eBay drops Nectar – no more redeeming, no more double-dipping on earning

Nectar has lost another partner (how many times have I written that line in recent years?) and this one is major.

eBay and Nectar are going their separate ways on 1st September.

Whilst you can continue to earn Nectar points from eBay, it won’t make sense for many people.

What is changing?

At present, eBay is a fully integrated Nectar partner:

• you can redeem Nectar points for eBay vouchers at the standard rate of 0.5p per Nectar point

• you can earn Nectar points from eBay by adding your Nectar number to your eBay profile

There are two key things to note here:

• because you can buy pretty much anything on eBay, new or used, it was a genuinely useful way of spending Nectar points – especially if you didn’t live near, or don’t like, Sainsbury’s supermarkets

• because the earning part was linked to your eBay profile, you could double-dip with other portals. For example, Virgin Red offers you 1 Virgin Point for every £1 spent on eBay if you click through from the Virgin Red app before purchasing.

What is changing on 1st September?

Spending Nectar points:

From 1st September, it will no longer be possible to redeem Nectar points for eBay vouchers.

However, any vouchers you order by 31st August will remain in your eBay account and can be used as normal – you won’t lose out.

Earning Nectar points:

Your eBay account and your Nectar account will be delinked on 1st September.

You can continue to earn Nectar points from eBay by clicking through from the Nectar app each time you make a purchase.

There is good news and bad news here:

• the good news is that you will earn 2 Nectar points per £1 spent at eBay from 1st September, as long as you click through from the Nectar app – this is double the current rate

• the bad news is that you can no longer double-dip by clicking through from other portals such as Virgin Red

• another bit of bad news is that there won’t be any more of the often crazily generous Nectar bonus point promotions with eBay – the best was 50 Nectar points per £1 spent, equivalent to a 25% rebate on whatever you bought

Conclusion

eBay was the only large scale way left of earning Nectar points when shopping outside of companies owned by Sainsbury’s (ie the supermarkets, Argos and Habitat).

It is probably the final nail in the coffin of attempts to make Nectar into a proper ‘coalition’ loyalty programme which worked with multiple retailers.

We’ve also lost (deep breath) Daily Mail, DFDS, Marks & Spencer (redemptions only), TransPennine Express, Avanti West Coast, LNER, GWR, Expedia, Oxfam, Vodafone, Debenhams, South Western Railway, Homebase, BP, British Gas, Hertz, Europcar ….