EBay Discontinues Loyalty Program

Online auctioneer eBay has decided to discontinue its Anything Points loyalty program for U.S. consumers, but will keep the program alive in Canada. The program launched in May 2003.

Calls to eBay were not returned, but a message on eBay's Anything Points Web site said the decision to discontinue the program was made after receiving input from U.S.-based users and assessing the benefit to the U.S. eBay community. eBay also said in a statement that it wasn't getting the return on investment it anticipated when it launched the program in May 2003.

U.S.-based eBayers will not be allowed to earn Anything Points after Aug. 15, but can redeem them through Feb. 15, according to the eBay Web site.

EBay said that termination of the program would allow it to channel its resources into other areas that would better serve the community. However, it added that there are no specific plans for another points-based program in the U.S.

Anything Points members earn promotional currency by engaging in specific activities designated by eBay or its providers, including American Airlines, Lending Tree, FTD, Sprint and Hilton Hotels, that can be redeemed as cash when a member paid for winning bids or purchased items at eBay stores with their PayPal debit card.

Though the program was just two years old, only points.com, priceline.com and Hilton remained on board as partners. eBay had launched its own MasterCard shortly after Anything Points began, and rewarded users with Anything Points.

Each point is worth one U.S. penny, but brands like Sprint rewarded eBay members who signed up for its services with 5,000 Anything Points when eBay's program launched.

The program evolved in late 2003 to allow users to pay for selling fees with Anything Points and allowed sellers to offer five points per dollar of the final selling price, with eBay charging those points to the seller.