Chatter I have read on boards and in groups and a QUESTION about Promoted Listings Advanced.....

[loucoins]

Question: If a seller clicks on their own keywords in search and subsequently opens one of their own listings, but of course does not buy is that seller charged for that ad?

Also along those same lines I have read out on the boards and in groups and a particular newsletter that some disgruntled Ebay members say they are going click the heck out of all of these promoted listings just to run up the cost for those sellers that use these promotions. Is there a limit to the amount any one member can cost a seller if they do such a thing - or is it just our daily budget that prevents a total run up of fees for us.

Thanks

[fyerfyter2003]

I was using the regular promoted items for a few of my items that I sell, not all of them.    I was doing well with them even though I was paying a fee for this service.  I competing seller, I assume, targeted 13 items out of the 50 that I have listed, and reported the items (that he sells the same of) and they were removed. The only items reported were the promoted ones.  Strange. I assume that my competition was tired of seeing my lower priced items being placed above theirs on the search results.  Member services were of no help to me in reference as to “why only the promoted ones were targeted” and of course this really hindered my sales.  I feel as if I was paying for a feature only to paint a target on myself.  No follow up ever came from eBay.  I will not use this feature anymore and have started selling through other avenues to make up the difference.

[valueaddedresource]

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@loucoins wrote:

Question: If a seller clicks on their own keywords in search and subsequently opens one of their own listings, but of course does not buy is that seller charged for that ad?

Also along those same lines I have read out on the boards and in groups and a particular newsletter that some disgruntled Ebay members say they are going click the heck out of all of these promoted listings just to run up the cost for those sellers that use these promotions. Is there a limit to the amount any one member can cost a seller if they do such a thing - or is it just our daily budget that prevents a total run up of fees for us.

Thanks

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@loucoins  

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/listing-and-marketing/promoted-listings-advanced.html#faqs

How does eBay handle invalid traffic? Who should I contact if I suspect invalid traffic?

Promoted Listings Advanced traffic is screened by our proprietary detection software, which is designed to help filter invalid traffic in real time. Suspicious traffic that is reported by sellers or partners is eligible for manual review by our team of traffic experts.

In the event manual review detects invalid traffic, a credit will be processed within 1 - 4 weeks.

Note: Campaign reports can take up to 72 hours to reconcile.

Can I be charged for multiple clicks made by the same buyer?
Potentially yes, unless our click filtering systems detect suspicious activity. In some cases, buyers may revisit the same item multiple times before completing their purchase. However, please note that we have proprietary detection software in place designed to filter out invalid clicks with abnormal patterns, including bots, malicious clicks, or accidental clicks. If clicks on the ad are identified as invalid, the clicks will not be charged.

I would hope if you are logged in as your selling account and clicked on your own ad, eBay would be smart enough to see that as an "accidental click" - but not exactly sure.

[loucoins]

Sorry to hear of your listings getting pulled. Was it a VERO takedown? Surely they gave you reason. It appears to me that you are  making(?) the stickers/decals and they are of well known brand names. That is a possibility of a VERO action against such listings?? Just asking. 

[adsteam@ebay · Accepted solution]

Hi Charlie, thanks so much for asking this question. There’s a lot of work being done on this exact topic as we speak, but the answer to your first question is, potentially. In some cases, buyers may revisit the same item multiple times before completing their purchase, and each of their clicks will count.

However, to answer your second question, we currently have proprietary detection software in place that’s designed to filter out invalid clicks with abnormal patterns, including:

• Bots
• Malicious clicks
• Accidental clicks

This also includes if the same user is clicking repeatedly on any one ad in a short time period. Sellers will not be charged if clicks are identified as invalid.

In addition, any suspicious traffic reported by sellers is eligible for manual review by our team of traffic experts. A credit will be applied to your account if the review detects invalid traffic. This review process can take between 1-4 weeks to complete.

[monster-deals]

Why not just fix the search engine instead of ticking a million sellers off?

[rosettamodes]

i do hope that Ebay higher-ups are aware of the high number of complaints, sellers whose sales have ground to a halt since the beginning of this Promotional Listing jazz and the ridiculously high ad costs some sellers will have to pay on items that will not pay for the ads themselves. There really seems to be a serious issue going on here that is far too sudden to be accidental, far too widespread to be merely anecdotal. Reddit has many posts saying the same thing. A normal downturn is a normal downturn, but to have 15-20 sales a day on average for years (not my own ratio, I just came back a few months ago but have been on Ebay since 2003), and no one even looking at your stuff (at least according to Seller Hub "analytics") is more like a cliff. Cliffs like that coming at the EXACT same time as this- naw. Something needs fixing, Ebay! 

[popblox]

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adsteam@ebay wrote:

However, to answer your second question, we currently have proprietary detection software in place that’s designed to filter out invalid clicks with abnormal patterns, including:

• Bots
• Malicious clicks
• Accidental clicks

This also includes if the same user is clicking repeatedly on any one ad in a short time period. Sellers will not be charged if clicks are identified as invalid.

Just playing devil's advocate here, so, hypothetically:

I really want to put my competitor out of business, so I open a private window on my work computer, my home computer, and my phone. I open eBay in different locations, on different devices, at random points during my day and browse through my competitor's store, clicking sporadically on their sponsored items as a "guest".

I'm also a seller who promotes my listings, who has access to the information in this thread, so I know better than to click on my competitor's sponsored ads by "accident", or with maliciousness. I browse as I normally would when I'm actually shopping on eBay - I even take the time to read the descriptions and add items that I'll never buy to my cart.

I'm not trying to give anybody any ideas, but this is just the first thing I thought of. Outside of false VeRO claims, this seems like one of the easiest ways for malicious sellers to weed out their competition. Better, in fact, since you could literally take money out of the seller's pocket.

I appreciate the concept of "detection software", but, without some more specific information, I'm not even remotely convinced that malicious clicks can be accurately identified on a consistent basis. 

ETA: The only way I see this working is if there is a penalty for malicious clicks, which could be identified through IP addresses, etc.

[fearless_imports_exports]

IP addresses can be easily hidden by using a VPN service.    

[watchoutlet-dot-org]

   Same issues here.  I sell a higher-end product and have been with eBay since 2003.  Promoted Listings Advanced went into effect and my sales literally died.  NO SALES for over one week, when previously  I averaged 1 to 6 sales per day.  Something is VERY wrong and I will need to consider other pl;atforms stat if this continues much longer.

   AND...Yes!  I did try PLAB and wasted $250.00 in 'clicks' for naught!  Yikes, eBay!  What are you doing to us?

[watchoutlet-dot-org]

In other words: 'We are doing nothing'.