eBay Launches Offsite Ad Program - No Extra Cost for Now

by: skopie

Wow, an email from eBay that is actually good news. On my Etsy store, I cringe every time I see a sale through an offsite ad because of the high cost. But at least I got a sale that I would not have without the ad present. I always wished eBay would do more offsite ads for me.

I don't think there is any way to adjust the ad percentage on Etsy. So I wonder how they will be allocating the offsite ads on eBay. Sometimes I will go as low as 1% on eBay because I'm not competing with anyone else. So it would be nice to know if 1% minimum is enough to get the ad placed offsite, what changes will be made with more percentage, and how they will be using keywords and other SEO. Apart from making changes to the listing, there doesn't seem to be any way to adjust SEO like you can with keywords on Etsy.

by: The End

@ skopie
"I don't think there is any way to adjust the ad percentage on Etsy. "
There Sure Is.
And I'm not gonna tell ya.......

by: I Must be Crazy

I was surprised to see this announcement today. Reason being is that I was actually working on my promoted listings. Right now, NOTHING is selling. A few very small items. But sales are down 68 percent from this same month last year and things are trending toward zero. Started in mid May.

I have been using Promoted Listings for almost 2 years. I haven't seen any benefit to be honest. I run everything at 2% just to get the exposure. But as for increased sales, it has amounted to zero. What I have noticed, is a lot of my competitors who sell the same items at higher prices seem to be getting more sales. So it got me thinking, eBay must perform a calculation of their maximum take for a product based on a variety of factors. Their ''take'' could be a part of the algorithm that surfaces results.

Since nothing is selling anyway, I figured I might as well raise my prices. While I am at it, I will increase the Promoted percentage and raise prices further to cover it. I am interested to see what happens. I will not be surprised one bit if I start to see things move again. It has been apparent for a long time that service and price are not what brings items to the top.

As for eBay's announcement; they need to do something. The buyers are not coming to the site like they used to so it is time to go find the buyers where they are.

by: toastedmutt

The email message from eBay I received contained a button to opt to restrict your Promoted listings to eBay only.

Participation in the offsite publishing of your listings could very well generate additional sales.

Another wait and see what happens for me.  I'll give it a month then analyze what, if any, positive effect it has on my sales.

by: ShortSeller

Meh.

by: toastedmutt

How many desperate sellers are already using Promoted Listings?  Hundreds of thousands?  A million or more?

eBay is so oversaturated with listings, the current Promoted Listings service is not generating an uptick in sales for most sellers due to the competition, and sellers are complaining loudly.

What is the current average extra percentage sellers are willing to pay eBay to move merchandise?

I received an invite when PL first started.  At that time it was new, limited sellers participating, and 2% or 3% did increase my sales.  After PL was opened to virtually everyone on the site the results sank.  It appears 8% to 12% today may, just maybe, get the same results 2% used to get you.  Too many sellers using the scheme so your PL may not show in Search until page 3 or 4.  And of course your ads appearing on other sellers listings does nothing to promote peace, harmony and a sense of community on the site.

eBay does need to seek alternative means to bring buyers to the site.

by: Rexford

What The End said.

Always reaching deeper into sellers' pockets.

by: Frank Abagnale

@I Must Be Crazy

"eBay must perform a calculation of their maximum take for a product based on a variety of factors. Their ''take'' could be a part of the algorithm that surfaces results."

That's exactly how I feel.    

by: Rexford

For those not participating in this scheme--watch for your eBay items to disappear from Google search.   I sell a niche item on Etsy and all of my photos for those items disappeared from Google images when I refused to participate in their money grab scheme.

I'm good with that.  I have been moving those items over to my own web site and they are easily seen in Google images.   Etsy's loss, my gain.  My profit is higher when I sell the item on my web site.

None of us have to sell on eBay or Etsy.  There is no end to the way they bite the hand that feeds them.  

by: Carl

@ I Must be Crazy
The reason you are seeing no improvement in sales is simple: ad blockers.
When promoted listings first came in, people that used them had the listing show twice on the page, once at the top (promoted) and the other further down the page amongst the others.
eBay stopped the one amongst the others showing, meaning only the promoted listing shows at the top.
The problem is that many ad blockers actually block these promoted listings, meaning that a promoted listing is never seen by anyone, depending on the ad blocker used. I use ublock origin and I never see promoted listings, or other ads on the eBay site.
If you do not use promoted listings, at least the one in the general search will always show, not if you use promoted listings though. I do not believe eBay reverted back to showing the listing twice on the page?
I don't know the percentage that use ad blockers, but I am sure it will be high.
You want to see improvement in sales? Stop promoting your listings.

by: The End

Step 1....Name your business.
Step 2....Get your Business License.
Step 3....Find a good web host.
Step 4....Get web creation software.
Step 5....Set up your Business Emails. "Administrator" must be one of them.
Step 6....Get your SSL Certificate for eCommerce.
Step 7....Set up your Google Analytics account.
Step 8....Choose a shopping Cart.
Step 9....Choose a Payment Gateway and set it up.
Step 10..Make your FREE Google product listings !
Step 11..Now, thumb your nose at Ebay, Etsy, and Amazon :o)

by: Smallseller

I am suspicious whenever ebay announces a program or enhancement that will supposedly benefit sellers. That is the environment that they have created for sellers. Initially, this may be a good thing. But I do not like the fact that you have to opt out. Here is what I think will eventually happen. It will become mandatory after you reach a certain volume of sales just like Etsy. The percentage will be fixed and sellers will not be able to change it. If you opt out, your listings may not be promoted internally either. They will let enough time pass so that people forget about the initial announcement and then spring these new restrictions on sellers.

by: Paul W

I set my ad rate at 1% and get quite a few PL sales.  Having them appear in more offsite ads certainly can't hurt.  There being no extra fees is good, but will that last?