Balancing Promoted Listings and Profit Margins – What’s Working for You?

[zoodabop]

I recently sold a $65 handbag that had solid engagement (117 views, 10 watchers), but after final value fees, promoted listings (at the default/high rate), and shipping costs, the profit margin was minimal.

I’m trying to find a better balance on moderately priced items where ad fees can quickly outweigh the benefit. Has anyone tested lowering their ad rates, skipping promotion entirely once a listing gains traction, or simply offering bigger buyer discounts instead?

Open to hearing what’s worked for others — especially sellers managing lower-margin categories where even optimized listings still face high competition. Thanks in advance!

[kensgiftshop]

@zoodabop 

We're just buyers and sellers and no one here can do anything about the fee's.

[stainlessenginecovers]

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@zoodabop wrote:

Hi eBay,

I’d like to share feedback on how Promoted Listing fees affect smaller sellers, especially for moderately priced items.

Example:

• I recently sold a Karl Lagerfeld Maybelle crossbody bag.
• Listed price: $68.95
• Offer accepted: $65.00
• Retail: around $178
• Market average resale: $75–$100
• Listing duration: approximately 30 days
• Views: 117
• Watchers: 10
• Fees paid: final value fee (on item + shipping), max Promoted Listing ad fee, and general ad fee
  

Even though the listing was competitively priced and received strong engagement, it took 30 days to convert — and my profit was extremely limited after fees. In a case like this, I would rather offer the buyer a better discount than lose $10–$15 to stacked eBay fees.

Suggestions:

• Lower ad rates for items priced under $100 (1-3%)
• Cap total ad fees per transaction (e.g., $5 max)
• Increase transparency between promoted and general ad charges
• Reward listings with strong performance (views, watchers) by reducing ad costs

Thanks for considering improvements that better support independent sellers like me.

- Zoodabop

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As stated, this did NOT go to 'ebay'; it's simply a forum of other members.

BUT.....while you're at it, why not ask the Electric Companies to only charge us $50 a month and ask the Oil Companies to only charge $1 a gallon.

None of which will EVER happen.

It is NOT up to this entity, or any, for you to 'make' your profits. 

Either 

a.) buy lower

b.) sell higher

c.) sell things that people will PAY more for

d.) close up shop and figure that selling what you sell at the price you can get simply is not worth it; as there are 1,000,000+ things in the world that are also NOT worth selling. 

[zoodabop]

I’ve edited the post to clarify the intent - hoping to hear how other sellers approach this from a strategic standpoint, especially around managing fees on lower-margin listings.

Appreciate any insight from sellers navigating similar challenges.

[christworks]

My take is different from yours. I see your 117 views and think that is 116 people who didn't buy. I hope you were not paying per click. If you were, then that is your issue.

When I see a ton of views and not takers, I go look at the listing and see what is going on. Clearly it is something people are interested in. Why aren't they buying? Others may need to correct me, but it is my understanding that a lot of views but no buyers hurt you. Yes, you want engagement, but you want more than people window shopping. Was your price too high? Were your photos bad? Were they seeing a flaw in your photos that you didn't disclose in the description? Was your shipping too high? Is your handling time insane? Most of your ten watchers were probably competitors. Even if they were all potential buyers, only 8.5% of the people who viewed your listing, watched it. 

I promote everything at the same flat rate. I won't disclose what it is other than to say it isn't the minimum and it is well below eBay's normal suggestion. Yes, there are some things I probably would not need to promote at all, but my approach is that it takes time to sort all that out when you have a lot of items, and time is money. For every minute I spend doing research, that's a minute I'm not listing. It is listing that makes me money, not spending time researching what others are doing in order to save a few cents. 

You don't say what you paid for your handbag and that is a detail that would be helpful. I had to go see what it was. After looking at it, I can see to some extent why people were not buying. It doesn't have the colors and cute designs like most of the ones that come up when I look at comps. Something like that in new condition I'd be in for $10-$15 max. If it had some color or the designs, I'd pay a little more. Anyhow, based on the fees, my promotion rate, shipping, supplies and we'll assume a $15 cost of goods, I would have netted about $35 off that sale, which to me is pretty good considering the work involved listing it is minimal. 

I am thinking you had a high ad rate, which is what got you so many views. You would have still made the sale if your rate had been half of whatever it was. It may have taken a little longer, but it would have sold.  It would have also sold had you not promoted. Again, may have taken longer, but someone would have snatched it up in Q4.