!

[packs]

Maybe they're able to classify the giveaways as "donations" for tax purposes.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Excellent point. Many people probably exceed the threshold and on the delta they are making their regular fee with no giveback.