Major Changes To Promoted Listings Ad Attribution UK, Australia, Italy, France & Spain
Just a heads up - major changes announced for Promoted Listings General ad attribution in UK, Australia, France, Italy and Spain.
Basically, the update gets rid of distinctions between Direct and Halo attribution, and instead will assess ad fees for any sale where any buyer clicked on the ad - even if that isn't the buyer who ultimately ends up making the purchase!
https://pages.ebay.com/sell/pl/attribution.html
Starting June 24th, 2025, for items listed on ebay.co.uk, ebay.com.au, ebay.fr, ebay.it, and ebay.es: eBay will report an Attributed sale from a general campaign when a buyer purchases the same item that was featured in the ad that was clicked on by any buyer in the most recent 30 days.
The ad fee is charged when a buyer purchases the promoted item from a general ad that any buyer clicked on in the most recent 30 days. The item must be promoted at the time of click and the time of sale. The ad fee is based on the ad rate in effect at the time of the sale.
eBay made this same change in Germany in February and one week in, sellers were already reporting they were seeing 80%+ of their sales incurring ad fees. 💸
To be clear, this does not currently impact US sellers but given the quick expansion since the initial launch in Germany, it won't be surprising if it eventually makes its way to the US as well.
valueaddedresource
OP9 months agoFor everyone who was following this thread - it's now official, the new attribution model will be coming to US and Canada in January.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Promoted-Listings-General-Attribution-Changes-Coming-To-US-amp/m-p/35329055/highlight/true#M2628543
short_circuit.lineman61
·1 year agoJust say no
valueaddedresource
OP1 year agoMore results from the UK, still just as bleak:
https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Seller-Central/Promoted-Listings-General-Attribution-Changes-Multi-Variation/m-p/7886672#M744357
@wastingtime101 I know you were curious about how it works for multi-variation listings - still no official answer (apparently there is only 1 person in all of eBay who knows that information and they have been out of the office for over a month, according to the blues in the weekly chat) but this seller has a few multi-variation listings and says sales of all variations appear to be being charged the ad fees as we suspected they would be.
wastingtime101
·1 year agoThanks @valueaddedresource . As we discussed before, I'm confident it will apply to all items on both multi quantity and multi variation listings. Of course it will - ads are based on item number, not variation SKU.
If this eventually launches in the US, instead of roughly 20% of my sales coming through ads, it would be closer to 100% since nearly all of my listings are multi quantity and/or multi variation.
I turned off ads completely a couple weeks ago as I have a lot on my plate right now and if this launches in the US, I didn't want to be in a position where I wouldn't have the bandwidth to make timely updates.
valueaddedresource
OP1 year ago@wastingtime101 yep, I was 99.99999% sure that's exactly how it would work and UK staff finally officially confirmed it today.
https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Chat-with-the-eBay-Community/Weekly-Chat-with-the-eBay-Community-Team-09-07-25-2pm/m-p/7888076#M5668
wastingtime101
·1 year agoHe said the same thing I did - ad fees are based on item number, not variation SKU. 😉
You search for an item, you click on a listing. It goes by item number, no matter which variation(s) you purchase in the end. All traffic and sales stats (whether promoted or non-promoted) are based on item number. Even Transaction Reports do not include the variation SKU column! (Don't get me started on how asinine that is.)
The only click-related stat that's broken out as variation-specific is watchers and even that is only visible when viewing the listing's variations management page.
For me it was never a question, and I don't think it was for you, either, but I do appreciate the official update. Thanks for the tag.
Now it's a waiting game to see if/when it'll expand to the US.
valueaddedresource
OP1 year ago@wastingtime101 exactly - it wasn't ever really a question for me, but there were people on the UK boards who questioned it and said they couldn't believe eBay would count every subsequent sale on a multi-quantity listing for 30 days and/or count every variation in this new model, so I'm glad they at least finally have some official clarity on the subject.
Sadly I had no problem believing that's exactly how it would work, both for the technical/logical reasons you mentioned about how it goes by item numbers but also just because I have no illusions about eBay's desperation for ad revenue or that things like fairness or maintaining goodwill with sellers are a high priority in corporate decision-making.
It's just still kind of wild to me that they have gone this route, given that it will hit larger sellers of multi-quantity and/or multi-variation listings hardest it seems destined to kill the golden goose imo but then again, they didn't ask for my opinion. 😂
At least US sellers can look at these other markets and try to prepare as much as possible for if/when it comes here too.
valueaddedresource
OP1 year agoThe results are disappointingly not at all surprising, but for those following along - sellers in the UK community are starting to share what they are seeing since the attribution change went into effect yesterday.
https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Business-Seller-Board/Promoted-Listings-Changes-You-Must-Be-Joking-eBay/m-p/7878033#M335218
https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Member-To-Member-Support/eBay-Advertising-attribution-seems-like-a-total-scam/m-p/7879146#M299653
valueaddedresource
OP1 year agoFound a few more changes so decided to make a dedicated thread:
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Is-New-Promoted-Listings-Ad-Attribution-Rolling-Out-To-US-With/m-p/35125142#M2574849
mcdougle4248
·1 year agoAwesome...I was just thinking this is BIG News and needs a dedicated thread so not to get lost!
valueaddedresource
OP1 year agoIt also looks like they changed this page in Seller Center to say you'll pay ad fees when "your item sells after a click on your ad" vs "when your item sells through a click on your ad."
The change happened sometime between Feb 21 - March 4, which would be in line with when the new attribution model rolled out in Germany, but this is on the main US . com site, so it bolsters the idea that it will expand to the US soon if it hasn't already.
pidgeun1
·1 year agoeBay has completely removed the word 'Buyer' to imply that anyone or any bot can click on your Ad and it doesn't matter who clicks. There was a time when I thought Direct to Halo was bad. wow. Just wow.
valueaddedresource
OP1 year agoCaught an interesting change in wording on the PL Generate campaign creation page for US sellers:
In November 2024, the General campaign setup page said: "An ad rate is the percentage of your item's total sale amount that is charged when a buyer clicks your general ad and purchases any of your promoted listings with 30 days."
Today, June 11, 2025, that same section says: "The ad rate is the percentage of an item’s total sale amount (including item price, shipping, taxes, and any other applicable fees) that is charged when the promoted item sells within 30 days of a click on your ad."
At face value, the difference between those statements definitely sounds like the current version is referring to the new attribution model where any click counts (even if it's not from the eventual buyer) vs current Direct and Halo attribution model.
eBay still hasn't made any explicit announcements about bringing this new model to the US and the marketing terms and help pages haven't changed, but that could potentially be a proactive change to the wording made in advance of dropping an official announcement.
fbusoni
·1 year ago@valueaddedresource
Brava to you Liz for your unflagging commitment to exposing eBay subterfuge, manipulation, and general malevolence.
I bow to you in respect.
valueaddedresource
OP1 year ago@fbusoni a Pulitzer prize winning New York Times journalist once asked me why I care so much about what eBay does. My response was "because I can...and someone needs to."
I left the unspoken "why don't you?" hanging in the air, but based on how some other things later played out, I'm 100% sure he understood the implication and that his radio silence after that exchange was not a coincidence. 😂
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@valueaddedresource Yes, I strongly suspect it has crept into the US with no real announcement. I will be "adjusting" my PL campaign in the near future to respond to this new reality. I had thought we might have till after ebay Open, but it looks like they couldn't wait.
dhbookds
·1 year agoah..............so UK still has wkly chats? and apparently with real people/about real things?
valueaddedresource
OP1 year ago@dhbookds yes to the first question and as far as I can tell, yes to the first part of the second question - as to whether real things regularly get discussed with real, actually helpful answers provided...that's a bit more hit and miss just as it was when we still had weekly chats here. 😂
evelyb30
·1 year agoIOW - ebay is looking for more ways to put more money in their pockets and less in their sellers'. Is anyone surprised?
valueaddedresource
OP1 year agoThere was some question/confusion on the UK boards about how this new attribution model works for multi-quantity listings. I was 99.999% sure that 1 click on the PL General ad will set up all subsequent sales of that item to be charged the fee for 30 days (assuming it remains in an active campaign at time of those sales) - so for anyone else who may have been wondering about that, one of the blues there confirmed today that is in fact how it works.
https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Chat-with-the-eBay-Community/Weekly-Chat-with-the-eBay-Community-Team-04-06-25-2pm/m-p/7865708#M5478
valueaddedresource
OP1 year ago@my-cottage-books-and-antiques personally, I didn't read it as suggesting the item must be shown as promoted to the ultimate purchaser - it was pretty clear to me when this was released for Germany that it would work the way I described it above and the information that has been provided by German sellers since shows that's exactly how it works.
We all pretty much came to that conclusion after some initial confusion on the German policy. 😂
https://community.ebay.com/t5/eBay-Advertising/Major-Changes-To-Promoted-Listings-Ad-Attribution-In-Germany/td-p/34898661
And since this update for UK etc. uses the same language, I see no reason to believe it will be any different then how it has been working in Germany since February.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@valueaddedresource Yes, I'm agreeing. That is exactly my understanding as well. But EBAY should clarify that, because their wording is readily subject to two different interpretations, especially by anyone unfamiliar with the German policy. That's why I called in devon, etc. To see ebay's response.
Hopefully, someone from ebay will eventually show up here to confirm what you are saying.
sreu3058
·1 year agoI think it says this: If you have an item listed with ‘extra’ fees/ it is tagged as promoted,
even if the promotion ends, for the next 30 days anyone who buys it, EBay is still collecting their ‘extra’ promoted percentage points, as long as it was at least looked at (clicked into) by ANYONE the previous 30 days.
That’s how I am reading it. And I have very high reading comprehension.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@devon@ebay @kyle@ebay @elizabeth@ebay
Keeping in mind that ebay can display a General Ad Campaign listing as sponsored OR as organic (non-sponsored). There is no requirement that General Ad listings be shown as sponsored ads every time they are shown.
Referencing the original post in this thread. ebay's message states:
Starting June 24th, 2025, for items listed on ebay.co.uk, ebay.com.au, ebay.fr, ebay.it, and ebay.es: eBay will report an Attributed sale from a general campaign when a buyer purchases the same item that was featured in the ad that was clicked on by any buyer in the most recent 30 days.
The ad fee is charged when a buyer purchases the promoted item from a general ad that any buyer clicked on in the most recent 30 days. The item must be promoted at the time of click and the time of sale. The ad fee is based on the ad rate in effect at the time of the sale.
My question relates to this statement:
"the item must be promoted at ...the time of sale."
Does the word "promoted" mean the item must have been shown to the ultimate buyer as a sponsored listing at the time of his click/purchase?
OR
does the word "promoted" mean that the item must simply have been in the Seller's General Ad campaign at the time of the ultimate buyer's click/purchase (in other words, the fee will apply whether it was SHOWN as a sponsored listing OR as an organic listing (for example, in the seller's own store), as long as it is part of the campaign at the time of the sale?
Hoping to hear from you soon, as I expect this change will be coming to the US by late August, if not sooner.
valueaddedresource
OP1 year ago@my-cottage-books-and-antiques it's definitely the second one, based on what has already gone live in Germany.
With Halo attribution, you still have the 30 day overhang even if you end the ad campaign. This change removes Halo and Direct and replaces them with a single new attribution model.
In the new attribution model as soon as there is a click on the sponsored/promoted version of an item, it starts a 30 day clock ticking and if anyone buys that item during that time (whether or not the ultimate buyer was ever shown the ad), the seller will pay the ad fee - but only if the item is still in an active PL campaign at the time of sale.
I'll give eBay credit for at least being candid about this part, directly saying you can expect to see an increase in sales attributed to promoted listings, which of course doesn't mean you'll see an increase in sales.
With the attribution update, will my general campaign spend increase?
We expect to see more sales being attributable to promoted listings that use a general campaign strategy. As a result, general campaign spend may increase. We encourage sellers to monitor their ad performance and adjust their strategy accordingly.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@valueaddedresource Yeah, I figured that it only has to be IN a campaign. But I think ebay's wording leaves that open to interpretation, suggesting that the item must be shown as promoted to the ultimate purchaser. And it is an important distinction. Even if my ultimate buyer comes directly into my ebay store from a social media post I put up, as long as the item is IN the campaign...even though it is not shown to him as sponsored, ebay will collect its Ad fee.
With the Halo fee, ebay took a big step away from anything like plausible attribution as a basis for the ad fee, but with this change, there is no longer even a weak attempt at plausible attribution. Originally, with PLS you were paying a fee to get increased visibility that led to a sale. You will now be paying a fee to get increased visibility that might have nothing to do with you getting the sale. That's a huge difference.
And I agree, credit to ebay for acknowledging that this is basically going to act as an increase in ebay's take rate while doing NOTHING to increase my sales. This is not designed to increase my sales, it is designed solely to increase ebay's fees from my sales.
elizabeth@ebay
Good morning @my-cottage-books-and-antiques. If we receive an update on this for the US site, we will be sure to share that update!
valueaddedresource
OP1 year agoThe changes for Promoted General attribution are obviously the big news here, but there's also an interesting bit about Priority ad placements too for these countries.
https://www.ebayadvertising.com/en-gb/2025/05/22/seller-announcement-updates-to-ebays-promoted-listings-programme-are-coming-soon/
Exclusive ad placement with priority campaigns
Starting 24 June 2025, campaigns using a priority strategy on ebay.co.uk, ebay.fr, ebay.it, ebay.es and ebay.au will get exclusive access to the first ad slot at the top of eBay search results. This means your items will get more visibility to help increase your chances of a sale.
We first introduced the priority campaign strategy to help sellers reach more buyers and sell their items faster by providing access to high-visibility ad placements and advanced controls for increasing sales velocity. And over the past year, we’ve continued to improve the product, introducing key features like AI-optimized keyword guidance, Smart Targeting, and suggested campaigns.
With exclusive access to the first ad slot position in search results, you’ll soon be able to drive greater visibility for your priority listings helping you generate more sales. This also means campaigns that use a general strategy will no longer be eligible to show ads in the first ad slot position in search results.
We’ll continue investing in the priority strategy to ensure you have access to the best ad placements and can increase sales velocity with greater efficiency. If you’re already using priority campaigns, your ads will automatically be eligible to show in the first ad slot position at the top of search results.
When eBay rolled out Promoted Listings cost per click ads in 2021, they were originally only eligible to be shown in the 1st ad slot in search, then that expanded to the top 4 slots in 2022, then top 4 plus 3 other placements in search in 2023, and finally they became eligible to be shown in any ad spot in search results and ad modules on listing pages and other places as well.
But none of those were ever "exclusive" placements - eBay only said that Priority ads would get "priority access" to those spots, which meant in most scenarios they would get preferential placement vs General cost per sale ads but that didn't prevent General ads from possibly being displayed in one of those spots if there wasn't a Priority ad to take precedence for a particular search.
With this new update in Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, and Australia, the top ad spot in search will now be reserved exclusively for Priority cost per click ads and General cost per sale ads will never be eligible for the top spot, period.
If there is no Priority ad to show for a given search, eBay will make the top spot an organic result instead.
hartungcards
·1 year agoYou can never trust information that includes the words, "In other words."
In other words, what we just said is confusing and misleading, so let's try a different wording that's equally confusing and misleading.
fbusoni
·1 year ago@hartungcards
I thought for a second you were making fun of me. 😂
hartungcards
·1 year agoNever. I have a strict policy of only making fun of Canadians who come on here with non-sensical complaints and questions.
fbusoni
·1 year ago@hartungcards
Honestly, I never imagined that these discussion boards would give me so many laughs.
fbusoni
·1 year ago@valueaddedresource
So in other words, eBay is now capitalizing --in the most tactically and financially aggressive way possible -- on the seller fear of missing out?
valueaddedresource
OP1 year ago@fbusoni exactly - though in this case I do believe the distinct odor of fear and desperation is coming much more from San Jose than from seller FOMO.
It's very clear to me (and I believe becoming increasingly clear to analysts and investors) that Jamie has absolutely zero clue how to grow GMV and active buyers in long-term, healthy sustainable ways and that he's run out of ideas on the ad front as well so instead of doing anything to increase ad rev positively by providing better ROI or value add for sellers, the only card they have left to play are these unethical shell games, moving the goal posts, and waving their wand to magically designate more sales as "attributable" in ways that are absolutely not industry standard.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·1 year ago@valueaddedresource @fbusoni
My guess is we'll see this arrive on our shores soon after ebay Open.
Maybe before if they are really desperate.
I suspect ebay might find that ultimately the ad business is one of those thing that works real well. Until it doesn't.
And they might find themselves facing the "doesn't" moment sooner than they expect.
I might be wrong, but as I recall Jamie had promised that by 2025 ebay would have all its focus categories in place and would be showing robust GMV growth. If so, I'm not seeing much evidence that has has met those goals.
fbusoni
·1 year ago@valueaddedresource
Which is precisely what @hartungcards observed here, in response to that cockamamie post about the eBay "Live Console":*
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/eBay-Live-Console-Updates/m-p/35096202/highlight/true#M2567041
Can the amateur hour here get any worse??
Wait.... don't answer that!
(Thank you as always for your insights.)
_________________________
* Note that in response to the numerous queries of Mr. Khalil from eBay sellers, all we've heard thus far are crickets... which may well be on their last legs. (teehee)
fbusoni
·1 year ago@valueaddedresource
Well, look at the bright side: eBay is letting us know, even if it is in small print that requires a magnifying glass! 😂
PS: I remember seeing software many years ago that could scan two sets of seemingly identical text and discern alterations between them. I wonder if such software is available to comb through an entire website as vast as eBay's? That would go a long way to resolving the transparency "matter." ðŸ˜