eBay Sales Promotions
I just read another article about how Amazon is preparing for tomorrows' cyber Monday event. These ads/articles remind folks where to go hunting for online deals. Where in the world are eBays' ads being seen? I mean for actual gift purchases. Not for cars or getting something authenticated. Some promos for the things the millions of sellers hope to sell this month! Are we just supposed to hope, pray, pay to promote with no help whatsoever from the website owners???
43 comments
frugality_inc
·2 years agoLet my put my consumer shoes on:
- Why would anyone shop here versus Walmart and Amazon for most purchases?
- With Walmart and Amazon handling fulfillment for most orders, why would I trust a 3rd party merchant?
- What is eBay? Car parts, overpriced shoes, collectibles and cardboard trading cards?
- Why is search results littered with irrelevant results and these things called 'promoted listings' that are not what I'm looking for?
- Where did the eBay loyalty program 'eBay bucks' go? Why was it removed?
- I don't see many exciting promotions for categories I'm interested in.
With that being said, the results speak for themselves.
Let's see...
BFCM results so far...
Walmart up 2x compared to last year.
Amazon up 5x compared to last year.
eBay down 47% compared to last year. First time eBay has been down YoY for BFCM and in a big way. Very telling. Fun fact, I have one product on Amazon that did more merchant fulfilled order volume wise than the entirety of eBay order volume. SAD.
The site is irrelevant at this point in today's eCommerce world. Glad I pivoted years ago when I saw the writing on the wall. Let it die and I hope all eBay common stock goes to $0 so these executives have nothing left and they're properly rewarded for their contributions to destroying this once great marketplace.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoLet it die and I hope all eBay common stock goes to $0 so these executives have nothing left and they're properly rewarded for their contributions to destroying this once great marketplace.
And to hell with the millions who buy and sell here?
(I'd rather just fix the site)
femmefan1946
·2 years agoMarshall McLuhan once famously said "the medium is the message".
In advertising this means the seller should buy advertising where the customers he wants are.
Now personally, think about what media you consume?
Are you watching broadcast TV with commercials? What is being advertised during your shows?
Same with radio. Who is advertising?
Now watch a channel or show that doesn't normally interest you at all. A cop show if you watch comedies, a game show if you prefer science fiction, a comedy if you prefer sportsball.
See how different the commercials are?
DH watches US political opinion shows on MSNBC. The ads are for pharmaceuticals and expensive cars. The advertising companies believe watchers are older and have money.
I watch local news. The ads are for local furniture and appliance shops and for snack foods. Apparently a younger, homemaking audience.
On the other hand, I see eBay ads on my FaceBook page fairly often. The last ones were encouraging giving refurbished small appliances (a red KitchenAid) as holiday presents.
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@femmefan1946
If I didn't know any better I would think eBay is trading off the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation (a group that still has a lot of real money to spend) for a younger crowd that is more inclined to max out their credit cards, over draw their bank accounts with Debit cards and worry about how to launch a Go Fund Me page and story to pay down their debt. I hate to think the illustration below typifies the new target buyer on the site ...
There is nothing to say they couldn't have both groups mentioned above ...
ladyindecadence
·2 years agoI find it funny because the kind of people that spend 5k on a designer hand bag or 15k on a new watch or 2k on name brand sneakers likely can't afford them and put them on a credit card and make payments. I know people like this and they live paycheck to paycheck.
I know a lot of collectors with disposable income and they are more likely to go on liveauctioneers or hibid and spend thousands of dollars on items with horrible descriptions sold as buyer beware with no money back guarantee. Then having to arrange 3rd party pickup and shipping at astronomical rates. And if you ask them about buying on ebay you get the same replies. They used to buy a lot on ebay but haven't looked at the site in forever because the search is so full of new mass produced junk they can't find the items they are interested in.
I still say ebay spent years trying to get people to think it wasn't a place to buy antiques and old stuff or even used items. But that's what everyone thinks ebay is and as they have pushed trying to be little Amazon they have pushed out the core collectors and dealers and those were the real enthusiast buyers. They came here to look for things they collect and then stayed and bought other items because it was habit to buy here.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoSo, along with eBay’s focus on ads for these items that bring in more monetary reward. Let’s use an example sample from your own merch. On mine i am going to spend on a ad rate, not too high because ya know I gotta get a profit too. I choose some of my more desirable and expensive inventory to do that ad. But before I do that I look at my competition. Oh, so and so has this exaggerated price on this or that and I can really beat that with my price and an ad rate that I can definately make a profit from. Hummm let’s see let’s start at 2 percent. Goodness It sold. Not only because it was promoted but because it was promoted at the best competitive price.
joliztoyco
·2 years agoSo Ford should just advertise their high dollar vehicles? Forget about the rest of the fleet that also profits their bottom line? Ford advertises their BRAND!!
Since when does "Built Ford Tough" apply to one vehicle??
Or maybe Kroger should just advertise their "high dollar" items? When they advertise for their Holiday turkeys, don't show all the other items like rolls, potatoes, cranberry sauce etc.
Because that's exactly what they do. They show them ALL and advertise not only their brand, but that they are the place to get ALL your Holiday grocery needs!.
Corporations and even "Joe's Towing" spend money to advertise. BILLIONS every year.
Why?
Because it WORKS. And research has proven to them it works.
But let's let the eBay cheerleaders tell us how meaningless advertising is.
Okay then. Maybe they should work for Ford?
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoI wonder if eBay's narrowly focused advertising hasn't, at least subtly, to do with trying to distance themselves from plebeian 'yard sale' offerings? It might not be the stated purpose, but these Suits seem to live in a gated community of the mind. I can't think of any other reason, because if they want return 'enthusiast' buyers, i.e., those that return over and over through the year, just having a few verticals, particularly in such competitive categories as luxury and sports cards, isn't going to really achieve that - it's too narrow of a foundation to support such a top-heavy infrastructure without drawing these enthusiast buyers to other aspects of the site.
femmefan1946
·2 years agoOr maybe Kroger should just advertise their "high dollar" items? When they advertise for their Holiday turkeys, don't show all the other items like rolls, potatoes, cranberry sauce etc.
The medium is the message.
Krogers message is "This turkey is a bargain. All our other products are also bargains."
Fords message is "We sell this tough truck. All our other products are also tough"
I have never seen a Ford ad for anything but their trucks and for that matter have not seen a Ford car being driven around for years.
The point is not that advertising does not work. The point is that advertising may not be where those complaining here are looking.
EBay is using TV to promote car parts? But they are also saying that eBay is still a good place to find the hard to find-- even if it is not car parts.
EBay is using TV to promote sportscards? They are saying that collectibles can not only be found on eBay, but that the purchase is guaranteed to be the real thing, unlike your local card shop or some unknown online auction.
EBay is using FaceBook to promote giving refurbished appliances for Christmas? They are also saying that eBay is a place to shop for affordable Christmas gifts.
And again, who is watching.
FaceBook's demographics are older, just like eBay sellers and buyers.
What TV shows are those car parts and sportscard ads showing up on ?
The View?
Blue Bloods?
Children Ruin Everything?
Football?
Sixty Minutes?
Black-ish?
Moosemeat and Marmalade?
What ads are on the shows you don't watch?
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoThe ads for the authenticated items are a main focus because it brings in the most monetary rewards for the advertising fees. They need to draw in these types of buyers and to continue to do so. I would SPEND my advertising buck on the items I have that bring in the most value. Pretty darn smart. As far as the rest of the site. Get the people who have money on here and they will spend high and more.
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years agoPost #4 says it all.
Ebay is NOT the place to Xmas shop. There are about 1,503,000 OTHER sites that do well during Xmas.
Ebay is for 'old used stuff' (in the eyes of most and NO AMOUNT of advertising will change that- hence the REASON no $$ is 'wasted' on advertising).
ladyindecadence
·2 years agoAnd a good advertising specialist would find a way to make used old stuff glamours or cool or interesting or a myriad of things. Those at ebay simply don't seem to understand that its the used old stuff that has brought buyers here for decades. And just as they have stated with their focus verticals those specialty buyers tend to make other purchases on the site. Perhaps many of the buyers of used old stuff just no longer shop here because they are not finding what they are looking for. When they stop spending on their main interest here they may even stop shopping here completely.
wifetrained
·2 years agoThe only Ebay commercials that I have seen as of late are the same Ebay Motors commercials where they are "guaranteeing" it will fit. Which is absurd since Ebay sells nothing and has no expertise in the field. The sellers yes at best or maybe at worst, but Ebay....NO. Doesn't convince me of anything other than I'll go to my local Autoparts store if I need anything. Many years ago, Ebay used to have great effective commercials.
hartungcards
·2 years agoIf you go to your local auto parts store, you'll end up with windshield wipers that are only about three inches long.
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoI'm the same way, no way would I buy auto parts here.
I'd rather spend a little more at a local auto parts store and get a legit warranty with the items.
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@moldy5 Did you ever see the 1962 film "No man is an island"? Well, as it relates to selling on eBay a film might be titled, "Every Seller is an Island" ... meaning you are pretty much on your own.
Per the list of Focus Categories posted up thread this message might apply: "You don't have what they want, try Promoting your listings!"
I guess the most recent feature is that Sellers have the option to pay to advertise via Google Ads ... I've seen a number of Google commercials during college football games recently ...
meme6253
·2 years agoHoney Thank You so much for the camshaft, In some cases that could be true, BUT Not your typical gift giving!, Yes Hope & Pray!
toomuchstuffagain35
·2 years agoThere are plenty of NIB items on ebay suitable for gift giving.
Also plenty of Christmas/Holiday decorations, serving ware etc.
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@toomuchstuffagain35
With around 1.7 BILLION listings on eBay I am sure there are plenty of New or New Other listings suitable for gift giving or as you mentioned, decorating for the Holidays ... my wife sold a 48" tall Empire Blow Mold Santa Claus two weeks ago ... used to be sure but desirable this time of year.
retro_entertainment_collectibles
·2 years agoAbsolutely!
Yet Christmas has basically a three week assurance window come Black Friday. Why are people spending so much money this year? The bargains. Where are the bargains here and quantities to suit demand that an international company, eBay, can promote from say 10,000+ eBay sellers?
It's like going to that whatever the name giant flea market in California and on a Bull Horn two months ago saying, "Ok... Everyone listen up! Everything here needs a 40-80% markdown for The Black Friday Weekend and you need commit to that pricing now. Anything that you can't commit, we understand. But we're going to segment that stuff as the focus of that weekend are deep discounts."
You'd see the vendors at the Flea Market loose their minds, same here.
eBay is running ad's, focal ad's. Those focal ad's going to bring in more traffic than, "Hey we have anything and everything. Come roll the dice."
Too late now really leverage this weekend but I'll put it out there again...
Question: Exactly what would any of us think be effective advertising for eBay to have done? Take into account every retailer of size competing for consumer dollars running sales and ad's at deep discounts for new desirable products and have been for several weeks prior to the weekend.
So what do those ad's look like, everyone chime in.
retro_entertainment_collectibles
·2 years agoGee, the silence is deafening... Imagine that.
Hmmm.
I know, eBay should have run buckets of video game ad's. Oh no, that'd get the sellers of DVD's mad. Hmm. I know, they should have run buckets of ad's on consumer home entertainment items. Oh no, that's get the folks selling collectibles mad. Oh I know, they should have ran buckets of Toy ad's... Hmm, well, the apparel folks say, "What about us?"
Hmmm... What to do, what to do.
Oh I know they should have run buckets of ancient PC games ad's for my sake. Perhaps some support videos of families in front the TV with the kids looking bewildered whilst Mom and Dad stare at each other in bewilderment asking, "What year is it baby?" and the Mom answering, "It's 1998 Dear... Remember? You're only seven years old... Of course like you're father says, you're not the brightest bulb."
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 years agoIt may be hard to accept but advertising Ebay might be a waste of money.
Ebay is an extremely well known destination on the web. It does not need to be introduced to shoppers.
Shoppers have predefined attitudes to Ebay, from those who believe it is a great place for bargains to those who believe it is an online flea market, and like flea markets some of the merchandise is of questionable providence and authenticity.
Some shopper also may believe that the time frame of a successful transaction is longer than other sites, and should anything go wrong the time to remedy a problem is of greater length than other site, running as long as infinity.
Your analysis of Amazon is slightly off. FBA will not add greater assurance of authenticity of products than is already provided in many categories. Some categories and name brand products in categories, already require invoices from the wholesale arms of manufacturers or their authorized distributors in order to list. If issues appear after they list they will be asked for 6 months or a year's worth of invoices. Invoices from liquidators are not accepted. Receipts from retailers are not accepted. Amazon does not wait for complaints for many popular products, like VeRo does, it is preemptive. Amazon removes sellers who submit counterfeit invoices.
Amazon has too many sellers for many items, and errs on removing sellers to protect the customer - it costs them very little in lost sales.
Amazon requires sellers of toys to provide them with CPSC certificates which are current for toy listings. This eliminates many collectible toys where the certificates are years old. Again, the loss of revenue is small compared with the risks of legal action by the government and bad PR.
Amazon censors books, videos and other media to a larger extent than Ebay. Many experienced booksellers cannot think of a reason for some of the banned books. Most of the same books can be listed and sold on Ebay, and IMO should be.
Amazon is increasingly blocking sales of prohibited items to states which have barred them.
Every time there are newspaper stories undermining trust of safety on Amazon, there are sellers who fill their forum and other online groups with their complaints about the tightening of Amazon policies. Having been active on the Amazon forums, I am shocked by how the complaints about Ebay policies here seem minor.
Walmart also seems better regulated.
Ebay seems focused on trying to milk the Ebay buyer rather than the consumer universe.
If Ebay adopted Amazon's rules, Ebay would take a huge revenue hit.
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@retro_entertainment_collectibles
I saw an extremely effective Amazon commercial during the Eagles game today ... three elderly women sitting on a park bench in winter clothing with snow on the ground and then from off camera they were handed Amazon boxes. They looked puzzled, then opened the boxes ... inside were plastic sleds and helmets ... yep, so they went to the hill where all the kids were sledding and hopped on. Down they went, gaining speed and really getting into it ... then they did a flashback to when the three were younger sledding together WOW! I loved it, it was great and had a vintage nostalgic twist to it too!
retro_entertainment_collectibles
·2 years agoYep, I've saw it several times on Netflix and FreeVee which is Amazon's Free Streaming TV service. Very nice advertisement, wholesome. America could use some wholesome, wholesome lot of it if you ask me. Endless pursuit of life and lifestyle versus recognizing our blessings and uniting inside them.
moldy5
OP2 years agoagree mr. lincoln. Have seen it a few times & never mute it. the Beatles "In My Life" is the music. the commercial & the Beatles song together-still makes me choke up when I see it. However, no interest in buying a sled or riding helmet from anywhere!
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@moldy5 Ahhhh, but that's not really what they are selling is it? I think they are selling memories, good times, friendship, other intangibles, etc.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoAnd you just hit on why eBay should advertise - that lever they have to actually trip those memories (and sales) - NOSTALGIA. "Do you remember? Well, we've got it."
joliztoyco
·2 years agoYou're about to read an endless stream of eBay's cosmic defenders telling you they see plenty of ads.
Like on Facebook. Yeah....the place where Grandma posts her 37 pics of Thanksgiving dinner.
Home of the retired and the 3rd World masses.
Meanwhile on the TV I see and endless parade of ads from Amazon, Poshmark, and Wayfair. I guess they see value in advertising.
The bottom line is : eBay doesn't give a crap about the majority of it's sellers who are keeping their diminishing platform afloat. If it's not focus categories, they're not spending.
But there's another problem. The PL percentage sellers are having to pay in those "focus categories" like guaranteed fit auto parts, is dragging their prices up to where they can easily be had elsewhere like RockAuto or Discount Auto Parts. Or you local Autozone.
The rising cost of shipping is also affecting them.
Unless you find a specialty niche like "stainless steel engine"? has, it's basically becoming a junk yard of used and "re-conditioned" parts.
Oh well....it is what it is.
I've resigned myself as a seller, that nothing's going to happen.
retro_entertainment_collectibles
·2 years agoSaid it before... What does eBay have in respect to advertising on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?
What exactly are they supposed to advertise? I think we can agree most people shopping for the holidays are looking for new stuff, brand new. They are looking for bargains over this particular weekend, where are the bargains? Amazon is a retailer, eBay is not. Poshmark is known for clothing more so than anything else, pretty easy focus there. Wayfair deals in home products, again, easy focus, up to 80% off. Do we see any eBay resellers wanting band together and sell things at 50-80% off and actually have quantities to meet demand?
Do we have vendors willing to commit potentially large inventories where there are quantities to suit demand 60-90 days in advance and it actually be stuff consumers want to gift over the holidays?
eBay's focus categories are not simply focus because of value's. They are focus and moving towards authentication because retail, manufacturers and governments are pushing and not pushing lightly to regulate third party commerce. It's like David versus Goliath's whole family. Anyone actually listen to the hearings related to The Safe Shopping Act? Amazon is #1 in problems followed by here but the difference is Amazon has FBA and can make arrangements with manufactures towards authenticity. I predict with two years or less Amazon will require all goods go through FBA and they're gonna raise the selling costs into the 25%-40% range.
Anybody ever think maybe eBay trying to bank money so as time marches they can increase focal categories and authentication requirements? That's what I'd be doing at the helm not because that's what want to do but because that's what has to be done or Governments are going to force measures that will simply put, wipe third party selling out.
Again, the last incarnation of the Safe Shopping end would have ended eBay, Poshmark, Etsy, Mercari, all of em' yet not Amazon and yet not Walmart. Both of those entities have the infrastructure to adjust making 99% sure that customers get EXACTLY what they ordered as described.
eBay is NOT the problem and you, me, other sellers reading this may not be the problem. eBay is a venue, a venue where people sell things and unfortunately for eBay and all the very good sellers the bad sellers are and HAVE BEEN a problem. Every limiter on this site from Vero, Trust & Safety, Money Back Guarantee, iNAD's on and on and on exist because of bad sellers. That's just a fact. Now good sellers get to feel the pain due to bad sellers. Right?
So solution, get rid of bad sellers right?
How?
You sell a Mr. Widget someone claims is counterfeit when they get it. How do you prove its not? I show a Walmart receipt? Proves nothing. A seller could get 10 receipts and had sold those someplace else. The ONLY proof is by the manufacturer who doesn't want there stuff sold by third parties for the most part to begin with, they want authorized resellers.
Joe/sephine Q. buys ten refurbished Playstation 5's sells them, half of them belly up within 90 days. Did the seller run the units for days on end pushing them with titles that stress the hardware? Nope.
Point being I can cite a million and one potential circumstances whereby consumers are at a loss to sellers and THATS A BIG PROBLEM.
How does eBay determine every cellphone sold is in fact authentic, going to continue working on and on. Is eBay to test every single cellphone sold? These are real problems and thus Money Back Guarantee's in place but that does NOT SATISFY ANY CONSUMER who buys something only for things to go awry.
I used to deal with this ALL THE TIME. Yep. People buying PC Software only to install it and either A. Doesn't work or B. Screw up their PC's, then they try fix things making it worse followed by communication to me whereby many were literally flipping out. Can explain to them all day long, "I didn't write the software, just a reseller like CompUSA or Walmart, Staples..." Doesn't matter... "What you sold me doesnt work.", "It messed up my PC and I can't fix it! I tried!", "It ruined my computer! Now I have to bring it someplace and you should pay for the repairs."
Oh believe you me, I've heard it all!
So again... Exactly what is eBay to advertise?
"Shop eBay and find everything for you're holiday gifts?"
Where are the sales? Where are the bargains? You seriously expect me to look at 100 listings for this item and not be worried about what I get?
Ask how many consumers have had a bad experience on eBay be that a horrible one, something that said it was new but didn't seem new when it arrived? How many "I can't give this to him/her for Xmas!" have happened? Again, its NOT EBAY, its sellers. eBay is simply a website no different than FB Marketplace, Amazon is not Facebook Marketplace and Amazon is BRUTAL in consumer satisfaction.
I dont know about now, but I can tell you back in the day they'd a 2.5% rate on most goods of any issues. That is to say if a third party seller had 2.5 validated complaints to Amazon within 100 sales, done, account cancelled. They afford one appeal, a comprehensive strategy to improve. If anything other than that is received, it's all done and even at that, Amazon 3P sales remain #1 on the Internet creating problems for consumers and manufacturers. That's according to the folks testifying before Congressional members re: Safe Shopping Act.
During those discussions it was asked, "How many consumers have had an experience of counterfeit or incorrectly described merchandise come to them." In the polls these operations ran it was two in three people. There's the problem. Is that eBays fault? Amazon's fault? No, not in the least. Its sellers. eBay hols funds on new sellers, big ticket on and on because of problems. In a perfect eBay or perfect Amazon not a single restriction should or need exist.
Sellers need to start seeing things in the reality that they are versus through their own glasses of what they want to see. I could say the same of America in general, the people are their own worst enemy because they want compartmentalize their thinking, lifestyles and more never wanting to see the reality more or less contribute to solving those realities.
As much as people want blame Jamie for eBay thangs I am like 110% positive that 99.9% of sellers on eBay could not fill one of his shoes more or less both, self included. That's why he is a CEO and has the background to be one and we peddle trinkets online.
yuzuha
·2 years agoBingo. When I mentioned to my coworkers that I sell on eBay, almost every single one of them said they didn't buy on eBay anymore because they'd had some horror story with a bad seller. eBay needs to crack down big-time on bad sellers and show them the door because they hurt ALL of us.
retro_entertainment_collectibles
·2 years agoYep, I've asked the same of folks at camp and basically same answer along with prices and shipping. Now its not that they've not had bad experiences at Amazon either, many many have but perceptions matter. Perception is they are dealing with Amazon just as if they were dealing with say Walmart or Best Buy. Here, not the case, instead its some seller on the planet someplace who simply sells here.
Its one of the reasons I sort of made combination of concept. That eBay could run many days of the year as promotional deep discount days be that yard sale days, Black Friday, Entertainment Days etc etc. But need tie all that in, only sellers with considerably better than average customer satisfaction, responses etc. need apply. Difficult to do in a "He said/She said" environment which is why I feel the feedback system need be supplemented via real metrics. Nobody likes returns, Walmart doesn't like returns. Amazon has so many returns they've pallets atop pallets, literally tractor trailer loads of the stuff on a very regular basis. I'm not talking two trucks full, LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of trucks. Its like a whole side business to Amazon in its own right peddling off the returns.
casualdrip
·2 years agoThe funny thing is too, is they promote a lot of higher ticket items. Where a ton of shady business goes on there, leaving the buyer and or seller unhappy. I never understood why they don't market eBay as shopping at your mom and pop shop but online. By shopping here you are helping small businesses. Now while they have big corporate retailers here as well you could hit hard on the fact that you at least have the option. The big corporate probably would not like it that much, but I highly doubt they would see a dent in their bottom line.
caldreamer
·2 years agoHonestly, I don't think people think of EBAY as a place to shop for Christmas presents. EBAY shoppers tend to look for obscure items they can't find anywhere else or rock bottom prices.
Your Michael Jackson collection is awesome! I did Yahoo Search using your exact title "1984 Pop TV Giants Presents Michael Jackson Life Story Magazine" for one of your magazines and very surprised....competitors EBAY ads showed up (much higher prices) but I couldn't find your item anywhere. Do you pay to promote your items? Your should raise your prices to cover promotion costs.
Good luck to you...
jewelbiz
·2 years agoI saw 4 tv ads for Etsy over the weekend so far.
1 item of women’s clothing was so fabulous to me I almost went to Etsy immediately searching for it.
I love a jumpsuit and how do you like that they showed a lovely jumpsuit!
I think that’s an unusual choice of merchandise to feature…
ckimodog
·2 years ago@jewelbiz
I also saw several Etsy commercials, but I mute them as they are annoying. These new commercials with people who can't sing has got to stop! 😣 I have seen eBay commercials on random cable channels for eBay motors "Guaranteed Fit"...I think that's what it's called, but that's it. I guess the rest of us aren't worthy.
Have a great day!!
kensgiftshop
·2 years agoAccording to some of the carp that kids listen to today, that's the in thing.
My Granddaughter listens to some song and it sounds like a sick cow and they call it music.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoHeh - sounds like my parents back in the day. ðŸ˜
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·2 years ago@moldy5
"Are we just supposed to hope, pray, pay to promote with no help whatsoever from the website owners???"
Yes.
Especially the "pay to promote" part.
ebay has been pretty clear. This year, just like the last two years, ebay will do target marketing of its "Focus Categories" (Parts and Accessories, Sneakers, High End Handbags and Watches, Certified Refurbished, etc) but will not do an actual "Holiday Marketing Campaign" for the site. ebay says it gets enough traffic without paying for it.
So, yeah, if you aren't selling in the Focus Categories, you are pretty much on your own.
Happy Holidays! And best of luck, because we are all gonna need it!
ed8108
·2 years agoThat may change sooner than ebay anticipates, & likely be too late