New Dynamic Ads

[marya_67]

Hi all

I’m just wondering how everyone has been getting on with the dynamic ad strategy. I think eBay did a soft launch but I instantly jumped on it and let it do its thing as I have noticed since Christmas that across many categories the suggested ad rates have practically doubled. What settings have you found works? I used capped 10% and -.5% of suggested ad rate. I’m winging it really but my sales are better now, haven’t calculated profits as yet as it’s only a couple weeks. 

[craft-stash]

Waste of $$$!

[duncanvr]

I could never allow someone else or a robot to set my own ad rates the suggested rate just keeps going up. I set mine at 3.7% and thats it and standard promoted at that rate is good enough to bring the sales in for me. I'm not prepared to give away more of my sales profit so no to dynamic its not for me it may work for other sellers. 

[gurlcat]

If it was truly dynamic, you would see the suggested ad rates of various items rise AND fall .....so what does that tell you about the legitimacy of the "suggested ad rate" ?  And you're letting a robot take the wheel .....

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

I have seen the suggested rates go up AND down. And as I've explained before, no, you are not letting a robot take the wheel--- if you have common sense you set a cap that you are comfortable with. 

[gurlcat]

I've never seen a suggested rate go down, and I've been watching them very closely the whole time. If you have proof let's see it. 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

I'm not going to start taking screen shots of what I see in my active listings just to prove to you that I am not a liar. 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@marya_67  I've been using it since before it was called dynamic ad rate strategy,  and I think there are some benefits to using it as opposed to a flat rate. Can't say I've settled on a particular cap or rate. Please keep us posted on how you are doing with it.

[gurlcat]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

I'm not going to start taking screen shots of what I see in my active listings just to prove to you that I am not a liar. 

---

Yes please do. 

Here are a couple you might find interesting.  This first one I took just 15 or so minutes ago.  That INSANE 15.8% suggested (supposed "trend") ad rate has steadily risen since I started this listing ....just like all supposed trend rates.  And if I allowed ebay's "dynamic" bot follow the trend, that's what my actual ad rate would be.  Now  -yes there is the personal cap option, okay so what if I had it capped at 12%?  -Then my ad rate would now be 12%, and the algorithm would be treating my listing as if it's almost 4% below trending.  

But really ........

........after doing some "things" and taking a new screenshot, here is the REAL trending rate for this exact item:

 
Now how did I do that?  No, not just 'end/sell similar' nor lowering the price; I was going to do both of those anyway, and that USED TO reset the trending rate back to 'real' but they obviously figured out lots of people were doing that, so they reprogrammed the listing software to recognize you're just relisting the same item, so it makes you keep the inflated trending rate.  I had to do a little extra to force it to be honest, and I won't say 'what' that is, publicly or even in the pm's because those get read too.  

But why I'm so adamant about getting this through to you isn't to be a know-it-all and prove I'm right just for the heck of it, nor is it any of my business if you want to waste your money.  Actually I've always liked and admired you so I'd rather you not waste your money, but that's your business. Frankly I'm annoyed and a bit worried by you or anyone touting on these boards that using the dynamic thing is just a personal choice of convenience and willingness to invest .....because it DOESN'T only affect you, don't you understand that?  The higher that sellers are willing to let their ad rates go, the higher the (REAL) trending ad rate goes, forcing everyone else to raise theirs too, or lose visability.  Don't you see how there will be NO END to how high it will go then? 

I mean in another thread you're casually talking about if a seller wants to set their cap at 20%, and you don't even seem to think that is CA-RA-ZY.  Twenty percent?!  On top of all the regular fees?!!   Would the 'you' of a couple years ago not find that insane?  

[siamjane8]

That is completely  insane for sure. Its sad really that sellers feel that they have no other choice.   Promoted Listings is killing the platform for sure. 

   I find it amazing that ANYONE would fall for this gimmick- letting ebay tell you what the suggested rate is?!!! that is like letting the fox guard the hen house!

   For starters- PL dont even work anymore- the site is saturated with them so in effect nobody is actually promoted anymore.   Now ebay is tricking people into forking over their last trickle of profit.  It is not sustainable.   

   Hopefully enough people will catch on- there is no way forward with Pay to 
Play Promoted Listings.  Ebay cant even manage the ones they have lol.   The listing pages are just littered with irrelevant ads and listing and the search no longer works at all--- they just keep piling algorithm mistake on top of mistake and its out of control

     Absolutely nobody wins with PL........ sellers lose money / buyers pay more for goods/ and ebay is undermining the platform and cutting off future GMV for a short term PL fee  hike.

[jasoheat_0]

what are you going to do when ebay eventually takes 30% of your sales , plus shipping , will it be worth wild ? for me no , as there FVF , add fees ( remember it use to be 1% as the lowest now its two  ) and everything else goes up i sell less on ebay as it is not profitable ( i sell more locally FBMP)  , plus keep in mind they have lost 25 % of there customers in the last 5 years , GMV is down to where it was in 2013 ( fact ) the market share keeps shrinking , shipping rates keep going up , so keep an eye on your margins , and i would never trust Ebay to set the ad rate , they are in a desperate place right now ( in my opinion ) , the only growth they have is ad fees ... be careful trusting ebay with your money .... 

[simply-the-best-for-you]

The dynamic rate is not new, just the name is.  I've been using it for several years & am very happy with it.  I like the ease of set it & forget it.  The rate DOES in fact go both up & down.  It always has.   Those of us who sell seasonal items may just notice it more than others.  

[siamjane8]

@simply-the-best-for-you In looking at what you sell- (relatively inexpensive used women's clothing)- i would tend to agree with you that you almost need to promote. That category is probably the most saturated on ebay with no way to differentiate yourself from others without "paying more than the next person " for visibility.

     Unfortunately, ebay's one size fits all implementation of PL has destroyed the relevancy of the search engine to the point of it favors PL regardless of what was searched for over the actual item searched for. We find ourselves having to use google search to shop on ebay or we are never shown the actual relevant items to our searches!   If it weren't for google search- ebay would be dead in the water.   

      How can google search practically everything in the world on the internet and show me 10x more relevant results than ebay which only searches its own site?    Its because google algorithms are designed to show the most relevant result because THAT IS WHAT WE ALL WANT TO SEE.   This is 100% an ebay programming/design flaw.    

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@simply-the-best-for-you 

Like you, I've been using it since before it became "dynamic rate", and to me it has a couple advantages:

1. as you note, ease of use and

2. If you cap it at, say, 2%, well, it won't really be any different than using 2% at a fixed rate. But, let's say I cap at 12%.

A 12% fixed rate means my PLS sales will ALL be at 12%....never more, but also never less.

But if I use dynamic rate and cap at 12%, some of my PLS sales will likely be at 12%, none will be more (due to the cap), and, importantly, some will be less---not possible with fixed rate.

So, dynamic ad rate can not only save me time but also money, compared to fixed rate.

Of course, for those who flat our refuse to use PLS at all, none of this matters. And for those who are satisfied with the results they get from a fixed rate of , say, 2% or 3%, it probably doesn't matter either.

One thing I'll add: Some sellers continue to believe that a really high rate leads to more sales. But that isn't necessarily so. The rate matters, but it is by no means the only thing. A higher rate will likely get you more impressions (although the difference between, say, a 10% rate and a 50% rate might not be nearly as much as some assume). But a high rate won't get you views and sales if your listing is not competitive.

The priority for any seller should be: create a really good listing first. A poor, crazily over-priced listing isn't going to sell just because the seller foolishly puts it in a 90% fixed rate PLS campaign.

[kabilab]

siamjane states--Absolutely nobody wins with PL

kabilab disagrees--Had siam not prefaced the comment with the term "absolutely," I would not be disagreeing. My primary reason for selling on this platform is liquidation of stock I have been unable to sell through my store. I experimented with PL and arrived at a rate of 2%. I am quite satisfied that amount is worth my investment, as both my clicks AND purchases have increased.