Over the last many years eBay Inc. has paid attention on improving the shopping experience that buyers and sellers have on its main eBay. com site expecting of driving up growth in its online marketplaces business, which is its biggest unit.

One of these efforts stepped in last year in the form of eBay Bucks, which is a shopping reward program eBay introduced out for all American users, in the month of August.

Under the program participants get a two percent reward on certain items they buy through eBay. com and pay for using eBay's online payment service, PayPal, and the rewards are given in the kind of quarterly gift certificates that can be used within thirty days to buy something on eBay using PayPal.

Users can get as much as two hundred dollars worth of eBay Bucks for each item they buy on eBay, and up to five hundred dollars per quarter.

CEO John Donahoe while talking on a conference call with analysts Wednesday for discussing the company's final quarter's results responded to a question about the program and how it has helped eBay.

He was asked that how far useful is the eBay Bucks program for the firm in comparison of the incentive it gives to buyers. In reply he stated that

EBay Bucks was a program that surprised them because of at the attractiveness it created to heavy eBay buyers.

He went on to say that they started the program a couple of years ago focusing first on how to retain and deepen relationship with the top customers. He meant people who like coming to eBay, who buy with more frequency. And EBay Bucks was something that they responded to.