Why the 25th anniversary gift coupon by eBay is useless to me

[prettywoman-2012]

Here is why the ebay coupon is useless to me. I have been with eBay since 1998 as a seller, and earlier, as a buyer. 

I received a coupon that can only be used to purchase items from 12 selected sellers - selected by eBay, to be precise. Most of these sellers - with the exception of a couple of them, like the reebok store - are pushing cheap, China-made dropship items, priced approx. 200% - 400% over the retail elsewhere. 

I find this is quite ridiculous, given that even the occasional eBay bucks would give you around 10% off of ANYTHING you buy. For example, I have set my eyes on a new vacuum cleaner, currently priced as 89.99 I would have probably bought it with the 25% off, but unfortunately, that seller is not on eBay's list. 

So, thank you for nothing, eBay, Your anniversary gift is useless to me. Even if I would be desperate enough to spend some money in one of the stores, the size I need is unavailable, or the color is sold out, or the feedback of that seller scares me. I feel that at least letting us decide from whom we wish to buy something, would have been nice. 

PW😁🐿

[lightlily_arts]

I have no idea how eBay decided who would get a coupon much less than which type. Nonetheless, I received the same $25  coupon  which could be used for any seller on both of my accounts. One account was from  Jan. 2000 and the other from  July 2017.  I wonder whether the difference might have been that  I purchased substantially far more items than I sold on either account.  Since I already needed shipping supplies I used my coupons to get them.

[disneyshopper]

Yes, it's the same TOS in the email I received, and I believe I have covered it all correctly.

My sales have been very slow, so I really don't need any more shipping supplies, but I will try that if worse comes to worse.

[disneyshopper]

Yes, I entered HAPPY25, not PARTY25.

[pburn]

@disneyshopper 

I think you have two more days to get that coupon used. It's still not working for you? I'm feeling your frustration here--how can we help? Can you be really detailed about what you're trying to purchase? When do you get the error message? What does it say?

I really want you to be able to use that coupon!

[redmodelt]

General reply. I am pretty sure shipping supplies are only for people that have stores. Even if they were for everyone, I would not use the branded shipping supplies anyway. I don't want to call attention to a box that may contain higher priced item because it was sold on eBay.

[tkinnebrew]

what coupon ?? lol

[nobody*s_perfect]

The branded shipping supplies are available to every buyer.  Store subscribers get a coupon that they can use exclusively with that seller. But it's a regular eBay seller that anybody can purchase from. Some store subscribers say that these items are overpriced.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/ebayshippingsupplies/m.html?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEFSXS%3AMESOI&_trksid=p20537...

[prettywoman-2012]

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@mam98031 wrote:

While I have no idea what criteria Ebay goes to when selecting members to receive these coupons or any promo for that matter.  I think you are taking this entirely too personal.  It is unlikely that Ebay is trying to disrespect you or your history with the site.

I know I've not received certain promos that other have reported getting many times over the year.  One's I knew I would be able to use, except I did not get a notice saying they were extending that offer to me.  That is just the way Ebay does things and I really doubt it is meant to slight anyone in any way.  

Kind of the luck of the draw and sometimes I'm just not lucky enough to get some of those nice promos sometimes.  I don't however get upset about it.  I just move on.  But that is just me and the way I do things.  For other I respect they may not feel the same.

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Thanks for you effort. I do not appreciate when words or emotions are attributed to me which were remarkably absent from my words and emotions. Psychologically manipulating others should be part of the posting policies NO NO section, IMHO - not that I am saying that someone is doing this, just engaging in some free thinking. At any rate, even if they would try it, the outcome might negate the importance of their attempts. Much depends on who the target is.

PW🐿

[prettywoman-2012]

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@lightlily_arts wrote:

I have no idea how eBay decided who would get a coupon much less than which type. Nonetheless, I received the same $25  coupon  which could be used for any seller on both of my accounts. One account was from  Jan. 2000 and the other from  July 2017.  I wonder whether the difference might have been that  I purchased substantially far more items than I sold on either account.  Since I already needed shipping supplies I used my coupons to get them.

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I can definitely tell you that the reason for my useless coupon was NOT that I have not been purchasing enough. One of my accounts received it only, the others did get NOTHING. All of my accounts I am currently using are active and show very healthy, regular activity. Good for you if you got two or more coupons! I am happy for you 

PW🐉🥋

[prettywoman-2012]

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@redmodelt wrote:

General reply. I am pretty sure shipping supplies are only for people that have stores. Even if they were for everyone, I would not use the branded shipping supplies anyway. I don't want to call attention to a box that may contain higher priced item because it was sold on eBay.

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You have lost me on this one, I must confess. There are lots of different price-category items sold on eBay. Always have been. So, if you can use your coupon for free supplies (uhmm, supplies for just 1 cent), why not go for it? The postal workers cannot see the value of an item inside the box, unless they open it. And while there have been cases of postal theft, those are actually, quite rare. 

PW👘

[prettywoman-2012]

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@tkinnebrew wrote:

what coupon ?? lol

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LOL! 

PW😂🐿

[prettywoman-2012]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@redmodelt wrote:

Glad I didn't even take time to look at mine.  Thank you for the heads up.

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@redmodelt 

You may want to take the time to actually look at your coupon.  The one I received was not as the OP described.  I could use it on any BIN listing, but it expires on the 10th, so you may want to find that email and take a peek.

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There were not two,  but three different coupons, as it turned out. 

HAPPY25 - when I try to use this, based on my readings here, to get free shipping supplies - it tells me: Looks like that's the wrong code, please double-check and try again. [Yes, this is correct, since that is not the code I have received]

The other type of coupon, PARTY25 leads to the same outcome as above: not usable. It tells me that this coupon has expired. [This is in sharp contrast with what some other people report here, namely, that the coupon is valid till the 10th of September. Since today is only the 9th of September, it should be valid - but it is only valid for some, and that is also fine with me, since that is not the coupon code I have received.]

Thirdly, the original coupon code I received, PARTYFOR25 already expired. I get the same red "this is not the correct..." blurb as for the first coupon described above. 

PW😂

[redmodelt]

I am not talking about postal workers.

[mam98031]

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@redmodelt wrote:

I am not talking about postal workers.

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I can only share with you my experience.  I've ship 100's of packages.  I've used the Ebay branded supplies since they became available a few years ago.  It has not increased cases of porch pirates that I'm aware of.  I'm sure others can share with you their experiences as well that may help.  

[mam98031]

Sorry, I just thought we were talking about the two current coupons, not expired ones too.  I simply wasn't aware.

It is however likely if you did not get an email saying you could use HAPPY25 coupon, you wouldn't be allowed to use it.  As Ebay usually qualifies promo emails to be for invited members only.

This was in the email I received.

Who's eligible for the Coupon?
Only invited, registered eBay users who see the Coupon in My eBay Messages are eligible. Sorry, no forwarding—Coupon is not transferable.