Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

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AuctionBytes Blog
News and insight focusing on
ecommerce and the online auction industry
by Ina Steiner, Editor of AuctionBytes.com

September 04, 2007

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

By: Ina Steiner

Tue Sept 4 2007 16:33:02

eBay is running Yahoo graphical ads on eBay.com, and is running Yahoo Sponsored Links at the bottom of search results pages. eBay's Bill Cobb said those ads would appear only if there were no matching eBay listings or that offer complementary offerings. But lately, the ads have been appearing with more frequency and directly compete with eBay sellers' own listings.

AuctionBytes is publishing an article about this in the September 5th Newsflash newsletter, and we'd like to hear what buyers and sellers think.

Comments (49) | Permalink

Readers Comments

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Tim

Tue Sep 4 18:39:55 2007

As usual, if his lips are moving, he is lying. Here is a search for you to try: Central of Georgia Railway. At the top of the search (in core) is a book on the subject and then some photos. In the stores section are some other items, including the book again. AND THEN, in the Sponsored results are four results for the book - ALL WITH LOWER PRICES than eBay sellers are selling them for. This is direct competition where eBay is taking customers DIRECTLY to the SAME product.

I had other examples, but this was the easiest, cleanest example.

Is eBay a sales site or an ad site? Do they want eBay sellers to sell stuff or for other stores to get the sale... or do they care since either way they get their money?

Note the sponsored links are not only for the exact same item that comes up in an eBay search - but in no way is the search itself a "no results" search.

Bill Cobb lied. Pure and simple.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Dimes

Tue Sep 4 21:27:44 2007

It's not just yahoo.

I tried with a search for Forrest Gump, and got a sponsored link for Netflix

(Get it fast with a free trial. Rent Forrest Gump. Netflix.com)

eBay wants me to rent the movie from Netflix instead of buying a DVD from one of the sellers who paid to advertise on its site?

Why is that, exactly?

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Peeved!

Tue Sep 4 22:40:22 2007

Pay per click ads have been showing up on items that I am selling when there are many listings in both auction and store listings. They are for the same exact item.

It seems that the ads are intermittant. Maybe eBay thinks that sellers won't notice if they rotate them around.

Taking away customers from eBay for the same exact item seems like a conflict of interest.

When will eBay notice that without sellers, there is no eBay!

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Dino D.

Wed Sep 5 09:06:13 2007

I hate to defend ebay here, but if there's an identical product for a lower price, that benefits the buyer. I hate to see sellers advocating less transparency. Instead, sellers should embrace transparency. If you can beat amazon, you'll get the sale, if not, find something else to sell.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: HavilandOnline

Wed Sep 5 10:24:09 2007

I used to pay Yahoo -Pay per click- once I figured out I was paying per click against all the Ebay items (2800 per week) and my small budget would get depleted in 1 hour, I discontinued Yahoo pay per click.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: V

Wed Sep 5 11:48:38 2007

Oh, Boy, here we go again... another brilliant idea from the corporate office. What are they thinking?! Oh, wait, they aren't! I noticed it some weeks back. It's sad but one can't be emotional about it. It will probably be just a matter of time before someones sues them for this one - I would consider that a breach of contract. And as for competing with Amazon, you have to have as big a pocketbook as they do. Not an easy task.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Jan

Wed Sep 5 11:49:48 2007

This does seem to defeat eBay's main purpose and that is to sell. Why would you send your customer's to another site? After their client's have paid to advertise on the site they should have some protection against these links! Just one other reason why sellers are leaving eBay behind!

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: jsicolts

Wed Sep 5 11:57:49 2007

Why is this a surprise to anyone? eBay's mision statement - people as basically good- is a direct opposite on how they treat Sellers in particular. We hate ebay, and do a lot better on other sites like Alibris, Biblio, Yahoo. etc.,

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: David Fischer

Wed Sep 5 11:59:13 2007

Since I list almost all my books on Amazon, I welcome the Ebay advertising of my Amazon items (which I can list for free on Amazon)...

However, Ebay, I beleive, is violating it's own rules. As an Ebay seller, I can not link to my website in an auction so that the buyer can get it for less.

I also beleive that Ebay is shooting itself in the foot as both buyers and sellers will now be able to easily find other venues where they can buy sell products.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Garrett

Wed Sep 5 12:15:24 2007

Oh the monopoly! It is hideous and a deceitfull act on behalf of eBay. What are Sellers supposed to do? Every time corporate eBay drops an egg, like this one, Sellers have to scramble (no pun intended) around in attempts to fiqure out a way to fix it so we can get a sale. It is a ''conflict of interest'' and it needs to be addressed legally! Ebay can shoot themselves in the foot, over and over again and the proprietary and small Sellers know our selling options are limited. eBay knows that and they just do not concern themselves with thier causes that affect us. eBay ingores them. Just sick, sick, sick about it. Small businesses will continue to fail and big corporate america gets another bite out of us. Great!

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Patti

Wed Sep 5 12:19:05 2007

So I suppose the next time I walk into Macy's they'll have a big sign next to the clothing that says "HEY, you can get this for less at Marshall's!!" Doubt it! This is the most cynical, money grabbing, to hell with the sellers policy I've ever seen.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Brian

Wed Sep 5 12:57:54 2007

Not good eBay!

Maybe eBay sellers need to protest eBay’s actions by having a “Click Fraud Campaign” or something like that. What would happen to the Sponsored Ad Program if 1000’s of eBay sellers started clicking 1000’s of ads each day for no reason? Would eBay and Yahoo sit down and find a mix that won’t hurt eBay sellers or would eBay track those seller’s IP addresses and suspend them from eBay?

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: multi-titanium

Wed Sep 5 13:17:02 2007

We are large Adwords and YahooSM advertisers. We noticed that we had been getting eBay hits lately and didn't look into why. Now we realized that it's the YahooSM ads appearing on eBay! All of our prices on our website are cheaper than eBay (no eBay fees, hello?), so we welcome this move. Anyone who is still stuck on eBay either needs to accept that they are trash to eBay, or pick yourself up, grow some courage, and move off of eBay. Another poster said ''Without sellers, there would be no eBay''...this is not what eBay believes. eBay believes that their sellers cannot live without eBay and they are putting their money on it with these moves because they know sellers will just live with it.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: frank

Wed Sep 5 13:50:17 2007

This has really opened a whole different can of worms for me. besides that the same products I sell are now in the google/yahoo listings at the bottom of every page. (I've tested it myself)

Remember back in the good ole days (like 2 years ago) ebay used to sell it's sellers cheap advertising banners at the top of every page. It was like 10 cents a click and they had 3 different size banners that got rotated at the top of the page. Then one day it all of a sudden went away. I called ebay to find out what happened. They said the contract ran out with the ad agency and that they were going to start selling sellers the advertising themselves. I then started seeing ''Vacations To Go'' and United Parcel Service ads at the top of every page. I called ebay again and they said they this was just temporary,and that they would be rolling out a new seller advertising program at ebay live. The bottom line is sellers don't have the deep pockets of United parcel or vacations To Go, so the ads will stay at the top of every page. Yes there will be NO advertising plan for sellers. Just more lies ad it to the heap!

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Raymond

Wed Sep 5 14:14:32 2007

I saw the ads recently when I searched for one of my items to see if it was showing up in search correctly. It is a conflict if some smart person can actually show whereby eBay is getting a commission for the sales made off-site. They must be getting those commissions on the sales or they would not even show the ads that would compete with them getting the final value fees from the sale of an ebay seller listed item. It is just another way to keep the poor ebay seller selling things for the cheapest price on the web.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Mr. Bob.

Wed Sep 5 14:24:01 2007

I'm assuming that the bean counters at eBay have determined that running those ads earns more income than the Final Value Fees for the items listed that the shopper MIGHT have bought on eBay. Because as ignorant as some of their decisions seem, they have always protected their bottom line... and if they are sending shoppers off-site, it must mean they get a bigger payday doing that than they do from their own sellers via Final Value Fees. Why else run ads that will lower sellthru and thereby lower Final Value Fees?

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Patricia

Wed Sep 5 14:26:23 2007

Nothing different here...ebay has become known for its backpeddling and outright lying! Their word on anything has been worthless for quite awhile. Its been evident all along that they're going to keep gorging themselves on every dollar they can grab from any area until they downright burst! No thought is given to the sellers - we never have been thought of as anything more then a mindless herd of cattle to be milked. I've given up even trying to talk about it. Instead, I'm hoping someone comes along who will buy out the auction portion of ebay. It would have to be a miracle but such things can happen!

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Osama

Wed Sep 5 15:12:34 2007

This is ain't strange on eBay I am expecting that the next glitch on eBay is to put a pop up window on the auction ad and you have to pay more to remove this pop up window.. This is rediclus.. Why they never learn that the traffic is less on eBay for reasons and ideas like this... the site truned from 13 to # 29 within a year.. they never ask themselves why... why many sellers closing

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: JoeS

Wed Sep 5 15:35:17 2007

It's moves like this that backup what many have been saying that Ebay no longer cares for who made them in the first place. Very sad indeed and time to move on.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: BIDONMINE

Wed Sep 5 15:40:03 2007

My solution, which I began phasing in two years ago, was to move 95% of my book listings to Amazon.
Then, I began to eliminate 'common' items from my listings.
I now try to list only unique, collectable, out of production and vintage items on Ebay. This reduces my exposure to only competitors on Ebay instead of the entire WWW.
It has worked as my sell-through has increased from less then 30% to over 80% on Ebay.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Laura

Wed Sep 5 16:00:44 2007

With Yahoo having one of the top auction sites, next to ebay, do you think this has anything to do with them closing their auction site recently?

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Mat

Wed Sep 5 16:09:24 2007

Wasn't there a time where eBay was claiming the reason we couldn't mention our own website in our listings was to protect the seller and buyer from potential risks of selling/buying off eBay? (Those ads have no filter; any scam site can link here.)

Are we now allowed to link to our websites? I pay to list here, usually paying more in insertion fees than what they get on pay-per-click from Yahoo/Google. Why can't I list my website in my listings?

Anyway, I guess I see what I'll have to do now. Take advantage of eBay's stupidity and get in on the pay-per-click ads for my own website, with a description saying "OUR PRICES ARE LOWER THAN EBAY'S!"

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Chris

Wed Sep 5 16:50:46 2007

This is crazy! I don't know of any business that sends their customers somewhere else to buy a product that they have in stock.

To me this would be like walking into Wal Mart, asking the greeter where Widget XYZ is. They show me where it is then push me out the door and tell me to go to Target because it is cheaper.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: t_e_v

Wed Sep 5 17:09:36 2007

This move is a smart move, for ebay's ''stock repurchase plan'' along with the bait and switch of store items last year, the smart search test during the last holiday season, the syi3 fiasco, the dsr's being released at the time of postal rate increases, now they are playgrounding a new search just in time for the holidays again, and let's not forget the non-performing seller crackdown. All of these have helped the company buy back millions of shares, of course last year they were a little cheaper. How many has ole Meg sold back to the company the past two years? Not to mention the other insiders? Yeah I'd say their bottom line is doing quite well.
Come on all you sellers and buyers close your accounts out, let them sell their options for pennies on the dollar instead of tripling their money at your expense.
One last thing, when the few buyers that actually find something they might buy from an ebay seller, leaves to buy it somewhere else, Who pays the relisting fee, the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time it doesn't sell on ebay?
ebay doesn't lose, the sellers do!!
t_e_v

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Cowbell

Wed Sep 5 17:36:02 2007

Dino D. said." I hate to defend ebay here, but if there's an identical product for a lower price, that benefits the buyer. I hate to see sellers advocating less transparency. Instead, sellers should embrace transparency. If you can beat amazon, you'll get the sale, if not, find something else to sell."

It always benefits the buyer to do their research. I see no reason eBay should do it for them. If they want to see if it's cheaper at Amazon, let them go there and look, or use one of a dozen comparison engines.

It is the duty of all businesses to do right by their customers. eBay's buyers are not their customers. The SELLERS are.

As an eBay seller I paid eBay a fee to have eBay help me sell that item, not to direct my potential buyers elsewhere.

The only winner here is eBay. They have my listing fee. They have their fee from the ad.

If eBay is sending people to Amazon, all that says to me is that it's a good time to sell on Amazon.

eBay has only so many feet they can shoot off.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Another Wronged Seller

Thu Sep 6 00:24:51 2007

Once again, it's fiasco after fiasco from ebay central!

Absolutely brilliant concept! Send your customers to someone else.

Don't forget they're ''trying to improve the buyer experience'' What better way to improve the buyer experience but show them a cheaper place to buy? Even if it does screw the sellers who have PAID already to have ebay help sell their product. Just as long as they get paid from someone.....

This only shows once again that ebay has no respect for its sellers or they wouldn't be spitting in our faces yet again!

The last several years has been a textbook example of running a business if you WANT it to FAIL! They couldn't have made many more mistakes if they tried. You could make better business decisions by flipping a coin.

Ebay execs need to go back and take Business 101.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Chairman

Thu Sep 6 03:49:56 2007

So wrong on so many levels

eBay is killing off the sellers

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Fair is Fair

Thu Sep 6 17:49:58 2007

If eBay wants to make money by sending customers elsewhere then they should not charge a listing fee. They should only charge a final value fee if the item sells.

I sell on eBay and have my own website. If eBay dropped the listing fee, I would advertise on eBay for my website as well. At this point, I can't do that because I would be competing with myself!

The sellers that have the sponsored ads get the benefit of the exposure from eBay without eBay's hefty fees.

As long as eBay charges a listing fee regardless if the item sells or not, they should keep the advertising within eBay. They could go back to selling ads to their sellers and still make money.

It seems that it takes a class action suit these days for eBay to take notice!

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: David Wolfer

Mon Sep 10 14:58:46 2007

WOW! Looks like I better find a different way of selling my merchandise because I can't keep paying Ebay to bring them customers to buy and those customers go to the Sponsored Links. I guess if you can't beat them join them!!! Very simple have your cake and eat it to. At WHAT COST? This could take EBAY down.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: jsicolts

Wed Sep 12 10:28:29 2007

Since when does NEUTRAL = negative. So unfair. USA didn't restrict Switzerland - the basis for everything neutral.
We hate eBay.
We do better on other selling sites : Alibris, Biblio, even eBay's ugly sister Half.com.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Wrong Move

Fri Sep 14 10:47:57 2007

This is just another blow to the eBay sellers who have worked diligently to build their business on eBay. They pay for all their listings daily and monthly and now when someone does a search they are directed off eBay to websites and resellers who are not even part of the eBay community. This one badly thought out move by eBay has cost me over 60% of my business as I sell into a nitch market where now I am being forced to compete directly with my manufacturer who has a lot more ad dollars than I do and can offer free shipping since they have greater margins. This move will be the final straw that will eventually force me off eBay as I am now being forced to compete with the entire Internet universe of major dealers and manufacturers who can anty up a minimum of $3000 per month for advertising. This one move alone will destroy the smaller resellers and make selling on eBay a game only playable by those with deep pockets and big bucks. Eventually it will make it impossible for any small dealers to compete. It was the small dealers who made eBay and instead of being rewarded with appropriate selling tools they are being systematically eliminated in lieu of the the big ad monies. This one single act more than any other should tell you as a seller on eBay where you future now lies.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Silly Duck

Sun Sep 16 11:56:31 2007

If ebay is stating that they are only sending buyers off site if the product in the search is cheaper means two things. First, that off site product must be a Buy It Now price, not an auction as the search engine cannot determine the final auction price.

Two, It smacks directly into the face of all the sellers on eBay who bought into the ''return to core auctions'' strategy that ebay has been pushing.

That means, in addition to seeing sales go off site, the ebay believers who starting not using BIN pricing and only use auctions to move products, get a double screw.

Of course, ebay, move the buyers off site for BIN items and forget about the push you did to everyone to get back to basics and the core-auctions.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: eBayMoneyPit

Sun Sep 16 17:01:17 2007

If you hover over a sponsored link you see this URL that eBay is sending all the clicks through.
http://srx.main.ebayrtm.com

Someone with analytical abilities would be able to determine HOW MANY CLICKS EBAY IS SENDING OFF-SITE and to whom.

Ina, maybe you could chart the traffic to this click-through URL and let us know?

I would do it but I don't have an Alexa account and I need to rework my eBay biz model... again.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Alicia

Sun Sep 16 19:38:20 2007

I think the Ads on ebay are a BAD idea, it IS driving people, elsewhere. I thought you could get "IT" on ebay. Not so if your directing other's elsewhere , Ebay. ::eyeroll::
Furthermore, it used to be the ads were NOT on a seller's listing page, but now they are. I do NOT PAY for ads aiming elsewhere, when someone searches under MY name, for MY goods. Hello, we PAY for that space. Nice. Truly am beginning to believe this is a sinking ship.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Alicia

Sun Sep 16 19:46:11 2007

I agrew with the first Op, and many other's. WITHOUT sellers, simply no ebay. Hoever, the problem is noone will take a long ejnough ban (or enougb peeps will join either) it is a great idea though. anyway opening my own website, don't care about the costs, and also joined bidderssite.com Chekc it out if you haven't!

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Ed

Sun Sep 16 22:57:22 2007

Not a suprise ebay will do anything for money if they don't make enough money by raising fees, adding fees to your invoice that aren't yours (fraud), charging your credit card for services you didn't use and refusing to refund (fraud), then they find other ways like charging sellers listing fees and send your buyers to an off-site link for more money this is why we now call it greedbay, ebay doesn't care about any buyers or sellers they've abused this great site to generate money for greedy management at the expense of the little guy, ebay is no longer a great auction site but merely a name that is used and abused to generate money for greedy millionaires who want to get richer even if it's not a honest wage.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Bill

Fri Sep 21 10:15:06 2007

For two weeks we have seen a mysterious drop in sales. We are eBay Powersellers.
Sponsored links within the eBay system is a major change that directly affects the search results and redirects the customer base. We are at the beginning of researching the impact on our business, but at this point, we strongly
suspect the sponsored search results within eBay. Regardless, this is a very poor decision.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Veri Tas

Sun Sep 23 01:33:24 2007

Ebay management has been brain dead quite awhile now. This is not about ads, revenue or ebay's race to the bottom. This is about character and integrity. Clearly, the suits at ebay lack any understanding of ''CONFLICT OF INTEREST''. These people will not be called to account until the stock tanks and the sellers have all moved on. That's what happens when one's vision is out of focus and at right angles to ethical behavior.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Fed Up

Tue Sep 25 10:51:55 2007

I thought the primary mission for both Meg and Bill was producing sales on Ebay. Apparently they are more attracted to quick influx of money from Yahoo ads at the bottom of every page. It is inconceivable to me that Ebay execs can be so irresponsible by promoting links that send customers away from Ebay. Do they realize how many sellers lives are effected by such foolhardy decisions? What will 4th Quarter be like with these yahoos at the helm? For 9 years, I have loved and trusted Ebay to make the best decisions and in turn help grow business. I hope these folks with their millions are held accountable for causing financial disaster for so many households.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Peter

Tue Sep 25 12:22:52 2007

As bad as this policy is, we small and medium sellers won't really feel the squeeze until eBay's new search results are in place (that replaces chronological order with ''relevance'' -- that is, favoring big sellers in search results -- as the default sort).

Once that happens, corporate multi-channel sellers will be the only visible ones on eBay. Whether or not it spells the end of eBay, it will most certainly mark the end of small business prosperity on the site.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Steve

Wed Sep 26 14:32:03 2007

When are you all going to realize that eBay is all about the buyers and their ''buying experience''. If they get the buyers, the sellers will come regardless on how the rules change. As sellers, you go to where the buyers hang out and that is eBay. Will it affect certain sellers? - you bet! Will eBay make more money doing this - you bet!

Some sellers will leave if this continues. Others will change their listing campaigns. New sellers will come in and replace the ones that left because there are buyers here.

Do not fool yourself if you think eBay is about the sellers. As a merchant you have to live outside of eBay a bit to understand the costs involved to attracted buyers. Ebay gives you a lot of eyes for what they charge. They know that and continue to invest in getting new eyes (buyers) to the site. I think they will continue with this campaign and it will add a lot of pressure to the existing sellers.

How long before eBay cuts out Yahoo and does this themselves? Meaning they sell the space to sellers who have websites outside of eBay. Also, does this policy lower shipping prices on eBay to be more competitive with outside stores. Maybe, maybe not. I do know one thing, eBay wants buyers!

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Marty

Sun Oct 7 11:12:32 2007

What I can't fathom, is how the eBay higher-ups have to read all the comments and not be so totally personally embarrassed as to their behavior in business. If I had so many comments it would make me want to see if it is time to reevaluate my own life. Yikes...

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Rick

Sun Oct 7 17:03:02 2007

Here's a thought...

Many states have 'tax-free' days when stores don't charge sales taxes on items under a certain dollar value.

Why not apply the same to eBay? Agree on a day or days, and NO ONE posts any new auctions. Maybe eBay Corporate will start to take notice.

I would suggest that no one post any new auctions between December 25 and December 31. This allows most current auctions to close out and makes eBay go without listing fee$ for an entire week. Best of all, it's a great way to welcome eBay into 2008!

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Owen Devlin

Wed Oct 10 14:10:43 2007

A very savvy person I worked for once told me:
''If the agenda doesn't make sense, look for the real agenda.''

Many sellers on eBay who are justifiably irate about the Yahoo ads
start from a premise that eBay is still primarily an auction venue.

I submit that eBay is gradually positioning themselves to become an online portal
using eBay auction revenues as a nice cash cow.

Imagine the power if eBay has ads from all the major manufacturers/retailers
and can provide a comparison shopping capability on their site.
The potential for eBay is mind-boggling.

So, I believe that the real agenda is:
1. ''Improve the buying experience'' to attract new buyers to eBay.
2. Transition the system and processes to an online portal.
3. Fund the development from the sellers who either cannot or will not adapt.
4. Convince Wall Street to change the main criteria for evaluating eBay performance.
5. As portal revenues allow, reduce the number of ''small volume sellers'' on eBay.
6. Eventually sell-off or discontinue the auction business and the headaches that go with it.

IMO, the plan is brilliant.
Is it morally right? No.
Does it make good business sense? Definitely.

For what it's worth,

Odie

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: me

Sat Oct 13 17:23:24 2007

have fun with it.. if you search your item and find pay per click ads at the bottom.. click the heck out of them, dozens of times for each one.. email your friends and family and have them do the same.. 1000 paid clicks with no sales and advertisers might decide ebay's not the best place to be. Sellers BUILT ebay.. there would be no ebay with the sellers, they fail to see this...

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: robert

Mon Dec 3 22:24:28 2007

CLICK THE ALL SPONSORED LINKS COMPETING WITH YOUR PRODUCT. If the conversion rates stink, advertisers will abandon the channel. CLICK THE LINKS AGAIN AND AGAIN.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Justin

Thu Apr 3 13:23:50 2008

I've been a seller on ebay since 2002, what with the extortionate fees just to list and then the FVF to boot I just made enough to make a small profit. I've now found that sales have dropped since the ads appeared. I took many hours of searching to find good enough sources to be able to list products, many of which I just made money from the free postage then charged for postage on ebay, If ebay buyer can't be bothered to search for cheaper items as I did then why do it for them. I'd love to be able to go to my local garage to get my car fixed and have them tell me it's cheaper down the road, but does that happen? Wake up ebay!

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: Layna

Sun Aug 10 23:20:15 2008

hey, I want to how can link my website to ebay sponsored link? Who does it now? Please tell me, thanks.

Yahoo Sponsored Links on eBay

by: jbone

Thu Nov 27 01:05:55 2008

A Memo Leaked:
Ebay Plan

This post was originally posted in the FEEDBACK DISCUSSION FORUM on ebay. It has repeatedly been removed by ebay forum Moderators. (watchdogs)! They don't want you to see it! If it was not authentic then they would not be so quick to delete it so no one can see it, and I have been suspended once for 7 days and now for 30 days for referring to it! I make no claims as to its authenticity, BUT, I have watched ebay closely, and it appears to be a roadmap of exactly the changes currently taking place, as well as the future!

HELLO EBAYERS, PLEASE READ THIS ARTICLE FROM an EX EBAY EMPLOYEE Jun-26-08 20:52 PDT

This next posting has been sent by an employee of eBay, and bears much truth. It explains their future intensions as well as their past behavior. If any of these predictions come true (as opposed to some changes in favor of the seller), it will be a clear signal from eBay of their true intensions. I went to eBay's annual meeting in Chicago, and was privately told similar things by two eBay employees who spoke to me privately at the event.

There is widespread seller revolt, and listings and sales are way down. If they really do not care (as purported in this upcomming message), they will not reverse the Feedback decision, but work further to discriminate against buyers. If they do care about the smaller sellers, they will reverse some of their previous decisions.

Um... what happened to the 2nd post? Luckily I saved it in a Word document. Really, this whole thing makes me sad. eBay gave me an opportunity. I embraced it. I was lucky b/c at the time I started, cowboy boots were very hot from a fashion standpoint. It was crazy fun. Now, I use eBay as a way to generate some fairly fast cash, but not as a sole source of income.

I would advise others to spread their eggs into other baskets. Personally, I have rented a booth at a local antique mall - I am doing GREAT! It's so much fun.

HOWEVER, I am saddened by the propaganda that is circulating about eBay. Even though "used sales" may be only 13% of revenue, it's still a BIG CHUNK = and worth keeping. Hopefully, eBay will decide to spin off a site like half.com or something for the vintage items - I just can't imagine a corporation throwing away 13% of revenue!

That's it for me - sweet dreams - molly

Oh - below is the deleted "propaganda" post:

I posted this at the feedback forum at eBay.I should have known. My ID will be toast soon anyway. This was the only other place I thought where my statement might have an impact. Do with it what you will. After Chicago, my only desire is to be heard.

There will be those who will not believe me and I sympathize. I wish the facts were fiction but to deny what I know would be to live in a fairyland of make-believe. I understand that the bulk of this “manifesto” reveals a plot so against the spirit of eBay that it will be dismissed as lie. So be it. I cannot force the world to accept it. All I can do is state the truth as I know it and leave it to you and to your common sense and experience to judge.

The deck is stacked against me. Aside from the natural resistance to believe I know that the boards are stocked with eBay’s tools. Their goal will be to discredit me. I will be accused of being a “disgruntled”, “paranoid”, and “emotional” seller. Their words will be specially chosen for effect. That is part of the function of the tools and I am not fazed by it. However, to protect my own identity within the corporation, I cannot be too specific lest the details single me out to the powers that be.

What I intend to reveal is common knowledge to many in the management division behind the scenes.

By the way, the tools are not only the mouthpieces that promote the policies. The psychological tactics employed by the powers that be are far deeper and grander than that. The subtlety of the method is remarkable. The tools come in a wide range of flavors with their own, individual “characteristic” rhetoric. From those who are “for” the policy - and spread various degrees of hostility toward the sellers - to those who are “against” the change - and spread panic and further the divide with the buyers. Both serve the same exact purpose: a manipulation designed to remove the more involved and savvy small to large sellers who will not fit into eBay’s future business plan.

First, let me correct the record regarding the concept of sellers extorting positive feedback. While the violation was known to happen, the activity amounted to less than a tenth of a percent of the yearly transactions. Further, it involved sellers whose feedback percentages were below 80%. The absolute majority of sellers did not engage in such practices. Nevertheless, the powers that be could not resist the fact that promoting this notion of feedback extortion as a wide-spread phenomenon would be the perfect cover with which to hide the true intentions of the policy.

The powers that be want to transform eBay into an overstock warehouse venue. A kind of outlet store for the internet much like a cheaper and streamlined version of Amazon. From a strictly business point of view, given the size of eBay and the growing costs of doing business, it makes a certain kind of sense to shift gears. Think about it: when eBay started, sellers were about rare and unique items but here and now the majority of items are common, used counterparts of what can be found new online at retail sites. Truly rare and unique items are sold at real auctions; the “stuff in your attic” isn’t glamorous enough and won’t keep eBay afloat any longer.

The trend away from the rare and unique to the big box retailer is not new. Several years ago the powers that be noticed that the big “powersellers” were simply listing items that existed in their retail stores or inventories. Thus the concept of “buy it now”, “best offer”, and “eBay stores” were created. It was the nascent stage of the plan yet to be. Little by little, without the population noticing, the mechanisms required to replicate the average retail storefront were already in place - and with its rise came the slow, steady downfall of the auction format.

Yet outright pursuit of a retail venue would have led to a major problem that at the time could not have been surmounted. The vast majority of people, on and off line, know eBay as precisely the place for auctions of rare and unique items. The sellers and buyers held onto that perception too but in truth their opinion even involvement in new and improved version of eBay is irrelevant by a certain Machiavellian calculation made by the powers that be. As part of the plan, eBay calculated thus: even if they lost the sellers as part of the change, the buyers will be coming back to buy regardless of who or what operated within the retail-outlet venue.

No, it was the stock holders who the powers that be feared.

Only the stockholders had the power to change the direction set forth by the CEO and the board. So it became imperative to change the equation. Part of the plan is to devalue the stock gradually so that investors merely dumped the stock as opposed to wanting managerial change ala Yahoo. Then to buy back the stock at lower cost and to such a volume that no rebellion against the powers that be were possible.

By the end of July that phase of the plan will be successful and there est of the plan will be revealed without fear of backlash from those who otherwise would have had the power to pull eBay back from the brink.

Indeed, if you believe the current changes are obvious signals that small sellers are not wanted - be prepared - you have seen nothing yet.

So far what have they done? All they have managed to do is silence a seller’s ability to warn others about buyers (half of the purpose behind the original idea of feedback), burden you with higher and higher fees, dangle “treats” like discounts while setting the bar of eligibility so high that the rewards cannot be reached. and, by the way PayPal deals with “complaints” leave you vulnerable to fraud. What if worse was yet to come?

They know if you do not feel safe that you will not use eBay. The changes that have been enacted only eliminates the small sellers. Meanwhile they want to eradicate the mid-sized seller too. And they want to ensure that both do not return.

For the mid-sized seller the DSR became the tool of choice. The powers that be raised the level of what is a good seller artificially high. No manipulation is required; they know exactly the effect of the policy. This is why buyers are told that 4 is a good score and sellers are told that 4.9 yields discounts and higher listing placements. As long as that fractured point of view exists, eBay does not need to interfere with the DSR as has been suggested, the buyers will be killing the sellers naturally.

By August there will be no pretense and the intentions of the new and improved eBay will be clear. The following is only a partial list of the rules that will be imposed. It comes from a memo that circulated within my corner of the managerial department the week before Chicago. I cannot be too specific about certain items and I cannot reveal details of the latest additions without endangering my anonymity.

1. Neutrals will be converted to negatives complete with red icons and reduced feedback scores. Afterward neutrals will not be offered as a choice of feedback.

2. The entire process of feedback will be automated. Buyers and sellers will chose standard feedback from a list. For sellers this operation will be performed automatically upon the buyer winning. For buyers there will be an extra free line with which to add a few comments about the seller without restriction to content. Replies will not be allowed.

3. The implementation of a stricter rules regarding shipping. From the boxes, packing, labels and tapes to where you can buy postage. Orders have been placed for prototypes of “eBay” boxes. UPS and FedEx will be instructed not to accept “eBay” merchandise if it’s not inside “eBay” boxing. They will know, of course, because when sellers buy the “eBay” postage from the “eBay” source, a detailed list of contents with item numbers will be available to the shippers upon scanning a bar code. As for those who continue to use USPS, another level of quality control will be implemented - buyers will be asked, upon confirmation of delivery, if the seller used “eBay” standard shipping items. Naturally, no verification of the buyer’s truthfulness will be attempted, and continued ‘infractions’ will result in suspension. eBay will have other ways to check if a seller is not using the “eBay” equipment - as they will be required to buy at cost the supplies immediately after items are listed. (This is such a large scale operation behind the scenes that I feel comfortable sharing as much of it as I know.)

4. Sales taxes will be included automatically; shipping cost and sales taxes will be used to determined FVF.

5. Item descriptions will be “standardized” with templates which include the posting of a new, universal return policy. Only yearly subscribers to the retail-outlet venue can opt out of these universal return policies but even they cannot alter the template structures being devised.

6. Strikes against buyers will be eliminated as the whole concept of a buyer and bidding will be altered. FVF will be calculated when payment is submitted.

7. Time to Close will be eliminated entirely. Best Match will be the non-alterable default. Best Match is a system that caters to the needs of shoppers not bidders.

8. Placement within Best Match will be determined by several factors, the most important of which will be the extra display features added onto the listing.

9. DSRs can be removed by retailers and powersellers who pay a certain yearly fee.

10. The end play itself which consists of four phases: a) the main focus shifts to retail sellers whose fees are on a per listing basis b) stores will be replaced by a classified section, fees will be based on yearly subscriptions and FVFs c) occasional auctions will be conducted for unique items (celebrity auctions, items that have been featured on the news, etc.) d) total elimination of auctions for regular sellers.

From the point of view of eBay’s agenda to change gears these alteration make sense. The powers that be want to turn eBay into a retail venue format. Therefore the “buyer” must be changed - bidding and commitments to buy are part of the past. In a retail venue, the item is either in your cart or not and you only commit to buy when you pay at checkout. The seller is also redefined in the way they will be required to do business. They will be forced to copy the methods of retail stores.

The goal is to become Amazon Lite. Unlike Amazon the merchandise will be stocked by the retailers in their warehouses, eBay will be just an electronic centralized venue for outlet sale - a “trusted” name with a wide customer base and popular name recognition.

That is the future and as I write this I know that it cannot be stopped. There are no investors with enough clout and will to challenge the CEO. Stock holders will simply walk away. eBay will not sink, however, it will be exactly in the position its rulers intend it to be at.

Sellers, my advice is simple. You are not wanted. Leave. If you stay, you will be crushed. Leave. Go away. You cannot win.

I am sorry because for too long I have been a complicit tool behind the scenes. I was part of those teams and think tanks that spearheaded many of the “innovations” you know very well and which will be used to destroy you. I know I will not be believed. I will be mocked and ridiculed by the tools and even those who are real, actual people will be hesitant to accept what I have to say. What has been done to this community, the plots and schemes hatched in meetings and across memos, is far, far worse to endure within my soul than any treatment I will receive at the hands of the tools by posting this. You do not know how much they hate you. It is my conscience that I want to clear going forward. Again I apologize. There should have been a better way for the powers that be to effect the change they wanted for eBay - instead they succumbed to cloak and dagger deception.

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