CHECK YOUR TRANSACTION REPORTS "SOLD VIA PROMOTED LISTINGS" ADDED TO EVERY SALE ON DELAY

[the-hook-and-the-loop]

I have been selling full-time on eBay since Covid started(4 years) and for 15 years total. I know my sales and my repeat customers and my sending offers. Well eBay has reached an all-time low as I have experienced all of their lows. I am noticing that they are going back in time and marking ALL OF MY SALES "SOLD VIA PROMOTED LISTINGS" hours and days after the sale occurred, thus helping themselves to basically double the fees. There is no way that out of 20 sales, 19 were sold via promoted listings. Many of these sales are repeat buyers purchasing the same item they always buy. This is beyond disgusting.

[knifeaholic]

Wow...that is odd and very disturbing.  When you check eBay's fees for those listings, do they definitely show the additional PL fees over and above the usual fees?

[valueaddedresource]

---

@the-hook-and-the-loop wrote:

I have been selling full-time on eBay since Covid started(4 years) and for 15 years total. I know my sales and my repeat customers and my sending offers. Well eBay has reached an all-time low as I have experienced all of their lows. I am noticing that they are going back in time and marking ALL OF MY SALES "SOLD VIA PROMOTED LISTINGS" hours and days after the sale occurred, thus helping themselves to basically double the fees. There is no way that out of 20 sales, 19 were sold via promoted listings. Many of these sales are repeat buyers purchasing the same item they always buy. This is beyond disgusting.

---

@the-hook-and-the-loop eBay has said for years now that ad attribution can take up to 72 hours, so it's not a uncommon for orders that are initially not attributed to PL ads to be changed hours or even days after the sale.

Recent changes to "halo" attribution and including PL ads in watchlists (often for the same item a buyer already has in the list organically) among other things have also increased the number of repeat sales that are being attributed to PL ads.

Not saying I agree with it or defend eBay's ad practices, but what you are describing is "working as intended" and as it has been for months (years in the case of delayed attribution) and isn't something new.

[the-hook-and-the-loop]

I meant to REPLY and not mark as BEST ANSWER. So your saying 90%+ of my sales are legitimately "SOLD VIA PROMOTED LISTINGS" when it's always been 40% give or take? That's preposterous. I have buyers buying the same item that they always purchase. It's an organic sale, but hours later, eBay inserts their "SOLD VIA PROMOTED LISTINGS" and takes their additional %.

[the-hook-and-the-loop]

Oh, I'm sure it's "working as intended". Must just be my lubrication isn't working as it should.

[the-hook-and-the-loop]

Also, I have watched thousands of my sales and how and when the PL fee gets tacked on and have never experienced a 72 hour delay. The sale gets branded as a PL sale within minutes, and that has been that way for years.

[valueaddedresource]

---

@the-hook-and-the-loop wrote:

I meant to REPLY and not mark as BEST ANSWER. So your saying 90%+ of my sales are legitimately "SOLD VIA PROMOTED LISTINGS" when it's always been 40% give or take? That's preposterous. I have buyers buying the same item that they always purchase. It's an organic sale, but hours later, eBay inserts their "SOLD VIA PROMOTED LISTINGS" and takes their additional %.

---

@the-hook-and-the-loop all I'm saying is that eBay has for quite some time now advised that ad attribution can take up to 72 hours (it says it right on the ad dashboard page) so the fact it is changing is not uncommon or an indication something has changed.

As has been true since the day PL was created, unfortunately sellers are in a position where they just have to take eBay's word for it when they say that a click or other event occurred that would place that sale properly under PL attribution per the terms of the marketing agreement/policies (which of course eBay has expanded on that definition over time to be able to include more and more sales, ie halo attribution, adding to watch list, etc.).

Again, not defending it or saying eBay isn't obviously rigging the game in their favor by how they write the "rules", just saying what you are describing is within those "rules" as stated in eBay's policies and terms of using Promoted Listings.

[heckofagame]

You could avoid any questions about how it's applied by not promoting listings. It is an optional service.

[fern*wood]

I think you can undo the "mark as best answer" unless there is a time limit because I've done that.

[the-hook-and-the-loop]

I'm speechless. 19 out of 20 sales yesterday sold via PL. I have never had a day with only one organic sale. This has gotten way out of hand. So eBay has 72 hours(eBay has given themselves via their own policy writing skills) to revise every sale or brand it as promoted and collect the fees. DISGUSTED!!!

[us-mamic]

Use the auction from 0.99, there is no promotion. Oh yes, everyone wants more money than it's worth. It's amazing that ebay too.

[buyselljack2016]

I meant to REPLY and not mark as BEST ANSWER. 

---------------------------------------------------

use the dropdown arrow in the upper right of that post to "unselect" if desired

[the-hook-and-the-loop]

It's not optional if you want any visibility and sales. Don't you think I have tried turning them off? NO SALES.

eBay has rigged it, so that you must promote, and not at 2%. You must promote at their suggested rate 13%-18%. Phase 1 is being forced to promote for traffic. Phase 2 is being forced to promote above 13% if you want to try an earn a living. Phase 3 is eBay making every sale "SOLD VIA PROMOTED LISTINGS". Phase 4 will be eBay trying to get 50% of every sale which is in the works now.

[joliztoyco]

Yeah. Like the "optional" paid parking offered with Event tickets.
All the fans that "bought in" have nice cushy spots near the entrances. 
You?
You're so far from the stadium you have to call an Uber to get you to a gate.
And you missed the first quarter.

[robbie31415]

So if you get no organic sales because you turn it off that means your sales are coming from promoted listings and would have the ad fee.

I'm not understanding your logic.