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eBay injects its brand name into its classifieds subsidiary Kijiji, which launched four years ago. Starting with two cities, the Kijiji name will change to eBay Classifieds.

The testing begins in San Antonio and Pittsburgh, but will likely become more widespread later. The eBay brand seems a bit tarnished, but that brand name is probably the company's greatest asset. It has a tremendous amount of familiarity among consumers. Kijiji users in the testing cities got emails over the weekend that went something like this:

Dear Kijiji San Antonio user,

Starting in early March, Kijiji San Antonio is going to be trying out a new name, “eBay Classifieds San Antonio.” We here at Kijiji thought it made a lot of sense to start using the eBay brand name. After all, we are part of the eBay family and we are a classifieds site…so “eBay Classifieds” just seemed like a good idea. Of course, we’re very curious to hear what you think so let us know once you see the change.

Also, please rest assured that nothing will change other than the name and the domain! Everything else stays the same. That means your ad will stay posted on the site, but instead of finding it at Kijiji San Antonio you will now find it at eBay Classifieds San Antonio. And, as always, we will continue to be your FREE local classifieds site!
   
eBayClassifieds

Warm regards,

The Kijiji team

P.S. If you happen to browse to one of our sister sites, you may notice that they’re still called Kijiji. So consider yourself special! We chose only San Antonio and one other city to try out this new name for now.

Clearly eBay is thinking about using that brand leverage to compete with Craiglist. This is even acknowledged in the company blog post used to announce the name change.

Despite the harsh opinions many (ex-)sellers hold about eBay, the move appears to be a smart one. As it stands right now, there is nothing on Kijiji's homepage to indicate that it has anything to do with eBay. The branding will likely boost the site's use.