EBay’s "2026 Advertising Strategies" Webinar Now Available on YouTube, Revealing Seller Insights and Concerns

eBay sellers now have access to the "2026 Advertising Strategies" webinar, originally presented on February 19, which is now streaming on YouTube. The session, hosted by Kye Mou, Senior Product Marketing Manager of Ads, and Rishi Vora, Senior Product Manager, delved into eBay’s advertising solutions for sellers. The webinar detailed three primary ad types: eBay Promoted Listings, Promoted Offsite, and Promoted Stores. A review of comments shared during the live webinar’s chat feature provides a glimpse into seller experiences, questions, and perspectives on eBay’s advertising landscape.

A significant sentiment among some sellers was a lack of perceived benefit from advertising, with one participant expressing hope that the webinar would shed light on why their advertising efforts, specifically promoted listings, had not yielded positive results. This highlights a fundamental question for many: how to effectively leverage eBay’s advertising tools.

Seller experiences with eBay’s promoted ads varied, reflecting a spectrum of success and challenges. One seller noted, "We have had success with promoted listings but cannot justify the cost without raising prices." This sentiment points to the delicate balance between advertising investment and profit margins. Another seller shared a strategy to mitigate costs: "I list my items % higher, so I can run a sale on them, and I also take offers. They may be listed higher, but with the sale and offers, I get what I want." This approach suggests a proactive method of factoring advertising costs into pricing and sales strategies.

More positive feedback came from a seller who tested various promoted options: "I actually tried all of the promoted and tried stopping them all – tested all of them and promoted general is best for my one of a kind store – I promote all of my items – definitely worth it for me." This indicates that different strategies may suit different store types and inventories. A seller specializing in eBay Motors reported varied results: "My results in eBay Motors for all the promoted strategy choices are these as of just today: Promoted general – good. Promoted Offsite – VERY good. Promoted priority (pay per click) was a fail. I blew through the $100 credit with hundreds of clicks but not a single sale. Hope this helps you guys!" This granular feedback on specific ad types and their performance in a particular category is valuable for other sellers. Another seller reported significant gains: "I use the promoted ads and in less than 90 days have seen sales over 11K and listing impressions over 1.3m with a 12% ROA (return)." These testimonials showcase the potential, albeit not universal, success sellers can achieve.

Conversely, a substantial portion of sellers expressed a fundamental disagreement with the premise of paying extra for visibility. One seller lamented, "We never used to have to use ‘tricks’ to get sales. Sure has changed over the many years. So complex now." This reflects a nostalgia for a simpler selling environment and a concern about increased complexity. Another seller viewed advertising as a mere revenue-generating tactic: "Just a way to increase the referral fee with window dressing." The sentiment that buyers should be able to find listings organically without additional promotion costs was prevalent. "Buyers should be able to find listings without the promoting money grab by eBay. It did help my sales but, I don’t believe the value equals the cost. It’s ridiculous!" articulated one seller. The idea that eBay should promote inventory without incurring extra costs was also voiced: "IMO, eBay should promote our inventory organically for free. Not grab money. I have faith in my product & serviceability. No promotions or additional costs needed. 9K items on line." Concerns about the impact of new promotion policies on sales were also raised, with one seller stating, "We all make money when stuff sells. seems odd for the need to add extra promotions to be seen. I have seen a drastic drop in sales since the new promotions took affect. Not sure what the cause is yet, but seems suspicious." A core issue of fairness was raised regarding listing visibility: "eBay should be displaying your listing even if it is not promoted when IT is what the buyer is looking for." The dilemma of unique items not being seen was also highlighted: "If I have the ONLY one of something, and you won’t show it because I’m not using promotions, how is that fair?" A similar concern about matching buyer searches was expressed: "The problem is that eBay does not display your listing even though it matches every words a buyer lists – just because your listing is not promoted and that I think is very unfair!!"

A recent change to how eBay attributes sales for general campaign strategies, impacting ad fee charges, was also a significant point of discussion. eBay explained the updated attribution model: "An attributed sale will be when any buyer purchases the promoted item within 30 days of any click on the ad, regardless of whether the buyer themselves clicked on the ad. The item must be promoted at the time of click and the time of sale. The seller will be charged the ad rate at the time of sale." eBay stated this change was intended to "simplify campaign reporting, which many sellers have requested for greater ease-of-use and clarity, while allowing you to maintain control over your spend – you continue to only pay when your item sells."

However, seller reactions to this attribution change were largely negative, with many perceiving it as a "money grab." One seller stated, "My promotion sales went for 15 to 20 percent to almost 85 to 90 percent. The change seems more like a money grab. I have no more sales than before, just less money because of your change. Please explain how this was not a money grab by eBay." Another seller reported, "The new ad change has hurt my store over helping and have increased the clicks on the listings with less sales then before the change." The justification for the new model was questioned: "Total fail on justifying the new ‘pay for promoted’ if anyone clicked before." Some sellers observed shifts in their traffic reports, with one noting, "What are people seeing in their traffic reports since 1/13? I am seeing that my % promoted clicked on is down but % promoted sales is up 20-30%. I did and still do 2.6%."

Another point of contention for sellers was the presence of other sellers’ listings within their own eBay Stores. "Sellers who are promoting higher are showing up on my store landing page or being told to look at other items while in my store from the moment they come to my page. Someone else’s items are there," a seller commented, expressing frustration at competitors appearing on their dedicated sales platform.

Intrigue was sparked by the discussion of eBay’s Rule Based Tool, introduced in 2021. One seller expressed interest: "I use general Promoted Listings but have never tried the Rule Based Tool – this is interesting." Another commented, "Rule based tool – I didn’t even know that existed. Thank you for sharing that."

Numerous specific questions about eBay promoted ads were posed by sellers, indicating areas of confusion and seeking clarification. These included inquiries about how eBay prioritizes listings in search results when promoted at different rates, whether items should be listed under both general and priority promotion, and the precise costs associated with priority promoted items. Sellers also sought clarity on where to find advertising costs per item for priority promotions and how to ascertain if general promotions are effective for obscure or slow-moving items. Questions about optimizing listings for Google Search, managing budgets for CPC priority ads to avoid wiping out margins, and determining the effectiveness of smart versus manual targeting for priority campaigns were also common. A critical issue raised was regarding daily budgets for CPC priority ads, with one seller reporting that the platform sometimes exceeded the set budget significantly, leading to concerns about financial loss.

A seller highlighted the importance of the Listing Quality Report, advocating for its use: "no one knows this exists," advising colleagues, "Don’t keep throwing money at your listings, fix them first." A moderator provided a link to further information about the report, which aims to help sellers "optimize your listings and categories, with the aim of boosting your views, impressions, and sales."

Toward the webinar’s conclusion, moderators addressed some submitted questions. One seller inquired about the criteria for determining which promoted listing appears in the top slot when multiple sellers promote the same item at the same rate. At minute 51:45, Vora explained eBay’s process and the signals considered in such scenarios.

The full webinar video, featuring product managers and accompanying slides, is available on eBay’s YouTube channel.