June is Traffic Month here at eBay, where we’re sharing practical insights into how eBay and our sellers can work together to bring in even more buyers to your listings.
That partnership is especially strong with the eBay Partner Network, our inhouse affiliate marketing program, which compensates sellers and other affiliates for bringing customers to eBay when they make a purchase. By signing up and sharing your listings outside eBay, you can increase your earnings and diversify your revenue streams.
For US sellers signed up with the eBay Partner Network, you can earn a 100% final value fee credit when you bring a customer to eBay who buys one of your listings within 24 hours. You can even earn a commission when a customer you bring in makes a qualifying purchase from a different seller in that same timeframe.
And the process is super easy.
- Join
- Visit the eBay Partner Network Sign Up page.
- Sign up with your eBay account.
- Keep an eye out for your welcome email, which typically comes within hours.
- Build links
- Log in to the eBay Partner Network.
- In the dashboard, paste the URL for your listings or store to create promotable links
- You can also use our add-on tools like SmartShare and Bookmarklet to create and share links directly from your browser window.
- Share
- Share the links across social media, emails, your website, or anywhere else you have an audience that can drive in traffic to eBay.
Here’s an example to demonstrate how this works in practice.
Say you’re a part of the eBay Partner Network and you’ve got a Michael Jordan trading card listed for $500, which is perfect content for social media. You create a link to the listing in the eBay Partner Network dashboard and share it on your business’ Facebook page. A customer clicks the link and buys the card that same day. eBay Partner Network commissions are based on category, and the commission for trading cards is 3%, or $15 in this case. For a non-Store seller, your final value fee would be 10%, or $50.* On your eBay Partner Network invoice, you’ll receive a credit for your $20 commission, plus the $35 difference between your commission and the $50 final value fee—effectively zeroing out your final value fee.
You can even earn a commission if a customer clicks your link then goes on to buy from another seller. Suppose that same shopper clicks your Michael Jordan trading card link, but decides she’s not in love with it. She searches around on eBay and finds her perfect MJ card listed at $300 by another seller. If she buys it within 24 hours of clicking your link, you still earn the 3% commission because it was your link that brought her to eBay.
The process of creating links, sharing them, and earning money with eBay Partner Network is simple—but creating and executing a marketing plan that incorporates affiliate marketing requires a strategy designed for your business and goals. When creating links, consider what would grab buyers’ attention, like especially unique, seasonally relevant, or deeply discounted items.
Most importantly for sellers, we recommend a “test-and-learn” approach, especially as you begin building your audience. The eBay Partner Network has a robust dashboard that can give you rich insights into what channels and strategies are working.
We’ve developed resources like our eBay Partner Network Help Center, a dedicated Seller Center page, a “Getting Started” guide, and emails from our team to help you make the most of the program.
This week, Mike Lill, Director of the eBay Partner Network, sat down for an interview with Griff to tell the seller world more about the eBay Partner Network and how we have fine-tuned it for sellers. Catch that interview on our podcast or watch it on YouTube.
Do you have questions about the eBay Partner Network or anything else related to Traffic Month? We’re taking questions in the Community through Wednesday, June 24. We’ll address the top trending questions next week, in our final week of Traffic Month.
As always, thank you for selling on eBay.
* Final value fees vary based on item category, Store subscription, and seller performance rating.
