Weakly Chat's debate about the term "Sponsered Listing"

[ebbyisme]

Surprised to see many other's have the same reaction to seeing the "Sponsored" label on a listing. For some reason for me it is a turn off. I will almost always skip that listing without even thinking about it.... and I don't even hate the program itself! Maybe due to what it used to mean, a paid for ad by an outside seller. I am willing to use the program if need be, but I do wonder if the label on a listing can sometimes be more of a hindrance to sales.  I think added placement and easier to find listing during search would be enough with no title rather than using "sponsored". Easy to change, wouldn't have to do anything except not label those listings. Also I think it will turn off some small buyer/sellers who hate the program and will purposely avoid purchasing from a "sponsored" listing...... what does everyone think?

[fern*wood]

I also wonder what difference it will make when more sellers start enrolling in this new ploy (I mean program) and every other listing is "sponsored".  

I've had modest success so far on the few qualifying listings I have, but feel the pop will start to diminish when we all look the same.

[mr_lincoln]

@ebbyisme  Alan posted that they initially used Promoted but due to FCC Regulations they had to change it to Sponsored ... I sell Collectibles and most are one off items.  I plan to test some individual listings just to see how it goes ...

[ebbyisme]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

@ebbyisme  Alan posted that they initially used Promoted but due to FCC Regulations they had to change it to Sponsored ... I sell Collectibles and most are one off items.  I plan to test some individual listings just to see how it goes ...

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I saw that, that is why my suggestion was don't label them at all if the FCC is hung up on labels.... just give them the increased visibility. To me it would seem like all the advantages and none of the tarnish of the label "sponsored". Like every subject about eBay I would imagine it would also depend on your buyers and what category you sell in.

[ymeagainlord]

"The definition of sponsor is to provide funding for something, or to pledge to fund something" - I fail to see where eBay is "sponsoring" these promoted listings - regardless of the FCC regulations.

[tonycea]

What do I think it is, it is a scam, eBay is not Google, this is a marketplace where sellers list items for sale, eBay has no need to sell ads, it is ineptitude of management that is leading eBay in this direction, it is the very same direction Yahoo took when they ruined their email programs after they inserted ads into the email.

We see what users thought of Yahoo, eBay is fast heading in the very exact direction Yahoo did, and we know what happened to them due to inept management decisions.

[timemachine777]

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@fern*wood wrote:

I also wonder what difference it will make when more sellers start enrolling in this new ploy (I mean program) and every other listing is "sponsored".  

I've had modest success so far on the few qualifying listings I have, but feel the pop will start to diminish when we all look the same.

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You'll all be in the same position you were in before the program, except that you will all be paying eBay more money to take you full circle.

[mr_lincoln]

Just checked the categories for individual promoted listings ... thought I would be able to pretty much pick any one I wanted ... unfortunately that is not the case ... looks like Antiques is just about it.

[timemachine777]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

Just checked the categories for individual promoted listings ... thought I would be able to pretty much pick any one I wanted ... unfortunately that is not the case ... looks like Antiques is just about it.

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Give it time...They'll have something for you too.

[chrysylys]

FCC???

Or FTC?


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[do.you.read.me]

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@chrysylys wrote:
FCC???

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Yep, he said FCC but it's all about deceptive practices that the FTC monitors.

[tonycea]

LOL, you have to pay for that and maintain the payments to a web host, most of the time it is going to be a minimum of 40 bucks a month for a decent plan.

Mail.com is free.........

[kh-missy]

Hello everyone,

This thread had gotten quite a bit off-topic so a few posts were removed.  Please, let's bring the discussion back to "Sponsored Listing".

Thanks for understanding, and if you have any questions about post removal, don't hesitate to reach out to me or any moderator!

[copper.boom]

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@ymeagainlord wrote:
"The definition of sponsor is to provide funding for something, or to pledge to fund something" - I fail to see where eBay is "sponsoring" these promoted listings - regardless of the FCC regulations.

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eBay isn't the sponsor. The seller paying the placement fee is the sponsor.

I don't like it any more than the rest of you and as I buyer I tend to glaze over Sponsored Listings. This is why I brought it up in chat.

But I do know that the FTC rules are very strict and specific. This one actually isn't eBay's fault.

[hioctane62]

I've been experimenting with some promoted listings since May 18. I also don't like seeing the label in search results, and took all my promoted listings back to 1% to try to minimize impressions (spam) seen by buyers.

So far this month, out of 24 sales, 19 were items that were promoted, but only ONE sale came from a promoted impression.

I'll be ending my promoted campaign by the end of this month, and will likely not use promoted listings again. My buyers obviously see what they are looking for on the first (non promoted) impression. Ebay has made a total of 9 cents from my promoted listings campaign.

I've also been trying some social media marketing, and have had much better results with that.