I saw posts from Scot Wingo and Ina Steiner earlier today regarding a new shopper rewards program eBay is currently testing. The test is invite only (with participants randomly selected) but because I was transcribing my interview with Brian Burke well into last night, I didn’t check my personal email until this morning, and therefore was unaware that I had been invited to participate in the 3-month promotion.
Here is the body of the email I received…
You’re one of a select few invited to try out a new program we’re testing to reward loyal eBay shoppers.
What do you have to do? Just sign up. It’s fast, easy and we’ll even give you a $5 balance to get you started. We’ll track your qualifying purchases* from May 15 to August 14 and rack up your eBay Bucks. Then you get 30 days to spend* them on eBay on something you love.
Hurry, participation in this test program is limited so sign up soon!
A few things I’ve dug up regarding the eBay Bucks promotion:
1. During a 3-month “Earn Period” (5/15 – 8/14/08) invited participants will earn rewards for their qualifying purchases.
2. This is a test – not only of the promotion itself (hence the invite only) but also of the percentages given back to users. Therefore there are different levels of percentage kickbacks (ranging from 2% to 5%). Scot states that he was offered 4% as a participant. I was offered 3%.
3. If a user has not been invited but is interested in participating, they can sign up for potential future tests after logging into http://rewards.ebay.com. I would recommend heading over there to see if you are a part of the program; as Scot pointed out in his post, he didn’t receive an email invite but was able to sign up for the program nonetheless. The reason for this, I was told, is because the emails are still being sent out but if someone goes to the link before receiving their email, they will still be able to access if they were part of the random group of users.
4. At the end of the 3 month promotion, I have 30 days to redeem my eBay Bucks Voucher – that will be paid out via PayPal coupon.
In order for a purchase to qualify:
1. The purchase must be made after I enrolled in the program and between May 15 and August 14.
2. The purchase must be paid for using PayPal.
Purchases in the following categories do not qualify:
1. All categories in Motors (although Parts & Accessories purchases DO qualify)
2. Classifieds
3. Giving Works
4. Real Estate
5. Business & Industrial Capital Equipment
This is a test for a potential long-term loyalty program so I’ll report back on how this goes over the next three months.
Cheers,
RBH
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