Promoted Listings Changes - You Must Be Joking, eBay

[superchallenge]

Email from eBay this morning. 

If I read it correctly, from 24th June, if you use promoted listings and ANYBODY clicks on the ad one time...if the item then sells to ANYBODY ELSE within the next 30 days, you get charged as if the first guy bought it.

That means that if Bob in Scotland clicks an ad and doesn't buy, but Steve from Wales rolls in 29 days later and finds the item in search and buys it without clicking on a promoted listings ad, you get charged because Bob clicked it almost a month ago.

It's all well and good saying "You'll still only pay when your items sell" eBay, but that isn't the point. We pay for promoted listings in order to help find A BUYER, not a browser. If somebody comes in and buys an item organically, then the ad hasn't done its job and we're not paying for it.

We'll be removing all of our promoted listings campaigns later today, as this starts in 32 days, which is extremely underhanded. The reason being that there's a 30-day attribution window, so if Steve clicks on one of our ads this Sunday, on June 24th when Bob buys the item without clicking an advert, we'll get charged.

[iceblue_uk]

They've gone too far this time, we've paid through the nose just to get
listing visibility on this platform for long enough. They haven't even
bothered to try and dress up this change as being of some kind of benefit
to sellers like they did when halo sales were announced, even though it was
clear that the only benefit of that was to eBay. We are expected to just
suck it up or leave, despite thanking us so much for our loyalty every time
we call in.

This change again appears to have no purpose whatsoever except to
significantly increase ebay's ad revenue without them having to improve the
service they provide, or indeed doing anything at all to benefit their
members.

What have eBay done for us lately?

[nutrafituk]

Spot on. What have eBay done for us lately? I'm sure you know the answer.

[charmkeyrings]

I think people are generally tolerant but you can only push them so far. Without doing a survey, I would imagine that business sellers will reduce PLs to the minimum or switch them off altogether. I think eBay have shot themselves in the foot with this one. I hope it was just pure greed and not a cash grab before the platform dies.

[leminkainen2010]

Promoted listings is one big con. If the buyers are not there, then no amount of promotions are going to make the slightest difference. How big can you dig a hole??

[therenewalworkshopltd]

No, very much disagree with this.

Promoted listings work well, if used correctly.

Though you are technically correct, that it won't work if there are no buyers.  But that statement is patently untrue, or literally nobody would be selling anything.

The problem with advertising on Ebay, is that so many seem to think that the only way to sell anything, is to use promotions.  I've said it before and I will keep saying it, this is a fallacy and just not true.

Or to look at it another way, how many brands do you see advertising permanently?  They all have campaigns that run for fixed periods.  None of them (or very few), will run advertising 24/7!  It's an insane idea to do so.

Ebay had blinded so many.  

[pidgeun1]

Another Ads Change (weekly to monthly) to maximize and burn your Ads Budget

https://www.ebayadvertising.com/en/2025/05/30/seller-announcement-introducing-monthly-budget-pacing-...

https://www.valueaddedresource.net/ebay-monthly-budget-promoted-listings-priority-cpc/

[watchfan700uk]

is this being rolled out in the usa ?

[pidgeun1]

Yes, this change is across the board 

[pal_version]

not yet. UK, EU and Australia are just the Guinea pigs on this. the Germans have had it longer apparently.

[onlineflowerseeds]

Promote fees will be changed to be charged at time of sale at CURRENT promotion rate

Not when the buyer clicks if for first time

Only change will be Organic listing will most likely pay the CURRENT fee if the promoted has been clicked on in the last 30 days

If the Promotion is not running , then the fee is 0

Otherwise , sellers would promote at 2% , get a click then for 30 days promote at 80% and pay 2% fees

That`s why it is always the CURRENT fee and if promotion is paused or ended then it is 0%

[charmkeyrings]

Personally, I'm hugely disappointed with eBay. We live in a capalist society and the idea of running a business is to turn a profit. For me this has crossed the line and turned into "grubby".