eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

Subscribe to our 2 FREE Newsletters!

Web AuctionBytes

Home

Subscribe

Blog

Letters to Editor

Podcasts

Forums

AuctionBytes TV

ABU Back Issues

Sponsor

COOL TOOLS

Calendar

Marketplace Ratings

Collectors' Links

eBay Promo History

Bookshelf

Fraud Resources

Auction Site Fees

Auction Management

Payment Services

Storefronts Chart

Sniping Chart

Consignment Services

Drop-Off Store Laws

Ecommerce Resources

Photo Tips

Marketing Inserts

Yellow Pages

Classifieds

AUCTIONBYTES

Our Writers

Write For Us

Partners

Press

Advertising

About Us

Link To Us

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

November 16, 2009

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

By: Ina Steiner

Mon Nov 16 2009 18:24:23

Holiday shopping season be damned, eBay is making a major change late in the game to listings on its marketplace this week. Sellers can expect to see their competitors' items displayed on their live listings beginning tomorrow, November 17.

eBay had promised sellers not to make major changes more than twice a year, and to give them 60 days notice of such changes. Of the timing and lack of notice, eBay's announcement simply read, "While we usually refrain from making changes close to the holiday season, the test results showed a considerable increase in sold items, and we wanted to offer this functionality to our selling community ASAP."

eBay is already displaying competitive ads on sellers' listings, but only after the listings have ended.

According to its announcement, "Items are chosen based on popularity - the items in the same category most watched by buyers." However, that would seem to run counter to Best Match best practices by driving untargeted traffic to listings that could hurt the sales-to-impressions ratio.

According to the announcement, cross-merchandising on other sellers' item pages is optional - you can opt out at any time by changing your settings in My eBay. However, it doesn't specify whether opting out means other sellers' ads will not display on your pages.

Comments (83) | Permalink

Readers Comments

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: TekGems

Mon Nov 16 18:32:53 2009

If eBay wants to maximize each seller's value, why not put links to live listings from the same seller, especially if there is a title match. Meaning, seller has relisted and there is an active version of that listing! Only if there is no matching title, then display competitor seller ads.

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: Mitzi

Mon Nov 16 19:13:57 2009

I'm sorry, hasn't this already been tested in the past and they reversed themselves? What makes them think it will work this time?

As for them refraining from "making changes close to the holiday season" - the shopping season is already in swing - we're not close, we're IN IT. I have to tell you, I'm getting a bit tired of feeling like I'm providing "content" to a site so that they can make money off of the surrounding advertisements.

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: Fruity

Mon Nov 16 19:20:36 2009

Everybody, I created an ebay / paypal defectors group!

I think we have a better chance having a message board where we can discuss how to put our businesses on the fast track with a real racehorse, GOOGLE !!

Ebays doing all of this because of their PAYPAL. If they didn't have Paypal , then they'd actually have to compete

http://groups.google.com/group/freedomrings

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: Debra

Mon Nov 16 19:28:14 2009

This is just wrong, And I honestly can not see how this will help any one except eBay. I know how to merchandise my own inventory to promote multiple sales with the added advantage of giving my buyers a combined shipping rate for multiple purchases. Isn't bad enough they took away our cross promotion boxes? Now they dump this cwap on us?This is just sending buyers willy nilly. Of course eBay makes out with Pay Pal and all the separate payments with the .35 cent processing charges.

I am so out of eBay and WILL be focusing on my own web site so I can continue building my brand NOT eBay's. And in the future will use eBay to harvest buyers for my own website.

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: fruity

Mon Nov 16 19:32:58 2009

Google has a Google Merchant Center
www.google.com/merchants

Discussion boards that work
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/base?hl=en

But probably more importantly, GOOGLE isn't RUNNING SCARED like ebay is. Ebay is panicking , they're worried about Amazon,they're worried about Walmart, they're worried about Google checkout and so they're just going to run around until they pass out. Not exactly very professional if you ask me. This sounds like hokey 1999 ebay. U know, when they freaked out because of the little comparison sites so they had to start suing everyone to stay in the lead. lol

me thinks ebay is heading out to the glue factory alot faster than I thought. This must be what happens when a company has a nervous breakdown

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: RicRoe

Mon Nov 16 19:36:22 2009

''eBay had promised sellers not to make major changes more than twice a year, and to give them 60 days notice of such changes.''

Here is the perfect illustration of what is wrong with eBay... They can not be trusted.Their word means nothing.

JD has destructively innovated the marketplace into such a disaster they are implementing this cross advertisement policy in a desperate attempt to boost sales at the expense of the companies credibility.

We can be guaranteed that those sellers paying fees to list their items will not see even a slight decrease in fees despite the fact that eBay will now be including competitive ads on our listing pages.

Now we know why all the white space was placed on every listing page - so that eBay had the space to force this program without any advance notice or discussion.

Who wants to bet the beneficiaries of this jammed down sellers throats advertising will be JD's precious but under performing Diamond Sellers?

JD is prostituting the integrity of eBay on the hope that his forced advertising plan will generate enough additional revenue to pull his a$$ out of the sling created by his own hand.

Perhaps the only way to combat this forced advertising will be to utilize as much space in a listing as possible.

Perhaps there is a way to push the advertisements out of sight. Enter about 50 blank lines at the end of each listing and then insert a line saying ''thank you for looking'' at the very bottom.

This might be enough to push the ads so far to the bottom of a page that the ads will not be seen.

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: On Lies and Secrets

Mon Nov 16 19:44:17 2009

I think ebay management has just touched the third rail with sellers. Game over. Everybody can go home now. Ebay is toast!

The display of competitor ads on active listings that a seller has purchased has been a persistent worry among sellers and I think this decision will destroy whatever remaining working relationships that exist between the few sellers left on the venue and the ebay corporation. Why should sellers who pay the ebay corporation for a listing of their merchandise on the site also support the display of their competitor's wares?

I suspect that this move may actually precipitate litigation against the corporation in a way that none of the other shady moves ebay corp has made in the past have not. I think the ebay corporation has really gone to far with this decision.

Ebay senior management must be so desperate now that they lack the capacity for any rational thought...

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: Ming the Merciless

Mon Nov 16 19:52:05 2009

AGAINST THE LAW!

Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
Consumer Response Center
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580

To report a company for a pattern and practice of suspected fraud:

1-877-382-4357

According to ebay, the seller is LEGALLY teeponsible for the content of the listing.

How can a seller be held legally responsible for something ebay inserts without our knowledge or permission?

BAIT AND SWITCH.

Our collective goal for 2010 should be to see The Ho share a cell with Bernie Madoff.

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: Ming the Merciless

Mon Nov 16 19:54:09 2009

Ming's ebay Law #1:

EBAY LIES. ALWAYS HAS, ALWAYS WILL.

Ming's ebay Law #2:

EBAY REMOVES OR DISCREDITS SPEECH THEY DON'T LIKE ANYWHERE ON THE INTERNET.

Ming's ebay Law #3:

EBAY RETALIATES AGAINST CRITICS USING EVERY MEANS AT THEIR DISPOSAL AND BY ANY MEANS THEY DEEM NECESSARY.

Ming’s ebay Law #4

WHATEVER EBAY WANTS EBAY GETS ONE WAY OR ANOTHER BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY INCLUDING PATENT INFRINGEMENT, BRIBERY, CHARACTER ASSASSINATION, DECEPTIVE BUSINESS PRACTICES, AND MISLEADING IF NOT UNTRUTHFUL PUBLIC STATEMENTS.

Ming’s ebay Law #5

EBAY THUMBS ITS NOSE AT THE RULE OF LAW.

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: In the Spirit of Partnership!

Mon Nov 16 20:30:51 2009

In last July's announcement ebay didn't tell sellers about the filtering for Top-Rated Sellers, didn't tell us they were/are testing Store Items in Search, and now this.

Ebay said ''In the spirit of partnership'', we will be grouping our major changes into 2 releases with at least 60 days advance time for sellers to adapt...

''In the spirit of partnership''.

You be the judge. Is this your partner? Can you trust them?

If your sales are this weak now, what do you think they will look like in say, 2 years, from now?

Best to make alternate plans if you haven't already.

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: Patricia

Mon Nov 16 20:48:24 2009

''''While we usually refrain from making changes close to the holiday season, the test results showed a considerable increase in sold items, and we wanted to offer this functionality to our selling community ASAP.''

I read that as ''we're absolutely desperate - we need money NOW because sales are down the toilet and we need to save our own skins.....so, we instituted this change to try to squeeze a penny here and a penny there - sellers have no choice but to put up with it - they have no place else to go!'' (the great and powerful Donahoe has spoken)

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: honeybunch

Mon Nov 16 20:49:16 2009

Well, if we needed proof that eBay's holiday sales are dismal, there it is. This sudden, sure-to-be unpopular move right in the middle of the holiday season just screams desperation.

The ugliest thing about it is that sellers have all posted huge numbers of listings for the holiday season, and they can't afford to just cancel all those listings in protest. eBay's going to take full advantage of that. Talk about taking sellers hostage.

Your listing fees? They're buying
visibility for Diamonds in search, and visibility for other sellers' items in your listings. Good grief.

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: honeybunch

Mon Nov 16 20:50:43 2009

Heh. Jinx, Patricia! You read my mind.

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: Patricia

Mon Nov 16 21:04:05 2009

@Honeybunch - I laughed when I read Ina's article. To me there are huge cracks showing in Ebay's armor and they can't hide it anymore! Its one of those things where they have to hit rock bottom before management will be swept out and the site will be turned around! I'm hoping the present management gets what it so rightly deserves. I hope they get the same "treatment" they've given the small sellers for the past two years...its only fair ;-)

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: joe

Mon Nov 16 21:09:51 2009

It never stops...

I'm so glad I spend my day promoting my website and my listings on other Venue's... I never promote or buy eBay anymore!

Come To Think Of It...AMAZON!

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: On Lies and Secrets

Mon Nov 16 21:11:26 2009

''The ugliest thing about it is that sellers have all posted huge numbers of listings for the holiday season, and they can't afford to just cancel all those listings in protest.... Talk about taking sellers hostage.''

I agree with you! This seems like a hostage taking to me, too. I think the ebay corporation handled this change this way deliberately in trying to trap sellers in a situation where they had a lot of sunk costs and no time to develop alternative selling strategies. IMO, this is a horrible way to treat customers. Perhaps the ebay corporation has completely written off all small sellers at this point, because they just used up the last few drops of good will out there toward the corporation among sellers inclined to sympathy for the corporation.

I feel sorry for sellers who have been ambushed by this decision at this time of the year in this economy. No one deserves this kind of treatment!

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: no value left

Mon Nov 16 21:18:12 2009

Donaho said eBay wouldn't be recognizable as the same site in one year.What I think they're really doing and had planned to do all along is compete with what they knew google would be in the future. An online interactive phone book/world mall with checkout right there. Thats why they don't care about losing sellers.

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: fast freddie

Mon Nov 16 21:25:28 2009

It is so nice to be the only seller in a catagory that even Amazon or the others don't have sellers for.

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: bottoms up

Mon Nov 16 21:27:40 2009

Well ebay allows you to add/change the description now, unless it is in the 12 hour death period.

I intend to repeat my listing three or four times with a header line '' For Convience This listing is Repeated Below.'' Adding 100 blank lines between each.

Then I'll add the buy it now button to each listing below the original one.

That should stop this friggin nonsense..

eBay Displays Competitors' Ads on Live Listings

by: J.G.

Mon Nov 16 21:30:48 2009

This is ebay starting to pull out all the stops to try to get a decent 4th quarter. They don't care what they have to do, how they have to do it and who they do it to. Go back on a stated policy? No big deal, we do it all the time. The clock is ticking. Just one more month of pre holiday shopping and that's not much time to come back from the abyss when you've messed up October and half of November. Now that they've thrown the sellers a bone of a 50% off listing, they're going to advertise on the listing that the seller has paid for. Well, 50% paid for -- maybe that's their reasoning.

Sellers have left for other pastures and the buyers don't have confidence in eBay anymore--or are totally bored by screen after screen of the same computer part. What's a CEO to do? Check the blogs at Auctionbytes.

Click to view more comments
1 2 3 4 5 [Next Page]

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives


Site Index Copyright 1999-2010. Steiner Associates LLC. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.