This year, we took an exciting step toward strengthening global seller engagement—and SBAN members were right at the center of it.

In February, the Seller Advocacy team hosted the first annual EU Seller Advisory Forum in Berlin, bringing together 15 European sellers with eBay’s EU Government Relations team, EU executives, and GCX partners. The goal? To open a new, ongoing dialogue with sellers about the policy work that impacts their businesses every day—and to make sure seller voices are helping shape that work from the start. 

We were also thrilled to welcome six U.S. SBAN Captains, who joined their European counterparts to share best practices on community-building programs in the United States and to discuss cross-border policy issues that affect sellers on both sides of the Atlantic. These conversations reinforced something we hear often from you: while markets may differ, many seller challenges—and opportunities—are shared.

Just like our US Captains and seller advocates, the EU Seller Advisory Forum will be composed of a select group of stand-out small businesses from different countries, providing real seller insight both to policymakers and eBay staff. They will provide feedback not only on the impact external potential policies, but internal eBay policies and programs as well. 

SBAN is truly a global program, and our Government Relations team relies on seller perspectives across eBay’s markets to inform our advocacy with policymakers. We hope the EU Seller Advisory Forum becomes a strong counterpart to our SBAN Captains program and Seller Community efforts in the U.S.—creating more structured, meaningful ways for sellers to engage with eBay and with each other worldwide.

The Seller Advisory Forum will ensure that eBay’s global GR perspectives and platform decisions are grounded in the real experience of real SMEs using our site, and we hope their collaboration with our US seller advocates will continue to grow with the program. 

💬Curious about global advocacy or cross-border issues? We’d love to hear what topics you think sellers should be raising in future international forums.