eBay partnered up with Meta to enable eBay listings to appear on Facebook Marketplace in the US, Germany, and France. Yay, just what everyone always wanted… eBay listings polluting Facebook Marketplace!
The move comes in response to the European Union's Nov 2024 decision to fine Meta €797.72M for breaching EU antitrust rules by tying its Facebook Marketplace to its social network and imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ads services.
eBay wrote in their announcement:
“There's no action required on your part. Simply keep listing on eBay as usual to enjoy the benefits of broader visibility and the chance to reach a new audience of buyers through Facebook Marketplace. The entire process, from product inquiries to payments, will continue to be securely handled through eBay. That means your transactions, order details, and seller protections will all remain unchanged.”
When an item from eBay sells through Facebook Marketplace, buyers will be redirected to eBay to finalize their purchase. All sales will be protected by eBay's Money Back Guarantee and other applicable eBay policies.
From what I understood in eBay's announcement, eBay sellers won't have the option to opt-in or -out of listing their products on Facebook Marketplace. The decision is totally up to eBay and sellers agree to it when they choose to list items on eBay.
Liz Morton of Value Added Resource added some context to the move:
“For those wondering why Meta would include the US in this trial when it is not under the jurisdiction of the EU Commission, there's an ongoing FTC case against Meta with similar antitrust and anti-competitive practice allegations and eBay specifically came up during discovery last year.”
“Including the US platform in this trial is likely an attempt by Meta to undercut those concerns or show they are already working to address them before the case heads to trial in April 2025.”
Fortune reported that eBay's stock price rose nearly 10% after the news was dropped on Wednesday, boosting the company's market cap by about $3B to $33B. It has since stabilized and is hovering around a 5% increase from where it started.