eBay puts its money behind ‘holiday chill'

eBay is turning a battle against early holiday promotions into a charitable endeavor. 

The e-tailer is introducing the “Holiday Jargon Jar.” This virtual jar donates $1 every time a retailer overuses seasonal buzzwords (such as “merry,” “mistletoe,” “’tis,” and “’twas”) on Twitter, up to $50,000. According to eBay, during 2018 there were thousands of online mentions of holiday-related words and phrases in October and November alone.

eBay will scan Twitter for what it considers to be top 100 holiday buzzwords from 2,000 major brands, using a combination of algorithms and the human eye. Each time a retailer uses one of these predetermined words, $1 will be added to the Jargon Jar. Consumers can join in by tagging instances of #HolidayJargon on Twitter, and following @HolidayJargon on Twitter. The full list of buzzwords is available here.

Running through Giving Tuesday (Dec. 3), Jargon Jar will culminate in eBay donating all of the money in the jar to SCORE, a network of volunteer, expert business mentors who help small businesses achieve their goals. The donated funds will benefit nearly 150 small businesses.

The Holiday Jargon Jar follows the September launch of eBay's “Holiday Chill” promotion, in which the e-tailer is marking the occasion of 100 days until Christmas by promising not to offer any holiday-themed ads, promotions, specials or sales until November.