Promoted Listings - More Fees as of March 30th

[wastingtime101]

https://www.ebayads.com/2023/02/15/seller-announcement-promoted-listings-standard-fees-are-changing/

What’s changing?

• As we continue working to help make your ads more engaging and helpful for buyers, we will be expanding our definition of a click for Standard and Advanced ads to include interactions with new features and functionality of your ads. In addition to when a buyer clicks through to your listing page, we will now include when a buyer clicks on the heart icon to add an item to their watchlist from a Promoted Listing.
• We will be expanding what we qualify and report as an Attributed Sale for Promoted Listings Standard to include when a buyer clicks on one of your Standard ads and then purchases any of your Promoted Listings Standard items within 30 days.
• In anticipation of upcoming product launches, we have clarified that certain account optimization features (e.g., dynamic bidding) may be managed through your account settings. Please stay tuned for announcements on when these will be available to you.

[wastingtime101]

More FAQ can be found at the link above. Posting a few related to Halo vs Direct sales.

What is a Halo Item sale for Promoted Listings Standard?

• A Halo Item sale is the type of sale when a buyer clicks on one of your Standard ads and purchases a different Promoted Listings Standard item from you within 30 days. 
  • A Halo Item refers to a purchased item from a Promoted Listings Standard campaign that resulted from an initial click (from the same buyer) on a different Promoted Listings Standard item of yours. 
• The ad fee for a Halo Item sale will be calculated based on the ad rate in effect for the purchased item at the time of the sale.
• To view which sales are Halo Item sales, see your Sales report, accessible from your advertising dashboard.

 

If the promoted item that sells is different from the one that was originally clicked, what ad rate will I be charged?

• We define the sale of a promoted item that is different from the item originally featured in the ad that the buyer clicked on as a Halo Item sale.
• For Halo Item sales, you will only be charged an ad fee if the purchased item is in an active Promoted Listings Standard campaign at the time of the sale, and you will be charged the ad rate of the sold item. 
• The ad fee for Halo Item sales will be calculated based on the ad rate in effect for the sold item at the time of the sale.

 

Does this mean you are reporting and charging differently based on the item the buyer eventually purchases?

• Yes. If the item purchased is different from the item originally clicked in your Standard ad, or is a Halo Item sale, we only charge the ad fee if the purchased item is actively being promoted at the time of the sale and not if it has been removed from Promoted Listings Standard prior to the sale. If the purchased item has never been promoted, an ad fee will not be charged.
• If the item purchased is the same from the item originally clicked in your Standard ad, or is a Direct sale, we will charge the ad fee based on the ad rate in effect at the time of the click and report this as a promoted sale even if the item is no longer participating in Standard ads at the time of the sale.

[ebooksdiva]

I don’t see anything in the email regarding fees at all. Or am I missing it? 

[sapphire_studio]

I just came on here to see if other people were complaining about this.

So basically if a device clicks on absolutely any of our promoted listings, then for 30 days if they decide to purchase anything from our store, we will be charged the promoted rate we have set for that item regardless if that item was actually being promoted when they found it and purchased. Repeat buyers shopping directly in our store will cause the promoted fees if 30 days prior they happened to click any of our promoted listings.

This is going to bring them in so much more money and bleed sellers so much more it's a little absurd.

[wastingtime101]

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@ebooksdiva wrote:

I don’t see anything in the email regarding fees at all. Or am I missing it? 

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Will my Promoted Listings Standard ad fees increase as a result of the change?

• It is possible that you will see an increase in both your total ad fees and total items sold via Standard ads.  

Basically, the inclusion of Halo sales vs Direct sales means you will be charged in more instances. The inclusion of buyers that click the heart icon to add an item to their watch list means you'll be charged in more instances.

The base fee of 2% is not going up. There are more situations where a seller will be charged that weren't previously accounted for. This is why the subject of this post says "more fees" not "higher fees."

Buyer finds Widget A through promoted listings. Then they see you're running a discount 15% off when you buy 2 or more because there's a banner on the listing. So they click on that order discount banner and add 3 more items to their cart. If all 4 items the buyer purchased are part of a PL campaign, you'll be charged the ad rate on all 4 items instead of just the first item. Currently you're charged an ad rate for just the first item.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@wastingtime101  Thanks for posting that. I'm still trying to digest the whole thing.

[fern*wood]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

• As we continue working to help make your ads more engaging and helpful for buyers, we will be expanding our definition of a click for Standard and Advanced ad...

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I'm not clear on how they are working to make the ads more helpful to buyers.  To me it sounds like they are tweaking things to make sure they get those promotional fees on more purchases.

[sapphire_studio]

Exactly

[meekamaye]

I still don't get it and I have read it so many times my head is spinning. 

[dptedora]

Here we go again what our sales disappear again after this goes into effect!!!   

[wastingtime101]

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@fern*wood wrote:

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

• As we continue working to help make your ads more engaging and helpful for buyers, we will be expanding our definition of a click for Standard and Advanced ad...

---

I'm not clear on how they are working to make the ads more helpful to buyers.  To me it sounds like they are tweaking things to make sure they get those promotional fees on more purchases.

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Did you read the FAQ on the benefit of this change? If eBay asked sellers whether they'd prefer a "more complete view" of their PL campaign's impact, or more fees - which do you think the majority would choose?

Where's the concern in providing sellers a more complete view of their listing's impact when we request info like key words buyers used to pull up our items in search?

What is the benefit of this change for Promoted Listings Standard?

• These changes will illustrate a more complete view of the impact your Standard ads have on your sales. 
• Previously, we only reported a sale and charged the ad fee if the same buyer clicked on a Standard ad and purchased that same item within 30 days, also known as a Direct sale. This model didn’t account for a buyer clicking on one of your Standard ads and then purchasing a different promoted item from you. Since the buyer originated from a Standard ad and came back to purchase another Promoted Listings Standard item in your collection, there is a broader effect your Standard ads have. New reporting will show the wider impact of your advertising spend.
  • Example: Buyer A clicks on a Standard ad featuring a pair of red sneakers and ends up purchasing a pair of promoted blue sneakers from you instead. 
    • Previously, the sale of the blue sneakers would not have been reported as a Standard sale. After this change, it will be.

[2010byandsel100]

Easy solution - stop using PL! 

I did after they went up to 2% 

[nuclearomen]

yeah got the mail... need to read through the fine print but what don't get is the #2 of that list, "buyer clicks on one of your Standard ads and then purchases any of your Promoted Listings Standard items within 30 days." - what does this mean? Any item they click on regardless of promoted or not, election rate will be charged from the first item they clicked even in election on item they purchased is lower??? if that is correct understanding ? 

[heckofagame]

When I started this business for the second time, I told my friends that this time I'm going for broke.

One step closer...

[tagalag78]

Another Ebay money grab on expanding the reach of a promoted listing

Easy answer is promote NOTHING