Sometimes engaging on social platforms is its own reward, but eBay is counting on a financial reward to give users an incentive to promote products on its marketplace. Last month, it launched eBay Social in Mexico to reward users for sharing product reviews and “collections” with followers on Facebook and Twitter.
eBay users in Mexico must shop on the company’s US platform, so eBay rewards Mexican users of the new eBay Social platform with coupons good for purchases on eBay.com. It appears a version of the program also exists for eBay users in Russia.
A spokesperson for eBay explained, “eBay Social is a platform where users can design their own collections of products they’ve purchased on eBay featuring reviews, recommendations, photos and videos. Once they’ve created a profile, users can curate content and share their collections across social channels to inspire family and friends – if a product is purchased based on a recommendation, both the referrer and the buyer receive a discount.”
She pointed to information that showed users receive a coupon for 5% off their next purchase if someone purchases an item in their collection on eBay Social, and they receive a coupon for 10% off their next purchase if someone buys something for which they’ve created a product review.
Plugging in the eBay Social Terms of Use into Google Translate, it appears you must have an account registered in Mexico; auction listings are excluded; eBay owns the exclusive rights to reviews and collections content; and the amount of reimbursement cannot exceed US $50 during a week or US $200 per month and a user cannot use more than 3 coupons per week to buy items on eBay.com.
Naturally Mexican users should review the terms on eBaySocial.mx in detail in the original language.
The eBay spokesperson told EcommerceBytes the eBay Social program in Mexico highlights one of eBay’s focus areas – its ongoing efforts to diversify its traffic sources and emphasis on creating new and engaging shopping experiences. “As you know, social ecommerce is a growing trend not only in the US but across the globe.”
