eBay pull ad after ASA complaint upheld

The ASA has upheld a complaint against eBay from a consumer who could not find items depicted in an eBay ad for sale on the auction site.

by Helen Leggatt

The eBay ad, featuring designer chairs at £50 ($97) and coffee machines for less than £100 ($200), has been pulled after a complainant couldn’t find those items anywhere on the site at the advertised prices.

"We considered, therefore, that all the items depicted in the ad should have been available for the whole time the ad appeared and, as soon as the items were no longer available, the ad should have been withdrawn,” said a spokesman for the Advertising Standards Authority.

"Because eBay had not demonstrated that the specific coffee machine and chair depicted were available for the whole time the ad appeared, we concluded that the ad was misleading,” he added.

eBay commented that this was exactly the same style of ad that had been running for years, and this was the first complaint that had been received. ASA has asked eBay to stick to generic items in the future.

If ASA follow this thinking through it could cause publishing and advertising mayhem. For example, will adverts for stores and catalogues, whether they are online, billboards, subway posters or glossy magazine ads, have to be withdrawn or amended as soon as one or more of any of the depicted items sell out?

Tags: ASA, eBay, online advertising, online retailing, online sales, online shopping