eBay Adds Repeat Buyer Identification

Liz Morton
Liz Morton


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UDPATE 5-27-22

Previously sellers had to click through to the actual order details page to see the repeat buyer designation, but not eBay has added it to the main Seller Hub Orders page view as well.

While it's definitely nice to see it in order list page as well now, I have to agree with this eBay community member who says it would be even better if that Repeat label could be a link to see past purchases from that user.

Re: Woohoo - the REPEAT BUYER tag is now on the AWAITING SHIPMENT PAGE
It would be great if you could click on the Repeat Buyer line & actually see what that buyer has purchased in the past. As is, it serves no purpose for me. Nice to see, but nothing more.
It would be great if you could click on the Repeat Buyer line & actually see what that buyer has purchased in the past.

As is, it serves no purpose for me.  Nice to see, but nothing more.

UPDATE 1/4/22

eBay community staff have given some updated information about where the repeat buyer label will be seen within Seller Hub.

Here's what I've been able to find on it - details are a bit sparse at the moment:

The 'Repeat' logo will show beside a repeat Buyer's name in:

  • Purchase details in Seller Hub Orders (If Buyer has purchased from that seller twice or more).
  • Send Coupon from Seller Hub Orders (If Buyer has purchased twice or more).
  • Best Offer/Received offers page (If Buyer has purchased once or more).

eBay is updating Seller Hub to give sellers more information about repeat buyers.

In the Performance tab, eBay says they are now measuring repeat buyers in a new way.

You may have noticed that your repeat buyer metrics have recently dipped or spiked. Repeat buyers have been redefined as customers who have made no fewer than two purchases in a two-year period.

However, there seems to be some discrepancy between the Buyer Insights section and the category breakdown below it. In this example, insights shows 2 repeat buyers, but the categories show 0 both in the visual breakdown and the available downloadable CSV report.


Sellers are also reporting eBay is showing a repeat buyer tag in order details, though this may be a phased rollout that is not available to all sellers just yet.

Repeat Buyer tag...
...Has anyone else seen it yet?...

Hopefully this means eBay will soon be delivering on the promise of sending coded coupons to buyer groups, including repeat buyers.  That was supposed to be released in October as part of the Fall Seller update but was "pushed back" with no updated timeline provided.

Sending coded coupons to buyer groups is an easy way for you to encourage existing and potential customers to purchase your items. For example, use coded coupons to target specific buyer groups when your seasonal inventory has the greatest potential to sell.

The following coded coupons options will be available starting in October.

Launching in October:

Send a coded coupon to your previous buyers to encourage repeat business

eBay Seller Tools & Features Status Update
As 2021 draws to a close, check the status of eBay seller tools & features like the Listing Quality Report, Coded Coupons, Video In Listings, Personalization, Stores, Promoted Listings & more!

Have you seen repeat buyer identifiers in Seller Hub? Let me 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.

4 comments
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Jackie M.
The repeat buyer tag on the order details page is also demonstrating inconsistencies.

Example:

Buyer A made 2 separate purchases about an hour apart. Those are the only 2 purchases they've ever made from my store. There is no repeat buyer designation on the order details pages.

Buyer B made 2 separate purchases about 10 min apart. Those are the only 2 purchases they've ever made from my store. There IS a repeat buyer designation on the order details pages.

Both buyers appear to meet the same criteria, but one is showing a repeat tag and the other isn't.

For what it's worth, I don't think either example should show the repeat tag. I fully agree with FidoMaster's statement below:

"Grouping buyer purchases in a single calendar day seems the most sensible way to go (for the overwhelming majority of use cases)"

Results wouldn't be perfect, especially if eBay uses Pacific Time to determine calendar day, but it would be a lot more accurate than what we're seeing now.
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Jackie M.
Liz, can you ask the seller that provided the screenshots whether or not they had 2 buyers that purchased multiple items in a single order within the reporting period?

I was thinking about this part you wrote:
"However, there seems to be some discrepancy between the Buyer Insights section and the category breakdown below it. In this example, insights shows 2 repeat buyers, but the categories show 0 both in the visual breakdown and the available downloadable CSV report."

And I was thinking about one of eBay's published details on what counts as a repeat buyer:
"If a buyer bought 2 items in a single order from you, that is also considered a repeat buyer."

Then I was looking at the repeat buyer banner on the Order Details page in Seller Hub.

I noticed that buyers that purchased multiple items in a single order did NOT get the repeat buyer banner in Seller Hub.

It appears there's a disconnect somewhere as to what eBay is counting as a repeat buyer and where they are counting it.

Could the 2 repeat buyers from the screenshot be buyers that purchased multiple items in a single order, but then in the reports it's not showing because eBay is either inconsistent or changing what designates a repeat buyer?

We know that eBay internal communication is lacking at times and this could be an example of one department defining things one way while another is defining it another way.

I don't know, but that's my current working theory.
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Liz Morton
Great question -

They did not have any orders within that time showing the Repeat Buyer tag in order details.

They did have two instances of a buyer purchasing an item, almost immediately requesting a cancellation, then reordering.

My guess in the situation I used above as an example - eBay removes the canceled order and does not apply the repeat buyer tag in the order details and in the Sales By Category chart and CSV report, but is still counting those two as repeat buyers for the Buyer Insight section.

Talk about unnecessarily overcomplicated misexecution if so. 🤦‍♀️

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Jackie M.
Thanks for getting that info. That's exactly what I was saying about the Buyer Insight section counting repeat buyers that the Order Details pages and the Reports are not counting.

The Buyer Insight section is way too generous in what it counts as a repeat buyer, but the fact that it's not matching up to all other areas labeling repeat buyers is adding unnecessary confusion. The parameters should be more clearly defined and applied to all areas consistently.
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Avatar PlaceholderMarty_J2 days ago
Was just checking to see if it would post without creating an account but….
eBay seller since 2022
Just started selling about a year and half ago

800 items sold 99.7 feedback

Recently I went away for family things for 30 days set my acct to be away … got back with items not received cases opened

I wasn’t able to revise existing listings post new listings OR refund the buyer from my eBay funds …

The items were caught up in recent wild fires but ended up being delivered late. I had to beg the buyer to let me pay them off of eBay to close the case because it was on hold and I wasn’t able to refund them from my eBay acct etc…. So luckily they obliged and I did … but ever since then my acct must be strikes as high risk because funds have been on hold 3 days after delivery since then indefinitely might I add… I get the run around everytime etc etc FINALLY I got someone saying it’s temporary it’ll be back to normal etc. these r all reps from escalated departments… one lady told me that with my history and feedback I’ve proved beyond doubt that I’m reliable seller and shouldn’t be on hold she put in for a appeal never heard back got the run around for another few months… they keep telling me I’ve been chosen for the new update they r rolling out total BS … do you believe that sellers will stay on eBay with these holds ? No they will simply go to another platform … they r 100% making money on the holds and use any reasoning to tell you basically no and keep profiting…. The get around is creating a new acct… these cases were closed without eBay having to step in and might I add I lost $$ and its been truly frustrating esp since I’ve built the acct up but I know I can do it again.. when they tell me its going to happen to all accts I just mention how my brother just opened one n now has immediate payments they don’t know what to say I don’t think they really even know.,, its sad n scummy but I see a class action lawsuit coming honestly ! I don’t know💬 if I forgot anything but well written thanks for the information. Have a great one!