ebay DOES spend money on marketing. But only to attract "enthusiast buyers" This is very targeted marketing---such as setting up a booth at a Sneaker Convention, or getting a press release treated as an article in a High End Watch collecting publication.
A Holiday Marketing Campaign, on the other hand, is a very broad based approach to bring in a wide range of buyers, and maybe only a small percentage of those buyers will meet ebay's "Enthusiast Buyer" criteria.
So, while a successful holiday marketing campaign might benefit many of us as sellers (because many of our sales are to NON-enthusiast buyers), it will not meet ebay's overarching goal of expanding its Enthusiast Buyer base, which is the only buyer base ebay is really willing to spend money to attract.
So, if my merchandise is not the sort of stuff enthusiast buyers are looking for, then it is up to me to do my own Holiday Marketing, and not look to the platform to help me.
