You lose all control over your Promoted Listings to Ebay in June, but retain full responsibility

[rugerskick]

https://pages.ebay.com/sell/pl/termsofservice.html

If you read the terms to the changes in Promoted Listings, all your rights as a seller are out the window IF you use Promoted Listings after the June changes.

Here are just some of the things in the above changes.

They can add or remove your specifically chosen key words.

They can change your item prices.  They can change your ad rates.  They are going to allow third parties (brands, larger competitor sellers) access to your confidential sales data without your permission.  In order that they either file a complaint and say we don't want this seller selling here, or to find a way to take more sales away from you.  You won't be able to access others sales data this way as a typical, smaller seller.

After the June changes, there is now nothing in your Promoted Listings they cannot change or modify.  There is nothing they cant simply remove now for any reasons.  They can make any changes to your listing and if their changes run afoul of any third party issues/complaints/violations, its still going to be your fault and the damage will be placed on your ebay account.  They don't have to notify you of any changes they make to anything in any of your Promoted Listings.  You as the seller are responsible for everything but they can control every aspect of your Promoted Listings.  If Ebay makes a charging error to you, if you do not catch the error within 6 days of the charging error taking place, they won't fix it and you are out that money.  If you do catch it within 6 days and write them to correct it, they have a full 60 days to make the proper payments to you.  They give themselves ten times the amount of time to correct their problem than than they give sellers to notice a problem.

Have your attorney friends look over the ebay page above and get their honest opinion. Don't just take my assessment of their page statement above.

The rational advice is to no longer use Promoted Listings.  Your listings won't be yours anymore to control, but all the responsibility and risk are all yours.  Plus you could wind up with huge bills, removed listings, and defects to your account for things ebay did to your Promoted Listings that you had no idea they did.

Everyone who does not want this to have this mpotentially happen to them needs to stop all their Promoted Listings before these June changes take effect.

[lacemaker3]

---

@katzrul15 wrote:

Agreed

Since I can no longer access what was in place prior to April 29, 2022 for Marketing Terms/Conditions, etc - hard to know EXACTLY what changes occurred.

...

---

Hi @katzrul15,

I don't think these terms have changed in the last few years, have they? The most recent previous version of that webpage that I found was this one, which is dated May 15, 2018. This was captured on Sept 19, 2019, so it was still in effect then.

https://web.archive.org/web/20180921113056/https://pages.ebay.com/sell/pl/termsofservice.html

If there had been a change in the intervening years since Sept 2019, the chances are that it would have been captured on the Wayback Machine (i.e. that website).

[katzrul15]

I believe it was updated when the Promoted Advanced went jnto play.  Tried finding that and could not.

[mr_lincoln]

---

@lacemaker3 wrote:

---

@katzrul15 wrote:

Agreed

Since I can no longer access what was in place prior to April 29, 2022 for Marketing Terms/Conditions, etc - hard to know EXACTLY what changes occurred.

...

---

Hi @katzrul15,

I don't think these terms have changed in the last few years, have they? The most recent previous version of that webpage that I found was this one, which is dated May 15, 2018. This was captured on Sept 19, 2019, so it was still in effect then.

https://web.archive.org/web/20180921113056/https://pages.ebay.com/sell/pl/termsofservice.html

If there had been a change in the intervening years since Sept 2019, the chances are that it would have been captured on the Wayback Machine (i.e. that website).

---

@lacemaker3, @katzrul15   The "Cost per Sale Pricing" section explains how a PL Standard Campaign works and has worked for as long as I remember ... that's the only Marketing Program service I use now and it appears the OP interchanged the terms page title " ... Marketing Program ... " with "Promoted Listings" for this thread to give the impression that eBay will simply disregard any settings you have on a Campaign or any other Promotion you use and change them at their leisure ... not so.

[luckythewinner]

---

@luckythewinner wrote:

---

@rugerskick wrote:

"We may make available certain features or services through which we may help you optimize your participation in the Marketing Services, for example, by creating or modifying campaigns, setting or modifying ad rates and/or budgets, and adding or removing keywords or other targeting parameters. If you elect to use those features or services (by informing us in writing or opting in via the Marketing Services), you agree that we may manage your campaigns and take such actions on your behalf without your prior consent, as may be further described by us in writing or in the Marketing Services."

---

Being completely unfamiliar with promoted listings, which part of that involves changing the item price? 

---

Reposted for emphasis. 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@lacemaker3  @katzrul15 

At a very quick glance, the three main changes I see are: "Subscription" pricing, which is probably prospective, and most likely tied to the "coming soon" store (as opposed to listing)advertising product, the "Other Pricing Features", which I suspect is also prospective, and sounds like ebay will be adding some optional ad features, for which you will pay extra if you want them, and finally, the verbiage under "Marketing Services" that some people are upset about.

I've used Promoted Listings Standard, the "Automated Version" and with that I set rules and ebay is given latitude--- within the rules set by me---to establish rates etc. In other words, a form of this already exists for PLS and sellers are already using it. This provision covers ebay's PLS Automated, and is prospective in that they are almost certainly considering adding more automated features, possibly to all the PLs. (And, arguably, it already applies to much of the PLA campaign.) But I see NOTHING in this Agreement that will permit ebay to depart from the rules the seller establishes when setting up the campaign, and I see nothing to worry about.

Oh, and there is one more change, which of course is actually more concerning, but was previously announced in February, and that is the PLS fee will now be calculated based on total sales price , not just item price. In other words, it will be calculated the same as an FVF is calculated. This will, in effect, increase what I pay ebay if I keep my prices the same and my rates the same, which means it will cut into my margins. However, I will do what I've been doing, which is I will continue to experiment with PLS to make sure the impact on my margins is not so high as to drastically reduce the value of the increased sales velocity PLS generally brings me.

[seymourssi]

The checkbox is not there yet, because the changes have not been implemented yet.

Why would there be a checkbox to opt out of something that does not yet exist?

[m60driver]

The Auction Professor just released a video on YouTube regarding these changes and they do appear to be even more draconian that the OP even suggested.  It appears that if you use promoted listings or pay-per-click you will be screwed over big time.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@m60driver I like Don, haven't watched the video, but I'm sticking with my interpretation. If he's saying this is some huge problem, well, I disagree.  

[frodobagginskennedy]

@this*old*attic 

@katzrul15

First paragraph it states ust by using the "marketing services" you are agreeing.  Hope my interoperation is wrong but I don't think I am.

By registering for or using the Marketing Services, you (on behalf of yourself or the business you represent) agree to be bound by these Marketing Program Terms. In the event of conflict between the User Agreement and these Marketing Program Terms, these Marketing Program Terms will prevail.

[the-sewing-bee]

When I read  the above, I went to all of my listings and deleated all promotions.  This really sucks!   It said that Ebay can do what they want with your listings and cost you more money.   What does that sound like!

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@frodobagginskennedy  But you don't register for something called "Marketing Services", you basically just choose to use one of the Marketing Service tools (such as PLS) and then the rules that you set IN THAT TOOL are the rules ebay applies. If I say a flat 1% fee, that's what ebay applies, If I say (as with PLS Automated) "cap it at 5%", ebay won't go above 5%, etc.  

[frodobagginskennedy]

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques 

I hope you are correct.  I just am not reading it that way.  We need some clarification from the blues.

[iart]

"Opt in"

Some people must be new to the internet. 'Opt in' is usually preceded by a dozen pages of lawyer-speak - which nobody reads, or hidden under a cloud of ice cream and chocolate treats.

[this*old*attic]

@frodobagginskennedy 

And the additional services noted in the earlier quote require seller’s request/permission in writing. There is more than one level of participation here.

[katzrul15]

We are 30 days out from this change, whatever it is.  What makes Sellers think they have to panic now?  Or at all?

Each section, as I highlighted is a separate section.  This is like reading a CONTRACT, which it is.

They appear to be rolling out an option to allow e-Bay to 100% manage this process.  To be seen what that "is".

The majority of the language change has to do with Ad clicks and that you waive your ability to profit or be engaged in the 3rd party relationships e-Bay enters into AND that you owe the PL fees regardless of how the Buyer clicked to find your listing.

Who cares HOW that Buyer gets to this site?  What do I care how they pick and choose pix, data to lure them to CLICK thru to e-Bay?  Who cares? 

Once they click thru, they will be on the E-Bay site, your listing.  E-Bay is telling each user their listings need to be ACCURATE as they are bound by their agreements I am certain that what is presented/advertised is correct.