First of all - ebay has dramatically cut the number of free listing promos in 2017. Secondly I think they are timing their promotions to coincide with the end of the quarter or certain events. I received free listings in June before the end of the quarter and again the frst week of July before Amazon Prime Day. No promos in April or May.
While they say that who gets the listings is random - I think they do use algorithms in determining the random pool, and those algorithms can change. For example I think store owners are now less likely to receive free promos than those without a store, and those who regularly list 50 items or more per month have a better chance than those that list 20 items, especially those that have a higher number of sales.
I think what you sell is a factor - with clothing and jewelry saturated categories - those that sell only those items are less likely to get free listings - the bigger the pie the smaller your slice. Also the average price of your items is probably a factor - someone whose average item price is $15 is more likely to get free listings than those who sell $3 items.
I don't have any inside information, but I think with ebay now spending advertising dollars - they are going to be more selective in the randomness of their free listing promotions. If your listings are attracting buyers without promos - the better chance you'll have of getting promos which will leave some sellers out in the cold. Keep relisting items that don't sell (especially those with stores and GTC listings), and ebay will shut you out of most promos. The handwriting has been on the wall.
