Bye bye 2024, hello 2025! A look back and ahead
2024 was a year full of new opportunities and challenges – in e-commerce and at eBay too. In this episode, we take a closer look at these developments and talk about the most important events of the year with Dr. Saskia Meier-Andrae, Managing Director of eBay Germany, and Andreas Häntsch, Senior Director Seller Engagement at eBay Germany.
This episode revisits topics that moved sellers this year: from new challenging regulations, the integration of artificial intelligence at eBay, to the launch of new features and the importance of networking. But we’re not just looking back, we’re also looking ahead to 2025 and the opportunities it holds for commercial sellers. We also reveal which areas we’ll be focusing on in the future.
Enjoy listening!
Note: We’re heading into the winter break and will be back on January 29 with a new episode of the eBay-Durchstarter program. Until then, we wish you restful holidays and a happy new year.
**Important links**
- The eBay Durchstarter program
- The eBay Pro-Trader program
- eBay Account Management
- Information on legal and tax requirements for commercial selling on eBay
- eBay Community
- eBay for Business on Facebook
- eBay for Business on Instagram
- More info on the eBay podcast “Alles top. Gerne wieder!” and our podcast hosts
** Chapter markers **
- 00:00:00 to 00:01:49: Intro
- 00:01:49 to 00:03:51: Fun facts about Saskia and Andreas
- 00:03:51 to 00:05:31: Looking back: What feeling do you have when you look back on the year?
- 00:05:31 to 00:09:55: Looking back: Which experiences especially stayed with you?
- 00:09:55 to 00:21:05: Looking back: Which topics were “top of mind” at eBay and in e-commerce?
- 00:21:05 to 00:23:27: Outlook: What will 2025 look like for German e-commerce and what should sellers prepare for?
- 00:23:27 to 00:29:17: Outlook: What is our strategy for 2025 and which topics will occupy us?
- 00:29:17 to 00:31:53: New Year’s resolutions and “This or That” in the Christmas edition
Lisa: 2024 was a year that was shaped by new opportunities and at the same time some challenges in e-commerce and also at eBay. In this episode, I’ll be speaking with Dr. Saskia Meier-Andrae, Managing Director of eBay Germany, and Andreas Hänsch, Senior Director Seller Engagement, about the year’s most important developments - from the use of artificial intelligence to the role of networking for business success. But we’re not just looking back, we’re also taking a look at 2025 and the opportunities that the coming year holds for you.
Saskia: I think we’re moving through very challenging times. The Corona boom is over. Consumer sentiment is bad right now, and when you open magazines and newspapers, it doesn’t sound like there’s going to be any relief in the next few months. I think we all have to prepare ourselves for 2025 to still be a really tough year. But times like these are also always times of opportunity. The pie isn’t growing, but the e-commerce companies, the sellers who really optimize themselves in this time, the ones that are the best, they will win.
Lisa: Hello dear listeners and welcome to another episode of: "Alles top. Gerne wieder!" - the eBay podcast about retail and e-commerce. My name is Lisa Haak and I’m very happy to guide you through this special episode. Today we don’t just want to look back, but above all talk about what 2025 has in store for us at eBay and in e-commerce. And for that, I’ve invited two great guests today: Dr. Saskia Meier-Andrae is Managing Director of eBay Germany and Andreas Häntsch, Senior Director Seller Engagement. Great to have you here!
Saskia: Hi. Very happy to be here.
Andreas: Yes, hello. Me too.
Lisa: I already know you a little bit now. But our listeners out there don’t know you at all. To maybe change that and maybe for me to learn something too, we gave you the task of bringing a fact or even a fun fact about yourselves. Saskia, what is your fun fact?
Saskia: My fun fact is that when I was a student in England, I took part in a reality TV show. It was a treasure hunt all around the world, in a kind of "Da Vinci Code" style, and I even won it. The TV show, and with the money, £50,000 at the time, I paid off my student debt.
Saskia: I hope that there are recordings of that, so we can watch them and learn a lot, lot more about you.
Saskia: I hope not.
Lisa: Great fun fact! Andreas, I don’t know whether you can top that, but give it a try.
Andreas: I definitely can’t top that. But you all probably know the game "Two Truths and a Lie" and I’ll just let you guess. As a student, I had a whole lot of different jobs and I’m just going to list three of them and you have to figure out which one is the lie. So let’s start: Job number 1: I was a dishwasher in the USA. Job number two: I was a ski instructor at an Alpine resort in Switzerland. And job number three: I was a bodyguard on the streets of Berlin. Now you can guess which one is the lie.
Lisa: Two are true, and only one is a lie?
Andreas: That’s right.
Lisa: I can imagine everything and nothing. Saskia, what do you think?
Saskia: I think the skiing one is the lie. I can very well imagine you as a bodyguard. And somehow dishwashing in the USA is just cool. And then I’d say...
Lisa: You’re a passionate winter sports fan, I know that.
Andreas: Yes, that’s true.
Lisa: But having you as a boss, I don’t know how many ski instructor qualities you have. No, but I think we can agree on that. Is that the lie?
Andreas: Yes, that’s the lie. Unfortunately, I’m actually a passionate skier, but I didn’t learn to ski until I was in my mid-20s.
Lisa: Another fun fact!
Saskia: That’s impressive.
Lisa: I can’t do it at all. I went skiing with school in eighth grade. I got down the hill. It was fun too, but that was also my experience. Maybe I need a ski instructor one day. But let’s look at the e-commerce year and the year at eBay. Saskia, you’ve been Managing Director of eBay Germany for nine months. What feeling do you have when you look back on this first year at eBay?
Saskia: Just incredibly excited. I love putting myself into new situations and eBay is just an incredibly complex, wonderful place, both internally and in terms of our seller network. And for me, I’ve simply enjoyed learning how this complexity comes together and what great people and great opportunities there are.
Lisa: And definitely a really fast year too, right?
Saskia: A huge amount has happened. I think since I started nine months ago, we’ve already seen so many changes. On the one hand, of course, in the macroeconomy, but also internally, the progress we’ve made. Yes, it was very eventful. I think we’re all ready for the Christmas break.
Lisa: Before we head into the Christmas break. Andreas, how was the year for you?
Andreas: I’ve been at eBay for a bit longer, it’s been 17 years. So I’ve been able to enjoy everything Saskia just described about eBay for 17 years now. But this year was certainly special again. Economically, it was definitely a super challenging year and I think it’s great how we got through it as a company. Also certainly because of our business model, which is extraordinary. We got through this year very, very well. And yes, it was challenging, also because of many other factors. Our sellers experienced that too, keyword regulations. And all the things that are changing there. That was definitely challenging. But when I look back on the year, it was simply great for me to be in exchange with our sellers so much again. And we experienced so much this year, were so present among our sellers, truly right in the middle of it all. And that was just great. In that respect, it was a really great year.
Lisa: Yes, when you do a lot and are on the road a lot, a year usually goes by even faster. And both of you did that, or we did that with eBay. We’ll definitely come back to that later - we were at trade fairs, e-commerce events, and so many different events. You yourselves also spoke on other podcasts. There was a lot going on. Is there a particular experience that somehow stayed with you?
Saskia: For me it was our "eBay on Tour" event in Leipzig. I had only been there for a few months, and we met a huge number of sellers there and spent a day explaining how eBay works and giving them support on how they can improve their business on eBay or generally in e-commerce. And that was a fantastic day for me and a fantastic opportunity to get to know the breadth of our seller network. I mean, the big ones, you know them, they’re also active on other platforms. But there were also lots and lots of smaller sellers: a coin dealer, an antiques dealer, a lottery shop. And that breadth of the seller network, and also the enthusiasm that all these sellers bring to eBay, that was really something very, very special for me, experiencing that up close. And of course, at these events we always ask the sellers how we can improve. And I think when you speak directly with the sellers and really understand from them what are the points that day in, day out - I mean, they use our platform every day. What are the points, day in, day out, that really move them? Then you get a completely different view of your own priorities, because otherwise you risk floating around somewhere up in the clouds. But that really brings you back down to earth and...
Lisa: They don’t mince their words.
Saskia: They don’t mince their words!
Lisa: That gets you out of the ivory tower. You’re in Leipzig in the restaurant together, chatting and can take a lot back with you. I can relate to that. Andreas, did you have a similar moment?
Andreas: Indeed. I still remember the event in Leipzig very well, and I think that was your first event with sellers. And I saw Saskia’s eyes light up. It was definitely great for me too, because as I said, we already did a tour like that last year, and I was curious how you would take it in, being among the sellers. So it was interesting for me to see your reactions. And I saw bright eyes, that was great. But for me personally, a highlight that really moved me was also the roadshow. It was in Stuttgart, and I met two young people there, both 17 years old, both students. And forgive me for sharing this, but they skipped school that day because they thought they could learn more at our event than at school. The two of them had made up their minds to become e-commerce sellers, and had already started. So the first steps had been taken, and seeing those bright eyes, those bright eyes too, and the fire in their eyes, with what enthusiasm they approached it - that was really great. But at the same time, they also told me what hurdles they face as minors. It’s not that easy to actually found a company. And I don’t know, I grilled them so much, I think I grilled them more than they grilled me and also...
Lisa: You also learned more than in school.
Andreas: I learned a whole lot that day too, definitely. It was great. So the enthusiasm, that was lasting.
Saskia: But that’s what I thought was so cool. When you came back and we were sitting in the leadership team and you then said, okay, we absolutely need to do something for our Gen Z sellers. This is such an opportunity for us to go in there and really support them. That’s what I mean with these events. You hear what’s really going on. And then you take so much inspiration with you, and based on that you can keep innovating yourself and keep your finger on the pulse of the times. So, really cool.
Andreas: Totally.
Saskia: And I also think it’s nice that you’re making it clear that this is taken back into the company. You talk about it. So of course we do these events for sellers, but there’s also an eBay aspect, it’s taken into the leadership team...
Saskia: We do a lot of it for ourselves too! So for both. I really think we both learn from it. And that’s just, that’s just great.
Andreas: Not just the two of us, but we also actually take it back into the international leadership team. Just recently we had another visit here on site and we took our key learnings, as they say, so basically the aggregated feedback from the many, many seller events we’ve held, and brought it along and ended up with a top ten list of things we absolutely need to tackle. And that’s also being heard. The more you can say, look, this is direct feedback from our sellers, the more sustainable it all becomes when you talk about it.
Lisa: And we hear a great deal about what’s on our sellers’ minds. Let’s talk about what was on your minds in 2024. What was "top of mind" for you when you look at e-commerce? Or also our actions at eBay?
Saskia: So a big topic for us remains the strategic focus on private selling. That was a huge decision we made in 2023, that we would become free. And that is really a massive growth factor for us. We saw a 14 percent increase in customers who started private selling after we introduced the removal of fees. And the principle we follow is that the entire marketplace benefits from it. Because the sellers with us are our best buyers, and then they in turn also buy the B2C goods, and they buy twice as much as people who only buy from us. And so expanding this valuable customer base really further and taking it almost as a marketing acquisition tool is truly an investment in our marketplace, from which B2C sellers also benefit. Because even there, well, we wouldn’t benefit either, because we don’t earn any margin on private selling. So it’s really a strategic investment in growing traffic on the platform, and it really pays off.
Lisa: That’s also always your approach, Andreas, that it’s the biggest marketing lever eBay has used in recent years and what the advantage is there for commercial sellers too.
Andreas: Yes, I talk about it a lot, especially at our seller events, I’m very happy to talk about it because I know that at first it wasn’t necessarily seen so positively. There were many commercial sellers who said: Does it have to be this way? And when you explain exactly what you just described, Saskia, for example at these events, that we’re also doing this for our commercial sellers, then there is also great understanding. And then exactly this, this effect, these are our best customers, the best buyers we have. And more than 80% of them buy exactly from you, meaning the commercial sellers. When you explain that, people understand better why we did it.
Lisa: Yes, great point. We at eBay are a technology company. We are a tech company that is primarily concerned with what our sellers need or what the platform needs as it develops further. Which trends are we following? When we talk about trends, "top of mind", Saskia, did you... we, as a tech company, what stood out to you there?
Saskia: AI is the topic on everyone’s lips and of course it’s something we’re massively focused on too, something we’ve been working on for years now, it has to be said. This is not a new topic, but the dimensions and possibilities have of course increased massively, especially thanks to generative AI. And using this tool to really optimize both your own processes and to understand: okay, how can we make things easier for sellers? Because the world around us is becoming more complex. I think we all need ways to make our day-to-day life and our work easier. That means really using AI as a tool and screening all internal processes and seeing how can we use this? We already have many great examples. Internally, of course, we’ve been using it for a long time to send our personalized product recommendations in emails to customers. But we also use it much more broadly, for example to screen our internal studies and see okay, what insights have we generated over the last few years and how can I summarize them well?
Lisa: Saskia, AI, absolutely, I agree. We didn’t just hear about it here in the podcast, but really at every event there was the highest level of interest in AI topics. People ask how we can support sellers with their processes. And we’ve also done a lot on the product side.
Saskia: We’ve done a huge amount on the product side. For example, sellers can automatically generate their product descriptions through AI-supported tools. And of course that makes listing, the whole listing process, much much easier. And then of course there are many other ways to improve the customer experience in the future with AI. When I think about inspiration, how can I generate content to excite people and bring them to our platform? If I use AI there to identify trends, create content for those trends and then also use AI to understand which trend fits which people exactly? Flamingos might inspire you, but Andreas finds ski-related content more interesting. Then of course I can use AI in a completely different way to get people excited about our platform.
Andreas: I think especially with content, you can really see what AI’s strength is. And as you said, we’ve done a lot in the area of listing creation. I really only need a few words and AI can create a complete item description, for example. Or in some categories there’s now the option where I only need one image and the attributes are filled in automatically and an item description is also created accordingly. Or think about content around images. If I have, I don’t know, a hammock and sell it in the garage, I can still have it shown in a beach setting or between two trees thanks to AI. Or think about content creation in social media. We have possibilities there too. For example, you have the option of linking your eBay account with your social media account to draw attention to offers and sales promotions. But you still need content, and someone in the company has to create that for our sellers, and we support that through AI. That’s pretty exciting.
Saskia: And we can actually see in the data that it works. People need much less time to create a listing. For example, we see in private selling that far more people are creating listings. So all the positive aspects you get from tools like this - you’re not introducing it for its own sake. You really see that it has an impact.
Lisa: Yes, and I think what we’ve seen very clearly in 2024 is that we’re developing tools that are meant to help and take away fears. Because generative AI used to be something where you often needed to have studied mathematics or computer science to understand it. And now it’s approachable. I can control it with my written language or directly with the spoken word. That’s a big change, but maybe one that doesn’t feel close yet. And I think that was also a big, big lever we had this year, to say, we’re working on AI for you so that we can grow with you.
Saskia: Exactly.
Andreas: Yes, but of course we didn’t just do AI. So actually every week we launch smaller features that help our sellers with very operational topics, and sometimes larger features too. I’m thinking of things like our returns overhaul, which we improved, or things like what we call "Bring your own rate." So I can bring my self-negotiated rate from DHL, for example, into the automatic, eBay-automated return label creation. But with the rates you negotiated yourself, with DHL. We launched things like a new advertising cockpit, basically everything that gives insights into your business. We improved a whole lot there. It’s these continuous things that we’ve mainly done now to bring about operational improvements. And something I really like is our revised brand relations program. We launched a "Brand Hub", the so-called "Brand Hub", which we call the brand cockpit in German, and it provides completely new insights for brands and manufacturers. And I find that very, very exciting. And we will definitely continue to expand it next year.
Lisa: Fortunately, not only you find that exciting, but also many brands we spoke with this year, who rate our "brand cockpit" as absolutely positive and as the tool with which they get new insights into the eBay marketplace, which is just a huge step in working together.
Saskia: And not just insights, but also the ability to really influence their own business or that of their sellers directly. And of course that’s a fantastic opportunity they wouldn’t otherwise have to influence their own growth.
Lisa: Right! I think one topic, when we look at 2024, that occupied not just us but us together with our sellers, is regulations. EU directives are topics that concern us a great deal in selling in Germany, but also in Europe or worldwide. Saskia, how did the topic of regulations affect you in 2024?
Saskia: To be honest, I think I felt the same way as many sellers do. I had to read myself into it first too. I mean, Germany and Europe can be regulation-crazy at times and it’s just a very, very complex field. What is good is that our interests as eBay are absolutely synergistic with those of our sellers. We want and we fight for uniform and clear regulations, because that is really essential in order to relieve sellers, to avoid confusion, to make their activity on our marketplace and on other marketplaces easier. That means we work really closely with our European colleagues too, to actively advocate for our sellers’ interests in Brussels and in Berlin. I think we also had some really good successes this year, but we’re still at it.
Lisa: But we’re also in the same boat as the sellers. We know that these regulations are challenging. We have to make an effort to put the right tools at their side so that compliance with the regulations happens. I think, with the information obligations or how can we support well there...
Saskia: That’s not enough on its own.
Lisa: It’s just super difficult, and I think acknowledging that challenge is also super, super important.
Andreas: And of course we also try to implement it in a way that is as "seamless" as possible for our sellers, as best as we can. Ultimately, we are obliged to introduce such regulatory changes accordingly, and we also know that it is not always easy for our sellers. We try to implement it as well as possible. Above all, we also try to communicate as well as possible. We’ve already talked about this topic here on the podcast quite a lot. We try to call our sellers who are not "compliant", inform them via all possible channels and ultimately also provide information on what exactly needs to be done now. Unfortunately, this will definitely also occupy us in 2025.
Lisa: And one very concrete point here is that you should quickly check your marketing opt-in at eBay in your settings once again. Because you said we try to call our sellers, write to them. But we can only send information to sellers if we’re also allowed to write or call them. So here’s another...
Andreas: Another legal hurdle we have there.
Lisa: Another legal hurdle and definitely a reminder to everyone to go into their eBay settings at home once again and check whether the preferences are switched "on" for calls or email activities. Those all count as marketing activities, even though we want to inform.
Lisa: And before we hear what opportunities next year holds and how we’re positioning ourselves at eBay for it, I want to know from you: What do you expect from 2025 and especially for your business? Tell us about it! If you’re listening in the Spotify app, you can do that directly via the Q&A feature in the app. Just pull the slider up from the bottom edge in the app and off you go. Alternatively, as always, in our eBay Community or on our Facebook page "eBay for Business Deutschland". As always, we naturally welcome your feedback on the podcast and of course a like or a subscription - wherever you’re listening to us right now. But now, the promised look at 2025. Saskia, your opinion: what will 2025 look like for German e-commerce?
Saskia: I think we’re moving through very challenging times. The Corona boom is over, consumer sentiment is bad at the moment, and when you open magazines and newspapers, it doesn’t sound like there’s going to be any relief in the next few months. I think we all have to prepare ourselves for 2025 to still be a really tough year. But times like these are also always times of opportunity. The pie isn’t growing, but the e-commerce companies, the sellers who really optimize themselves in this time, the ones that are the best, they will win. That means we at eBay want to focus on strengthening our strengths. That’s everything around private selling, that’s everything around re-commerce. And above all, everything that has to do with supporting our broad seller network. Because those are really the three things that set us apart in the market. Those are the three aspects where we want to continue to focus in. And I think, when I put on the seller’s glasses, now is also the time to really clean up, tidy up and optimize your e-commerce 1:01.
Lisa: Saskia, you just said it. The pie probably isn’t going to grow much more. But as a seller, what do I do then with my strategy?
Saskia: To be completely honest, I just have to be better than the others. Because if the pie isn’t growing, then I have to take shares from others. And that means I have to invest in my e-commerce basics. Yes, I need a great assortment, I need to offer a great price. I need to really showcase the quality of the products. I need to present the products really well. Lots of pictures, great descriptions, everything accurate, and I need to make sure I have top delivery. Those are all things sellers need to work on. But in these difficult times, the wheat will really be separated from the chaff. And that’s why I can recommend that sellers do that themselves. And that’s also what we work on with sellers in programs like Durchstarter.
Lisa: Yes, that’s what we keep saying on this podcast too, and it almost feels a bit like a record that keeps playing on and on. But that’s exactly what’s important. Brilliant at the basics!
Saskia: Exactly, you just have to perfect the basics. And these are times when that investment will pay off twice over.
Lisa: Andreas, at our "Top Seller Event" you said the following: "All the topics that occupied us in 2024 will also occupy us in 2025 and in the years to come." That sounds a bit like we’re just continuing business as usual. But what do you mean by that for our strategy and also for the strategy of sellers in 2025?
Andreas: Well, there are several aspects to it. Maybe I’ll start with eBay’s strategic direction - that’s not going to fundamentally change now. Saskia just said what our direction is: strengthen your strengths. And that’s a good thing, because our strategy is very successful. Otherwise, topics like regulatory aspects will of course continue to occupy us, we just talked about that. The issue of price sensitivity among Germans will of course continue to occupy us too. And for me, if I look at my team and what we do as eBay, especially to support our sellers, there is a lot of continuity this year. We have... or next year. This year we got a lot of positive feedback for everything we’ve done. I keep hearing: "You’re approachable as a marketplace, you’re there, you’re available." And that’s how I see it too. But we also invest in that very deliberately. We say we want to be out there. We talked earlier about our roadshow, we talked about the "Top Seller Event," which you just mentioned. But that’s not the only thing we do. We’re really out there, we naturally use e-commerce events, such as the multichannelday or //geh.digital. Or we use events from our partners, like JTL-Connect, where we were, where we are also very present, with many employees present, simply to support, to help. And we will continue that. For example, we’re already planning our roadshow for next year again, so the dates will be announced soon, starting in March. And it will keep us busy until the summer break. We’ll be out and about at the various e-commerce events again and of course also at all the important industry events. We’ll of course be there on site and want to engage with our sellers. In addition, of course, all the other things we have, like our seller programs such as Durchstarter for new sellers, Pro-Trader for existing sellers, will also continue. We’ll of course continue pursuing these programs too.
Saskia: And I think especially in times like these, when things are a bit difficult, yes, the fact that we work so closely with our seller network pays off twice over, because we get through this together, together we look at, okay, how can we grow in this environment? And that’s why I think our program portfolio and also simply our cultural attitude, that it’s the right thing to do to work with our sellers, is really a strength of eBay that will pay off as a double strength next year too.
Lisa: I think so too. Also the support we get through our seller programs, whether at the initial stage, when someone wants to start new with Durchstarter, or our Business Booster, as we call our Pro-Trader program. That is worth so much in a time when you may be longing for answers or next steps, to shape that together with eBay once again.
Saskia: And maybe to go into that again, we said earlier that we do these events not only for the sellers, but also for ourselves. That also applies to the program: We’re not an NGO, we do it because we see success. The sellers are more successful when they’re in these programs and consequently we are more successful. I think it’s another very important aspect that the data also really supports our investments in the program.
Andreas: Yes, so Lisa, you asked earlier what can I do as a seller to be successful in these times? Best to go through a program like the one you just mentioned, for example our ProTrader program. Sellers who go through this program are, on average, in the double-digit percentage range more successful in terms of their sales volume with us than those who don’t go through it. So I can only urge everyone to absolutely take part in it.
Lisa: We’ve already looked a little into the future together, but if you break it down again and make it more concrete for the eBay marketplace, what are the topics we’ve set ourselves for 2025?
Saskia: So for me, under the umbrella of "strengthen strengths." Yes, we want to continue creating a marketplace for enthusiasts. We want to continue moving into the re-commerce topic, into private selling, and strengthen our seller network. What we also want to do is sharpen and modernize our eBay brand. That’s something that really stood out to me when I started here, that it’s such an incredible opportunity. Almost everyone knows eBay. But this "why eBay?" is still not so clear for many end consumers, and I think we can do a huge amount to sharpen that and position ourselves there, including when it comes to younger generations, we’re investing very heavily in TikTok and in social. And I think when you look at our ads that are now running, our campaigns, you can already see that we’re approaching it with a whole new freshness, to really bring eBay into 2025 and hopefully many, many more years ahead.
Andreas: And above all, that strengthens the buyer side. That’s super exciting, because ultimately that’s of course the best thing that can happen to our sellers. Then I’ll get a bit more specific. On the seller side, what we’ll be doing there. We have a whole range of operational improvements that we’ve committed ourselves to. For example, we’re working on our API, that is, the way in which third-party providers in particular connect with eBay. So good news for everyone selling via third-party providers. We’ll be rolling out some improvements next year. Of course, we’ll also be working with the third-party providers accordingly. They too need to do their homework on their side, and on the seller side I can only say: you should also talk to your third-party providers. That definitely helps. Then we have a whole lot of insights into the business, improvements to the seller cockpit. We’ll continue working on that too. We’re continuing to work on our marketing tools that sellers can also use. And "returns" is always a topic. We can still improve there and we will do that too.
Lisa: That sounds like quite a few good resolutions for next year. Do you have any personal New Year’s resolutions for 2025?
Saskia: I love my job.
Lisa: That’s good!
Saskia: That’s very good. But I also love my family. And I think my personal resolution is to switch off a little more in the evenings and not always just think about how I can make eBay even better. I think that will make my husband and my children happy.
Lisa: I think that’s a good resolution that many, many people can write down for next year.
Andreas: My resolution is to do more exercise, and this time I’m feeling optimistic, because I’ve promised myself that so many, many times for the next year. But I’ve been doing pretty well for the last three months, and I definitely want to carry that into the new year.
Lisa: That’s good, when you already started making resolutions last year and just have to carry them over, as you say. Let’s go back a bit to the beginning, getting to know you a little better again. We’ve played this a lot: "This or That" - a decision game. I’ll ask you alternately about one option and you answer from the gut. And a bit in the Christmas edition too. We’re just before Christmas. Saskia: Christmas tree. Real or artificial?
Saskia: Real! Absolutely.
Andreas: That question should have been asked to me. Damn!
Lisa: Andreas: Candles? Real or artificial?
Andreas: Artificial, of course.
Lisa: Christmas movie, Saskia? "Home Alone" or "The Grinch"?
Saskia: Oh, "The Christmas Chronicles", sorry.
Lisa: Fine, I’ll take that! Andreas: Christmas dinner, goose or sausages with potato salad?
Andreas: Definitely goose!
Saskia: Sausages with potato salad! Always! Berlin style!
Lisa: Fine, let’s do it this way: I’ll come to dinner at both your places and decide then. Christmas decorations: colorful lights or simple white ones.
Saskia: I have simple white lights, but I decorated a very beautiful red and gold Christmas tree. So it looks very traditional at our place.
Lisa: Very nice. Andreas: Gift wrapping done for you or wrap them yourself.
Andreas: Preferably done for me.
Saskia: But everything online? That’s difficult.
Lisa: Saskia, Christmas music: traditional songs or modern hits?
Saskia: American classics.
Lisa: Andreas, Christmas cookies: gingerbread or cinnamon stars?
Andreas: Neither.
Lisa: At Christmas markets: mulled wine or hot chocolate?
Saskia: White mulled wine for me.
Saskia: Oh!
Saskia: The best!
Lisa: Very nice. Thank you very, very much for being here today. I’m already very much looking forward to the new year here on the podcast and also at eBay. Thank you, Saskia, thank you, Andreas, for this super, super exciting look back, but above all also look ahead to the new year. Thank you and I wish you happy holidays.
Saskia: Thank you! Happy Christmas season!
Andreas: Yes thank you very much and also a big thank you to our sellers out there. Happy holidays.
Saskia: I think we’re moving through very challenging times. The Corona boom is over. Consumer sentiment is bad right now, and when you open magazines and newspapers, it doesn’t sound like there’s going to be any relief in the next few months. I think we all have to prepare ourselves for 2025 to still be a really tough year. But times like these are also always times of opportunity. The pie isn’t growing, but the e-commerce companies, the sellers who really optimize themselves in this time, the ones that are the best, they will win.
Lisa: Hello dear listeners and welcome to another episode of: "Alles top. Gerne wieder!" - the eBay podcast about retail and e-commerce. My name is Lisa Haak and I’m very happy to guide you through this special episode. Today we don’t just want to look back, but above all talk about what 2025 has in store for us at eBay and in e-commerce. And for that, I’ve invited two great guests today: Dr. Saskia Meier-Andrae is Managing Director of eBay Germany and Andreas Häntsch, Senior Director Seller Engagement. Great to have you here!
Saskia: Hi. Very happy to be here.
Andreas: Yes, hello. Me too.
Lisa: I already know you a little bit now. But our listeners out there don’t know you at all. To maybe change that and maybe for me to learn something too, we gave you the task of bringing a fact or even a fun fact about yourselves. Saskia, what is your fun fact?
Saskia: My fun fact is that when I was a student in England, I took part in a reality TV show. It was a treasure hunt all around the world, in a kind of "Da Vinci Code" style, and I even won it. The TV show, and with the money, £50,000 at the time, I paid off my student debt.
Saskia: I hope that there are recordings of that, so we can watch them and learn a lot, lot more about you.
Saskia: I hope not.
Lisa: Great fun fact! Andreas, I don’t know whether you can top that, but give it a try.
Andreas: I definitely can’t top that. But you all probably know the game "Two Truths and a Lie" and I’ll just let you guess. As a student, I had a whole lot of different jobs and I’m just going to list three of them and you have to figure out which one is the lie. So let’s start: Job number 1: I was a dishwasher in the USA. Job number two: I was a ski instructor at an Alpine resort in Switzerland. And job number three: I was a bodyguard on the streets of Berlin. Now you can guess which one is the lie.
Lisa: Two are true, and only one is a lie?
Andreas: That’s right.
Lisa: I can imagine everything and nothing. Saskia, what do you think?
Saskia: I think the skiing one is the lie. I can very well imagine you as a bodyguard. And somehow dishwashing in the USA is just cool. And then I’d say...
Lisa: You’re a passionate winter sports fan, I know that.
Andreas: Yes, that’s true.
Lisa: But having you as a boss, I don’t know how many ski instructor qualities you have. No, but I think we can agree on that. Is that the lie?
Andreas: Yes, that’s the lie. Unfortunately, I’m actually a passionate skier, but I didn’t learn to ski until I was in my mid-20s.
Lisa: Another fun fact!
Saskia: That’s impressive.
Lisa: I can’t do it at all. I went skiing with school in eighth grade. I got down the hill. It was fun too, but that was also my experience. Maybe I need a ski instructor one day. But let’s look at the e-commerce year and the year at eBay. Saskia, you’ve been Managing Director of eBay Germany for nine months. What feeling do you have when you look back on this first year at eBay?
Saskia: Just incredibly excited. I love putting myself into new situations and eBay is just an incredibly complex, wonderful place, both internally and in terms of our seller network. And for me, I’ve simply enjoyed learning how this complexity comes together and what great people and great opportunities there are.
Lisa: And definitely a really fast year too, right?
Saskia: A huge amount has happened. I think since I started nine months ago, we’ve already seen so many changes. On the one hand, of course, in the macroeconomy, but also internally, the progress we’ve made. Yes, it was very eventful. I think we’re all ready for the Christmas break.
Lisa: Before we head into the Christmas break. Andreas, how was the year for you?
Andreas: I’ve been at eBay for a bit longer, it’s been 17 years. So I’ve been able to enjoy everything Saskia just described about eBay for 17 years now. But this year was certainly special again. Economically, it was definitely a super challenging year and I think it’s great how we got through it as a company. Also certainly because of our business model, which is extraordinary. We got through this year very, very well. And yes, it was challenging, also because of many other factors. Our sellers experienced that too, keyword regulations. And all the things that are changing there. That was definitely challenging. But when I look back on the year, it was simply great for me to be in exchange with our sellers so much again. And we experienced so much this year, were so present among our sellers, truly right in the middle of it all. And that was just great. In that respect, it was a really great year.
Lisa: Yes, when you do a lot and are on the road a lot, a year usually goes by even faster. And both of you did that, or we did that with eBay. We’ll definitely come back to that later - we were at trade fairs, e-commerce events, and so many different events. You yourselves also spoke on other podcasts. There was a lot going on. Is there a particular experience that somehow stayed with you?
Saskia: For me it was our "eBay on Tour" event in Leipzig. I had only been there for a few months, and we met a huge number of sellers there and spent a day explaining how eBay works and giving them support on how they can improve their business on eBay or generally in e-commerce. And that was a fantastic day for me and a fantastic opportunity to get to know the breadth of our seller network. I mean, the big ones, you know them, they’re also active on other platforms. But there were also lots and lots of smaller sellers: a coin dealer, an antiques dealer, a lottery shop. And that breadth of the seller network, and also the enthusiasm that all these sellers bring to eBay, that was really something very, very special for me, experiencing that up close. And of course, at these events we always ask the sellers how we can improve. And I think when you speak directly with the sellers and really understand from them what are the points that day in, day out - I mean, they use our platform every day. What are the points, day in, day out, that really move them? Then you get a completely different view of your own priorities, because otherwise you risk floating around somewhere up in the clouds. But that really brings you back down to earth and...
Lisa: They don’t mince their words.
Saskia: They don’t mince their words!
Lisa: That gets you out of the ivory tower. You’re in Leipzig in the restaurant together, chatting and can take a lot back with you. I can relate to that. Andreas, did you have a similar moment?
Andreas: Indeed. I still remember the event in Leipzig very well, and I think that was your first event with sellers. And I saw Saskia’s eyes light up. It was definitely great for me too, because as I said, we already did a tour like that last year, and I was curious how you would take it in, being among the sellers. So it was interesting for me to see your reactions. And I saw bright eyes, that was great. But for me personally, a highlight that really moved me was also the roadshow. It was in Stuttgart, and I met two young people there, both 17 years old, both students. And forgive me for sharing this, but they skipped school that day because they thought they could learn more at our event than at school. The two of them had made up their minds to become e-commerce sellers, and had already started. So the first steps had been taken, and seeing those bright eyes, those bright eyes too, and the fire in their eyes, with what enthusiasm they approached it - that was really great. But at the same time, they also told me what hurdles they face as minors. It’s not that easy to actually found a company. And I don’t know, I grilled them so much, I think I grilled them more than they grilled me and also...
Lisa: You also learned more than in school.
Andreas: I learned a whole lot that day too, definitely. It was great. So the enthusiasm, that was lasting.
Saskia: But that’s what I thought was so cool. When you came back and we were sitting in the leadership team and you then said, okay, we absolutely need to do something for our Gen Z sellers. This is such an opportunity for us to go in there and really support them. That’s what I mean with these events. You hear what’s really going on. And then you take so much inspiration with you, and based on that you can keep innovating yourself and keep your finger on the pulse of the times. So, really cool.
Andreas: Totally.
Saskia: And I also think it’s nice that you’re making it clear that this is taken back into the company. You talk about it. So of course we do these events for sellers, but there’s also an eBay aspect, it’s taken into the leadership team...
Saskia: We do a lot of it for ourselves too! So for both. I really think we both learn from it. And that’s just, that’s just great.
Andreas: Not just the two of us, but we also actually take it back into the international leadership team. Just recently we had another visit here on site and we took our key learnings, as they say, so basically the aggregated feedback from the many, many seller events we’ve held, and brought it along and ended up with a top ten list of things we absolutely need to tackle. And that’s also being heard. The more you can say, look, this is direct feedback from our sellers, the more sustainable it all becomes when you talk about it.
Lisa: And we hear a great deal about what’s on our sellers’ minds. Let’s talk about what was on your minds in 2024. What was "top of mind" for you when you look at e-commerce? Or also our actions at eBay?
Saskia: So a big topic for us remains the strategic focus on private selling. That was a huge decision we made in 2023, that we would become free. And that is really a massive growth factor for us. We saw a 14 percent increase in customers who started private selling after we introduced the removal of fees. And the principle we follow is that the entire marketplace benefits from it. Because the sellers with us are our best buyers, and then they in turn also buy the B2C goods, and they buy twice as much as people who only buy from us. And so expanding this valuable customer base really further and taking it almost as a marketing acquisition tool is truly an investment in our marketplace, from which B2C sellers also benefit. Because even there, well, we wouldn’t benefit either, because we don’t earn any margin on private selling. So it’s really a strategic investment in growing traffic on the platform, and it really pays off.
Lisa: That’s also always your approach, Andreas, that it’s the biggest marketing lever eBay has used in recent years and what the advantage is there for commercial sellers too.
Andreas: Yes, I talk about it a lot, especially at our seller events, I’m very happy to talk about it because I know that at first it wasn’t necessarily seen so positively. There were many commercial sellers who said: Does it have to be this way? And when you explain exactly what you just described, Saskia, for example at these events, that we’re also doing this for our commercial sellers, then there is also great understanding. And then exactly this, this effect, these are our best customers, the best buyers we have. And more than 80% of them buy exactly from you, meaning the commercial sellers. When you explain that, people understand better why we did it.
Lisa: Yes, great point. We at eBay are a technology company. We are a tech company that is primarily concerned with what our sellers need or what the platform needs as it develops further. Which trends are we following? When we talk about trends, "top of mind", Saskia, did you... we, as a tech company, what stood out to you there?
Saskia: AI is the topic on everyone’s lips and of course it’s something we’re massively focused on too, something we’ve been working on for years now, it has to be said. This is not a new topic, but the dimensions and possibilities have of course increased massively, especially thanks to generative AI. And using this tool to really optimize both your own processes and to understand: okay, how can we make things easier for sellers? Because the world around us is becoming more complex. I think we all need ways to make our day-to-day life and our work easier. That means really using AI as a tool and screening all internal processes and seeing how can we use this? We already have many great examples. Internally, of course, we’ve been using it for a long time to send our personalized product recommendations in emails to customers. But we also use it much more broadly, for example to screen our internal studies and see okay, what insights have we generated over the last few years and how can I summarize them well?
Lisa: Saskia, AI, absolutely, I agree. We didn’t just hear about it here in the podcast, but really at every event there was the highest level of interest in AI topics. People ask how we can support sellers with their processes. And we’ve also done a lot on the product side.
Saskia: We’ve done a huge amount on the product side. For example, sellers can automatically generate their product descriptions through AI-supported tools. And of course that makes listing, the whole listing process, much much easier. And then of course there are many other ways to improve the customer experience in the future with AI. When I think about inspiration, how can I generate content to excite people and bring them to our platform? If I use AI there to identify trends, create content for those trends and then also use AI to understand which trend fits which people exactly? Flamingos might inspire you, but Andreas finds ski-related content more interesting. Then of course I can use AI in a completely different way to get people excited about our platform.
Andreas: I think especially with content, you can really see what AI’s strength is. And as you said, we’ve done a lot in the area of listing creation. I really only need a few words and AI can create a complete item description, for example. Or in some categories there’s now the option where I only need one image and the attributes are filled in automatically and an item description is also created accordingly. Or think about content around images. If I have, I don’t know, a hammock and sell it in the garage, I can still have it shown in a beach setting or between two trees thanks to AI. Or think about content creation in social media. We have possibilities there too. For example, you have the option of linking your eBay account with your social media account to draw attention to offers and sales promotions. But you still need content, and someone in the company has to create that for our sellers, and we support that through AI. That’s pretty exciting.
Saskia: And we can actually see in the data that it works. People need much less time to create a listing. For example, we see in private selling that far more people are creating listings. So all the positive aspects you get from tools like this - you’re not introducing it for its own sake. You really see that it has an impact.
Lisa: Yes, and I think what we’ve seen very clearly in 2024 is that we’re developing tools that are meant to help and take away fears. Because generative AI used to be something where you often needed to have studied mathematics or computer science to understand it. And now it’s approachable. I can control it with my written language or directly with the spoken word. That’s a big change, but maybe one that doesn’t feel close yet. And I think that was also a big, big lever we had this year, to say, we’re working on AI for you so that we can grow with you.
Saskia: Exactly.
Andreas: Yes, but of course we didn’t just do AI. So actually every week we launch smaller features that help our sellers with very operational topics, and sometimes larger features too. I’m thinking of things like our returns overhaul, which we improved, or things like what we call "Bring your own rate." So I can bring my self-negotiated rate from DHL, for example, into the automatic, eBay-automated return label creation. But with the rates you negotiated yourself, with DHL. We launched things like a new advertising cockpit, basically everything that gives insights into your business. We improved a whole lot there. It’s these continuous things that we’ve mainly done now to bring about operational improvements. And something I really like is our revised brand relations program. We launched a "Brand Hub", the so-called "Brand Hub", which we call the brand cockpit in German, and it provides completely new insights for brands and manufacturers. And I find that very, very exciting. And we will definitely continue to expand it next year.
Lisa: Fortunately, not only you find that exciting, but also many brands we spoke with this year, who rate our "brand cockpit" as absolutely positive and as the tool with which they get new insights into the eBay marketplace, which is just a huge step in working together.
Saskia: And not just insights, but also the ability to really influence their own business or that of their sellers directly. And of course that’s a fantastic opportunity they wouldn’t otherwise have to influence their own growth.
Lisa: Right! I think one topic, when we look at 2024, that occupied not just us but us together with our sellers, is regulations. EU directives are topics that concern us a great deal in selling in Germany, but also in Europe or worldwide. Saskia, how did the topic of regulations affect you in 2024?
Saskia: To be honest, I think I felt the same way as many sellers do. I had to read myself into it first too. I mean, Germany and Europe can be regulation-crazy at times and it’s just a very, very complex field. What is good is that our interests as eBay are absolutely synergistic with those of our sellers. We want and we fight for uniform and clear regulations, because that is really essential in order to relieve sellers, to avoid confusion, to make their activity on our marketplace and on other marketplaces easier. That means we work really closely with our European colleagues too, to actively advocate for our sellers’ interests in Brussels and in Berlin. I think we also had some really good successes this year, but we’re still at it.
Lisa: But we’re also in the same boat as the sellers. We know that these regulations are challenging. We have to make an effort to put the right tools at their side so that compliance with the regulations happens. I think, with the information obligations or how can we support well there...
Saskia: That’s not enough on its own.
Lisa: It’s just super difficult, and I think acknowledging that challenge is also super, super important.
Andreas: And of course we also try to implement it in a way that is as "seamless" as possible for our sellers, as best as we can. Ultimately, we are obliged to introduce such regulatory changes accordingly, and we also know that it is not always easy for our sellers. We try to implement it as well as possible. Above all, we also try to communicate as well as possible. We’ve already talked about this topic here on the podcast quite a lot. We try to call our sellers who are not "compliant", inform them via all possible channels and ultimately also provide information on what exactly needs to be done now. Unfortunately, this will definitely also occupy us in 2025.
Lisa: And one very concrete point here is that you should quickly check your marketing opt-in at eBay in your settings once again. Because you said we try to call our sellers, write to them. But we can only send information to sellers if we’re also allowed to write or call them. So here’s another...
Andreas: Another legal hurdle we have there.
Lisa: Another legal hurdle and definitely a reminder to everyone to go into their eBay settings at home once again and check whether the preferences are switched "on" for calls or email activities. Those all count as marketing activities, even though we want to inform.
Lisa: And before we hear what opportunities next year holds and how we’re positioning ourselves at eBay for it, I want to know from you: What do you expect from 2025 and especially for your business? Tell us about it! If you’re listening in the Spotify app, you can do that directly via the Q&A feature in the app. Just pull the slider up from the bottom edge in the app and off you go. Alternatively, as always, in our eBay Community or on our Facebook page "eBay for Business Deutschland". As always, we naturally welcome your feedback on the podcast and of course a like or a subscription - wherever you’re listening to us right now. But now, the promised look at 2025. Saskia, your opinion: what will 2025 look like for German e-commerce?
Saskia: I think we’re moving through very challenging times. The Corona boom is over, consumer sentiment is bad at the moment, and when you open magazines and newspapers, it doesn’t sound like there’s going to be any relief in the next few months. I think we all have to prepare ourselves for 2025 to still be a really tough year. But times like these are also always times of opportunity. The pie isn’t growing, but the e-commerce companies, the sellers who really optimize themselves in this time, the ones that are the best, they will win. That means we at eBay want to focus on strengthening our strengths. That’s everything around private selling, that’s everything around re-commerce. And above all, everything that has to do with supporting our broad seller network. Because those are really the three things that set us apart in the market. Those are the three aspects where we want to continue to focus in. And I think, when I put on the seller’s glasses, now is also the time to really clean up, tidy up and optimize your e-commerce 1:01.
Lisa: Saskia, you just said it. The pie probably isn’t going to grow much more. But as a seller, what do I do then with my strategy?
Saskia: To be completely honest, I just have to be better than the others. Because if the pie isn’t growing, then I have to take shares from others. And that means I have to invest in my e-commerce basics. Yes, I need a great assortment, I need to offer a great price. I need to really showcase the quality of the products. I need to present the products really well. Lots of pictures, great descriptions, everything accurate, and I need to make sure I have top delivery. Those are all things sellers need to work on. But in these difficult times, the wheat will really be separated from the chaff. And that’s why I can recommend that sellers do that themselves. And that’s also what we work on with sellers in programs like Durchstarter.
Lisa: Yes, that’s what we keep saying on this podcast too, and it almost feels a bit like a record that keeps playing on and on. But that’s exactly what’s important. Brilliant at the basics!
Saskia: Exactly, you just have to perfect the basics. And these are times when that investment will pay off twice over.
Lisa: Andreas, at our "Top Seller Event" you said the following: "All the topics that occupied us in 2024 will also occupy us in 2025 and in the years to come." That sounds a bit like we’re just continuing business as usual. But what do you mean by that for our strategy and also for the strategy of sellers in 2025?
Andreas: Well, there are several aspects to it. Maybe I’ll start with eBay’s strategic direction - that’s not going to fundamentally change now. Saskia just said what our direction is: strengthen your strengths. And that’s a good thing, because our strategy is very successful. Otherwise, topics like regulatory aspects will of course continue to occupy us, we just talked about that. The issue of price sensitivity among Germans will of course continue to occupy us too. And for me, if I look at my team and what we do as eBay, especially to support our sellers, there is a lot of continuity this year. We have... or next year. This year we got a lot of positive feedback for everything we’ve done. I keep hearing: "You’re approachable as a marketplace, you’re there, you’re available." And that’s how I see it too. But we also invest in that very deliberately. We say we want to be out there. We talked earlier about our roadshow, we talked about the "Top Seller Event," which you just mentioned. But that’s not the only thing we do. We’re really out there, we naturally use e-commerce events, such as the multichannelday or //geh.digital. Or we use events from our partners, like JTL-Connect, where we were, where we are also very present, with many employees present, simply to support, to help. And we will continue that. For example, we’re already planning our roadshow for next year again, so the dates will be announced soon, starting in March. And it will keep us busy until the summer break. We’ll be out and about at the various e-commerce events again and of course also at all the important industry events. We’ll of course be there on site and want to engage with our sellers. In addition, of course, all the other things we have, like our seller programs such as Durchstarter for new sellers, Pro-Trader for existing sellers, will also continue. We’ll of course continue pursuing these programs too.
Saskia: And I think especially in times like these, when things are a bit difficult, yes, the fact that we work so closely with our seller network pays off twice over, because we get through this together, together we look at, okay, how can we grow in this environment? And that’s why I think our program portfolio and also simply our cultural attitude, that it’s the right thing to do to work with our sellers, is really a strength of eBay that will pay off as a double strength next year too.
Lisa: I think so too. Also the support we get through our seller programs, whether at the initial stage, when someone wants to start new with Durchstarter, or our Business Booster, as we call our Pro-Trader program. That is worth so much in a time when you may be longing for answers or next steps, to shape that together with eBay once again.
Saskia: And maybe to go into that again, we said earlier that we do these events not only for the sellers, but also for ourselves. That also applies to the program: We’re not an NGO, we do it because we see success. The sellers are more successful when they’re in these programs and consequently we are more successful. I think it’s another very important aspect that the data also really supports our investments in the program.
Andreas: Yes, so Lisa, you asked earlier what can I do as a seller to be successful in these times? Best to go through a program like the one you just mentioned, for example our ProTrader program. Sellers who go through this program are, on average, in the double-digit percentage range more successful in terms of their sales volume with us than those who don’t go through it. So I can only urge everyone to absolutely take part in it.
Lisa: We’ve already looked a little into the future together, but if you break it down again and make it more concrete for the eBay marketplace, what are the topics we’ve set ourselves for 2025?
Saskia: So for me, under the umbrella of "strengthen strengths." Yes, we want to continue creating a marketplace for enthusiasts. We want to continue moving into the re-commerce topic, into private selling, and strengthen our seller network. What we also want to do is sharpen and modernize our eBay brand. That’s something that really stood out to me when I started here, that it’s such an incredible opportunity. Almost everyone knows eBay. But this "why eBay?" is still not so clear for many end consumers, and I think we can do a huge amount to sharpen that and position ourselves there, including when it comes to younger generations, we’re investing very heavily in TikTok and in social. And I think when you look at our ads that are now running, our campaigns, you can already see that we’re approaching it with a whole new freshness, to really bring eBay into 2025 and hopefully many, many more years ahead.
Andreas: And above all, that strengthens the buyer side. That’s super exciting, because ultimately that’s of course the best thing that can happen to our sellers. Then I’ll get a bit more specific. On the seller side, what we’ll be doing there. We have a whole range of operational improvements that we’ve committed ourselves to. For example, we’re working on our API, that is, the way in which third-party providers in particular connect with eBay. So good news for everyone selling via third-party providers. We’ll be rolling out some improvements next year. Of course, we’ll also be working with the third-party providers accordingly. They too need to do their homework on their side, and on the seller side I can only say: you should also talk to your third-party providers. That definitely helps. Then we have a whole lot of insights into the business, improvements to the seller cockpit. We’ll continue working on that too. We’re continuing to work on our marketing tools that sellers can also use. And "returns" is always a topic. We can still improve there and we will do that too.
Lisa: That sounds like quite a few good resolutions for next year. Do you have any personal New Year’s resolutions for 2025?
Saskia: I love my job.
Lisa: That’s good!
Saskia: That’s very good. But I also love my family. And I think my personal resolution is to switch off a little more in the evenings and not always just think about how I can make eBay even better. I think that will make my husband and my children happy.
Lisa: I think that’s a good resolution that many, many people can write down for next year.
Andreas: My resolution is to do more exercise, and this time I’m feeling optimistic, because I’ve promised myself that so many, many times for the next year. But I’ve been doing pretty well for the last three months, and I definitely want to carry that into the new year.
Lisa: That’s good, when you already started making resolutions last year and just have to carry them over, as you say. Let’s go back a bit to the beginning, getting to know you a little better again. We’ve played this a lot: "This or That" - a decision game. I’ll ask you alternately about one option and you answer from the gut. And a bit in the Christmas edition too. We’re just before Christmas. Saskia: Christmas tree. Real or artificial?
Saskia: Real! Absolutely.
Andreas: That question should have been asked to me. Damn!
Lisa: Andreas: Candles? Real or artificial?
Andreas: Artificial, of course.
Lisa: Christmas movie, Saskia? "Home Alone" or "The Grinch"?
Saskia: Oh, "The Christmas Chronicles", sorry.
Lisa: Fine, I’ll take that! Andreas: Christmas dinner, goose or sausages with potato salad?
Andreas: Definitely goose!
Saskia: Sausages with potato salad! Always! Berlin style!
Lisa: Fine, let’s do it this way: I’ll come to dinner at both your places and decide then. Christmas decorations: colorful lights or simple white ones.
Saskia: I have simple white lights, but I decorated a very beautiful red and gold Christmas tree. So it looks very traditional at our place.
Lisa: Very nice. Andreas: Gift wrapping done for you or wrap them yourself.
Andreas: Preferably done for me.
Saskia: But everything online? That’s difficult.
Lisa: Saskia, Christmas music: traditional songs or modern hits?
Saskia: American classics.
Lisa: Andreas, Christmas cookies: gingerbread or cinnamon stars?
Andreas: Neither.
Lisa: At Christmas markets: mulled wine or hot chocolate?
Saskia: White mulled wine for me.
Saskia: Oh!
Saskia: The best!
Lisa: Very nice. Thank you very, very much for being here today. I’m already very much looking forward to the new year here on the podcast and also at eBay. Thank you, Saskia, thank you, Andreas, for this super, super exciting look back, but above all also look ahead to the new year. Thank you and I wish you happy holidays.
Saskia: Thank you! Happy Christmas season!
Andreas: Yes thank you very much and also a big thank you to our sellers out there. Happy holidays.
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