Sellers are optimistic about Meta showing eBay listings on Facebook Marketplace

Once buyers click on a listing, they will be redirected to eBay to complete their purchase there. The test, which is limited to the U.S., Germany and France, comes as Meta tries to fight off charges of anti-competitive practices in Europe. Many eBay sellers already cross-post on Facebook Marketplace, although until now, they’ve had to do so manually or via third-party tools. EBay sellers hope this new change will save them time while also increasing their listings’ reach.

“I’m on Facebook a lot, and ads [for Marketplace] come up all the time,” Danna Crawford, a power seller on eBay who mostly sells memorabilia, told Modern Retail. “If our merchandise is going to be part of that, I think it’s a wonderful opportunity.”

Another seller named Victoria, who has used eBay to sell theater merchandise, told Modern Retail that the new partnership sounded positive — though she requested that only her first name be used to more freely discuss her concerns around Facebook.

“I think it sounds like it could be a great way to get more eyes on a product with less effort from the seller,” she said. “And ultimately, there’s a better chance the right person will find your stuff.”

She added, however, “I will say that in the light of decisions Facebook has made this week [about eliminating fact-checking], I’m not thrilled to have more of my data going to Facebook.” It is worth noting that eBay vowed that “the entire process, from product inquiries to payments, will continue to be securely handled through eBay.”

“But I also recognize that these problems are way bigger than integrating Facebook and eBay, and ultimately, this will benefit most eBay sellers,” Victoria said.

Meta announced its test with eBay on Wednesday in an update to a blog post it had published in November. EBay published a similar blog post the same day.

When the European Commission fined Meta in November, it said the company had breached antitrust rules by tying Facebook Marketplace to Facebook and “imposing unfair trading conditions on other online classified ad service providers.” Meta has vowed to appeal the fine.

In its updated blog post on Wednesday, Meta wrote, “While we disagree with and continue to appeal the European Commission’s decision on Facebook Marketplace, we are working quickly and constructively to build a solution which addresses the points raised.” It then said its test with eBay “could benefit people using both platforms.”

“EBay sellers will gain exposure to Facebook’s audience while people using Marketplace will be able to discover a broader array of listings from the eBay community,” the blog post continued. EBay echoed this in its own post, saying its partnership was “opening the door to new buyers and opportunities.” 

Meta launched Facebook Marketplace in 2016 as a way for people to buy and sell products locally. In 2018, it expanded the platform to businesses. The platform has steadily grown year over year, posing a challenge to other online marketplaces like eBay. Today, up to 40% of Facebook’s 3.07 billion monthly active users shop on Marketplace, according to a report from Capital One Shopping. Capital One Shopping also estimated that 16% of active Facebook users login for the sole purpose of shopping on Marketplace.

For sellers that already post on eBay and Facebook Marketplace, this new integration could speed up the process, remarked Crawford, the memorabilia seller. Crawford uses the platform List Perfectly to cross-post items on eBay and Facebook Marketplace and expects to not “cross-list maybe as much” on Facebook Marketplace while Meta conducts its test. However, she still expects to cross-post on some items to “increase the odds.” Crawford estimates that she makes 98% of her sales on eBay and 2% on Marketplace.

On Reddit, the response to the change was largely positive, as eBay sellers welcomed the increased visibility that this cross-promotion on Facebook Marketplace should bring. “I welcome all the exposure I can get,” one seller posted.