eBay Marketing Program Terms 15 January 2025 - Time to jump the eBay ship ???

[bittyboy101]

Just received a message from eBay with a link to their new Marketing Program Terms which come into force on 15th January 2025.

Link below:-

https://pages.ebay.co.uk/promote-your-listings/terms/B2C/?mkevt=1&mkpid=2&emsid=e99011.m2.l1&mkcid=2... 

This seems way over to top to me as I'm only a small private seller with not much understanding of how this works and what hidden costs will rack up on my eBay seller account !

It looks to me like eBay are going to force yet another mandatory change on all of us and I honestly don't know if I have the ability to handle it.

This may be the end of me ever being able to sell anything on eBay ever again as this is now very complicated, costly and very frightening for a small simple private seller.

It really does now look that the person behind all these recent dreadful changes to eBay has now left no stone unturned with their mega changes campaign and are now changing everything that was original and unique to eBay with a mean vengeance !  😞 

Do post your thoughts on this - Good and Bad.

Many thanks !  🙂  

[myriad*seller]

Did you spot the part that says B2C?

Business to consumer......

[bittyboy101]

I honestly didn't see that !

So does this mean that private sellers will be exempt from this new marketing program ? or will they still have to take part in this at a later date ??

I am wondering why I had received this marketing program notification in my  eBay messages when I am just a private seller and not a big business ?

[simplyc-accessories]

After reading that I went off and shut my shop and ended all my listings. 

This site is soul destroying and has become very depressing.

[lucy_farmer]

I just tried to read that................Huh?

Can a small private seller just 'put something on ebay' (with no fees- as advertised) *without* using all this marketing stuff?  and without having to get a lawyer to understand all that guff for me?

The thought of giving up ebay has been growing steadily over the last year or so; this is adding to the pressure.

Giving private sellers the carrot of 'no fees', attached to the stick of trying to understand all this waffle, 'simple' delivery, held-payments etc etc will have the opposite effect of what ebay wanted- private sellers will be leaving.

Unless of course, that's actually what ebay *does* want?

After all it is more often private sellers that need real human help with problems; businesses, especially large business sellers, tend to build in resiliance to problems and scammers in their business models. And the less humans are involved in ebay, the less wages they have to pay....

I'm going to get my younger compu-literate friend to get on with building our own website for husband's technical hoard!

[bittyboy101]

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@simplyc-accessories wrote:

After reading that I went off and shut my shop and ended all my listings. 

This site is soul destroying and has become very depressing.

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ME  TOO !

I don't like the sound of this.

[lucy_farmer]

'Did you spot the part that says B2C?'

Nope. Couldn't penetrate that far into the verbiage.......

[4_bathrooms]

This isn't something new - according to the Wayback Machine that page has existed since 1st May 2018.

These are the terms that apply if you use eBay's "Marketing Services" such as promoted listings, promote your shop, promote offsite etc. If (like myself) you're not paying eBay for any of these things nothing has changed; if you are then some of the terms have been updated. Using the Wayback Machine you could compare the last update (March 19th 2024) with the current one. I quickly scanned both but it doesn't look like much has changed.   

[messier44000]

Sorry to hear this. 

Ended my shop and many listing back in April, leaving a small number of listings live 

and never looked back.

PPC on the website and you-tube (product demos) are doing nicely. 

So thank you those in eBay towers for pushing me away and increasing my sales elsewhere.

Started to read the marketing page, but my head hurt before I reached the end 

of the first paragraph. 

[simplyc-accessories]

It's the first time in 18 years on here that I have ended all my listings. 

The money grab from eBay has become too much, you can only increase your prices to a certain extent before they are priced out of the market.

I am going to take a break and may come back in the spring or may not.

[jonat_broad]

I'm inclined to agree with @4_bathrooms - it only applies if you actually promote the listings still. Nothing is changing there? I can't see where it states there are mandatory charges?

[the-layer-laboratory]

ChatGPT summarises the key policy changes as follows:

1. Marketing Services

• New details may emphasize ad placement flexibility, including multi-channel promotion (e.g., external platforms).
• Enhanced automation tools and campaign duration clarifications might have been introduced.

2. Fees and Pricing

• Updated cost-per-click or cost-per-sale models could include more detailed minimum/maximum rates or conditions for fee calculation.
• VAT handling, dispute windows, or fee adjustments for improper ad clicks might now be clarified.

3. Content and Licensing

• Revised terms may expand rights granted to eBay, particularly regarding sublicensing, content edits, or ad labeling policies.
• Stricter requirements for ad compliance with laws/regulations may have been added.

4. Liability and Indemnity

• Expanded disclaimers on campaign performance (e.g., revenue, keyword relevance).
• Potential modifications to liability caps and conditions under which eBay is held accountable.

5. General Conditions

• Clarifications on suspension/termination terms or notification methods for changes to terms.
• Broader discretionary powers for eBay in modifying services.

[kath3735_wxmjn]

If i could understand it i may be the same.  The way i read it (and believe me i am probably wrong as i usually am when trying to understand gobbledygook) it will only affect anyone using promotions or add on fee specifics.  I never use any so am hoping that it will not affect me, then again i will be gone in Feb anyway with the simple delivery.

[bittyboy101]

What happens if eBay automatically decide to promote your listings without you being aware of it and then slaps you with a hefty fee for their "marketing services "  ?? 🤔  

[bittyboy101]

Totally agree Kath.

I'm not letting eBay tell me which postal service to use for my sold items - Royal Mail and ParcelForce always worked well for me and where 99% reliable most of the time with the odd late delivery once in a while...

If I sent anything by EVRi - I don't think I could sleep that night from fear and worry of them messing up !

[4_bathrooms]

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@bittyboy101 wrote:

What happens if eBay automatically decide to promote your listings without you being aware of it and then slaps you with a hefty fee for their "marketing services "  ?? 🤔  

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For a start it would be illegal for eBay to do so where private sellers are concerned.

[bittyboy101]

Hope you're right, as it seems this lot are capable of anything !

[kempseykate]

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@bittyboy101 wrote:

What happens if eBay automatically decide to promote your listings without you being aware of it and then slaps you with a hefty fee for their "marketing services "  ?? 🤔  

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I know this is ebay, but seriously, that wouldn't be legal. It would be like going to Tesco for a pint of milk and loaf of bread and they deciding you also need to have, and pay for, a packet of tea bags and a packet of butter!

But if you do decide to 'jump ship', how many times would that be now? 

[bittyboy101]

Sadly It seems one too many now Kate 😞

This and the Managed Shipping has really pushed me right over the edge now... so far now I think, i'll be swimming to the nearest lifeboat or desert Island !... rather than climbing back into the sinking eBay ship !

It's now going down now with all these destructive changes... and it's not taking me with it ! 

Just to add, It's a totally different cattle of fish to shopping in Tesco's... Here they force you to have to accept their terms and conditions, then they modify them and plaster you with a service that you don't need or want and when you complain or don't agree, then they say "Well, You accepted our terms and conditions when you signed up to eBay"

I just want to be left alone by eBay to carry on selling like I have for the past 20 years... If they can't leave me to it... then I'm afriad I don't wish to sell on eBay any longer.    

Sorry, but excuse me if I am now a little bit wary ! 🤔 

[ile136yz]

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@4_bathrooms wrote:

This isn't something new - according to the Wayback Machine that page has existed since 1st May 2018.

I agree it is not new info.

What amazed me was the number of commas in the very long sentences