My Case Against eBay Promoted Listings - You're the Judge!

[ten_o_nine]

Buyer bought a set of vintage dinner plates, the sale did not come from a promoted listing.

I shipped the item and buyer left me positive feedback below,

Buyer came back 2 weeks later and purchased the bread plates from the same set, eBay charged me a promoted listing rate on the second purchase, why?

[ten_o_nine]

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques 

What difference does it make?

You say

"However, if ,within 30 days of clicking on that item he previously bought, he comes directly to your ebay store---where your PL items are shown as organic, not sponsored listings---and he buys an item from your organic store listing, the fee will still be applied, this time as a "halo" PL"

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What fee? there was no fee the first time they clicked and bought the first item. What still applies?

[mr_lincoln]

Hi @ten_o_nine 

-First sale: IF the item was on a PLS campaign BUT the Buyer did NOT find it through a sponsored listing ad the ad rate would not apply. 

"You can get your listings in front of more buyers, and you’re only charged for the ad if it helped your items sell."

-While looking at the First item they "may" have clicked on the other item or more items of yours (that you do not know about) and the 30-day attribute timer began on them.  If they Buy those items within the 30 days of the last click (even if the PLS campaign ends) they charge you the ad rate.  Per the Help pages

• You will only be charged when a buyer clicks on your promoted listing and purchases any of your promoted items within 30 days of the click

When I used PLS I had similar things happen, items I knew were Promoted Sold but no ad fee was applied.   Then items would sell AFTER the PLS campaign ended and I would be charged the ad fee.

[wastingtime101]

Here's the simplified answer @ten_o_nine :

As I mentioned above, the first sale did not have a PL fee because the buyer found your listing through organic search placement.

The second sale did have a PL fee because the buyer found your listing through a sponsored search placement.

What happens next? If the buyer purchases another item within 30 days, the "halo" PL fee will apply and whether the third item was found through organic or sponsored search placement won't matter.

Beyond 30 days everything starts over and depends on whether the buyer clicked on any of your sponsored listings at any point in the 30 days prior.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@ten_o_nine  I'll ask again. PLEASE. Look up whether it was Direct or Halo.

I'm not sure why you are fixated on the first purchase. It has NOTHING to do with this. 

The second listing was in a promoted listing campaign. If the buyer clicked it as a sponsored listing and bought it, there will be a PL fee. Period. Nothing to do with the first purchase.

If he clicked the second item as a sponsored listing anytime in the 30 days before his purchase, then even if he clicked it as an organic listing when he actually bought it, the first click controls and he is charged the PLS fee.

If he clicked the second item as an organic listing for the first time when he bought it, BUT had clicked on ANY of your other listings as promoted listings within the previous 30 days, he will be charged the PL fee as a halo fee.

[ten_o_nine]

@mr_lincoln 

-While looking at the First item they "may" have clicked on the other item or more items of yours (that you do not know about) and the 30-day attribute timer began on them.  If they Buy those items within the 30 days of the last click (even if the PLS campaign ends) they charge you the ad rate.  Per the Help page

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Surrounded. lol

But really unethical because the same should apply to organic search. If someone buys an item from me thru organic search and they come back within 30 days, then organic. You can't have it both ways, just my thinking. 

[ten_o_nine]

I really think I am forgetting what promotion means.

So, if I stumble into your B&M store and buy something I like, then comeback the next day and buy another thing, you're charged ad fee by some company?

[mr_lincoln]

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@ten_o_nine wrote:

@mr_lincoln 

-While looking at the First item they "may" have clicked on the other item or more items of yours (that you do not know about) and the 30-day attribute timer began on them.  If they Buy those items within the 30 days of the last click (even if the PLS campaign ends) they charge you the ad rate.  Per the Help page

______________________________________________________________

Surrounded. lol

But really unethical because the same should apply to organic search. If someone buys an item from me thru organic search and they come back within 30 days, then organic. You can't have it both ways, just my thinking. 

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@ten_o_nine 

Actually, I think they changed it as I described within the last year or so, I do NOT think it was always like that and to your point, early on the ad rate was ONLY charged when an item was found through sponsored listings AND if the Buyer purchased anything else during THAT visit to your items OR later and NOT through a PLS ad the ad fees would NOT be charged.  So it would have worked exactly like you describe with the organic search, find, purchase path. 

Obviously, Home Office saw that there was more on the table with PLS so they added the functionality that if a Buyer goes to a Seller's one item and purchases other items that ARE promoted the ad fee is charged ...

Sometimes reading through the verbiage of these type policies makes my head do this: