eBay

mr_lincoln · ‎03-14-2023

This splash page showed up today ... this product doesn't fit with what I sell but I was wondering if anyone has tried it??? Not sure how to interpret the 50% off deal on pre-paid AD fees ... perhaps it hasn't gotten the traction that was hoped for? I remember when PLS (Standard) was launched, they offered $ 30 per quarter Fee Credit ... that was like playing with House Money ...

Best regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

my-cottage-books-and-antiques · ‎03-14-2023

@mr_lincoln I haven't tried it, because, as you note, this isn't really a good fit for single quantity used/vintage, long tail items. I haven't seen any actual adoption data from ebay, but I agree.....I don't think PLA has taken off as they had hoped. They've been tweaking it to make it easier to use, and of course they recently made a change to PLA to drive more revenue---probably in part because they aren't getting the revenue they want from PLA. So, yeah, the $100 off definitely sounds like ebay feels a real need to increase PLA adoption. (And of course, they recently increased the available search page slots from 4 to 7....another sign that they are not where they want to be with this) In the last Quarterly Report, ebay was pretty clear that PLS does all the heavy lifting for the ads team.

And I suspect they have even worse adoption with PLExpress (the ads for auction listings)

But, like you, I'd love to hear from some sellers who have been trying this.

mr_lincoln · ‎03-14-2023

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques It is definitely a niche product. It might benefit folks selling high turnover commodities where being in the top 4 slots on returned search equates to a substantial increase in market share ... but then I suspect margins are thin on those items.

I can see it for high end items like purses, sneakers, electronics, etc. but those are also high risk items for scams ...

Anyway, like you said, PLS is carrying the load for eBay Fee income, PLA I suspect will get pushed aside for something else in time ...

Best regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor

**selling**stuff** · ‎03-14-2023

all you suckers that have bought into this **bleep** promoted listing thing are exactly that, suckers. Ebay is being saved by you. Ebay would be gone without promoted listings right now, with all the **bleep** problems ebay has, i'm surprised they are still around.. it wont be long, it this keeps up, they will sink faster than ever. They are pushing promoted listings because thats whats saving them. They are losing people faster than they are gaining. People are leaving in droves. But keep giving them your money, thats what they want. It should be free for all of us to list what we have, we should not be paying to play. this is **bleep**. IT HAS RUINED EBAY.

goldrushfinds · ‎03-14-2023

While your comment is certainly impassioned, I would have to agree with you to some extent. I mean at the basic level we all already pay a very sizeable percentage fee to utilize the site and hopefully have our wares seen. Why should we have to pay extra, I thought that is what the standard fee was for. How many more levels of promotion (and added fees) will there be. Instead of making their site more profitable based on it's functionality and value to the user, they would rather take the easy way out and just gouge the sellers. Hey Ebay, how about concentrate your efforts of making the site easier to use and more fun for the shopper (without a million glitches). Also, how about spending some advertising dollars on something rather than Ebay Motors. Just a thought.

chapeau-noir · ‎03-14-2023

This sucker is doing well enough being suckered, thanks.

As for PLA - it's irrelevant to what I sell, really, as @my-cottage-books-and-antiques points out, though I'm curious to see where it goes, also. Back in the olden days I bought promotional ad space on Google but the costs escalated out of my price range when the large corps got into it and bid the buy-in too high for just about everyone else. The program was scrapped sometime thereafter, but while it was useful, it was useful, so this is nothing new. I expect there's slow adoption of this, too.

Hell is empty. And all the devils are here.

siamjane8 · ‎03-15-2023

@mr_lincoln I agree with everyone else that this is a sign that people are not using the product and they need to get more sheets on the hook.

It's just a bad product that does not help anyone. I also wish that eBay would focus on making the platform better instead of just coming up with more ideas to fee it's users to death.

promoted listings as a whole have decreased the relevancy of an already screwed up search engine.

By focusing in on trying to extract more fees for doing nothing..... eBay is accelerating the decline of itself. Put your money and effort into improving the platform for it's users... The actual customers..... And you will see growth again.

Users are not stupid.... Making the search not show people what they want and then telling sellers we have to pay more to get out items seen, is getting tiresome. With this business model, eBay no longer aligns itself with sellers as a partner. There is no mutual gain for sales. They only want to grab the easy fees while sellers flounder with reduced visibility.

valueaddedresource · ‎03-15-2023

To anyone who does get the offer and decide to try it out - read the full terms and conditions carefully!

I don't know about this promo in particular, but past offers eBay has used to push any of the Promoted Listings products have had some interesting exclusions and possible "gotchas".

toomuchstuffagain35 · ‎03-15-2023

The last "offer" I got for PLA was for a up to $500 credit, but when I clicked on it I was told I wasn't eligible for the promotion. But I had to put up with the stupid ad for about a month anyway.

"If a product doesn't sell, raise the price" - Reese Palley
"If it sold FAST, it was priced too low" - also Reese Palley

mr_lincoln · ‎03-15-2023

@siamjane8 wrote:
@mr_lincoln I agree with everyone else that this is a sign that people are not using the product and they need to get more sheets on the hook.
It's just a bad product that does not help anyone. I also wish that eBay would focus on making the platform better instead of just coming up with more ideas to fee it's users to death.
promoted listings as a whole have decreased the relevancy of an already screwed up search engine.
By focusing in on trying to extract more fees for doing nothing..... eBay is accelerating the decline of itself. Put your money and effort into improving the platform for it's users... The actual customers..... And you will see growth again.
Users are not stupid.... Making the search not show people what they want and then telling sellers we have to pay more to get out items seen, is getting tiresome. With this business model, eBay no longer aligns itself with sellers as a partner. There is no mutual gain for sales. They only want to grab the easy fees while sellers flounder with reduced visibility.

@siamjane8 I think it is product that will only benefit certain Sellers and categories ... like high volume turnover items and high value items (luxury purses, sneakers, electronics, etc). For the entry level Seller cleaning out their closet up through mid-size Sellers in collectible categories it has no value.

Best regards,
Mr. Lincoln - Community Mentor