The effectiveness of sponsored ads: a question of profitability?
Summary: titan-antic shares their experience and concerns about the effectiveness of sponsored ads for their online sales, wondering whether the high costs are justified by the results. Other participants, like i_revolution, share additional resources, while aigon_mimosa expresses distrust toward sponsored ads. Several speakers discuss strategies for optimizing sales without necessarily relying on sponsorship, such as the importance of keywords and ad quality. The conversation explores varied experiences with sponsored ads, with some considering the practice not very profitable and criticizing the transparency of the algorithms used by the platforms. titan-antic and others remain puzzled about the balance to strike between visibility and cost.
Dear forum members,
I would like to share a concern I recently encountered as an online seller. I regularly use sponsored ads to promote my products, but I wonder whether they are really effective in increasing my sales, or whether my items would sell just as well without this form of promotion.
My main concern is the fact that the fees related to dynamic sponsored ads (so logically adapted to the category, the item, etc.) are far too high for my liking.
For example, with an average dynamic conversion rate of 11%, I end up paying higher sponsoring fees than my actual selling fees. This quickly becomes a problem when I sell an item for only €50, because the additional fees generated can rise to several dozen euros. This situation has become quite difficult to manage financially because on average I have +20% in fees not counting the URSSAF fees at the end ...
Here is last month for example:
I would therefore like to ask for your experience and expertise in this area. Have you noticed a real difference in your sales thanks to sponsored ads? Have you seen a significant improvement in performance or sales by using these paid ads? If so, were you able to establish an exact percentage increase in sales thanks to these ads?
I am curious to hear your feedback, because I would like to make an informed decision regarding the future use of sponsored ads. If it turns out that the results are not sufficiently convincing to justify the additional fees, I may consider reevaluating my online selling strategy.
Thank you in advance for your help and your valuable advice. Your contributions and testimonials will be greatly appreciated.
Kind regards, Titan-Antic
brico-union
·1 year agoIf you're competitive on price, there's no need to sponsor.
The key to selling is price, only price!
rosedebretagne
·2 years agoit's possible that the sponsorship is mainly aimed at Chinese people and countries with weak currencies .
if you sell something you didn't pay for ... ...
or if you're outside the West and you're selling here at local prices things you ship and pay for at your home prices , then ebay wants its share of your juicy margin and that's no problem for you .
jean-tal-30
·2 years agosponsorship on EBay is a scam, a scandal that EBay users must publicly denounce to the authorities and the police. It is the platform that must ensure the sale of items; if it wants to collect its commission, it is not up to you to do EBay’s work. SCAM !
Anonymous User
·2 years agoRidiculous claims since ebay doesn't sell anything.
iodangie
·3 years agoHello,
Sponsored listings do not automatically put you at the top of the list.
Sponsorship only works on optimized listings, that is, listings for products that are in demand at the time you post them.
It is also recommended to sponsor listings that show good performance or that concern products that are in high demand.
Then it is the algorithm used by eBay that comes into play first, even before sponsorship.
This algorithm is the relevance sort.
The relevance sorting algorithm is the formula eBay uses to sort listings, and it takes several factors into account, including:
How well the listing matches the buyer's keywords
The item's popularity
The item's price
The quality of the listing
return conditions and shipping time
Your history as a seller, and
The buyer's browsing history.
Once all of this is taken into account, only sponsored listings selected by the algorithm make it to the top of the list.
That is also why sponsorship is only payable once the item is sold, at least for standard sponsored listings.
Sponsorship is only useful for products that are highly sought after and for which demand is high at the time you post your listing. Beyond that, the relevance sorting algorithm will always favor the product that is highly sought after by buyers, even against a sponsored listing.
It is the supply and demand market that comes first.
eBay is there to make money, and making money depends on products that buyers want.
If you sell a pressure cooker, and you sponsor your listing thinking it will appear at the top of the list, then you are mistaken.
Regards
Anonymous User
·3 years agoHello.
For a while, I thought there was real effectiveness, but as I pointed out last week, the ads still need to be featured, and that is not the case at all.
I recently had an example where I put in more than 10% sponsorship, and in fact, my ad is only ranked 15th !!! it's a sham. Shameful. I got taken in for months. I contacted customer service, and they don't even know what to say to me. That's where we're at.
It's up to you to decide... As for me, I have removed all sponsorships. Jamie Lannone is just there to fill his pockets. America at its finest...
frelonverre
·3 years ago@Anonymous
sometimes I wonder if people are logical, if everyone pays to
be " at the top of the list " how can you imagine being first
titan-antic
OP3 years agoHello to you, I don't have any STDs, I haven't done any robberies, I haven't stolen from anyone, and Interpol is not looking for me! I have no problems with anyone except sometimes with my wife
On the other hand, I'd like answers related to my initial message 😀
What do you think about sponsoring?
Have you noticed an interesting rate without losing too much money?
(I've only used sponsoring since the beginning, so I've never tried without)
lingma85
·3 years agoHello @titan-antic
you say------> "(I've only been working with sponsorships since the beginning, so I've never tried it without them)"
Given that each account is a reflection of its owner and the products they sell, it may be difficult to give a precise opinion on the effectiveness of this sponsorship on your personal account...
On the other hand, you are giving a partial answer to your question---->
- you should try (if possible..) your listings without sponsorship over an identical period of time... and get out your calculator to see whether, for your own eBay account, it's worth giving an extra %...
Don't forget to also make a few changes to the titles of your listings as I indicate here-------> at 13-07-2023 22:33 in this same thread.
I'll add this----> the description shouldn't contain more details about the shipping than about the product itself, and try to leave a gap of a few lines between the two...
Best regards
aigon_mimosa
·3 years ago@titan-antic hello,
Sponsorship, an ugly neologism and Anglicism, is only viable if you can control the whole thing, if you can choose your location, say: “my customers frequent such and such a place, I have the advertising done along their path”; that would have some value.
On digital platforms, they need to make money; they have investors, shareholders, and executives to satisfy. They use algorithms that are not published, they are not public, so your advertising contract with them is skewed; you do not know what the content is; you rely entirely on them without any right of oversight, unlike billboards.
The algorithms are programmed by coders who act on the orders of the executives and business plan of Ebay.
You pay, Ebay is happy; but who will it promote?
- Someone who pays for advertising?
- Someone whose sales are very high and attracts a lot of traffic?
- Someone who does both?
- Someone who drives usage of other Ebay services or business partners?
- Etc.?
This is what the World Trade Organization calls free and undistorted competition, but here, you go through an intermediary that has rules, a strategy, and obscure algorithms.
Not to mention the complexity of the applicable law, Ebay for Europe is registered in the commercial register of the Swiss Confederation, but for European customer service; for contracts, it refers you to jurisdictions in California, there for you, it is an advertising contract, so it will be an Ebay branch in charge of advertising that will resell to Ebay platform, etc.
When you pay for advertising, who are you paying?
- Ebay Swiss platform or another Ebay located under another jurisdiction?
- In case of a dispute, which jurisdiction does the contract indicate? Very often, not always, but in 90% of cases, it says: any dispute will be settled under U.S. jurisdiction.
Then to know the effectiveness of the advertising, or of buying a spot, a location, you would need access to Ebay's data, but there too, it is: industrial secret.
- Work on the quality of your product photos, take photos from every angle; take high resolution ones so your customers can zoom in and see the details.
- Describe the products clearly.
- The more a potential buyer can do without you, does not have to contact you, the more likely they are to find you trustworthy and buy from your shop.
What’s annoying is having to contact a seller and wait for their reply.
Use the formal “vous,” it matters; I’ve seen sellers use the informal “tu” and a good number of potential buyers leave.
Is there a way to organize your shop on Ebay?
I’ve seen that some professional sellers did this; their Ebay shop was structured as if it were a personal website.
Maybe you would benefit from creating a website and indicating it on your Shop?
Take care.
.
titan-antic
OP3 years agoThanks for your valuable information, but to be honest I suspected as much about quite a few points!
I just ran a test over a few days and it’s not pretty to see:
With the sponsor option:
and without it:
It’s really puzzling because at the same time I lose more than 7x the number of impressions I had with sponsor BUT I ultimately lose “only” 50% of my page views, so I almost feel like when I’m at 10/14% it’s “too much,” whereas a small percentage could make me get back my previous current views
it’s just a feeling, what do you think?
Of course it’s an algorithm that only eBay knows, which is why it’s not an exact science and why I’m almost sure it’s possible to find a little trick!
lingma85
·3 years agore.. @titan-antic
Being seen is nice.... it's like a beautiful decoration in a shop window for passersby walking by...
but what about the number of successful sales... ?
Best regards
aigon_mimosa
·3 years ago@titan-antic Good evening,
Here, it’s algorithmic; you’d really need access to it.
Launch a search in several European search engines
- Startpage
- Qwant
- Meta
- Duckduckgo
- Youtube
- Dailymotion
- Vimeo
“Ebay algorithm”; you’ll find people talking about it, but what is their legitimacy?
You can run searches in English, German, or other languages you might master to see what is also being said about it there.
This specialist is legitimate; he has a degree in computer encoding from an IUT in Paris, he is a journalist, on 3 Youtube channels, sometimes it’s not always understandable for those who are not in the know.
He talks from time to time about algorithms when he has managed to crack one, etc.
- De Marliave Mickael – channel: Micode or Underscore, lots of exceptional investigations into computer security, social networks, scams.
One of his latest investigations, nearly an hour long, is about mobile phone scams where you’re told that your bank account has been hacked and that you must contact your bank; never do that. The bandits who carry this out are often teenagers or young adults who have military hardware or secret-service tools to hack cell phones.
The question is how did they get access to such equipment, police and judicial investigations are underway.
https://www.youtube.com/@Micode/videos
His other channel, Underscore, is more geared toward those who have some background, but with exceptional interviews with French intelligence officers, ethical hackers, and astonishing investigations and information.
Such as a French secret service official who was reselling information on the DarkWeb to criminal groups about prosecution witnesses or rivals; there were deaths.
https://www.youtube.com/@Underscore_/videos
As someone told you, it’s also the words you use for the search that can help you; you need to use synonyms.
Maybe you should avoid superlatives; “very beautiful necklace” “superb” “magnificent,” because that’s subjective, you’re the one deciding that it is magnificent, superb, very beautiful.
In fact, this subjectivity doesn’t encourage buying, but tends to impose a point of view; it needs to stay neutral, a complete description, so that the potential buyer or visitor doesn’t get the impression of falling into a trap, a snare; the subjectivity of someone we don’t know is never pleasant, because it requires a personal relationship to accept or understand the other person’s subjectivity.
Many buyers don’t like this attempt at familiarity; look at the catalogs La Redoute, 3 Suisses, AtlasforMen, etc., or for you professional antique sites.
You can enhance your antiques or art objects with a video. Place your object on a turntable, not too fast, and film it; since these are art or antique objects, buyers will appreciate the possibility of such a visual display.
For your photos, have a neutral or natural background behind them, not your furniture.
There are editing or photography software tools, free or not, that allow you to rework the presentation of your objects and the background.
Take care.
.
lingma85
·3 years agore.. Hello @titan-antic
I’m getting back to your initial question.
Could you look at the message from @i_revolution
The interesting analysis there answers a large part of your question. It would be useful to read it and then decide whether or not to continue sponsoring your ads in light of what is explained there...
Kind regards
lingma85
·3 years agoHello @titan-antic
Whether you run your listings with sponsorship or without it... it’s the keywords that will catch the potential buyer’s attention with the search engine they’ve triggered...
I looked at the titles of some of your listings and there would be a few improvements to make...
You should know that a listing title has 80 characters, of which the first 50 are scanned by search engines... Are you sure a buyer will search for the following words--> "beautiful and rare..." "superb", etc...? - I don’t think so...
Use this space to indicate all the keywords relating to the product you are presenting... including synonyms if there are any.... Do the same in the description...
Superlatives don’t impress a knowledgeable buyer of antiques or collectibles; on the other hand, they work against you because the name of your item will be followed by an unnecessary word.
Fill up on keywords for each listing... also add spelling mistakes if needed (that helps too...) - use related words as well.
Sponsorship won’t make up for the lack of these keywords, which are essential, and it costs you dearly for what it can bring you. (as in a crime, you should always think first about who can benefit from it... 🙄... )
That said, you have some beautiful items.
Regards
aigon_mimosa
·3 years ago@titan-antic Good evening,
I’ll give you my consumer point of view; when an ad is sponsored, I immediately think of sc.am, con trick, huck.stering, sp.id.er that wants me in its web.
Not to mention that I use the British Internet browser Watefox in which are built in: µBlock Origin, LocalCDN; then encrypted DNS, so most sponsored ads, I never see them.
Take care.
.
titan-antic
OP3 years agoReally, really interesting feedback — I didn’t see it that way, but it’s definitely true!
After that, I don’t know if it’s also more limited when you’re not sponsored, in the sense that you’d be forced to sponsor if you want results. Also, I think it’s interesting to sponsor ads to be first, but being first for something like an HDMI cable, yeah, that’s cool
being first for a Louis Philippe piece of furniture when there are only 2/3 pages and it’s more a matter of taste and color, I’m not sure that’s a good idea
I’m puzzled, but thanks for your consumer feedback, it makes it even more interesting
aigon_mimosa
·3 years ago@titan-antic , good evening,
Here’s another tip for you: among the people around me, we all do pretty much the same thing; we check the information the seller gives about themselves, that’s what makes them credible or not.
First, their location to know which legal status applies to them. In Europe, consumers are among the best protected in the world.
If it’s a professional, we check the business register, debt, solvency, their personal address through the Kbis, etc.; I even go so far as to check whether they own real estate, it’s legal and free through the land tax office.
If they have a website and include a link, I check the DNS of their site on a domain registry; if they’re anonymous, in a tax haven, then you should stay away.
Some people check whether they have been reported to the fraud authorities; there are sites that list this.
We run reverse image searches if the seller posts photographs, to check that they didn’t take them from free catalogs and databases. https://pimeyes.com/en
We can also contact buyers and ask whether the seller is trustworthy or not.
Let’s take an example: someone was scammed buying a computer on an online sales site, Pcport.info; they lost nearly €600; yet all they had to do was check that on the site of this so-called professional seller, there is no ‘legal notice’ as required by law, there is no Siret or Siren number, as required by law. There is no phone number, as required by law.
That alone, and it’s over! You don’t buy!
If we check their address in Paris, it’s a domiciliation company; we run for it, we don’t buy, otherwise it means we’re completely ….
You put the site’s address into a domain registry, because all sites must be registered in an international registry; they are managed by accredited companies called domain registries. Check two of them, it’s safer.
https://lookup.icann.org/fr
The site is registered by an anonymization company based in Hong Kong on a domain registry based in Iceland.
A sales site that goes through a domiciliation company, registered by a Hong Kong company on a registry maintained in Iceland — there, really, we run!
On the Internet, most buyers search around, never settle for the first listing, they check a bunch of them; very few make an impulse purchase, they don’t necessarily compare prices, but qualities, they often look for information outside the seller, on specialized sites.
But above all, check the seller’s reliability against the information they themselves provide, not about the product, but about themselves: name, address, Siret number, Legal Notices, etc.; check their reputation and look into them.
Ebay-ingly yours.
.
lingma85
·3 years agoGood evening @aigon_mimosa
I just read your 8:51 p.m. message.... it's impressively detailed in its research into the reliability of a run-of-the-mill seller.... A case in point for a seller offering a "rare" item, but whose auction listing ends in 2' and a few seconds... What to do...???
- 1) - scrutinize the seller and miss out on the item because all that research takes a certain amount of time (though still less than a blast furnace takes to cool down....)?
- 2) - bid and win the auction for the beautiful coveted item and wait for delivery... placing only very limited trust in this seller who had set a trap and was waiting for the poor naive buyer...?
Joking aside... Of course you have to be cautious, but not turn into a detective every time either...
The wisest thing is to avoid distant products that you can't see... feel etc... That's why local businesses are useful too, and why we should keep them going instead of traveling the world on our credit cards to buy anything and everything from the other side of the world...
You're right to raise the alarm... to show your knowledge... but you shouldn't fall into systemic paranoia either, a big flaw that some people cultivate for fun...
Best regards
aigon_mimosa
·3 years ago@lingma85 Good evening,
Paranoia is a medical pathology, which can only be diagnosed by a doctor with a psychiatry certificate; all of us should avoid using certain medical concepts or terminology too loosely.
http://dictionnaire.academie-medecine.fr/search/results?titre=parano%C3%AFa
In my opinion, you should never buy at auctions:
- it is designed to create dependency
- it is meant to trigger urgency, therefore a form of panic and the inability to check
- you can't inspect the item, whereas in an auction room: yes
- it's rigged, scripts help place bids without a person being logged in
- scripts make it possible to be the last bidder
- sellers themselves use these scripts to drive up prices
- these scripts can also be called: bidding robot or bidding bot
- there are services offered on websites that bid for you
A purchase should be thought through, reasoned, and considered, never made in a rush, under the pressure of a bid.
===========================
“it’s the keywords that will catch the attention of the potential buyer”
No, there are algorithms, that is, computer programs, in fact, which fall under the intent and strategy of the company Ebay. It does not seem to me that these algorithms are public; it is not possible to verify how the ranking of responses is organized.
However, we can assume that those who pay will be rewarded, as well as those who keep the shop running.
Regards.
.
lingma85
·3 years agore.. @aigon_mimosa
You say----> "According to me, you should never buy at auction" : etc... etc... and then... by the way ....
"- it's rigged, scripts help bid without a person being logged in
- scripts make it possible to be the last bidder" etc...etc..
uh... mistake... that is called snipers... quite simply.. and there's no need for circumlocutions to name them.... and moreover you'll easily find them on google with that keyword... !
You also say------> "we can't verify the item, whereas in an auction room: yes"
----> Except that this (your) argument is also valid for any purchase made by mail order (auction or fixed price on any site...) ...... - so this view can be considered null and void.
As for your last paragraph.... you claim that it is algorithms that will decide and write what a buyer is looking for on the site...
Of course... you're right... !!
All that... is total nonsense, all over the place...
That said, I don't feel like arguing in this sterile way, compounded by a certain bad faith or ignorance of how the site works on your part (without managing to determine which is the more important of the two)...
I'm saying--> END OF THE CONVERSATION as far as I'm concerned
Regards
aigon_mimosa
·3 years ago@lingma85 “so we can consider this opinion null and void.”
In itself, an opinion can in no case be null and void since it was expressed and you are responding to it.
The legal expression ‘null and void’ applies only to a legal act or procedure, never to a remark, an opinion, an idea, since it means: that which has never existed.
https://www.dictionnaire-juridique.com/definition/non-avenu.php
As for the auction, it is illegal under French law, since it must be carried out by a Commissioner of Justice, formerly called: Auctioneer; the auction is governed by a specific law and decrees, so we are dealing with a misuse of language, with an illegality; because the seller does not have the right to control the auction, it is a neutral party, the Commissioner of Justice, who must control it and verify the conformity of the products sold.
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/section_lc/LEGITEXT000005634379/LEGISCTA000006133181/
There is necessarily fraud in fact, because only the third party can sell by auction, not the person who holds the item; If Ebay complied with French law, only it could conduct auctions, the seller must entrust it with the item, give it a mandate, appoint it as a third party for the sale.
Ebay must verify the item and guarantee the description and conformity, then proceed with the auction, finally handing the item over to the person who won the bid.
“you are claiming that it is algorithms that will decide and write what a buyer is looking for on the site...”
That is in no way written; no animism or anthropomorphism has come to support the algorithm; the algorithm, not being alive, decides nothing. It was indeed indicated that algorithms fall under programming, in fact: a human intention.
https://www.dictionnaire-academie.fr/article/A9A1920
https://www.cnrtl.fr/lexicographie/anthropomorphisme
“I say--> END OF THE CONVERSATION as far as I am concerned”
Did you know that under French law any public expression is covered by the 1881 law on press freedom?
‘Press’ originally meaning to make one’s words public.
- Article 29 is written as follows:
“Any offensive expression, contemptuous term or invective that does not contain the allegation of any fact is an insult.”
From then on, personal attacks have never defined a conversation, or even been a proposal for conversation.
Ebay-ously yours.
.
rockenbd
·3 years agoYo!
You forgot;
the health check, in case the seller mails you a disease
aigon_mimosa
·3 years ago@rockenbd : “You forgot; the health checkup”
A health checkup would be public and legal information?
Not everyone can be clever.
.
i_revolution
·3 years agoHello @titan-antic ,
I have neither experience nor expertise in this area 😉 but if I understand correctly, your question is "is it worth it given the cost"! On another thread on this forum the drop in traffic and the fall in sales that many people "feel/notice/endure" are mentioned ( cross out the unnecessary mentions ... or not! ).
Below I’m copying and pasting part of my modest contribution on this subject; the links point to eBay forums in other countries where users mention, among other things, the effectiveness of sponsored listings :
If you read English, take a quick look :
for UK -> https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Business-Seller-Board/Anyone-else-s-sales-just-completly-stop-This-i...
for the US -> https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Where-are-the-customers-WHY-aren-t-we-getting-any-sales-lately...
And if you read Spanish ( I have more trouble with that! ) go here :
ES -> https://comunidad.ebay.es/t5/Nuevo-espacio-para-vendedores/Ventas-completamente-estancadas/m-p/42411...
I don’t read German so I didn’t go check the eBay DE forum, but I would have liked to 😉
I hope you’ll find something there to shed some light on this thorny cost/benefit question, knowing that reading all of that takes time and time ... is a cost!
Have a nice day!
titan-antic
OP3 years agoHello regarding sales I also noticed the drop ... but here it's more specifically the sponsorship percentages that interested me, thanks anyway for taking the time to reply 😊