eBay Promoted Listings Express For Auctions
UPDATE: 10-27
eBay has expanded the availability of Promoted Listings Express for auctions. It is still only available in the eBay app, but can now be used by all sellers in good standing with recent sales history regardless of whether they use My eBay or Seller Hub.
Liz Morton
UPDATE: 9-29 eBay has confirmed Promoted Listings Express is currently only available to sellers who use My eBay (not Seller Hub).
While this may not mean it is specific to "personal" accounts vs. "business" accounts, I suspect it will still end up breaking down roughly along those lines. Most sellers with a business account are likely using Seller Hub, so they would not be eligible at this time.
A seller asked an interesting question about pricing for PLExpress in the weekly community chat as well.
Promoted Listings Express is for auction listings, and is currently limited to sellers who use the app to list, and who use My eBay (instead of Seller Hub). I do not use either. As a result, I cannot find the dollar amounts for the rates, only the general information that rates are set by auction duration and category. Please provide the rate chart here, so the rest of us can see what the rates are like. Thanks!
Jasmen@ebay responded
like you said it's based on the duration and category so we don't have a specific chart. If we do end up getting one I would be happy to share it with you!
The seller followed up:
OK, two follow up questions, since I assume you have access to this info:
IF I were one of the sellers who can currently use Express: Is this rate information something I can look up BEFORE I create the listing? Or is it only disclosed after I've created the listing? Is it static, or dynamic? (That is, is it a fixed amount (once the category and duration are established), or , is it more like Promoted Listings Standard, where the suggested rate can change daily? (Of course, here, it would be the actual rate, not just a suggestion)
7 day auction. Collectibles category, sub-category Holidays. Could you look that up and tell me the current rate?
Jasmen@eBay answered
It's not something you can look up before hand unfortunately, it will only come up in the listing flow but it will be locked in once you agree and submit the listing. I will reach out to the team over this and see if I can get more info to share as well!
This brings up a very interesting point - the current publicly available information just says it is a tiered flat rate upfront fee, but does not state whether it is static or dynamic.
For Promoted Listings Standard automated campaigns, eBay has a setting which allows you to have eBay automatically adjust your ad rates up and down based on their daily suggested rates.
This seller is wondering if you select the same category and duration today vs. next week, will the flat rate tiered fee for Promoted Listings Express be the same each time or does it vary over time depending on average rates in that category or some other criteria?
The help pages don't give any answers on this but I've reached out to eBay to see if I can get more details.
eBay has been talking about new advertising options all year, first with Promoted Listings Advanced Cost Per Click, but also promising they would be rolling out some form of advertising for auctions as well.
Promoted Listings Standard (eBay's existing cost per sale model) and Promoted Listings Advanced (new cost per click model) are both limited to being used with fixed price listings only. Sellers were excited earlier this year when CEO Jamie Iannone said on the Q1 earnings call that eBay had ad options on the way for auctions as well - Promoted Listings Express.
So far there has been no official announcement from eBay that I've seen, but one thread in the community caught my eye and makes me think this advertising option may be in the initial rollout stages as well.
The seller said:
EBay’s Promotional Fees were once a fraction of the listing price and with that said it was worth it to promote most items to get the exposure. In recent weeks the fee has gone up to $2.99 per item. With many listed auction items beginning at $2.99, what happens if the listing sells for just $2.99? -OR- if an item is listed at a BIN price of $2.99? Where’s the profit? Is it then worth raising the price of the items much higher so as to make a little extra money? I’ve heard that higher priced items have a better chance of selling because they appear to be more valuable than the lower priced ones…comments?
adsteam@eBay replied
Since you have auction and bin items I wonder if the fee you saw was for Promoted Listings Express, our easy advertising option for auction-style listings without BIN prices.
What is Promoted Listings Express?
According to eBay:
Promoted Listings Express lets you boost visibility for your auction-style listings directly from your eBay app. Pay one flat fee upfront and your listing could appear in sponsored ads on similar listings’ pages.
Promoted Listings Express is available to sellers using My eBay whose seller level is Above Standard or Top Rated with recent sales history.
It looks like eBay will be using a tiered pricing structure for Promoted Listings Express, but apparently you have to wait until after you list the item before you are shown what the possible fee might be.
Pay one flat fee per item -with simple tiered pricing, you don’t have to worry about how to price your ad.
How much does it cost to promote my listings?
Promoted Listings Express lets you promote your listing for an upfront, flat fee. That fee depends on the length of your auction and the category you select when listing your item. You will see the fee clearly when you promote your listing. Express ad fees will be listed on your Transactions page within the Payments section in My eBay.Your listings need to:
- Be auction listings
- Can be in any category other than Vehicles, Real Estate, Travel, or other select categories
You need to be an active seller in good standing, which means:
- You are a consumer-to-consumer seller
- Your seller level is Above Standard or Top Rated
- You have recent sales history
How does it work?
Promote after listing
If your item is eligible for Promoted Listings Express, you will see a page after you list your item that will let you promote your listing.Promote from My eBay
Eligible listings may have a “Promote it” banner within your eBay app on your Active listings page.
Tap on the banner to promote your listing.
Promote from item menu
When you tap on the menu next to your item, eligible listings will have an option to “Promote listing”.
Tap on “Promote listing” to promote your listing.
Promoted Listings Express is initially only available via the eBay mobile app.
Why can’t I access Promoted Listings Express from My eBay on desktop?
Currently, you can only access Promoted Listings Express from your eBay app. We are working on expanding access soon.
One interesting thing to note - in a section of one of the eBay FAQ pages about Promoted Listings Express, it specifically says you must be a "consumer to consumer seller in good standing".
Several other places on that same page, plus the more in-depth help page say only that you must be a seller in good standing using My eBay.
For your listings to be eligible for Promoted Listings Express, they need to meet all of the following criteria:
- The listing is auction-style
- The listing category isn’t Vehicles, Real Estate, Travel, or other select categories
For sellers to be eligible for Promoted Listings Express, you need to meet all of the following criteria:
- You are a seller using My eBay
- Your seller level is Above Standard or Top Rated
- You have recent sales history
Does "consumer to consumer" mean eBay is only allowing sellers with personal accounts, not business accounts, to use these ads? If so, that would seem an odd choice.
First of all, if the $2.99 fee that seller referenced is in fact a Promoted Listings Express fee, that could be a higher price than most consumer sellers are willing to pay - especially considering this is an upfront fee at the time the auction is listed and will be immediately charged to the sellers account, presumably regardless of whether the auction results in a completed and paid for sale.
Your Express ad fee will depend on the length of your auction-style listing and the category you select when listing your item. When promoting your listing, you will see the fee clearly stated before confirming your purchase, and will be charged immediately.
Express ad fees will be listed on your Transactions page within the Payments section in My eBay.
Beyond that, while the use of auctions has waned on eBay over the years, the Collectibles categories in particular still depend on them heavily. Within those categories, I have to imagine there are many collectible and antique sellers with business accounts who would be happy to finally have access to Promoted Listings - why would eBay exclude them?
I've reached out to eBay to clarify if Promoted Listings Express will be limited only to personal accounts and will update when I have more information.
What do you think of Promoted Listings Express? Would you pay eBay an upfront flat fee to promote your auctions - even if they don't sell? Sound off in the comments below!
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