Community Chat, August 5 @ 1:00 pm PT - eBay Partner Network

[tyler@ebay]

Hi everyone! Thanks for joining us for the Weekly Chat with eBay Staff. This week we’re joined by the eBay Partner Network team to answer questions you may have about this program.

If you're new to our weekly chat, welcome! To post your question, click Reply in the lower right corner of the first post between 1-2 PM Pacific Time, type your question, and hit submit. The format of our chat mirrors the format of our Community Discussion Boards, where each post will appear in the thread chronologically - so if you don't see an answer right away, don't despair! We'll get to it. 😀

The Community Team will review each question as it comes in, and will quote the original question in our reply. This quote and the reply will appear later in the thread, so just keep refreshing and scrolling down to see our answers.

The chat thread will remain open until 2 PM PT at which point we'll close it from additional responses. After that time, we'll continue to work on responding to any queries that might still be unanswered. You will get a notification when we respond. See you Wednesday!

About the eBay Partner Network:

Basics about the eBay Partner Network can be found here, including details about the program, some FAQs, and a video on getting started. 

Already a member of the ePN? Consider requesting to join the private Community Forum group of other dedicated ePN sellers (link here).

[tinmetalsign]

😃

[throwthings.com]

If someone clicks on a link, waits more than 24 hours, and then clicks the link again will the 24 hour clock start over for them to make a purchase that will count as a Qualifying Transaction?

[brian@ebay]

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@taosa wrote:

Is there a live chat? All I can find is the questions...

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This is the chat! It's a message board chat, meaning members ask their questions here (just like the one you asked that I'm replying to now) and eBay staff will reply. Feel free to type up a question about eBay Partner Network if you have one 🙂

[patel@selling]

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@lfsrouger wrote:

Please walk me through this one. Is it similar to the one eBay offered previously, that when create a new listing, eBay provide a link , then I share the link to Social media, if it is sold through the link, then I get credit?

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@lfsrouger - Hi, conceptually your understanding is correct. With this program, you need to sign up for the Ebay Partner Network with your eBay account and use the free, easy tools to create the links yourself.  Then you can share them via social media and get credit if they convert. There is a Smart Share tool that makes it very easy to post to Facebook. https://partnernetwork.ebay.com/solutions/creating-affiliate-links

[dan@epn]

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@shoplc-us wrote:

On EPN do you create a sort-of campaign (a product, photos, text) with an affiliate link, then post that whole campaign with the link to a social media page?

Or is it literally just a solo link, that you can copy & paste on a social media post?

And how exactly do you create an affiliate link?

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@shoplc-us  You can create a link to any eBay page - an individual item, a category page, search results, or even the eBay home page. It would be using the one link, though, to post where you're going to share it, like Facebook or other social media accounts.

We do have the concept of "campaigns" as an option for organizing your eBay Partner Network account, though you don't have to use it.

You create links using the various tools we provide in your account. Sign in at https://partner.ebay.com/ and you can see all the different link-building tools using the "Tools" dropdown. You can also use the "create a promotable link" section on the home dashboard - just paste in the URL of the eBay page you want to promote, and you'll get the EPN link.

Thanks!

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

I think you'd get more seller interest in this if you provided some tutorials focusing on sellers who aren't really looking to go all in as an affiliate marketer, but who want to get the free FVFs and any "bonus" affiliate income that we might get. No offense, but this is typical ebay: you launched this new thing "free FVFs!" but have really not done much to promote it or to provide us with examples of sellers who are using it , strategies, etc. This isn't going to work very well unless you can give us some help in how to most effectively use social media, email marketing and so forth. With the Holidays coming up, now would be a good time to give us that sort of help. I know HOW to create the link. What I'd like to know more about is how to really use it effectively.

[deb@shipping]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

The ebay seller in the video you shared mentions his use of email marketing.  Are there any plans to update ebay's email marketing?  Last time I looked at it, it seemed woefully out of date. I'd make a real effort to use it if ebay tried to modernize it a bit. 

Also, what disclosure would I have to include in an email, to indicate I'm using an affiliate tool?

Also, what disclosure do you recommend for Facebook posts containing an EPN link? I've been using "#ad", but is there a better way?  

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Hi my-cottage-books-and-antiques thank you for your question and for the feedback about eBay's email marketing functionality. We don't have plans in the near future to update email marketing, and yet will keep the community updated about any future changes.

In terms of disclosures, we recommend following local laws. Here's a link to an ePN Help Center article, the "FTC Disclosure" section gives good overall guidance to follow.

With regard to post to your social media channels including Facebook, the post must include  #ad, #advertisement, #sponsored, or something similar at the beginning of the post to clearly and conspicuously disclose the posts are an advertisement. You'll want to follow this protocol to ensure FTC compliance. 

Thank you!

[nancyscottagetreasures]

Sorry for posting this on the wrong thread.

[patel@selling]

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@gwzcomps wrote:

I was invited to the previous version of this program.  I didn't join because of the typical vague wording of the UA.  It implied if I got in trouble or broke a policy regarding the affiliate program I would risk losing my selling account?  Seemed kind stupid since I have never had an advertiser threaten my livelihood if I advertised wrong.  I don't know if this is still the case.

Also where is my incentive if all I get is credits towards my FVFs?  Last I knew Amazon's affiliate program paid in real money.

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@gwzcomps  Hi, your Ebay Partner Network and eBay selling account are separate. If a seller faces issues/suspension on their Ebay Partner Network account, it would not impact your selling account. 

With the Ebay Partner Network, you would earn commissions and credits that are paid out in real money. The amount would be equivalent to your FVF on qualifying transactions on your own inventory (and the normal commission rate if they buy from another seller), but in both instances everything would be paid out via EPN.  

[gwzcomps]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

I think you'd get more seller interest in this if you provided some tutorials focusing on sellers who aren't really looking to go all in as an affiliate marketer, but who want to get the free FVFs and any "bonus" affiliate income that we might get. No offense, but this is typical ebay: you launched this new thing "free FVFs!" but have really not done much to promote it or to provide us with examples of sellers who are using it , strategies, etc. This isn't going to work very well unless you can give us some help in how to most effectively use social media, email marketing and so forth. With the Holidays coming up, now would be a good time to give us that sort of help. I know HOW to create the link. What I'd like to know more about is how to really use it effectively.

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I feel like I would be more interested if I didn't have to do extra work for what I am guessing is a small return.  I don't have a large enough following for this to make a difference.  If I had enough followers I wouldn't be wasting my time with something like this.  I would be shilling terrible mobile games, VPNs that get hacked, and wireless earbuds I would never use 😜

[cmomgo_boutique]

There is a seller that has been shipping orders in multiple shipments using several tracking numbers.  They create tracking numbers shortly after your purchase, so you think you will be getting a fast shipment.  Then there is no acceptance scan after days and sometimes weeks from the deadline of the "guarantee" delivery date.  When I was able to I opened a case because I haven't received my entire order yet.  As soon as I did they manipulated tracking numbers to show that they were all delivered and showed up on time based off of my first package.  The tracking number it had was erased, so they could prove to ebay that they fufilled the whole order.  Eventually I got the last package before I had to ask ebay to step in to help with the case I opened.  I was honest even though the tracking number it arrived with was never provided, so I shut the case.  I left negative feedback based on my experience and the real truth and it was taken down.  I have been watching this seller's feedback and they are getting about 20-50 negs. per day for the same things I went through and they are some how getting pretty much all of them removed.  They are classified as a "top rated seller" and they don't answer emails or they are rude, people aren't getting their whole orders nor are they getting refuned, this seller is giving out fake tracking numbers or falsifying them, it is insane to watch what people say before it gets erased!!!!  I have reported them several times and I feel like I am being ignored.  HOW/WHY IS EBAY ALLOWING THIS SELLER CONTINUE TO SELL????  Other sellers get taken down for a lot less.

[deb@shipping]

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@highervenue wrote:

My first time here...could you please help me on what do I need to do?

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Hi @highervenue thank you for joining our chat. If you haven't done so already, I'd recommend reading through the eBay Partner Network Seller Center page. Next, if you're ready to sign up for The eBay Partner Network, you can join by clicking this link. Finally, for support with any questions you might have, we recommend consulting the eBay Partner Network help center here.  

[dan@epn]

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@shoplc-us wrote:

In the "create a promotable link" area where you paste the eBay URL, it also asks to select a campaign and for a custom ID. What do those mean?

Also, so you can earn money from commissions whenever anybody clicks on the link AND still if someone purchases the product?

How much is the commission from getting clicked links?

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@shoplc-us 

Campaign ID is how we tie purchase activity to your eBay Partner Network account. Every account gets a default campaign set up when you join. If you want to further organize your account, you can create additional campaigns. For example, some partners might want to have different campaigns for the different social media accounts they use, e.g. one for Facebook, one for Twitter, etc. so that the performance can be separated in reporting. Others might have different campaigns for different product categories. It's up to you, and however it will make the most sense to keep track of your activity, and be able to evaluate how you're performing.

Custom ID is an optional field. It's another way people organize their account, as you can get reporting by Custom ID as well. This is most commonly used by partners who need to tie activity back to specific users.

The way you earn commissions is: if someone clicks on your link, and makes a purchase within 24 hours of clicking with the click on your link being the last one made before the purchase, you earn a percentage of the sale price, depending on the category. Note that this is for any purchase - so if you send someone to your own listing, and they buy that plus two other things they found on eBay, you get commission for that entire purchase.

The rate card showing what commission percentages are for each category is here: https://partnernetwork.ebay.com/our-program/rate-card

[gwzcomps]

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patel@selling wrote:

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@gwzcomps wrote:

I was invited to the previous version of this program.  I didn't join because of the typical vague wording of the UA.  It implied if I got in trouble or broke a policy regarding the affiliate program I would risk losing my selling account?  Seemed kind stupid since I have never had an advertiser threaten my livelihood if I advertised wrong.  I don't know if this is still the case.

Also where is my incentive if all I get is credits towards my FVFs?  Last I knew Amazon's affiliate program paid in real money.

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@gwzcomps  Hi, your Ebay Partner Network and eBay selling account are separate. If a seller faces issues/suspension on their Ebay Partner Network account, it would not impact your selling account. 

With the Ebay Partner Network, you would earn commissions and credits that are paid out in real money. The amount would be equivalent to your FVF on qualifying transactions on your own inventory (and the normal commission rate if they buy from another seller), but in both instances everything would be paid out via EPN.  

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It isn't real money though because it only goes against my FVFs if I understand correctly.  If I have a bad month and make no sales I get no money.  If I quit selling on eBay I won't get paid to promote eBay listings.  Basically from what I have seen I have to do extra work for a few extra pennies to rub together.  Hopefully they are shiny at least.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

gwzcomps,

I look at it same as I look at Seller Initiated Offers.I don't have a whole lot of luck with them, but it's free to do, takes only a few minutes, and sometimes I make some decent money because of it. Same thing here: this is free, it's easy to do (I'd be posting some of my stuff to social media anyway, so why not post it as an EPN link?). So any money I make from EPN is gravy.