eBay advert banned for misleading consumers

by Stevie Smith - Apr 22 2009, 15:30

It may be a hugely popular online portal for the capture of various auction-based bargains, but eBay isn’t a haven of overwhelming value that offers its users access to prices that vastly undercut walk-in retailers.

Specifically, complaints made to the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) have resulted in it banning an eBay advertising campaign that boldly claims the auction site’s prices for brand new items are “25% cheaper than the high street.”

According to price point comparisons made across some 288 products, eBay offers that its average prices, which include shipping fees, come in significantly lower than the average prices found in leading high street retail stores such as John Lewis and Debenhams.

Finding fault in the poster campaign, the ASA has decreed that eBay’s advert appears as an absolute yet fails to outline the collation of averages that would likely reveal some stores to be cheaper than eBay on certain items, while others would likely be more competitive than the proffered 25 percent shortfall.

“Although it might be the case that eBay was cheaper than some high street stores for some new products, the evidence was not sufficient to support such an absolute claim that eBay was cheaper than all high street stores for all new products,” commented an ASA spokesman.

In enforcing its ban against eBay’s campaign on the grounds of misleading consumers, the ASA also noted that items such as desktop computer hardware, household furniture, garden equipment, children’s toys and travel accessories were not included in the pricing comparison – which was also not clearly defined by the advert's miniscule small print.

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