eBay Ambassador Program Offers Buyers, Sellers & Content Creators Self-Service Affiliate Opportunity
eBay has launched a new Ambassador program, giving buyers, sellers and smaller content creators an easy, self-service opportunity to earn affiliate commissions.
The program is an extension of the existing eBay Partner Network (EPN) affiliate offering and is currently invite only - according to the terms, Ambassadors must be an existing Affiliate; be migrated into the program by EPN; and comply with all Network Agreement requirements.
An FAQ on eBay's Ambassador page differentiates between this program and the eBay Partner Network, saying Ambassador is geared toward smaller affilates and content creators as well as buyers and sellers.
What is the difference between eBay Partner Network (ePN) and the eBay Ambassador Program?
The eBay Partner Network (ePN) and the eBay Ambassador Program both allow you to earn commission by promoting eBay listings, but they cater to different audiences with distinct benefits. ePN is eBay’s broader affiliate marketing program, primarily designed for managed partners, including professional marketers, publishers, and content creators who receive dedicated support and advanced tools.The eBay Ambassador Program is a specialized initiative tailored for a wider audience, including smaller affiliates, content creators, and eBay buyers and sellers. This program offers a simplified, mobile-friendly, and self-service experience for seamless content sharing. The Ambassador Program is designed to empower creators and sellers with an accessible, community-driven approach to affiliate marketing, helping you easily share your favorite eBay finds while earning commission.
Unfortunately, if sellers are hoping they will be able to use this program to promote their own items, they may be out of luck - Ambassadors are limited to a pre-selected set of eligible items accessible through a special portal for the program.
Ambassadors can earn up to 7.5% commission, though those rates may vary.
Ambassador Program commissions are contained inside the Ambassador portal. Each provided listing will contain an estimated commission to be earned upon completion of a Qualifying Transaction.
- The commission amount listed in the Ambassador portal represents Your commission at the stated sales price. If the price of the listed item changes, Your commission will change in accordance with the final sale price of the item (increase or decrease).
- The commission rates are subject to change from time to time at the sole discretion of EPN
- The listings contained in the portal are subject to change at any time, at the sole discretion of EPN
While Ambassadors can share links to eligible items across social media and on their own websites, it appears eBay is also providing them with an onsite "storefront" for their curated collections - though some users say they are having problems enabling that feature.
Why did my Ambassador Storefront disappear?
I was working on it yesterday and today poof gone. I'm being asked to create a storefront when I already spent hours on the one I had. I would include a link, but it takes me back to the "create a storefront" page.
What did I do wrong? What can I do to remedy the situation?
That sounds a lot like the curated influence storefronts eBay promoted during the holidays or the pilot program eBay was recruiting private sellers in Germany for earlier this year.
Liz Morton
That pilot program invited private sellers to take part in a product project eBay said could improve their profile with a new feed view with social sharing options (translated by Google).
Hello dear private sellers on eBay!
We are currently looking for 5 to 10 private sellers with eBay sales experience who regularly sell several privately owned items that they no longer need and who currently have some items on offer through our platform.
Anyone interested is invited to participate in a pilot project to test a new feed view with social sharing options. In this view, collections can be created and the offers can be curated.
The view to be tested will look something like this one from influencer Jade Fox on the eBay.co.uk page, and those who take part can share feedback directly with the project team. The team will guide the selected participants step by step through the onboarding process as part of the pilot project.
Interestingly, while the post referenced an influencer page on eBay.co.uk, it actually linked to a page on the US site which appears to be an "influencer profile" for JadeFoxCloset.
This profile page is similar to a seller's profile or store page with one important difference - Jade Fox is not actually selling anything directly, just "curating" a list of favorite items offered by different sellers across the platform.
Mention of a Social Sharing option piqued my interest - but unfortunately it's just a basic, boring link sharing pop up, not the long ago promised but apparently now abandoned offering that would have offered fee discounts for sales made through links shared on social media.
When accessing one of these curated storefronts, if you click on an item, it shows a "quick view" pop up which allows the buyer to skip the item page and head directly to check out.
Unfortunately, it appears eBay hasn't figured out how to remove out of stock items from the feed in a timely manner, which could lead to a disappointing browsing experience for shoppers.
Sellers should be aware the most recent Marketing Terms update added "add to cart, quick view, or other interactive functionality" as actions which trigger Promoted Listings ad attribution, so if your item is featured in one of these curated collections and you use Promoted Listings - you may end up paying an ad fee if it sells.
That could be particularly important for German sellers as changes to Promoted Listings ad attribution that went into effect in February have vastly expanded the number of sales which will have ad fees applied.
Liz Morton
Speaking of ads - it's also very interesting that nothing on that profile indicates these collections are the result of paid partnerships with the influencer.
The "eBay Partner" tag is not enough to comply with regulations about advertising transparency in most countries and we can see that Jade Fox does make sure to properly tag her Instagram posts as paid partnerships.
So why does eBay not provide the same level of transparency for consumers who may find the curated collection through onsite navigation rather than social media links?
Earning affiliate commission through the EPN or Ambassador programs would fall under the same disclosure requirements as paid influencer advertising, so if Ambassador "storefronts" are displayed in a similar fashion, they would also need to explicitly disclose their affiliate status to consumers to be in compliance.
This wouldn't be the first time eBay has blurred ethical and regulatory lines with media campaigns or influencer outreach, and unfortunately likely won't be the last.
Liz Morton
Have you joined the eBay Ambassador program or seen an Ambassador storefront in the wild? I'd love to hear about your experience - leave a comment below or contact VAR!
