What the heck is 'Dynamic' Ad Rate?

[gurlcat]

Lots of people have been noticing goofy stuff going on with their promoted ad rates and suggested ad rates, and today I found THIS when I went to promote an item that wasn't promoted (using the feature in Seller Hub, Active Listings, not by opening the item for revision).  Normally the popup just asks what ad rate I want to set, and it shows the suggested ad rate.  But now it's pre-set to this "Dynamic" thing, so you have to change it to Fixed in order to set your own rate.  Now I ASSUME 'Dynamic' is just a flashier rebranding of 'Automated' (which already existed) but I don't know if it's exactly the same thing.  

Oh and of course Dynamic is "recommended."  Let me guess, the suggested ad rate always goes UP, never down, huh?  How conveeeenient.  🤣

[stainlessenginecovers]

Just as it states; it's the amount of percentage of additional Final Value Fee that ebay 'suggests' would be the 'magic number' to get you near the top. Choosing that means you are ok with them 'raising' as needed. 

Google/Bing has been doing this for over a decade. Pay per Click. You bid against others selling the same thing, per 'word phrase' and they tell you how much you need to 'bid' (pay) to be #1 on the 1st page. 

[gurlcat]

Sorry but I don't think you understood what I was asking.  I understand the words in the popup, but this same mechanism already existed; it was called Automated Ad Rate.  And knowing Ebay, the way something works may not be as simple as stated.  So I'm trying to figure out whether Dynamic is REALLY the same as Automated, or if there is some unstated difference.  I know one thing is for sure, the popup for adding promotion to a listing did NOT offer to make it automated, let alone make it the default choice, so that is definitely new.  

[stainlessenginecovers]

the word 'Dynamic' means it's constantly 'changing'

It is a new word with the same meaning. 

To 'control' what percentage someone uses; it's best to NEVER use that system. 

Probably 'once in- hard or impossible to get out'. 

[simply-the-best-for-you]

It goes both up & down.  I've used it for over a year, in the Automated version.  Not sure if this is different or just another name for what's already been avl for over a year.

[gurlcat]

I don't know what words to use that would convince you I already know what words mean, lol.  If you are asserting that Dynamic Ad Rate is ONLY the new name for Automated Ad Rate, with zero difference in mechanisms, how do you know that?  Just because they 'sound' the same?  You've been here a long time, surely you can think of plenty of cases where Ebay's 'Help' page description of how something worked turned out to be a lot more complicated, usually in ways that people didn't like once they ran into those complications. 

But about not using this feature, I agree.  I just think it's still worth dissecting in case anyone else reading is considering using it.  

[simply-the-best-for-you]

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@stainlessenginecovers wrote:

the word 'Dynamic' means it's constantly 'changing'

It is a new word with the same meaning. 

To 'control' what percentage someone uses; it's best to NEVER use that system. 

Probably 'once in- hard or impossible to get out'. 

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I know what dynamic means, but IF it's the same thing as Automated, it only changes ONCE A DAY.  

I love that system & have used it since it first became avl.  You still have control over both the max rate you'll use & what %age above or below, so not sure why you would tell people to "NEVER" use it.  It's actually great for certain sellers.   It's also very easy to get into or out of, you simply choose of the other PL options, of the avl 3.  

[simply-the-best-for-you]

elizabeth@ebay 

devon@ebay 

We're suddenly seeing a number of questions on this.   Can one of you please confirm if this is simply the PL Automated that already exists (which I've been using for a long time) or is this some type of new program & if so, how does it differ from PLAutomated (not PL Advanced) - why you all named 2 things PLA, I will never understand 😃   There appears to be at least 1 difference b/c another post was saying there's no Ad Cap & PLA (Automated) DOES have an AD Cap.  

What are the differences please?  Mentors did not get any advanced warning on this, so sorry, I have no clue. 

[gurlcat]

Eliminating the seller's ability to set a cap -that is exactly the kind of difference I was concerned about, that Dynamic could have, and note how that tidy little explanation in the popup doesn't mention it!  And who knows if it's the ONLY difference.  

[devon@ebay]

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@simply-the-best-for-you wrote:

elizabeth@ebay 

devon@ebay 

We're suddenly seeing a number of questions on this.   Can one of you please confirm if this is simply the PL Automated that already exists (which I've been using for a long time) or is this some type of new program & if so, how does it differ from PLAutomated (not PL Advanced) - why you all named 2 things PLA, I will never understand 😃   There appears to be at least 1 difference b/c another post was saying there's no Ad Cap & PLA (Automated) DOES have an AD Cap.  

What are the differences please?  Mentors did not get any advanced warning on this, so sorry, I have no clue. 

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Hey @simply-the-best-for-you! This is something that recently was introduced from our Promoted Listings and more details on how dynamic ads work can be seen here.  

[luckythewinner]

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@gurlcat wrote:

Sorry but I don't think you understood what I was asking.  I understand the words in the popup, but this same mechanism already existed; it was called Automated Ad Rate.  And knowing Ebay, the way something works may not be as simple as stated.  So I'm trying to figure out whether Dynamic is REALLY the same as Automated, or if there is some unstated difference.  I know one thing is for sure, the popup for adding promotion to a listing did NOT offer to make it automated, let alone make it the default choice, so that is definitely new.  

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But you never actually asked that question. You just danced around it. 😀

[valueaddedresource]

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@gurlcat wrote:

Eliminating the seller's ability to set a cap -that is exactly the kind of difference I was concerned about, that Dynamic could have, and note how that tidy little explanation in the popup doesn't mention it!  And who knows if it's the ONLY difference.  

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@gurlcat @stainlessenginecovers @simply-the-best-for-you 

Both the simple and automated campaign types are still showing the option to cap the ad rate from what I can see.

Simple:

Automated:

[the-hook-and-the-loop]

Everyone that responded here made it much more difficult than it needed to be. Everyone answers, but doesn't know the answer. Dynamic is the same as Automated, The END.

[gurlcat]

Thank you.  That looks different from what the poster in the other thread was showing (where there was no place to set a cap percentage).  I don't know what's going on, I guess I'll just stay out of it as I have no intention of ever letting a bot jack my ad rate up arbitrarily.  

[valueaddedresource]

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@gurlcat wrote:

Thank you.  That looks different from what the poster in the other thread was showing (where there was no place to set a cap percentage).  I don't know what's going on, I guess I'll just stay out of it as I have no intention of ever letting a bot jack my ad rate up arbitrarily.  

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@gurlcat from looking at that other post it appears to be a difference in whether you are looking at it in the listing flow or the campaign view.

My screenshot was from where you create a campaign in Seller Hub, theirs was in the listing flow.

I've noticed some changes in the listing flow that seem to be causing issues/confusion for some sellers. I don't believe it used to force you to select or create a campaign when opting in to PL from the listing flow, but now it does.

I can see how that would be frustrating for sellers who want to manage ad settings for each listing individually - basically you would end up with one campaign for each listing if you tried to do it that way, which is definitely not ideal.

My guess is eBay is trying to get sellers to move to using campaigns and grouping items together in ad groups, but either way, you should still be able to set the ad cap within the campaign settings.