eBay battled tech giants like Amazon and Meta for years. Now it’s getting a lift from Facebook’s Marketplace.

This week, internet royalty old (eBay) and new (Meta) joined forces, with the companies announcing a partnership that will see eBay listings tested on Facebook’s Marketplace platform.

Given the size difference here — Meta’s market cap is nearly 50x eBay’s — the deal was seen as something of a coup for eBay, allowing it to tap into Marketplace’s billion-plus monthly visitors, sending its stock up 10% on Wednesday to its highest point in over three years. That builds on a great 2024 for the OG e-commerce company, when its stock gained 42%.

You might be asking: what’s in it for Meta?

The answer, it seems, is that the deal may help Meta battle a bevy of anti-competitive accusations. Last November, the European Commission fined Meta $821 million for tying Marketplace to its core Facebook app, per CNBC.

Back to basics

In a market now ruled by giants like Amazon, eBay, the 29-year-old e-commerce pioneer, is in a curious position. At the turn of the century, the company was soaring, but as people realized selling stuff on the internet wasn’t always a scam, competition emerged in almost every category. eBay once veered into Amazon’s lane, focusing on brand-new, fixed-price items — an experiment that eventually fizzled as Amazon’s sprawling warehouses and lightning-fast delivery proved unbeatable.

That’s why four years ago, eBay stopped trying to out-Amazon Amazon, returning to its roots as a marketplace for used (and rare) goods and focusing once again on “recommerce” (pre-owned, refurbished goods and collectibles), which has proved successful so far.

Now, thanks to some of its tech rivals getting too big, eBay has a chance to piggyback on their platforms — and Wall Street is loving it.