Campaign Overview
The pre-loved trust tax campaign for eBay focused on a clear consumer tension: shoppers want to save money by buying second-hand, but trust concerns are stopping many from taking the leap. With households under pressure, the campaign showed how fears around scams, counterfeit goods and unreliable sellers are pushing people towards more expensive brand-new purchases.
The strength of the campaign was its simple financial hook. Research showed Brits are spending an estimated £149 extra each year because they lack confidence in cheaper pre-loved and refurbished alternatives. Rather than treating trust as an abstract issue, the campaign turned it into a real cost for consumers, making the story easy for broadcasters to explain.
This pre-loved trust tax campaign cut through because it connected cost of living pressure, online shopping behaviour and the growing resale economy. With Kate Hardcastle fronting the campaign and eBay’s trust tools, including Authenticity Guarantee and Money Back Guarantee, woven naturally into the messaging, the story positioned eBay as a trusted marketplace helping shoppers buy pre-loved with confidence.
Strong Results in Context
- Delivered 573 broadcast opportunities, showing strong national and regional interest in the story
- Reached 76,690,000 people through broadcast coverage
- Secured BBC Radio 4 You and Yours, giving the campaign a major consumer affairs platform
- Reached large-scale commercial radio audiences through Bauer Media Hub
- Delivered additional reach through Radio News Wire distribution
- Coverage consistently mentioned eBay in the context of trusted online marketplaces
- Messaging focused on buyer confidence, authenticity, AI concerns and the cost of hesitation
- The campaign gave broadcasters a practical consumer angle at a time when household budgets remained under pressure
Audience Insight
- Brits are spending an estimated £149 extra each year by buying new instead of cheaper pre-loved alternatives
- Consumers estimate abandoning £221 worth of online purchases annually due to trust, authenticity or buyer protection concerns
- 74% have considered a purchase but decided not to go ahead because they were unsure whether they could trust the seller or listing
- 37% often spend time considering an online purchase before deciding against it due to trust concerns
- 29% say AI has made it harder to tell whether listings or reviews are genuine
- 25% say AI-generated content has made them more cautious about whether sellers or profiles are legitimate
- 36% say secure payment protection would give them greater confidence to buy online
The Challenge
- The campaign needed to make online marketplace trust feel like a consumer money story, not just a retail issue
- It had to show the value of pre-loved shopping while acknowledging genuine concerns around scams and counterfeits
- The story needed to include AI anxiety without becoming too technical
- eBay’s trust tools had to be introduced naturally as part of the solution
- The campaign had to balance affordability, sustainability and buyer confidence in a way that worked for broadcast
