promoted listings

[natcher]

No way do I understand how promoted listings work now.  explanations?

[az93]

You pay more to sell things that probably would have sold anyway.

[ethylsgarage]

No one knows how Promoted Listings algorithms really work (possibly not even eBay.) Any explanation is just speculation. The only proveable effect is you pay more to eBay for your sales.

[fbusoni]

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@stainlessenginecovers wrote:

There are 2 types. The first one being 'Promoted Standard' which is basically the 'sponsored' items you may see on a list of items if you had done a 'keyword' search. 

The amount minimum, if you so choose, is 2% ADDITIONAL fees (on TOP of Final Value Fees) for anything purchased.

and then there's also the 'halo' effect; which basically means:

If (for example) you ONLY promoted 50 out of 400 items, ANY time a potential buyer clicks on any ONE of those 'promoted' items, now ANYTHING they buy from your ENTIRE catalog of 'stuff'- you will be charged THAT 'promoted' amount. 

The 2nd type is 'Promoted Advanced' - which is a flat dollar amount YOU approve just to 'advertise' your items on Search Engines, Emails (like I the side) various Websites etc. and this is charged whether you sell an item or not. 

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My gosh, what a racket.  No wonder eBay makes millions off of this PL software sale!

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

"If (for example) you ONLY promoted 50 out of 400 items, ANY time a potential buyer clicks on any ONE of those 'promoted' items, now ANYTHING they buy from your ENTIRE catalog of 'stuff'- you will be charged THAT 'promoted' amount. "

That is NOT how Halo actually works. 

[movieman630]

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@sextons-sweet-deals wrote:

I totally disagree with your comment of:  I believe that is because you don't participate in PL's.  It's really "mandatory" now if you want sales. 

Everyone needs to stop with the mentality that they need to pay extra for anything no matter what it is!

1. tickets to concerts to see lip syncing and paying $15 to $20 for a beer. 

2. parking fees just to eat at a restaurant or to go to a local event in you downtown area.

3. pay extra $2.00 to eBay if you want your money faster as a seller. 

4. pay eBay extra for your listing to pop up first. If 50 of us sellers pay the same fee for the same item, who's listing shows up first? 

5. You can't even watch sports today unless you're paying for various packages to see all your favorite team(s) play.

6. The one I love is my insurance company. If I only pay monthly over 9 months, I'm charged a $5.00 fee. REALLY?

I'm sure many others can add onto this list of their issues.    

Enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend everyone. 

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I don't agree with it, it's just the way it seems to work.  If you shut off PL's your sales tank, they won't even be anywhere near where they used to be before PL was a thing.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@movieman630 I think the point some people are trying to make is, while that might be YOUR experience, with your type of inventory and business model, it isn't everyone's experience. 

[bashort]

promoted listings are a attempt by ebay to get you to pay a additional voluntary fee for a service that you are already paying for

[bashort]

the thing about  promoted listings is that it puts at the top of search results the listing that has paid the most to be there, not what matches the buyers search closest

[onlinecentral]

a) The math before promoted listings were introduced was
100.00 Sold amount
-13.25 Final Value and Managed Payments fees
======
$86.75 Net amount payable to me

b) The math to promote at 20% and still get the $86.75 is
128.00 Sold amount
-41.25 Final Value, Managed Payments plus Promoted Listings fees
======
$86.75 Net amount payable to me
If my price is 28% above the average or median, then I would expect a decrease in sales.

c) The math to promote at 20% and get a reduced net amount is
100.00 Sold amount
-33.25 Final Value, Managed Payments plus Promoted Listings fees
======
$66.75
Since my price is still at the average or median, I would expect no change in sales.

e) If I was a farmer, I would not pay 20% for fertilizer or pesticides, unless I was absolutely certain it would increase my return on investment.

f) As a business owner, I would not pay 20% to get my money faster. I would prefer to rearrange my finances and use "other people's money" for 30 days with a credit card.

[dbfolks166mt]

@dbfolks166mt wrote:

     Well hopefully since you don't understand it you are not already using it. Others have already provided you with some good information. Personally I have never used, and never will use PL. There is no guarantee that PL will increase sales which is all that matters. It can also become a costly race to the bottom as sellers raise their PL percentage to try to maintain what they think is a competitive advantage. 

     Unless you raise your prices to cover the cost of the PL you are reducing your ROI. Try expanding to other venues and forums. Competition in ecommerce is becoming fierce and eBay is no longer the only game in town. I sell less than 20% of my items by volume on eBay these days. That is down from what used to be about 90%. 

I believe that is because you don't participate in PL's.  It's really "mandatory" now if you want sales. 

     That is what a lot of sellers believe and what eBay want's them to believe. I have never used it and have no problem with sales. 

[movieman630]

Maybe it's different in other categories.  I don't know how the algo works.  I've talked to other sellers in my area and the consensus is that if you shut of PL's your sales tank.  Most of us are too worried to ride that out to see how long it lasts so it gets turned back on pretty quick.

[movieman630]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

@dbfolks166mt wrote:

     Well hopefully since you don't understand it you are not already using it. Others have already provided you with some good information. Personally I have never used, and never will use PL. There is no guarantee that PL will increase sales which is all that matters. It can also become a costly race to the bottom as sellers raise their PL percentage to try to maintain what they think is a competitive advantage. 

     Unless you raise your prices to cover the cost of the PL you are reducing your ROI. Try expanding to other venues and forums. Competition in ecommerce is becoming fierce and eBay is no longer the only game in town. I sell less than 20% of my items by volume on eBay these days. That is down from what used to be about 90%. 

I believe that is because you don't participate in PL's.  It's really "mandatory" now if you want sales. 

     That is what a lot of sellers believe and what eBay want's them to believe. I have never used it and have no problem with sales. 

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Ok.  I'm guessing it's different for you because from the looks of it you don't do this for a living.  Those of us who do this full time have noticed a different experience.  Maybe the algo treats smaller sellers different?  Who knows.

[dbfolks166mt]

I totally disagree with your comment of:  I believe that is because you don't participate in PL's.  It's really "mandatory" now if you want sales. 

Everyone needs to stop with the mentality that they need to pay extra for anything no matter what it is!

4. pay eBay extra for your listing to pop up first. If 50 of us sellers pay the same fee for the same item, who's listing shows up first?  Maybe a better question would be if  nobody was paying for PL who's item would show up first? 😀

     What eBay is playing on is human nature to try to win or be at the head of the pack. While the playing field was level before PL and would be again if nobody used PL it's human nature to try to gain an edge. It is the reason some sellers are using higher and higher PL rates and why eBay is raising the suggested PL rates. 

[dbfolks166mt]

@dbfolks166mt wrote:

@dbfolks166mt wrote:

     Well hopefully since you don't understand it you are not already using it. Others have already provided you with some good information. Personally I have never used, and never will use PL. There is no guarantee that PL will increase sales which is all that matters. It can also become a costly race to the bottom as sellers raise their PL percentage to try to maintain what they think is a competitive advantage. 

     Unless you raise your prices to cover the cost of the PL you are reducing your ROI. Try expanding to other venues and forums. Competition in ecommerce is becoming fierce and eBay is no longer the only game in town. I sell less than 20% of my items by volume on eBay these days. That is down from what used to be about 90%. 

I believe that is because you don't participate in PL's.  It's really "mandatory" now if you want sales. 

     That is what a lot of sellers believe and what eBay want's them to believe. I have never used it and have no problem with sales. 

Ok.  I'm guessing it's different for you because from the looks of it you don't do this for a living.  Those of us who do this full time have noticed a different experience.  Maybe the algo treats smaller sellers different?  Who knows.

     You are 100% correct I don't do this for a living and would never base my living on a venue that has the ability to suspend your account at any point in time or that has the ability to hold your funds for an extended or indefinite period of time. 

[dbfolks166mt]

Maybe it's different in other categories.  I don't know how the algo works.  I've talked to other sellers in my area and the consensus is that if you shut of PL's your sales tank.  Most of us are too worried to ride that out to see how long it lasts so it gets turned back on pretty quick.

     Therein is the basis of the prisoners dilemma. If nobody had bought into the concept of PL in the first place this situation would not exist but it would have been against human nature not to have done so.