ebay cut out coupons - but not promotional tokens

Here at the sales promotion blog, we are real advocates of consistency, honesty and fairness - especially when applied to sales promotions. After all when a sales promotion campaign goes live, there is a lot at stake:

• a brand's reputation
• consumer rights
• livelihoods of suppliers and partners  

The recent decision by ebay to cut out coupon fraud is welcomed, but not before time. However, it doesn't go far enough. What about the resale of:

1. Proofs of Purchase, e.g. tokens, codes etc?
2. Competition codes?
3. On-pack or downloaded vouchers for 2 for 1s, free trials and Kids Go Free?  

Granted, these auctions don't affect consumers, but they affect people on the other side of the promotional dice: promotional risk insurers, affinity partners, customer services. And the knock on effects can be severe. If a promotion over-redeems which has happened in a few high-profile campaigns lately, the consequences for businesses behind the scenes can be fatal.

So, let's have some consistency. Ban the resale of all promotional tokens, vouchers and coupons (which have expired). By all means resell promotional merchandise, but be discerning. One day that stuff might become a collector's item!