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To help businesses move online, eBay is waiving the price of listings and final value fees until July, and offering webinars on marketing and digital skills.
Today (20 April) eBay launched a new crisis initiative aimed at supporting small Irish businesses through the disruption caused by Covid-19.
The e-commerce platform’s new ‘Up & Running’ programme wants to help Irish SMEs to set up an online sales presence for free.
As part of the programme, businesses can receive support through virtual workshops, training and mentoring to help launch online stores. eBay said that it will offer these supports to any local Irish business that wants a quick start or to increase its online selling capabilities, but might not have the resources or the know-how.
Online training
The programme will also include free listings on eBay.ie, the removal of final value fees (the commission paid to eBay based on the final value sales) and training covering the basics of using eBay.
This will include how to get the most out of the platform, digital skills, search and listing optimisation and marketing. The training will be delivered through a series of webinars and mentoring programmes held by eBay’s team in Ireland.
The fees for listing and selling have been waived until at least 17 July, with the possibility of an extension, which is subject to market conditions, according to eBay.
To participate in the programme, companies can create a business page here, before completing the eBay Ireland business questionnaire here.
‘An opportunity to grow’
Hazel Mitchell, site lead for eBay Ireland, said: “This is a difficult time for businesses of all sizes, but I hope that the launch of Up & Running initiative will help alleviate some of the challenges that Irish SMEs are facing and to help them stay open for business.
“The initiative isn’t just a way to help businesses to stay afloat, it is also an opportunity for them to grow and reach new markets. The Covid-19 restrictions have shrunk our physical world but there is still huge potential in e-commerce.
“We want to help businesses quickly and remove any barriers that might otherwise prevent them from transitioning online, so we invite business owners to contact us today to see how we can help them.”
The initiative follows a similar model used in eBay’s Retail Expansion Programme in 2019, which saw more than 100 Irish SMEs join the platform to grow their businesses online.
