Some eBay listings automatically end up on Facebook Marketplace
Facebook is to pay a fine of 798 million euros in the EU for abusing its market power. Cooperation with eBay should help.
(Image: Natee Photo/Shutterstock.com)
Selected eBay classifieds will now be automatically copied to Facebook's Marketplace, initially as part of a pilot test in Germany, France, and the USA. This was announced by the two companies on Wednesday. If a Facebook user wants to access the marketplace, a hyperlink will take them to eBay to complete the purchase.
The background to the cooperation is that the EU Commission fined Facebook operator Meta Platforms 798 million euros in November for abuse of market power. This relates to the close link between Facebook and the Facebook Marketplace, which means that every Facebook account automatically has access to the marketplace – a significant competitive advantage. Furthermore, in the opinion of the EU Commission, Facebook has established unfair trading conditions: If competitors (such as eBay) place advertisements on Facebook or Instagram, this results in data that Meta uses to the advantage of its Marketplace, according to the accusation.
Videos by heise
Meta is fighting the fine legally. In addition to the fine, the EU Commission is also demanding that Meta corrects its competitive behavior. The data company believes that its cooperation will enable it to comply with this requirement and at the same time make Facebook Marketplace more attractive. eBay is certainly “delighted”, and the announcement immediately boosted eBay's share price. At the time of going to press, the stock had gained more than nine percent.
Algorithm determines what is copied
However, the matter is not transparent for sellers. This is because there is currently no way of deciding whether an eBay listing should be copied to Facebook Marketplace or not. This is decided by algorithms “based on factors such as shopping trends and listing quality”, says eBay. The company points out that it also cooperates with other websites, on which eBay classifieds selected by algorithms can also appear.
If the eBay seller offers to ship the goods on offer, their offer can also appear in areas of the Facebook Marketplace for remote regions. It is not known to what extent eBay pays sales commissions or other fees to Meta.
(ds)
