On Sunday afternoon, we noticed the eBay.com home page displayed an advertising message at the extreme top of the page that said, “Get free holiday shipping supplies today. Start Shipping. United States Postal Service. Delivering for America. Restrictions Apply.” along with a pulldown menu next to the word “Open.”
Clicking on the ad turned the skinny banner into a larger banner advertisement (still on the eBay home page) that read, “Get holiday ready with gifts from The Postal Store” and a button that read, “Shop Special Gifts.”
Clicking on the banner opened up a landing page on the USPS store with the message:
“Shipping Supplies for the Holidays. We’re making shipping easier with free Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express packaging supplies to ship your gifts this holiday season.”
To the right of the message, the USPS showed an image of some Priority Mail packaging with a Christmas tree ornament and candy cane on a red background.
Underneath were listings for free USPS packaging supplies.
It would be interesting to know the main intent of the ad – is it to reach people who are shopping online and need to ship presents to recipients, or is it to reach casual (or professional) sellers on eBay?
It would also be interesting to know the kind of arrangement eBay has with the USPS with regards to the holiday ads. If you’ve seen ads for USPS or other shipping carriers on ecommerce platforms, leave a comment below.
“Delivering for America. Restrictions Apply.”
Truth in advertising! LOL
Restrictions AND Surcharges apply.
Their #1098 Priority Mail carton (38″x6″x6″) is “free”…but there’s a $15 surcharge to use it.