eBay Expands Ambassador Program After Quietly Killing Off Seller Incentive For eBay Partner Network Affiliates
eBay is expanding their new Ambassador affiliate program, allowing buyers, sellers, and creators to earn up to 7.5% commission for promoting select listings, but press release glosses over loss of Final Value Fee incentive for sellers previously enrolled in the eBay Partner Network.
The Ambassador program officially launched in April, but was initially limited to affiliated who were already approved through the eBay Partner Network.
Liz Morton
Now, eBay is expanding it to anyone in the US, providing a self-service affiliate program option for buyers, sellers, influencers and more.
The eBay Ambassador Program is now open to all U.S. users — making it easier than ever for buyers, sellers, and creators to earn commission by sharing eBay listings.
The Ambassador Program is an evolution of the eBay Partner Network (ePN), our longstanding affiliate marketing program. Previously open only to select creators, influencers, and sellers, ePN enabled affiliates to monetize their audiences by promoting eBay’s vast selection of items.
Now, the Ambassador Program brings that same opportunity to everyone in the U.S., with tools built for a more personal, creator-focused approach.
How it works
The eBay Ambassador Program empowers buyers, sellers, and creators to turn their passion and personal style into profit by promoting their favorite eBay listings. Share your favorite eBay finds with your community, inspire others with unique items, and earn commission (up to 7.5%*) on every qualifying purchase made through your links.
Ambassadors can select from a variety of suggested listings for items to promote and create a customized "storefront" collection to showcase items from the program without actually being a seller themselves.
eBay has been using this "curated storefront" concept over the last year for specialized holiday influencer collaborations and more.
Liz Morton
eBay's landing page for the Ambassador program is clearly trying to draw a distinction between this new offering and the existing eBay Partner Network option, saying EPN is for managed partners and professional marketers.
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. ePN is primarily designed for managed partners, including professional marketers and publishers who leverage technical affiliate tools.
The eBay Ambassador Program welcomes all affiliates, content creators, and eBay buyers and sellers. This program offers a simplified, mobile-friendly, and self-service affiliate experience. The Ambassador Program provides accessible tools like item discovery and personalized recommendations to help you easily share your favorite eBay finds while earning commission.
But that hasn't always been the case - for many years, eBay encouraged sellers to sign up to the eBay Partner Network program so that they could not only earn commissions for promoting other people's items (if they chose to do so), but they could essentially sell fee-free by promoting their own items through EPN links due to the Seller Incentive that provided a credit in the amount of the Final Value Fee for those sales.
Unfortunately, eBay quietly killed off that Seller Incentive earlier this month, giving only 2 days notice before making this massive change to the EPN terms.
Liz Morton
In theory some sellers may still be able to use the Ambassador program to promote their own items, but with a maximum cap of 7.5% commission and many items being less than that, it may not cover the full Final Value Fee amount in most categories - and that's assuming their items are even eligible.
One of the other major differences between Ambassador and the EPN is that the Ambassador program is limited to certain categories and users can only select from the available assortment eBay decides to make eligible in those categories, so many sellers could be out of luck and have no ability to choose to promote their own items through the program at all.
Sellers should also be aware that if their items are shared in any Ambassador program "storefronts" or links, it could end up costing them ad fees if their items are enrolled in Promoted Listings.
When accessing one of these curated storefronts, if you click on an item, it may show a "quick view" pop up which allows the buyer to skip the item page and head directly to check out.
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.
eBay also provides Ambassadors with easy sharing tools to post individual items to social media.
Sellers have raised concerns that other similar "social sharing" features may be adding tracking information that triggers ad attribution as well and while it's not clear if Ambassador links will do the same, it's definitely something to keep an eye out for, especially as eBay continues to find new ways to increase ad revenue.
Liz Morton
And Ambassadors should make sure to read all the fine print before signing up as well - including that commissions are only earned on purchases made within 24 hours of a click.
As an Ambassador, you’ll earn commission on each qualifying transaction. Our cookie duration is 24 hours, meaning any purchase made via your link within 24 hours of the initial click will earn you a commission.
More details at: https://ambassador.ebay.com/
Have you joined the eBay Ambassador program? I'd love to hear about your experience - leave a comment below or contact VAR!
