EBay’s "2026 Advertising Strategies" Webinar Now Available on YouTube, Sparking Seller Debate on Ad Effectiveness and Costs

eBay sellers now have access to the "2026 Advertising Strategies" webinar, hosted by Senior Product Marketing Manager Kye Mou and Senior Product Manager Rishi Vora, which was originally presented on February 19th. The comprehensive session, now streaming on YouTube, delved into eBay’s three core advertising solutions: Promoted Listings, Promoted Offsite, and Promoted Stores. A review of seller comments from the webinar’s live chat reveals a spectrum of experiences and opinions regarding eBay’s advertising tools, highlighting both perceived benefits and significant concerns about cost, effectiveness, and fairness.

One recurring sentiment among sellers was a desire to understand why certain advertising efforts, like Promoted Listings, had not yielded positive results for them, with many hoping the webinar would provide clarity. The feedback shared during the live session painted a mixed picture of success. Some sellers reported positive outcomes, with one stating, "We have had success with promoted listings but cannot justify the cost without raising prices." This sentiment was echoed by another who described a strategy of listing items at a higher percentage to accommodate sales and offers, ensuring they still achieved their desired profit margin.

Conversely, other sellers found significant value in eBay’s advertising options. One participant declared, "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." Another seller shared impressive results within the eBay Motors category, noting, "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." A more general positive endorsement came from a seller who reported, "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)."

However, a substantial portion of sellers expressed dissatisfaction with the necessity of paying for increased visibility. Several comments questioned the fundamental premise of needing to pay for exposure in the first place. "We never used to have to use ‘tricks’ to get sales. Sure has changed over the many years. So complex now," one seller lamented. Another viewed the system as merely a way for eBay to increase referral fees, describing it as "window dressing." The sentiment that buyers should naturally find listings without promotional incentives was strong. "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!" exclaimed one participant. The belief that eBay should organically promote listings for free 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." A significant concern was raised about a perceived drop in sales since new promotion policies took effect, with one seller noting, "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."

The issue of search visibility was a particular point of contention. Sellers argued that eBay should display their listings when they perfectly match a buyer’s search query, regardless of whether the listing is promoted. "eBay should be displaying your listing even if it is not promoted when IT is what the buyer is looking for," stated one seller. The fairness of this practice was questioned, especially for unique items: "If I have the ONLY one of something, and you won’t show it because I’m not using promotions, how is that fair?" Another seller elaborated on this point, expressing their frustration 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 update to how eBay attributes sales for items promoted with a general campaign strategy, which impacts ad fee charges, was also a significant topic of discussion. eBay explained that an attributed sale now occurs when a buyer purchases a promoted item within 30 days of any click on the ad, regardless of whether the buyer clicked the ad themselves, provided the item was promoted at the time of both the click and the sale. The seller is then charged the ad rate at the time of sale. eBay stated this change was intended to simplify campaign reporting and enhance ease-of-use and clarity, while maintaining seller control over spend by only charging when an item sells.

However, sellers expressed strong skepticism about this attribution change. "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," one seller demanded. Another reported negative consequences: "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 "pay for promoted" model was questioned, with one seller stating, "Total fail on justifying the new ‘pay for promoted’ if anyone clicked before." Some sellers noted shifts in their traffic reports, with one observing, "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%."

The presence of other sellers’ listings within a seller’s own eBay Store was also a point of friction. "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 complained.

Intrigue was sparked by the mention of eBay’s Rule Based Tool, introduced in 2021. Sellers expressed interest in this feature, with one commenting, "I use general Promoted Listings but have never tried the Rule Based Tool – this is interesting," and another stating, "Rule based tool – I didn’t even know that existed. Thank you for sharing that."

Numerous specific questions were posed by sellers regarding the mechanics and effectiveness of eBay’s promoted ads. These included inquiries about whether a less specific promoted item might rank higher than a more specific unpromoted item in search results, the strategy for listing items under both general and priority promotions, and the exact cost of selling a priority promoted item. Sellers sought clarity on where to view advertising costs per item for priority promotions, how to ascertain if general promotions were effectively increasing visibility for obscure items, and the best methods for enhancing listing visibility on Google Search. Concerns were also raised about the unpredictability of spending with priority strategy CPC ads, with one seller reporting that daily budgets were disregarded, leading to spending significantly over budget and feeling as though their money was "stolen." Questions about the efficacy of smart versus manual targeting for priority campaigns were also prevalent.

A seller advocating for proactive listing optimization pointed out the lack of awareness surrounding the Listing Quality Report, urging colleagues to "Don’t keep throwing money at your listings, fix them first." A moderator provided a link to the report, which outlines specific actions sellers can take to optimize their listings and categories to boost views, impressions, and sales.

Towards the conclusion of the webinar, moderators addressed some of the submitted questions. For instance, the scenario of multiple sellers promoting the same item at the same rate was raised, with a seller asking who would secure the top slot. At approximately 51 minutes and 45 seconds into the video, Vora explained eBay’s process and the various signals considered in determining the ranking of promoted listings.

The full webinar presentation, including insights from the product managers and accompanying slides, is available for viewing on eBay’s YouTube channel.