eBay Promoted Listings Ad Attribution Changes Coming To US & Canada In 2026
UPDATE 10-29-25
eBay has posted the official announcement, also advising sellers that starting in January, the top spot in search will be reserved exclusively for Priority cost per click ads in addition to the Promoted General attribution changes.
eBay is making major changes to Promoted Listings General Cost Per Sale ad attribution for the US and Canada in 2026, massively expanding the number of sales which will collect ad fees as revenue generating desperation grows.
While eBay has not yet made a public announcement about the changes, the policy page for Promoted Listings ad attribution has been updated to show that the new attribution model will take effect January 13, 2026.
Starting January 13, 2026, for items listed on ebay.com, ebay.ca, and cafr.ebay.ca (and currently for items listed on ebay.co.uk, ebay.de, ebay.com.au, ebay.fr, ebay.it, and ebay.es): eBay will report an Attributed sale from a general campaign when a buyer purchases the same item that was featured in the ad that was clicked on by any buyer in the most recent 30 days.
The ad fee is charged when a buyer purchases the promoted item from a general ad that any buyer clicked on in the most recent 30 days. The item must be promoted at the time of click and the time of sale. The ad fee is based on the ad rate in effect at the time of the sale.
Once the new model goes into effect, sellers will no longer see Halo or Direct attribution for Promoted Listings General ads, there will only be the new attribution policy.
The new model mirrors updates rolled out in Germany in February and UK, Australia, France, Italy and Spain in June, stating General cost per sale ad fees will be assessed for any sale where any user clicked on the promoted version of an item - even if that isn't the person who ultimately ends up making the purchase!
And as ad rates and the number of sales that incur ad fees continues to rise and eat into profit margins, sellers will likely bake some or all of that increased cost into their product prices.
eBay then collects their normal Final Value Fee percentage as well as the ad rate percentage on that increased product price, giving them an even larger take rate on the total sale than they would have had otherwise.
Sellers with multiple quantities of the same item will be hit particularly hard by this change - if you have 100 of an item in stock, all it takes is a single click by one person on the ad for that item and every sale of that item for the next 30 days will have the ad fee attached.
And of course if at any point during that 30 days, there is another click on the ad for that item, that timeframe then extends 30 days from that click - and on and on we go.
Sellers in Washington will also face increased costs due to recent tax updates in their state which require sales tax to be collected on certain fees marketplaces charge to sellers - including Promoted Listings Fees.
Liz Morton
Just a week and half into the attribution changes for Germany, sellers were already seeing ad attribution rates rising to 80%-90% or more as a result of this massive expansion of how eBay decides whether an ad fee will apply on a sale and sellers in the UK, EU, and Australia report very similar trends in raising costs with disappointing returns, showing there is no increased Return on Investment or value added for sellers - only a significant cash grab for eBay.
Liz Morton
For example, this German seller did not change anything about their business but once the new attribution model went into effect starting February 26, almost every sale was attributed to Promoted Listings (green) with only a tiny amount of organic sales (blue) compared to previous days under the old attribution model.
Expansion to the US was foreshadowed by stealth edits to help and policy pages that were made back in February but only discovered by sellers in June.
Liz Morton
Tucked inside the same update, eBay is also making changes to give Promoted Listings Priority ads exclusive access to the top spot in search.
When eBay rolled out Promoted Listings cost per click ads (previously called Advanced, now called Priority) in 2021, they were originally only eligible to be shown in the 1st ad slot in search, then that expanded to the top 4 slots in 2022, then top 4 plus 3 other placements in search in 2023, and finally they became eligible to be shown in any ad spot in search results and ad modules on listing pages as well.
But none of those were ever "exclusive" placements - eBay only said that Priority ads would get "priority access" to those spots, which meant in most scenarios they would get preferential placement vs General cost per sale ads but that didn't prevent General ads from possibly being displayed in one of those spots if there wasn't a Priority ad to take precedence for a particular search.
With this new update, the top ad spot in search will now be reserved exclusively for Priority cost per click ads and General cost per sale ads will never be eligible for the top spot, period.
If there is no Priority ad to show for a given search, eBay will make the top spot an organic result instead, according to an eBay community announcement about the update.
Starting January 13, 2026, we’re upgrading the priority strategy experience. Campaigns using a priority strategy for items listed on ebay.com, ebay.ca, and cafr.ebay.ca, will get exclusive access to the first ad slot at the top of eBay search results. This means that only priority listings will be eligible to show up in the top, most visible position. With more visibility, your items should have a better chance of selling.
We first introduced the priority campaign strategy to help sellers reach more buyers and sell their items faster by providing priority access to high-visibility ad placements and advanced controls for increasing sales velocity. Over the past year, we’ve launched new features like AI-powered keyword guidance, Smart Targeting, and trend-based campaigns.
Now, with this upgrade, a priority strategy provides exclusive access to the first ad slot position in search results – helping you drive greater visibility for your listings and generate more sales. This also means campaigns that use a general strategy will no longer be eligible to show ads in the first ad slot position in search results.
We’ll continue investing in the priority strategy to ensure you have access to premium ad placements and can increase sales velocity with greater efficiency. If you’re already using priority campaigns, your ads will automatically be eligible to show in the first ad slot position at the top of search results.
These attribution changes are just the latest desperate move eBay has made to increase ad revenue without providing additional value to sellers.
Sellers noticed in early November 2024 that the Promoted Listings Dynamic ad rate minimum had been raised from 2% to 5% with no notice to sellers.
Liz Morton
eBay also instituted a massive 10X minimum bid increase on Promoted Listings Priority cost per click ads, going from $0.02 to $0.20 per click - again with no notice to sellers.
When they were publicly called out for these shady tactics, they tried to cover their tracks by issuing a Marketing Terms Update which allows them much more wiggle room to make future ad rate and attribution changes at any time with no notice to sellers required.
They've also recently moved Promoted Listings Priority and Promoted Stores to monthly budget pacing, while making stealth changes to remove Promoted Listings ads completely from search sorted by Time, Price, and Distance options.
Liz Morton
Many US sellers have been bracing for the impact of these ad attribution changes, saying the day they go into effect will be the day they stop using Promoted Listings completely - which is likely why eBay decided not to risk making this change during the all important Q4 holiday shopping season.
And these are likely not the only major changes we'll see to Promoted Listings ads in 2026, as eBay is clearly taking inspiration and strategy cues from Amazon in quest for continued ad revenue growth.
Liz Morton
Sellers who believe these ad attribution policies are unethical or constitute bad business practices should submit a report to the FTC and/or their state attorney general's office with calm, factual and data-based information about how these changes will impact their businesses.
Liz Morton
Will you continue using Promoted Listings ads on eBay under the new attribution model? Let us know in the comments below!
