Promoted listings - I can't find the balance

[joliefran]

When I promote things with high percentages, my sales definitely go up...but, 30% of my profit is going to selling costs, the largest cut being promoted listing, AKA right into eBay's pocket.  Has anybody found a balance point, where promoted listings don't rule all your sales but your items are still being noticed by buyers?  Would you put the same percentage, maybe 3%, on everything?  Is there another number that works to maximize sales while minimizing selling costs?  Any help appreciated!

[karenkat304]

I have encountered the same issue- my sales went up but profit declined. I started by using half of eBays recommended percentage of promotion- if they said 8%, I used 4%. My listings still sold   at about the same rate- and still higher than non-promoted items.  This solved the issue for me.  Also, have you noticed eBay no longer tells you the cost of the promotion? This is relatively new- when I first started using promotions I could see how much each level of promotion would cost.  I would definitely welcome feedback from the group regarding that.

Karen