02-25-2025 02:08 PM
I have read about promotional listings and here’s what it says. It sounds like a bunch of jargon but doesn’t explain it to me or give me an example.
Priority campaign strategy
The priority strategy helps your listings reach highly motivated buyers through priority access to ad placements and advanced targeting controls. Only pay for clicks on your ads through the priority campaign strategy so you can drive more sales.
General campaign strategy
The general strategy can increase the visibility and awareness of your listings with general access to ad placements so you can reach more buyers. You’ll only pay when your item sells through a click on your ad.
Let me just start with the first one, priority. How in the world would eBay know if the buyer is highly motivated? Please explain to me how they determine a highly motivated buyer. What are targeting controls? What is their process for doing this? What is general access to ad placement? Why use such evasive language?
In my attempt to figure this out, all I can see is that the categories were taken away for items to try to force the extra cost of the promotional listings for sellers. Once under collectibles, it said figurines, then many brands of figurines, you could select something like Lladro. In the category of Lladro, you saw, Lladro, angels, Lladro, animals, other Lladro. Buyers could go to the category and find what they wanted. Now that there’s only one category that says Collectible figurines, everything is in it from a plastic Teletubby to a Royal Doulton flambe. Let’s say that the buyer is looking for a Lladro angel, but can’t remember the name of it. This person types in Lladro Angel
in the search bar. They then become very confused because a lot of Lladro figurines come up to see, but maybe 90% are not even angels. All I can figure out is that they must be in the promotional listing group. This buyer was not looking for these things, but does become frustrated, and possibly leaves the site. If there is more to this promotional listing than I am seeing, please explain in detail why I should give eBay 30% instead of 15% and I assume also 30% of the shipping instead of 15% which I find unbelievable to start with. Thank you for taking the time to reply.
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02-25-2025 03:03 PM
I know this can be a bit unclear, so let’s break it down.
When eBay talks about highly motivated buyers in the Priority Campaign, they’re referring to buyers who have shown signs that they’re actively looking to purchase. eBay’s system looks at things like recent searches, past purchases in the same category, how long they spend on certain listings, and whether they’ve added similar items to their watchlist or cart. It’s basically an automated way to prioritize showing ads to people who seem more likely to buy.
Targeting controls are just filters eBay uses to decide who sees your ad. You don’t control these directly, but eBay likely considers factors like a buyer’s location, browsing habits, time of day, and what type of device they’re using. The idea is to place your ad in front of people who are most likely to convert into a sale.
For the General Campaign, it’s a broader approach. Instead of focusing only on buyers who eBay thinks are ready to buy, your listing just gets more exposure across different areas of the site. It might appear in search results, suggested items, or category pages, but it doesn’t necessarily target specific buyer behaviors the way the Priority Campaign does.
One key difference between these two strategies is how you’re charged. The Priority Campaign works on a pay-per-click model (CPC), meaning you’re charged whenever someone clicks on your ad, whether they buy or not. The General Campaign works on a pay-per-sale model (CPS), so you only pay if the buyer actually purchases your item after clicking on your ad.
Now, about the fees - yes, they can get high. eBay suggests rates anywhere from 9% to 16%, but I personally use 4%, and that works fine for me. You can even set it to 0% if your item is in high demand. The more you pay, the more visibility you’re supposed to get, but there’s no guarantee it will result in a sale.
You can experiment and see how it is work in your ad Dashboard.
One thing to be aware of is that ad fees apply to the total transaction amount, including shipping, taxes, and any additional fees. So if you sell an item for $100 with $10 shipping at a 10% ad rate, you’re paying 10% on $110, not just the item price.
Regarding the category issue, you’re right. eBay has removed many detailed subcategories, making searches broader and less precise. A buyer looking for a Lladro Angel might now get flooded with unrelated figurines because eBay’s system groups promoted listings together, even if they aren’t an exact match. That can definitely be frustrating for buyers and sellers alike.
At the end of the day, Promoted Listings can help, but they’re not always necessary. If your item is already selling well, you may not need to use them. If you do, you don’t have to accept eBay’s suggested rates - you can lower them and experiment with what works best for you.
Hope that helps!
When eBay talks about highly motivated buyers in the Priority Campaign, they’re referring to buyers who have shown signs that they’re actively looking to purchase. eBay’s system looks at things like recent searches, past purchases in the same category, how long they spend on certain listings, and whether they’ve added similar items to their watchlist or cart. It’s basically an automated way to prioritize showing ads to people who seem more likely to buy.
Targeting controls are just filters eBay uses to decide who sees your ad. You don’t control these directly, but eBay likely considers factors like a buyer’s location, browsing habits, time of day, and what type of device they’re using. The idea is to place your ad in front of people who are most likely to convert into a sale.
For the General Campaign, it’s a broader approach. Instead of focusing only on buyers who eBay thinks are ready to buy, your listing just gets more exposure across different areas of the site. It might appear in search results, suggested items, or category pages, but it doesn’t necessarily target specific buyer behaviors the way the Priority Campaign does.
One key difference between these two strategies is how you’re charged. The Priority Campaign works on a pay-per-click model (CPC), meaning you’re charged whenever someone clicks on your ad, whether they buy or not. The General Campaign works on a pay-per-sale model (CPS), so you only pay if the buyer actually purchases your item after clicking on your ad.
Now, about the fees - yes, they can get high. eBay suggests rates anywhere from 9% to 16%, but I personally use 4%, and that works fine for me. You can even set it to 0% if your item is in high demand. The more you pay, the more visibility you’re supposed to get, but there’s no guarantee it will result in a sale.
You can experiment and see how it is work in your ad Dashboard.
One thing to be aware of is that ad fees apply to the total transaction amount, including shipping, taxes, and any additional fees. So if you sell an item for $100 with $10 shipping at a 10% ad rate, you’re paying 10% on $110, not just the item price.
Regarding the category issue, you’re right. eBay has removed many detailed subcategories, making searches broader and less precise. A buyer looking for a Lladro Angel might now get flooded with unrelated figurines because eBay’s system groups promoted listings together, even if they aren’t an exact match. That can definitely be frustrating for buyers and sellers alike.
At the end of the day, Promoted Listings can help, but they’re not always necessary. If your item is already selling well, you may not need to use them. If you do, you don’t have to accept eBay’s suggested rates - you can lower them and experiment with what works best for you.
Hope that helps!
02-25-2025 03:03 PM
I know this can be a bit unclear, so let’s break it down.
When eBay talks about highly motivated buyers in the Priority Campaign, they’re referring to buyers who have shown signs that they’re actively looking to purchase. eBay’s system looks at things like recent searches, past purchases in the same category, how long they spend on certain listings, and whether they’ve added similar items to their watchlist or cart. It’s basically an automated way to prioritize showing ads to people who seem more likely to buy.
Targeting controls are just filters eBay uses to decide who sees your ad. You don’t control these directly, but eBay likely considers factors like a buyer’s location, browsing habits, time of day, and what type of device they’re using. The idea is to place your ad in front of people who are most likely to convert into a sale.
For the General Campaign, it’s a broader approach. Instead of focusing only on buyers who eBay thinks are ready to buy, your listing just gets more exposure across different areas of the site. It might appear in search results, suggested items, or category pages, but it doesn’t necessarily target specific buyer behaviors the way the Priority Campaign does.
One key difference between these two strategies is how you’re charged. The Priority Campaign works on a pay-per-click model (CPC), meaning you’re charged whenever someone clicks on your ad, whether they buy or not. The General Campaign works on a pay-per-sale model (CPS), so you only pay if the buyer actually purchases your item after clicking on your ad.
Now, about the fees - yes, they can get high. eBay suggests rates anywhere from 9% to 16%, but I personally use 4%, and that works fine for me. You can even set it to 0% if your item is in high demand. The more you pay, the more visibility you’re supposed to get, but there’s no guarantee it will result in a sale.
You can experiment and see how it is work in your ad Dashboard.
One thing to be aware of is that ad fees apply to the total transaction amount, including shipping, taxes, and any additional fees. So if you sell an item for $100 with $10 shipping at a 10% ad rate, you’re paying 10% on $110, not just the item price.
Regarding the category issue, you’re right. eBay has removed many detailed subcategories, making searches broader and less precise. A buyer looking for a Lladro Angel might now get flooded with unrelated figurines because eBay’s system groups promoted listings together, even if they aren’t an exact match. That can definitely be frustrating for buyers and sellers alike.
At the end of the day, Promoted Listings can help, but they’re not always necessary. If your item is already selling well, you may not need to use them. If you do, you don’t have to accept eBay’s suggested rates - you can lower them and experiment with what works best for you.
Hope that helps!
When eBay talks about highly motivated buyers in the Priority Campaign, they’re referring to buyers who have shown signs that they’re actively looking to purchase. eBay’s system looks at things like recent searches, past purchases in the same category, how long they spend on certain listings, and whether they’ve added similar items to their watchlist or cart. It’s basically an automated way to prioritize showing ads to people who seem more likely to buy.
Targeting controls are just filters eBay uses to decide who sees your ad. You don’t control these directly, but eBay likely considers factors like a buyer’s location, browsing habits, time of day, and what type of device they’re using. The idea is to place your ad in front of people who are most likely to convert into a sale.
For the General Campaign, it’s a broader approach. Instead of focusing only on buyers who eBay thinks are ready to buy, your listing just gets more exposure across different areas of the site. It might appear in search results, suggested items, or category pages, but it doesn’t necessarily target specific buyer behaviors the way the Priority Campaign does.
One key difference between these two strategies is how you’re charged. The Priority Campaign works on a pay-per-click model (CPC), meaning you’re charged whenever someone clicks on your ad, whether they buy or not. The General Campaign works on a pay-per-sale model (CPS), so you only pay if the buyer actually purchases your item after clicking on your ad.
Now, about the fees - yes, they can get high. eBay suggests rates anywhere from 9% to 16%, but I personally use 4%, and that works fine for me. You can even set it to 0% if your item is in high demand. The more you pay, the more visibility you’re supposed to get, but there’s no guarantee it will result in a sale.
You can experiment and see how it is work in your ad Dashboard.
One thing to be aware of is that ad fees apply to the total transaction amount, including shipping, taxes, and any additional fees. So if you sell an item for $100 with $10 shipping at a 10% ad rate, you’re paying 10% on $110, not just the item price.
Regarding the category issue, you’re right. eBay has removed many detailed subcategories, making searches broader and less precise. A buyer looking for a Lladro Angel might now get flooded with unrelated figurines because eBay’s system groups promoted listings together, even if they aren’t an exact match. That can definitely be frustrating for buyers and sellers alike.
At the end of the day, Promoted Listings can help, but they’re not always necessary. If your item is already selling well, you may not need to use them. If you do, you don’t have to accept eBay’s suggested rates - you can lower them and experiment with what works best for you.
Hope that helps!
02-25-2025 10:10 PM
Yes, this did help. I appreciate you taking the time to explain all that to me. It annoys me to have gone from paying 3% to 15% in the last 20 years, I just don’t feel comfortable giving eBay any more money than that. Especially since the pricing has to be so very low to sell anything at all, if pricing were similar to first dibs then I would not mind.
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