Some shoppers go to eBay just for their technology purchases; others only look for vintage denim. A new contest campaign called ‘Brilliant Buyers’ wants consumers to share those stories, and in the process also find out about other categories they could be e-cruising, explains Andrea Stairs, country manager for eBay Canada.

‘It’s certainly part of our strategy to engage with our current active buyers, and both acknowledge and reward them for their current buying behaviour. As well, through all the stories that will come out of the end of the contest, to encourage them to think about buying in new categories,’ Stairs tells MiC, of the campaign developed by CloudRaker in Montreal.

Through online banners and e-blasts, eBay shoppers will be asked to enter via a microsite to submit the story of their treasured buy. Entries will be divided into five categories – the Stylish Shopper; the Business Buyer; the Consummate Collector; the Budget Buyer and the Enthusiastic Eco-consumer. A winner for each category will be awarded $1,000 to spend on the site.

About six million Canadians have made purchase on eBay in the last decade of San Jose, California-based eBay’s existence, spending more than $7 billion.

‘We haven’t focused on large buyer campaigns in a while, and really we wanted to unearth all of the great buyer stories that we know the eBay community is sitting on,’ Stairs says.