Updates to eBay’s Promoted Listings programme

[vinylscot]

I'd love to see how eBay can justify this changed to "promoted listings". (In an email received a few minutes ago.)

In future, if anyone ever clicks on a promoted listing, the promoted fee will be charged, even if the actual buyer did not find it through "promoted listings". I'll certainly be ending all my promotions. Almost every listing gets clicks at some time - this is crazy.

As a user of eBay Advertising, we want to make you aware of an update to general strategy campaigns on ebay.co.uk, ebay.fr, ebay.it, ebay.es and ebay.com.au. Starting from 24 June, items promoted with a general strategy will use the following attribution definition when reporting sales and charging ad fees:

An attributed sale will be when any buyer purchases the promoted item within 30 days of any click on the ad, regardless of whether the buyer themselves clicked on the ad. The item must be promoted at the time of click and the time of sale. The seller will be charged the ad rate at the time of sale.

[jonatjonatjonat]

Jeez I posted this at the same time.

Can you explain what they even mean by that?

Does that mean if person A clicks on the ad but doesn't buy, but then person B finds the product normally through search, we'd still be charged? It's how it reads - and it very much sounds like a means to move people to use PPC of the Priority Ads

[koco-chocolate]

We agree this is hugely unfair and just another way of ebay finding ways of taking our money. the fee should only be charged if the actual buyer clicks on the listing within 30 days and then goes back to buy the item.

Now a child can click on your listing  and you will be charged the ad fee, PAY PER CLICK IN DISGUISE

ebay are making a rod for their own back because now we will stop any promoted listings. since we are 98% down on sales this year already anyway. Ebay is dying a death.

[westminster_dental_supplies]

That's exactly what it is. To force people into dynamic pricing, which of course will push dynamic pricing up even more as more use it.

Basically their change means if anyone clicks your add, within 30 days even if another is not a lead through your promotion you will still be charged.

It's an absolute scam.

[cernak.m]

This is the grates money grab attempt I saw from eBay in a long time!

This is just crazy stuff they introduced out of nowhere!

There is no reason why to that other than make more money out of us.

INSTEAD OF ATTRACTING MORE BUYERS, THEY DECIDED THEY MILK THE SELLERS MORE, JUST TO REPORT PROFITS FOR THE STOCK SHAREHOLDERS.

BUT TO WHICH POINT? WHEN WILL WE HAVE ANOUGH?

This is just plainly and morally wrong, taking money from a sale where buyer never ever clicked on a promoted listing at all!

Its like a phantom click! Every add fee I pay anywhere I pay only after someone click at my promoted ad, ONLY eBay decided, that now its OK to pay add fee when the buyer never clicked on a promoted listing.

This must be ILEGAL!
I just cant believe this is happening

[vinylscot]

I was a little inaccurate in my text earlier. Someone would have needed to click on a promoted ad for your listing, not just viewed your listing. Even then, it's obviously grossly unfair.

If you were petty, you could click on every promoted ad that showed up on your own listing, to make sure they need to pay for having their ads on your listing. They would be hit with promo fees, but, eBay would make more by receiving these fees. The only up-side may be that sellers may stop using/paying for promoted listings. 

[mit864]

Good luck with that ebay..

I wonder what the FCA and Competition Authorities would think of that. complaint going in today.

You can't charge for something that isn't happening :

If buyer a clicks on the ad, then buyer b buys it, can't charge for buyer A if he hasn't bought.

The legalties of this must be wrong here, i'm sure google got fined heavily for something similar. in the billions.

[stonecedar]

Another money grab. They are crashing the eBay plane with no survivors! 

Just return to the seller fee and stop this "Free to sell" lie and be done with it, promotions are just seller fees through the back door. Rarely get sells without being promoted now and this change basically means you will always pay the fee in the vast majority of cases.

[roberpalme_236]

May as well change thier name from eBay to Take, Take and Take Somemore.

[smarts-gaming]

Another genius move from ebay who think this will plug the evergrowing financial hole theyve created, when what it will actually do is cause them to lose even more money. 

I never promote items anyway, its a complete scam imo. Ive never noticed any difference in views on promoted items and ones that arent. Also if you go and list on Vinted, youll get at least 5x the views of ebay  without having to "promote" 🙂 

[bluemakala]

I just read the update too and agree it's totally unfair. 

It just seems like a way of eBay increasing fees again which, even without promoting a listing, are already a high percentage of a sale. 

The only solution I can see is for all Sellers to stop using Promoted Listings and then we'd all be back to the same 'level playing field' as the old expression goes. 

[gameswap.shop]

I love how eBay's way of competing with other online marketplaces is by making them more attractive to sell on. Another own goal by the completely out of touch execs.

Instead of providing any additional value to businesses to gain more custom and a competitive edge, they are just further ensh*ttifying the platform with higher fees and AI junk nobody asked for. All at a time when platform competition demands competitive offers. Instead of doing anything innovative to increase revenue, they are taking the lazy route and fleecing their existing sellers for any pennies they have left.

[selling-uk]

---

@cernak.m wrote:

INSTEAD OF ATTRACTING MORE BUYERS, THEY DECIDED THEY MILK THE SELLERS MORE, JUST TO REPORT PROFITS FOR THE STOCK SHAREHOLDERS.

BUT TO WHICH POINT? WHEN WILL WE HAVE ANOUGH?

---

That will be the usual suspects, I guess?

Blackrock

Vanguard

State Street

Everything that everyone consumes, buys, sells etc, they have their grubby mitts all over it!

Yeah, thought so!

[tpogodin]

This is absurd.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

if no one promoted listings then no one would be disadvantaged and e bay would not gain lots of dosh for doing nothing.

[vinylscot]

but everyone still thinks "if nobody else promoted their listings any more, I still would, so I would have an advantage", so everyone keeps promoting.

[cernak.m]

THis is just another blow for bussiness sellers.

Not only we have to pay unholy money just to be able to list new listings here we must have 20% higher prices because of the VAT and pay selling fees and now this nonsense promotions fees change!

Compared to a private sellers having free listings, no selling fees (buyers is paying those) and no VAT.

At some point it will not male sense to list here anymore because there will be almost no space for a profit margin while staying competitive.

Why no changes for the bussness sellers so we have some free listings or lower fees or anything, just to make sure bussiness will stay here?

Do you know you can list 10000 new listings on US ebay site for the price of about 60 GBP for the shop while here on UK site it will cost you almost 500 GBP?
Why is that?

No, I think business sellers are a joke to eBay and they are making nothing to keep business sellers happy, quite the opposite.

And no "Seller clinic" 1 + 1 sales representative doesn't count as its a biggest joke of all, because there is no one to help you, there is only a sale person on the other end trying to pursue you to make promotions then ever! 

[koco-chocolate]

Thats exactly what eaby are replying on. If everyone thinks like that then ebay can sit with their feet up, a cup of hot cocoa and a smile on their faces knowing that the money still coming in.  What they do realise is the common business mistake any business can make no matter how big they are. "it takes years of hard work to climb the ladder. But one stupid mistake and you can fall off the ladder a 1000 time faster than you climbed up in the first place"  

Ebay are making bad decisions regarding it's business sellers. and lets face it their are more business sellers on ebay than there is private sellers, without the business sellers ebay will dig its own grave. 

[johnwash1]

See https://www.valueaddedresource.net/ebay-promoted-listings-ad-attribution-uk-australia-italy-france-s... for more on this.

[thetimetower]

This is the first change where even i've been speechless. This is greed of the worst kind. Absolutely no way to make profit unless you're getting items for pennies now. Their PPC is dreadful and now min 20p a click? and £5 a day.

To advertise your items

on THEIR marketplace

Where they charge a hefty fee for sales, postage, listings, upgrades.

What the actual...