Nearly 100,000 members of eBay’s Main Street program from all over the country reached out to their elected officials in 2022 to lobby on issues related to ecommerce, according to the company.
eBay sent a letter to members of the program on Thursday thanking them for participating in its grassroots campaigns. The company said members across all 50 states, DC and Puerto Rico sent over 280,000 letters, phone calls and tweets to legislators. “Time and time again, it’s been proven that elected officials listen to their constituents,” eBay said.
eBay worked to get buyers and sellers to reach out to legislators on issues at both the state and federal levels, including the INFORM Consumers Act, SHOP SAFE Act, and what it called the “unfortunate lowering of the 1099-K tax reporting threshold.”
In the fall, eBay posted a video explaining the program and encouraging people to join. It said eBay Main Street was a key component of its Global advocacy work – members care about how public policy impacts their ability to sell and buy online, it explained.
eBay also has a Small Business Ambassador Network (SBAN) whose members it flies to Washington DC to meet with their legislators to discuss issues, such as the trip in May to lobby on the consequences of the Shop Safe Act on “eBay Advocacy Day.”
In its December 29th letter, eBay’s Government Relations team told members of the Main Street program, “Together, we helped protect all eBay users from unreasonable ecommerce laws and regulations. This was only possible with your enthusiastic support. Thank you again and we look forward to working with you in 2023!”
