Well this is new.

Or at the least, the first time I have noticed it. Itâ€™s bad enough that they put links to other sellers lower down in my listings but now it is ABOVE my listing????.

(I edited out the other member's name )

Odd thing is I see it on some of my listings but not all of them.

richard1rst

53683 View listings

Posted 1 year ago · Edited 1 year ago·Last reply 1 year ago

11 comments

luckythewinner

·1 year ago

1158 View listings

I do not think this is new. If I recall, sellers here have complained about this before.

jbbowers12012

·1 year ago

3831 View listings

Hi, We have also been randomly seeing this here in New Jersey. Could see it just about anywhere & at just about anytime. Looks ok though. Done pretty tastefully. IMHO Of-Course! (J.B.)

pls-consignments

·1 year ago

10827 View listings

@fbusoni

Interesting take.

However, I believe the consequences of this type of advertising is that it supports price-based buying only. That's great for buyers, but bad for sellers, as it continues to push item values down, eating away at net revenues. As eBay tries to find the "sweet spot" for both buyer acquisition and seller retention, there will probably be more growing pains ahead.

fbusoni

·1 year ago

0 View listings

@pls-consignments wrote:
@fbusoni
Interesting take.
However, I believe the consequences of this type of advertising is that it supports price-based buying only. That's great for buyers, but bad for sellers, as it continues to push item values down, eating away at net revenues. As eBay tries to find the "sweet spot" for both buyer acquisition and seller retention, there will probably be more growing pains ahead.

Thanks... I'd contend that, depending on the category in which one sells, it's actually detrimental to buyers as well, because price is merely one of several variables at play.

I sell mostly old stuff that is no longer manufactured... I have found over many years that price is often less important than feedback, which in turn is a product mostly of overall customer service (same day shipping, 60 day paid returns -- solely to put buyers at ease).

Now, if one sells a widget that is mass produced in a certain country across the Pacific, and there are 6,000 other eBay sellers selling the identical widget, I can see how one could be misled into believing that PLs might be beneficial... the problem THEN becomes that a vast subset of those 6,001 sellers are competing against each other with ever higher percentages given to eBay for advertising. How can that possibly be of benefit to a seller? They might as well not be advertising. Please correct me if I am missing something.

I'm waiting for the next big eBay feature: an option for sellers to pay a small fee to have their listings free of all PLs. Can you imagine the $$$ eBay would make?

chapeau-noir

·1 year ago

Unapologetic Vulgarian (SO trendy!)6558 View listings

@fbusoni wrote:
@pls-consignments wrote:
@fbusoni
Interesting take.
However, I believe the consequences of this type of advertising is that it supports price-based buying only. That's great for buyers, but bad for sellers, as it continues to push item values down, eating away at net revenues. As eBay tries to find the "sweet spot" for both buyer acquisition and seller retention, there will probably be more growing pains ahead.
Thanks... I'd contend that, depending on the category in which one sells, it's actually detrimental to buyers as well, because price is merely one of several variables at play.

I sell mostly old stuff that is no longer manufactured... I have found over many years that price is often less important than feedback, which in turn is a product mostly of overall customer service (same day shipping, 60 day paid returns -- solely to put buyers at ease).

Now, if one sells a widget that is mass produced in a certain country across the Pacific, and there are 6,000 other eBay sellers selling the identical widget, I can see how one could be misled into believing that PLs might be beneficial... the problem THEN becomes that a vast subset of those 6,001 sellers are competing against each other with ever higher percentages given to eBay for advertising. How can that possibly be of benefit to a seller? They might as well not be advertising. Please correct me if I am missing something.

I'm waiting for the next big eBay feature: an option for sellers to pay a small fee to have their listings free of all PLs. Can you imagine the $$$ eBay would make?

I've wondered at that, also. I wouldn't be at all surprised if eBay attempts to monetize demonetization.

wastingtime101

·1 year ago

0 View listings

That's Stores advertising. It use to just be at the top of listings & also below seller info / above product ratings onn listings when first launched but it's expanded.

These days you'll also see it on the home page, at the top of search results, at the bottom of search results, and more.

To read a discussion when this launched back in August, click here.

It's definitely confusing at the top of the listing, makes buyers think the ad is for your store and not a competitor.

richard1rst

OP1 year ago

53683 View listings

@wastingtime101 wrote:
That's Stores advertising. It use to just be at the top of listings & also below seller info / above product ratings onn listings when first launched but it's expanded.

These days you'll also see it on the home page, at the top of search results, at the bottom of search results, and more.

To read a discussion when this launched back in August, click here.

It's definitely confusing at the top of the listing, makes buyers think the ad is for your store and not a competitor.

Thanks for that somewhat disheartening bit of information. Unbelievably disconcerting.

fbusoni

·1 year ago

0 View listings

@richard1rst wrote:
@wastingtime101 wrote:
That's Stores advertising. It use to just be at the top of listings & also below seller info / above product ratings onn listings when first launched but it's expanded.

These days you'll also see it on the home page, at the top of search results, at the bottom of search results, and more.

To read a discussion when this launched back in August, click here.

It's definitely confusing at the top of the listing, makes buyers think the ad is for your store and not a competitor.
Thanks for that somewhat disheartening bit of information. Unbelievably disconcerting.

@richard1rst

Not by any means saying I am in favor of such intrusive advertising (it's a fact of life and there's nothing we can do about it), but if I may play devil's advocate...

Assuming for a moment that a prospective buyer has found in your listing exactly what they want at the right price -- from a reliable seller with 100% positive feedback to boot -- what are the odds that such a person would actually click on the banner ad to go elsewhere?

Does anyone have the time or inclination to do such a thing these days?

Especially knowing full well that if they DO go elsewhere, they might have a hard time navigating back to your listing, which is what they prefer?

I shop on AMZ and am bombarded with similar ads, but I never click on them, because I know from experience that if there is money to be saved, it will come at a cost -- slower shipping, for example, or an imitation / inferior product made in some unregulated place on the other side of the world.

Or, more commonly, the price will be either the same or perhaps a nickel cheaper.

FWIW, when I see PLs or other sorts of advertising, I ask myself why someone would pay to have their items promoted, when we all know that for most categories, there is simply no need to pay for such adverts when all one has to do is up their customer service and have their listings go TRplus (in accordance with eBay's recommendations). (NOTE: I am aware of the categories where this may not be applicable, but that's only because millions of sellers are paralyzed by FOMO and seem to be unaware that the more they pay for PLs, the more their competitors are going to pay -- a classic vicious circle.)

Is it because of slow sales, and if so, why are sales slow? Is it because of desperation to sell? Is it because their prices are ridiculously high and they have miscalculated, paying to promote rather than just lowering their prices? If they cannot lower their prices, is their business model faulty in some manner? The list goes on.

I don't think enough discussion has been paid here to buyer psychology. I personally think that PLs and other sorts of ads are in the first instance an effective way for eBay to generate income and thereby keep costs and fees down for the rest of us sellers who avoid PLs like the plague.

In sum, I personally am not bothered in the slightest by such ads because I am not even sure that they produce the desired results for those who pay for them.

Put another way.... someone is losing money in the deal... and it's not eBay.

chapeau-noir

·1 year ago

Unapologetic Vulgarian (SO trendy!)6558 View listings

Does anyone have the time or inclination to do such a thing these days?

Yes, frequently. Distraction is the name of the game.

roccotacodad54

·1 year ago

423 View listings

"Especially knowing full well that if they DO go elsewhere, they might have a hard time navigating back to your listing, which is what they prefer?"

That's why I always right click and choose "open link in new tab" as a matter of habit when I'm curious about a link. This post I opened in a new tab. I even do it in my Email. Just a habit I've formed so as not to somehow be redirected by hitting the back button.

An extra step some might find annoying but it works for me. Also lets me look at miltiple listings and compare easily etc.

trip98

·1 year ago

3313 View listings

Yep, been awhile. I have a direct competitor in one of the categories I sell in at the top of my listings for months now. Disappears every so often, but always comes back.