eBay Accused Of Using Link Shortener, Redirects To Profit Off Sellers' Social Sharing
Is eBay using link shortening and redirects to increase ad revenue at sellers' expense? One seller says yes - and eBay support apparently agrees.
The topic came up in a discussion on the eBay UK community forum about the new ad attribution model going into effect next month, with one seller saying they've noticed links created through eBay provided sharing tools always lead to ad fees being charged for those sales.
Re: Promoted Listings Changes - You Must Be Joking, eBay
So I dont know if anyone else noticed another change recently along a similar vein? I quite often get approached to make custom products and I do so by adding a custom product on ebay which by default inherits my promotion.
So the other day I listed one, used the share listing link that comes up when you list and noticed they had changed the link from an ebay.co.uk to an ebay.us short link. I pasted it in the chat, the guy bought it and I got charged the promotion fee on the sale.
I called ebay to query and they said that is normal behaviour and any sharing link you use now will attract the fee. The only way round it is to go to your listing and copy and paste from the url bar. That can't be tracked...
I tested using a random item on the ebay.co.uk site and confirmed - if you use the share link at the top of the listing, eBay creates a shortened link that when used, redirects to a version of the original URL which has tracking parameters added on to the end.
I replicated the same test across the main eBay.com US site and saw the same results - using the share link creates a masked/shortened URL that redirects to the item with the tracking parameters added.
Unfortunately, eBay does not provide explicit documentation for what each and every one of those parameters means - some of them may simply be tracking whether the link was produced by a specific widget, the method of sharing, a marketing campaign ID, whether the item is included in the eBay Partner Network affiliate program and more.
So it's difficult to say with 100% certainty if one or more of those parameters is used to flag any clicks on the link as attributable to Promoted Listings ads, but it's at last possible that could be the case.
That would match with what that seller was told by eBay support and the experiences of many other sellers who have reported they have been charged Promoted Listings ad fees on sales where they sent the buyer a direct link to the item.
It's also important to note that if you use eBay's Social tools under the Marketing tab in Seller Hub, the links created for both static posts and the new AI created video option also use this same link shortening functionality redirecting to a URL with tracking parameters added in.
If eBay is using those tracking parameters to flag clicks on these Social share links for ad attribution, that would be especially disappointing, considering they never followed through with the discounted final value fee social sharing incentive ex-VP Stores Tom Pinckney teased at eBay Open in 2021.
Liz Morton
Tom said eBay would be adding a social media marketing incentive that would discount the final value fee to 2.5% + $0.30 per transaction when buyers buy from your social media posts, but after a brief test in Australia in 2022, the social sharing incentive was dropped with no further updates or timelines for implementation ever given.
So now, not only did sellers not get the promised fee discount incentive - they may actually end up paying more for sales made through these links if they incur ad fees on top of the regular FVF.
It could also raise some serious questions about transparency and regulatory compliance as the FTC has clear guidelines about disclosing when links are a paid ad or sponsored placement - and the posts created by these tools would not comply with that guidance if they do in fact count as an ad attributable click incurring the ad fee if the item is enrolled in a Promoted Listings campaign.
Just like other recent updates which jacked up minimum ad rates for both General Dynamic and Priority cost per click ads, as well as massive attribution changes already live in Germany and coming soon to UK, Australia, France, Italy, and Spain, eBay likely believes they are covered by the very broad terms in their User Agreement, Marketing Terms and Conditions, and other policies.
Their most recent Marketing terms update significantly expanded wiggle room for future ad rate hikes and attribution changes, with less transparency and, in some cases, no proactive notice provided to sellers.
Liz Morton
For example, eBay's updated terms say:
Ads may include text, graphics, a listing title, a listing description or other features and functionality eBay may make available, associate with or incorporate into your listing (e.g., add to watchlist, add to cart, quick view, or other interactive functionality).
And:
For the avoidance of doubt, a click includes (without limitation) any interaction with your Ad (e.g., add to watchlist, add to cart, quick view, or other interactive functionality).
Both of those statements are vague enough that it's at least possible share item links on listing pages and/or eBay's Social sharing tools under the Marketing tab in Seller Hub could be considered "other interactive functionality."
But would those terms of service hold up under legal and regulatory scrutiny, especially in the UK which tends to have stronger protections in these areas?
There is nothing in eBay's public policy or help pages that explicitly states whether or not clicks on these shared links will always count for ad attribution if the item is enrolled in a Promoted Listings campaign.
Unfortunately, eBay support often provides incorrect or misleading information as well. eBay has not responded to request for comment to confirm if the information this seller reports being provided by support is accurate as of time of publishing.
Stay tuned for updates - but in the meantime, sellers who are concerned about this issue should avoid using the shortened URLs provided by eBay's sharing tools and instead simply copy and paste directly from their browser's address bar, making sure to delete any extra characters after the item number.
Have you been charged Promoted Listings fees on sales made through direct links created by eBay's social sharing tools? Let us know in the comments below!
