What is the status of the Ebay roll out with Facebook Marketplace?

[dexter_sinister_ii]

Hello!

Does anyone know the status of the eBay partnership roll out with Facebook Marketplace?

While I did not opt-out of the program, the facts of it seemed fuzzy, including which eBay listings would be shown on Facebook Marketplace (and how this might be communicated to a seller), in its announcement in January. Also, I have not received any messages with particularly new information from eBay.

I deleted my Facebook account long ago so I do not have visibility of its platform.

What's the latest on this relationship from the eBay-seller perspective?

Is anyone getting listed on Facebook Marketplace? If so, what has the experience been like?

Thanks!

[dexter_sinister_ii]

Thanks for all the responses and discussion.

This article is from January, but it provides some context for this initiative.

Meta tries letting Facebook Marketplace users view eBay listings as way to resolve EU charges

https://apnews.com/article/facebook-meta-ebay-european-union-antitrust-05bac4cf475b65a0687ed062ad79f...

[dexter_sinister_ii]

@gurlcat 

This is what eBay describe about protections. I am not sure if this includes disputes.

"When buyers find your listing, they'll complete their purchase through eBay’s checkout process. You'll manage the transaction just like any other eBay sale, witc all the usual protections and security you enjoy as an eBay seller."

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/news/2025-april/facebook-marketplace

The FAQs at the same link seems to suggest that FBMP buyers will be handled like other buyers on eBay.

"How am I protected from bad buyer behavior or situations outside of my control for listings sold through Facebook Marketplace?"

"Because these transactions will be handled completely through eBay, you’ll receive all the same protections that you’re used to as an eBay seller, including protections against negative feedback."

[valueaddedresource]

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@dexter_sinister_ii wrote:

Thanks for all the responses and discussion.

This article is from January, but it provides some context for this initiative.

Meta tries letting Facebook Marketplace users view eBay listings as way to resolve EU charges

https://apnews.com/article/facebook-meta-ebay-european-union-antitrust-05bac4cf475b65a0687ed062ad79f...

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@dexter_sinister_ii yep and in the US, Meta also faces a similar antitrust case from the FTC which just wrapped up recently and is still waiting for final judgements.

https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/191-0134-facebook-inc-ftc-v-ftc-v-meta-pl... 

Interestingly, eBay ended up getting subpoenaed in that case as a Facebook Marketplace competitor.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/ebay-slams-alarming-meta-subpoena-ftc-monopoly-case-2023-03-14/

Also interestingly - like the FTC's crusade against Amazon under Lina Khan before it - much of the FTC v Meta case was underwritten/financially supported and promoted by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar's Omidyar Network . 👀

https://omidyar.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Roadmap-for-an-Antitrust-Case-Against-Facebook.pdf 

[simba6]

No invite for me so far.

[gurlcat]

Yeah I totally understood what they SAID, but from the example shown in that other thread, it's easy to picture a lot of trouble coming from the AI "translation" of item descriptions that show up on FBMP.  

-In the example there, a listing for a tackle box had an item description that mentioned 'racing decals' which aren't included with the tackle box.  But as it turned out, that seller ALSO sold racing decals, so the AI  decided to put those words on a totally inappropriate listing.  

So, here's how I could picture it going with my stuff. -Almost all my items are vintage, but right now about half of them are NOS from a huge estate purchase I made a while back.  All of those include this sentence in the description:  "1990's NOS (New Old Stock) on original card, from the estate collection of a retired Bullock's department store employee."

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So if the AI decided to put that sentence in the description for a USED vintage item (like that Raggedy Ann pin, for example), the buyer could claim it wasn't as described.  And I would have no way to prove that I never said it was new, because I didn't even get to see or edit the description on Facebook. 

[valueaddedresource]

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@simba6 wrote:

No invite for me so far.

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@simba6  and you will never receive one, nor will anyone else, because participation in this program is not by invitation - despite incorrect information provided earlier in this thread.

If you currently have active listings on eBay that offer shipping (local pick up only is not eligible) and you have not actively taken steps to opt out (and received confirmation the opt out was successful), then any or all of your listings could potentially have been/are/will be shown on Facebook Marketplace at any time through this program.

[ittybitnot]

 ...the buyer could claim it wasn't as described.  And I would have no way to prove that I never said it was new...

@gurlcat 

Actually, if you think about it, any buyer can claim 'not as described' about any item they want.  Since the process is automated, for purposes of eBay, your item becomes whatever the buyer says it is.  You don't get to submit evidence for anything.  Your pictures and text are no longer considered.   You accept the return, or let the buyer have it for free, or suffer the consequences.  

Since you will 'enjoy the same seller protections provided by eBay' for these sales,  I don't imagine that will change. 

[dexter_sinister_ii]

@valueaddedresource

Thanks for the further context and interconnected interests and conflicts. It makes sense that Meta would be interested in eBay's juicy data and business practices---and now they are connected.

It seems worth noting that there is almost no criticism of Omidyar on his Wikipedia page.

Anyway, I am returning to the task of listing ugly coffee mugs on eBay now.

Thanks!

[dexter_sinister_ii]

Excellent points. It seems that eBay---but mostly sellers---will have to try to adapt language to conform to/outwit cookie-cutter AI. Well, this is already happening.

On a separate note, I do not use the AI feature to rewrite my object descriptions in part because I do not think people read paragraphs as easily as standard, museum-style descriptions. However, maybe I am wrong about this.

[valueaddedresource]

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@dexter_sinister_ii wrote:

@valueaddedresource

Thanks for the further context and interconnected interests and conflicts. It makes sense that Meta would be interested in eBay's juicy data and business practices---and now they are connected.

It seems worth noting that there is almost no criticism of Omidyar on his Wikipedia page.

Anyway, I am returning to the task of listing ugly coffee mugs on eBay now.

Thanks!

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@dexter_sinister_ii  agree that is absolutely worth noting - and also not surprising to me at all. 

I sold on eBay in one form or another for almost 2 decades before I ever really learned much about its founder outside of the eBay story starting with Auction Web and a broken laser pointer - and let me tell you the last couple years of learning more about the man have been extremely eye opening to say the least. 😂

If you ever want to take a break from listing ugly coffee mugs and enjoy going down rabbit holes, check out Omidyar's connections to Big Tech accountability orgs like Accountable.US and Accountable Tech - all of which never seem to find any reason to call out eBay as a tech company which might be in need of some accountability.

Or the ways in which Omidyar Network funds freelance and independent journalism through various initiatives, including their Reporters in Residence program that focuses specifically on topics like Reimagining Capitalism and "the intersection of technology & worker power" - alumnis of which have all been curiously quiet about the first union in eBay's history at subsidiary TCGPlayer, subsequent dragging out of contract negations for over 600 days and sudden closing of that facility and layoff of over 200 unionized workers, or the now at least 3 lawsuits that I'm aware of filed by ex-eBay tech and support employees alleging discrimination, retaliation and violations of state and federal labor laws.

There's also last year's petition from the Responsible Online Commerce Coalition urging the FTC to open an investigation into eBay's acquisition of TCGPlayer which was ignored and never even received any kind of response - which was not surprising considering that Lina Khan and several other commissioners or high up people have all either worked directly for Omidyar Network or Omidyar connect/funded orgs in the past.

Oh yeah and Omidyar Network's most recent strategy shift is all about "responsible AI" - which is interesting given the ways in which eBay continues to deploy AI functionality like the above mentioned description summaries which clearly raise some serious ethical and transparency concerns.

And that's just barely scratching the surface.

[gurlcat]

I know all that of course, but that's just regarding returns.  I offer free ones, no reason even needed.  But don't forget buyers can file INAD in chargebacks too.  Then if the buyer showed the Facebook ad to their bank, along with the used item (with signs of use) then the bank would surely find in their favor.  As for whether eBay would give a courtesy refund for seller protection, I don't know -would they reference my original listing or the one that the buyer was shown on Facebook?  

Also negative feedbacks could result.  

And I'm just talking about this specific hypothetical of mine.  I'm sure there are much worse scenarios that could come from AI just playing Fashion Plates with words from sellers' listings. 

[dexter_sinister_ii]

Yeah, I have very little experience with how disputes on eBay are currently handled. As a buyer, I had one problem that could not be resolved with the seller last year (a glass object was covered in a colorless very sticky substance that could not be removed by any conventional methods, like washing it). This status was not disclosed in the listing, yet it was discovered to be known by the seller (for instance, it was not something that happened during shipping). I was able to argue my case and submit a photo that clearly demonstrate the problem (a cotton ball stuck to the side of it). The seller submitted a written message that did not make a compelling counterargument.  Our claims were shared with both of us and eBay rendered a decision. While my case prevailed, I ultimately decided to keep the purchase because I realized how I used it was not going to be significantly impacted (as a decoration) and the hassle of returning it was a burden for me in relation to its price. However, since it is a functional object most people would not use it in this way and it would be unlikely that I could ever sell it in the future. So I can display the object, but monetary its value is zero.

[valueaddedresource]

@gurlcat all great points, but just FYI, it's not just a Facebook Marketplace Partnership issue - we've also seen that eBay is starting to show AI summaries within the eBay app and it's coming to the web experience too based on the mockups of what eBay has planned for the view item page.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Description-highlights-summarized-with-ebay-ai-Can-I-opt-out/m... 

While the Facebook partnership adds an extra layer in that you may not even know if your items are being shown there, all of those risks you mentioned also already exist on the platform as well since you have no way to know when/if eBay may be displaying an AI generated summary to potential buyers.

[gurlcat]

Yeah I saw that in the 'Grrrr' thread.  If there's a way to prevent the summary (like using a different font or whatever) I'll probably resort to it.  I don't like the idea of my buyers having to make an extra click, but that was already the case on the app, and I would much rather have that than a robot making cringey "summaries" of my words.  That would infuriate me like nothing I've encountered here yet.  

[valueaddedresource]

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@gurlcat wrote:

Yeah I saw that in the 'Grrrr' thread.  If there's a way to prevent the summary (like using a different font or whatever) I'll probably resort to it.  I don't like the idea of my buyers having to make an extra click, but that was already the case on the app, and I would much rather have that than a robot making cringey "summaries" of my words.  That would infuriate me like nothing I've encountered here yet.  

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@gurlcat sadly, there's not to my knowledge any way to prevent it  - I threw that html/font idea out there at the time because I know in the past it seemed to impact whether eBay showed the description or hid it behind the "see more" link, but after talking more with people who have seen the AI summaries in the wild on their own listings, it does not appear to have the same influence on whether or not AI summaries are shown.