Online flower retailer ProFlowers said Tuesday it was launching a branded store on eBay. Customers can now order fresh flowers, plants and chocolate-and-vase bundles directly from Stores.ebay.com/ProFlowers and have the festive arrangements delivered, with a free personalized message, on a day specified by the buyer. eBay-specific customers will also have access to special “Deal of the Week” offers for specifically-priced bouquets and vases.

“With Mother’s Day just a week away, I can’t think of a better time to bring special joy to moms everywhere courtesy of the ProFlowers store on eBay,” said Michael Jones, eBay’s Vice President, Merchant Development.

To ensure the company is delivering the freshest blooms possible, ProFlowers works directly with professional growers, rather than intermediaries, retailers or third parties and guarantees seven days of fresh flowers to all its customers — which now includes eBay buyers.

Now here’s a promotion I can get behind… In addition to featuring products for Mum and special Mother’s Day Daily Deals, eBay is launching an integrated social media contest for customers and employees today called “Every Mom’s a Hero.” Utilizing Twitter and Facebook, eBay will feature stories and sentiments about special mothers shared through those channels. Facebook contest winners will be announced on May 10th and participants will be asked to post a photo of their mom “hero” along with a short story on eBay’s Facebook page about why this mom is so special.

My Mum

Although I am eligible to participate, I’m going to make sure another lucky community member gets the chance to win. Having said that, having now become a father of two children in recent years, I will say that I appreciate even more what my own Mum went through in raising me. There were some tough days early on and I can’t imagine how difficult that must have been and I appreciate and love my Mother for what she sacrificed for me every day. To have her as a Mother and to see my wife now with our children, I can’t imagine a luckier guy out there. I first met my wife when we were 19 years old and I’ve watched her grow into a caring, beautiful, and responsible parent – all while maintaining her uncanny ability to stay just as young and fun as she was when we first met.

Allie and the kids

I recognize that I am very fortunate to have such a big platform to share these kind of sentiments about two amazing women in my life but now, thanks to this campaign, you do too so go shout it from the Facebook and Twitter rooftops… “My Mum is a hero!!”

eBay’s Facebook Fan Page calls on people to share a short story about an amazing mom in their lives. The best Superhero Story – judged by eBay’s Facebook community in the week before Mother’s Day – wins a spa weekend getaway for two including airfare, accommodation and an eBay shopping spree. Other prizes include two 64GB iPads with Wi-Fi and two $250 eBay shopping sprees. On Twitter, eBay will reward a daily winner thanking a superhero mom and using the #eBayMomHeroes hashtag with a $100 eBay gift card.

Click on the following links for the Twitter rules and Facebook contest info and rules.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mums (and Moms) out there and I wish all of them could win these cool prizes! Good luck!

Cheers,
RBH