eBay Post-Purchase "You Might Also Like" Pop Up Ads Increase Cancellations & Chargebacks

Liz Morton
Liz Morton


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UPDATE 8-24-24

eBay's post-purchase "You Might Also Like" pop up is back, but it appears they've at least taken dark pattern design concerns to heart by changing the text to make it more clear you are purchasing an additional item (not paying for the item you originally intended to buy) and making the app version a slider rather than a button to help avoid accidental tapping.

However, users who have encountered the new version still expressed concerns the slide couldn't be activated inadvertently and that may lead to increased cancellations or returns.

After Purchase a Slider Bar Popped Up to “Pay for this Additional Item”
I just bought some bubble mailers and was surprised to see this pop up right after to buy something else. I could see people not paying attention and just sliding this over easily and that causing problems (and returns).

I just bought some bubble mailers and was surprised to see this pop up right after to buy something else. I could see people not paying attention and just sliding this over easily and that causing problems (and returns).

Screenshot_20240823_144748_eBay.jpg


Buyers are confused and concerned by a new eBay advertising ploy suggesting items "you might also like" in a post-purchase pop up, leading to increased cancellations and chargebacks.

According to reports in the eBay community, the pop up occurs after completing checkout, suggesting another item eBay thinks the buyer might like with the immediate option to pay and complete an order for that item using the shipping and payment information that was just used for the previous purchase.

Because this pop up uses a 1 click check out, sellers suspect it may be driving an increase in cancellations, return requests saying they did not order the additional item, and/or chargebacks claiming unauthorized use of funds.

Insidious eBay Pop-up causing people to think their credit card was stolen.
This is the 3rd time I make a post about this issue. After buyers checkout and pay for an item there is an insidious pop-up which eBay has implemented (see photo attachment). We have had atleast 3 instance of buyers thinking their credit card was compromised and cancelling their credit card bec…

This is the 3rd time I make a post about this issue.

After buyers checkout and pay for an item there is an insidious pop-up which eBay has implemented (see photo attachment).

We have had atleast 3 instance of buyers thinking their credit card was compromised and cancelling their credit card because they clicked on this pop-up accidentally and didn't realize they purchased these "recommended" items.

We've had also had a 5x increase in returns due to "ordered by mistake". Additionally we are getting anywhere in the range of 3-5 people per day realizing the mistake and sending us cancellation requests before we ship (thankfully).

I'm not sure at this point if getting buyers to accidentally buy items they don't want is a bug or a feature. eBay has been mute on this issue the other 2 times I've posted about it. I'm asking again for eBay to acknowledge this problem on this forum and stop this 1 click purchase pop-up.


IMG_1031.jpg

Well, I am not eBay but itis sure a problem to me. My elderly mother would without a doubt click on it, then it would go to auto pay.

then when family or helper audits her finances we’d find it. Do credit card reversal and tell every person we knew about this classless tactic to make a sale.

This pop-up comes up on the "order confirmation" page after you pay for an item.

eBay is taking the same address / method of payment you selected for that order. So on the screenshot if I were to click the "confirm and pay" button it would use the same payment and same address as the item I just paid for.

Please note the "recommended" item in the screenshot is literally something I've never looked at or would even consider buying. We don't buy a whole lot on eBay (mostly sell) but I'm glad I caught this pop-up in action.

It's literally causing huge havoc with our business, we've lost hundreds of dollars at this point paying return shipping charges. And for customers who are thinking their credit card was stolen I'm sure it's even worse.

There have been reports of this issue cropping up in the community for a few weeks now, but none had previously provided a screenshot.

You may be interested in this item
Has anyone else had this pad pop up when you purchase an item?

Has anyone else had this pad pop up when you purchase an item?

I purchased an item and realized afterward that I had automatically purchased the item I had been told I may be interested in. I immediately cancelled the second item but the seller denied the cancellation.

Paying for a purchase
I was in the process of making a payment for a purchase. while I was checking out this pop up for a pair of Goff gloves came up instead of paying for shoes that I was buying I had payed for gloves instead..I never even looked for gloves this came out from nowhere..now I am out $30 for Goff gloves t…

I was in the process of making a payment for a purchase. while I was checking out this pop up for a pair of Goff gloves came up instead of paying for shoes that I was buying I had payed for gloves instead..I never even looked for gloves this came out from nowhere..now I am out $30 for Goff gloves that I will never use

How do I stop the the pop up ads prompting me to buy another item after I have paid for something?
How do I stop the the pop up ads prompting me to buy another item after I have paid for something? The mentor suggestion in another post was worthless, maybe since this eBay behavior is brand new they did not understand what was happening. This behavior is worse than annoying, I would compare it to…

How do I stop the the pop up ads prompting me to buy another item after I have paid for something?

The mentor suggestion in another post was worthless, maybe since this eBay behavior is brand new they did not understand what was happening.

This behavior is worse than annoying, I would compare it to amazons attempts to force you to by prime. I have all my setting set to stop recommendations on eBay and amazon as they do not have a clue as to what I want. These pop-ups (or forced views) are strictly to generate revenue for eBay why am I subjected to them.

Now that we've actually seen the pop up in action, it's easy to see how this could be confusing for buyers and create problems for sellers.

eBay has been adding "Quick View" options since last year, first in Stores and then also in search, allowing buyers to bypass the description and head straight to checkout.

eBay Quick View Bypasses Description On Way To Checkout
eBay adds Quick View feature allowing buyers to Add To Cart & checkout without seeing description.

These Quick View options also raised concerns about possibly increasing returns since buyers may not see the full description. However, this Quick View feature at least takes the buyer to an intermediate checkout screen where they can review the purchase, shipping address, and payment details before finalizing the order.

The 1 click checkout process makes this post-purchase "you might also like" pop up exponentially worse and adds additional risk for "accidental" purchases since it uses the stored shipping and payment information and does not require an additional step to complete the order.

What do you think of eBay's post-purchase pop up advertising - smart marketing or dark pattern design? Let us know in the comments below!

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Liz Morton is a 17 year ecommerce pro turned indie investigative journalist providing ad-free deep dives on eBay, Amazon, Etsy & more, championing sellers & advocating for corporate accountability.


Recent Comments
Avatar PlaceholderConcerned2 days ago
It is Slowwwwwww and is more expensive to the buyer. In the past items I have ordered will sit at the hub for around 2 weeks. I avoid ebay unless I cannot get it elsewhere.
Avatar Placeholdermarks30472 days ago
Hi, I have a friend who had an interesting experience recently that fell under this issue. They sold an item, packed and dispatched to the UK Ebay hub, this was midway through the period as the pause occurred. They then received a message from the buyer that they had checked tracking and discovered that the item had disappeared on ebay, no advice. It then turned out that the tracking had been fudged and the package was with them but not forwarded on to the USA. A few hours of to and fro to get the answer that it was due to the tariff dilemma. NO fault of the buyer(who had paid) or the seller ((who had been paid) and a strange response that the item could not be delivered. The buyer would be refunded in full, the seller would keep payment and the item would not be returned. Strange, Ebay must be hurting paying our both sides of the deal+
Avatar Placeholdercwi3 days ago
  1. Start building out the brand and promoting the heck out of Canadian sellers to our domestic market. Work with Federal/Provincial level governments in the push to build a strong presence here in Canada.

  2. Add other calculated shipping options than Canada Post UPS/FedEx for domestic shipping - partner with couriers nationwide, leverage agreements and software integrations with courier reseller platforms such as Stallion Express. Build out a crowd sourced network using national/regional retail locations as drop points for rural regions, leveraging transport networks to move packages to courier pickup points, akin to the UK courier model but adapted to the Canadian realities.

  3. Create a centralized international shipping clearing house to aide micro businesses with affordable shipping rates and customs clearance to avoid pitfalls and complexities (akin to US eIS).

  4. Bring features forward to the platform from other localizations, such as prepaid best offer acceptance, etc.