eBay Crash Sale to compete with Amazon Prime Day, if ‘Amazon crashes again’

eBay.com today announced the introduction of eBay Crash Sale on the 15 July, mirroring the Amazon Prime Day launch date in a battle for shoppers’ wallets. eBay have described their version of the “prime summer shopping season” as a supposedly precaution “if Amazon [website] crashes again.”

eBay shared the news, saying: “If history repeats itself and Amazon crashes that day, eBay’s wave of can’t-miss deals on some of the season’s top items will excite customers around the world.”

Last year, Amazon Prime Day rush for deals caused the website to crash. The start of the Prime Day 2018 saw Amazon experiencing technical issues due to the heavy online traffic. Amazon US saw a large number of consumers reporting log-in (52%), website (36%) and check-out (11%) issues since 12PM PT and lasting for few hours, says DownDetector.com.

eBay’s vice president and chief operating officer, Jay Hanson describes the planned event as “exactly what shoppers want.” He attributes the event’s launch in July to it simply being “a massive shopping season.”

eBay haven’t stopped there; they made an explicit comparison by citing “free shipping on eBay deals with no membership fee required” as a contrast to Amazon’s Prime subscription service.

eBay Crash Sale

The promotional shopping event will not be limited to two days but will feature a series of events starting from the 1st of July. The three-weeks long sale will offer discounts on electronics, home items, fashion as well as sporting goods and more.

eBay say that the July events will see shoppers saving all month long. They promise to offer summer discounts stretching up to 80% from brands including adidas, Apple, Dyson, Garmin, and Samsung available on this page.

Here are some of the featured events during July on eBay.com:

The Crash Sale on the 15th of July

• Crash the party with doorbuster savings on top brands, including LG, Apple, Samsung, KitchenAid, Garmin, and more than 50% off — with a fresh batch of “too-good-to-be-true deals that will drop if Amazon crashes.”

July 4th savings on the 1st of July and until 7th of July

• Seven days of savings on summer essentials, appliances, and more, including stand mixers, cookware, robotic vacuums, camping gear, outdoor toys, and more up to 85% off.

Hot Deals for Hot Days on the 8th of July and until 22nd of July

• Two weeks of new deals launching every day, offering a chance to save big on the hottest tech, smart home devices, home appliances, and more up to 80% off.

eBay says that they will be sharing more details about the Crash Sale.

This news highlights an opportunity for sellers to cash-in on the promotional event. Shopping events are advantageous for merchants as they create a hype around the need to grab a discounted piece before it disappears off the digital shelves.

While not every merchant is keen to slash their product’s price, eBay Crash Sale can serve as a chance to see the effect of the promotional activity on shoppers’ spending. This can give merchants an insight into their shoppers’ evolving behaviour and needs to hone their customer-centric strategies.