PROMOTIONS ARE A WASTE OF MONEY

[storage-locker-aficionados]

HAS ANYONE HAD ANY SUCCESS WITH EBAY PROMOTIONS, WHETHER GENERAL OR PRIORITY?

TO ME IT JUST SEEMS LIKE A WASTE OF MONEY. ONLY EBAY BENEFITS FROM IT.  WHY DO I NEED TO PROMOTE MY ITEMS TO SELL THEM?

[ebooksdiva]

I use promoted listings general at 2% I haven't been disappointed.

I promote because I have quite a few competitors. 
Do you really need to type in all caps? It's hard for my aging eyes to read plus it is indicative of shouting.

[caldreamer]

If you are selling "one of a kind" items that nobody else has....then you shouldn't promote your items (just a waste of money).   Otherwise, it is a good idea to use General Promotion of 2% minimum (you only pay when item sells).

EBAY has changed the way they do business and if you don't "promote items" your items probably won't be seen.     When you promotion your listings will appear on your competitor page and also Google, Yahoo and other search engines.

[slippinjimmy]

Speaking strictly about PL General....

If they don't work for you they cost absolutely nothing with ZERO Dollars "wasted" and ZERO benefit to eBay.

If you are talking strictly about pay for click promotions, if you don't think the cost produces sufficient results simply do not use that method.

[stainlessenginecovers]

@storage-locker-aficionados For some they are a waste; but NOT for you!!

you need them if you want to sell your Ray Bans and get on the 1st page of 57,000 listings. 

[vintage-camerastuff]

I use promoted listings at 2% all day every day.   Seems to work well for me.

[tarotfindsandmore]

I've actually had pretty decent results with promotions when I've used them correctly (see my other posts about being a dumb*** and unintentionally promoting coupons).  I'm going to be taking a break from promotions altogether here in the near future to get a better picture of things and see how much difference they make (or don't), but like others have shared, the 2-3% PL seems to work pretty well. 

I also had decent results with a store promotion over the Black Friday-Cyber Monday weekend so I'd probably give that another whirl during times when there's a lot of traffic.  If store promotions worked the same way as promoted listings (a percentage paid when a sale is made), I'd probably promote my store at 2-3% all the time because of its small size.

That said, I'm still not sure if it's a case of using training wheels when I'm already riding the bike just fine without them.  I'm still a little nervous to take them off, but I am going to do it shortly after the holidays to see if I can stay upright on my own. Maybe promoting isn't making a difference...

I still don't really understand how to disentangle the whole clicks/sales thing to be totally honest.

[lakefor94]

EBay's default search tool is Best Match. The listings that are promoted the highest will rise to or towards the top as eBay decides the order of listings. EBay makes more money that way. 

I do 2% and that works for my items. 

[meme6253]

It's pay to play, I use promoted at 2-3% Never any higher, Seems to work OK, Nothing great but it helps a little bit, I won't go any higher.