Competitors ads in the middle of my product pages?

[fatgrandmafinds]

I use an ad blocker on my browsers so I didn't notice this issue but I recently watched a youtube video from another eBay seller and they pointed out advertisements for other sellers showing on our product pages, in the middle of the page. I disabled my ad blocker to see for myself and I am livid.

How is this okay? My product pages should consist of the photos and information for MY products, not the products of my competitors. I have to scroll past an entire row of 12 suggested products to see the Item Specifics on MY product pages! This is a load of 💩 and I don't see why we're paying for stores if eBay is going to advertise other products on the pages intended to display our products. Just because another seller is gullible enough to give eBay even more of their money through promoted listings doesn't mean those items should be advertised on MY item pages.

eBay should be paying me for ads they're putting in the middle of MY product pages. I'm not paying eBay to muck up my product pages with other people's 💩!

[b86fiero]

The reality of how eBay listing pages actually look these days shocks and infuriates another seller who had no idea this has been going on for a couple of years.

Always a good idea to check your own listings on someone else's phone or computer to see what is really going on.

[fatgrandmafinds]

@b86fieroI remember seeing ads at the bottom of pages but not in the middle, above the item descriptions. But again, I've been using an ad blocker for a while now. Perhaps I'll start suggesting buyers use ad blockers in my weekly youtube videos. The placement of ads for other sellers' items in the middle of our product pages is eBay blatantly steering buyers away from the item they intended to look at and it's not acceptable. No one should be okay with this. Ads should be at the bottom of the product pages and here's a thought...

eBay should give us a choice of which ads show up on our product pages...more of our own inventory or those of other sellers and if we choose to allow ads for other sellers we should get a percentage of the promoted listing revenue if there's a sale because eBay used our item to highlight that promoted listing ad. eBay likes to call us partners and they need to treat us as such.

[theteamsetguy]

@nilis13 

Thanks

[theteamsetguy]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

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@theteamsetguy wrote:

@nilis13 ,

What promise have they not kept?

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@theteamsetguy the announcement about the new design in March explicitly stated they were going to move IS and description above any ad modules....that is the promise they have not kept.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/We-are-testing-a-new-View-Item-experience-on-desktop/m-p/336521... 

Here are some of the key highlights of what you can expect:

1. Larger images
2. Increased prominence of the seller information.
3. Bring critical information like Item specifics and seller description higher up on the page before any modules that show other items & ads.
4. Improve the hierarchy of the page, so we show the most important information in the right order.

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@valueaddedresource ,

Thanks for the clarification.

[cardxcraft]

Are you a future rockstar, or just trolling in hopes of being accepted into the "group"

[stainlessenginecovers]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

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@stainlessenginecovers wrote:

So very strange that I've seen 2 threads started over this the past week yet this has been going on 

since PROMOTIONS started well over 2 years ago.

In fact, that is why I opted in at the min 1% so not only are MY ads on MY listings; but MY ads are also on my COMPETITOR listings.

This is some very old stuff being brought back up.....

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@stainlessenginecovers  I believe it's being brought up because something eBay changed very recently has simply made what has been going on for years more obvious and easy to see.

For many years, when looking at your own listings as a seller while logged in, ads were not displayed the same way they were displayed to buyers. In order to see the full picture of what your listing page actually looked like to buyers, you would have had to view the item in an incognito browser not logged in and with no ad blockers, privacy filters or other add ons.

I've always suspected that many sellers simply never looked at their own listings that way, and if they also do not shop on eBay frequently, may never have been shown the full picture - thus they were unaware of just how many competitor ads are shown on their listings and how much it pushes down seller provided item and description information.

A recent change has made it so that you do see the ads now when logged in and looking at your own listings, so many sellers are seeing it for the first time and assuming it is something new.

As we've discussed before, opting in to promoted listings no longer guarantees your ads will be on your own listings - they may be, but there is no longer a dedicated module specifically only populated with "promoted listings from this seller."

Also, the minimum amount is 2% and has been since July 2022.

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I never used an 'ad blocker' and ALWAYS seen the promos when looking at my listings (even when logged in) so I STILL don't understand what the 'new big deal' is. 

Always there. Old news.

The 2% thing, since I do Promos'; I am well aware of. 

What I said was that "I have seen these promo items on peoples listings (mine and others) and that is why I joined when it was 1%. 

Now 2%.

Well worth is from what I see (and have for pushing 3 years). 

[fatgrandmafinds]

devon@ebay, Why was #3 not implemented? Will it ever be? Item specifics and descriptions should be directly under images and pricing.

[ittybitnot]

Why was #3 not implemented? Will it ever be? Item specifics and descriptions should be directly under images and pricing.

@fatgrandmafinds 

I think they are still "testing" it.   The issue as I see it is that they have many sellers that now use the "promoted listings" and they have to stick those 'thumbnails' someplace.  As we have been aware of for years, eBay does not display the same things  or the save "views" to all users who may be searching with the same keywords. 

Basically, they have 90+ slots to fill for P-listings, and they need more due to so many sellers being convinced it is necessary.  Even if you are a seller that promotes, you will get a registered "impression" count on your promoted item even if yours is number 75 on a "carousel" line in row 30 that nobody views.  The more people that join PL, the less effective the whole system becomes for the seller. Until you INCREASE the amount you are willing to pay over the other !0,000 users that were using the same percentage as you the results will be diluted, but eBay will have a bigger take. 

Impressions are not views, and views are not sales.   It they stick all these rows and rows of promoted listings AFTER your information, chances are they will be skipped altogether.  I am a buyer, and I certainly won't be browsing these.  If they stick it in the middle of YOUR listing, the buyer has to at least scroll to pass them by, and there is a better chance of something 'catching the buyer's eye' resulting in a click or a view (better than just an impression)  which will serve to calm those paying to play for at least a while. 

It wasn't that long ago that eBay told us that the reason they did not show buyers ALL the results of the search query was because there were just to many and it caused "buyer confusion".  Now apparently the sensory overload presented to buyers with all these listings from some other seller is A-OK. 

[nuclearomen]

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@fatgrandmafinds wrote:

@stuff4divasonly if you're willing to pay for promoted listings.

It's not enough eBay gets monthly store fees and even more fees when we sell an item, now they're using extortion tactics, and if we want to have any hope of selling we have to pay more. If we don't cave and do promoted listings our listings in searches and even items on our own product pages will be buried under all the promoted listings and ads.

I wanna know what happens if everyone has promoted listings, then how does anyone's listing stand out? eBay is going to put itself out of business if sellers give up and quit because it's not worth it anymore.

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@fatgrandmafinds your about 3 years too late here, seriously, if you didn't know about sponsored ads on listings from other sellers that would mean you have not read any updates provided by ebay in several years because PLs and sponsored ads from other sellers on your listings have been in effect for that long. Fact is everyone is fully aware of the ads on our listings, it's been bases of discussion on these boards for longtime now. It's also no different on other platforms who do the same thing. No one likes it, but it isn't going away. Ebay doesn't care if sellers quit and leave, there have thousands, and in their place thousands more sellers have come in, it's a cycle never ending and they know that. 

[reallynicestamps]

There are people who don't use ad blockers?

[onestopnerdshop]

Welcome to FeeBay.

[fatgrandmafinds]

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It's also no different on other platforms who do the same thing. No one likes it, but it isn't going away. Ebay doesn't care if sellers quit and leave, there have thousands, and in their place thousands more sellers have come in, it's a cycle never ending and they know that.

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Ah, not true. Poshmark doesn't put ads in the middle of product pages...they put them at the bottom.

[nuclearomen]

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@fatgrandmafinds wrote:

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It's also no different on other platforms who do the same thing. No one likes it, but it isn't going away. Ebay doesn't care if sellers quit and leave, there have thousands, and in their place thousands more sellers have come in, it's a cycle never ending and they know that.

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Ah, not true. Poshmark doesn't put ads in the middle of product pages...they put them at the bottom.

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and poshmark is nothing in comparison to Amazon or Ebay...but the point is, the ads are there none the less, give it time is what I say to that, it will change eventually, as poshmark finds ways to suck money like any other marketplace is these days. 

[valueaddedresource]

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@nuclearomen wrote:

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@fatgrandmafinds wrote:

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It's also no different on other platforms who do the same thing. No one likes it, but it isn't going away. Ebay doesn't care if sellers quit and leave, there have thousands, and in their place thousands more sellers have come in, it's a cycle never ending and they know that.

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Ah, not true. Poshmark doesn't put ads in the middle of product pages...they put them at the bottom.

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and poshmark is nothing in comparison to Amazon or Ebay...but the point is, the ads are there none the less, give it time is what I say to that, it will change eventually, as poshmark finds ways to suck money like any other marketplace is these days. 

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@nuclearomen @fatgrandmafinds Poshmark just recently started testing Promoted Closets so yeah...they are definitely following the well worn playbook that has been laid out ahead of them by the big dogs.

[new_spin_boutique]

I don't see why we're paying for stores if eBay is going to advertise other products on the pages intended to display our products.

^^^^ This exactly - this is supposed to be MY virtual storefront. Now eBay is advertising inside MY store for others because they're getting a little extra money. In no way does this improve the buying or selling experience. It's strictly an underhanded move to suck more money out of the community of eBay users.