The Shit List / E-commerce / eBay · full spec sheet · jump to the Wall ↓
Severity
47 / 100▲2
ACUTEpeak 50ranked #20 of 42people’s rank #13 · preview
Case 020 · E-commerce · Admitted 2018
The Enshittification of eBay
The Enshittification of eBayeBay, one of the oldest online marketplaces, has steadily shifted costs and risk onto its sellers over the past decade. The company replaced PayPal with its own mandatory managed-payments system processed by Adyen, raised final value fees in repeated annual seller updates, and expanded Promoted Listings so that a growing share of sales incur advertising fees. In 2020, federal prosecutors charged former eBay security employees with an aggressive cyberstalking campaign against the couple behind the trade newsletter EcommerceBytes, and in 2024 eBay itself paid a $3 million criminal penalty under a deferred prosecution agreement.
First symptom
Feb 2018
Symptoms on file
7
Categories
4
Prognosis
Acute
2 quality · 2 pricing · 2 ads · 1 lock-in
Alternatives
Mercarifreemium
Straightforward peer-to-peer marketplace for selling used goods without auction mechanics or store subscriptions.
Craigslistfree
Free local classifieds with no algorithmic ranking, promoted placements, or final value fees for most categories.
The Paper Trail
| Date | Category | Symptom · rating · source |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-02 | lock-in | eBay announces it will replace PayPal and intermediate payments itselfeBay announced it would drop PayPal as its primary payments processor in favor of Amsterdam-based Adyen, intermediating payments on its own marketplace and eventually requiring sellers to enroll in its managed payments system. PayPal remained a checkout option only through July 2023.↳ CNBC |
| 2020-06 | quality | Six former eBay employees charged with cyberstalking newsletter publishersThe US Attorney for Massachusetts charged six former eBay security employees with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and witness tampering for a campaign targeting Ina and David Steiner, publishers of the e-commerce newsletter EcommerceBytes that covered eBay critically. The campaign included threatening messages, covert surveillance, and deliveries of items such as live cockroaches and a bloody pig mask.↳ US Department of Justice |
| 2022-02 | pricing | Final value fees raised with three weeks' noticeeBay's 2022 Winter Seller Update raised final value fees effective March 1, 2022, by 0.3 percentage points in most categories for Store sellers and 0.35 points for sellers without a Store, pushing some category rates to 12.9 percent. The additional penalty fee for Below Standard sellers also rose from 5 percent to 6 percent.↳ EcommerceBytes |
| 2023-02 | ads | Halo attribution makes more sales subject to ad feeseBay announced that beginning March 30, 2023, sellers using Promoted Listings would be charged ad fees when a buyer clicked on any of their ads and then purchased any of their promoted items within 30 days, expanding the set of purchases that incur advertising charges. The change broadened so-called halo attribution beyond the item originally clicked.↳ EcommerceBytes |
| 2024-01 | quality | eBay pays $3 million criminal penalty over cyberstalking campaigneBay Inc. agreed to pay a $3 million criminal penalty and entered a deferred prosecution agreement after being charged with stalking, witness tampering, and obstruction of justice over the 2019 harassment campaign against the Steiners. The company admitted responsibility for the conduct of its former employees and was required to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years.↳ US Department of Justice |
| 2025-02 | pricing | Winter seller update raises fees againeBay's 2025 Winter Seller Update increased final value fees in most categories effective February 14, 2025, described by eBay as up to 0.35 percentage points; the standard rate for sellers without a Store rose from 13.25 percent to 13.6 percent. Sellers criticized eBay's framing of the increase as misleading.↳ EcommerceBytes |
| 2025-10 | ads | Promoted Listings attribution expanded to any buyer within 30 dayseBay announced that starting January 13, 2026, in the US and Canada, ad fees on Promoted Listings General campaigns would be charged when any buyer purchases a promoted item within 30 days of any click on its ad, regardless of whether the purchaser ever clicked it. Sellers in markets where the model rolled out earlier reported attribution rates jumping to 80 percent or higher, while top search slots became exclusive to cost-per-click Priority ads.↳ Value Added Resource |
The Wall
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<a href="https://enshittification.xyz/ebay"><img src="https://enshittification.xyz/badge/ebay.svg" alt="eBay on the Enshittification Index"></a>The Enshittification Index · 42 case files · no source, no entry · updated Jun 2026
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