When was the last time you earned any money from an e-Bay Ad?

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   sallybeaposted 10 years ago

   
   Is the current situation set to remain as it is - impressions, clicks,  no payment?

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      jansharesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Nothing since the change took place in September. My understanding is that it is permanent. I have removed most of my eBay ad capsules.

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         sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Janshares
         It would be nice to know from HubPages if this situation is set to stay.  There is no point in people applying for the program if they are not going to be earn anything from it.

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            Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            The change was not made by HubPages, it was made by eBay.  HubPages can't tell you whether it's permanent because it's not within their control.   eBay has changed its commission setup before and could easily change it again.
            
            Part of the change is positive, part is negative.
            
            The positive part is that you now get paid a percentage commission when someone purchases a product (previously you were paid on a weird system based on the "quality" of clicks). 
            
            The negative part is that you get paid ONLY if the person buys within 24 hours, or (if it's an auction) bids within the first 24 hours. So if someone "watches" an auction then bids several days later, you get nothing even if they win the auction.
            
            On my own sites, I've changed all my eBay capsules so they display "Buy It Now" products only, to avoid that situation.   My earnings on my own sites have actually gone up.  I wish they'd introduce the same ability on HubPages but I've suggested it several times without success.
            
            Just to be clear, eBay has never paid for impressions, they did pay for clicks but now only pay commission on purchases.

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               sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Marisa Wright - 
               The Buy it Now option sounds like a good one - perhaps another subject which could be discussed at the next HubPages Staff Meeting on Thursday!  How about another attempt at it?  Persistence  might pay off !
               I did understand about clicks as I have previously been paid for clicks.  I phrased my question badly - as I understand it, impressions are visits rather than clicks - am I correct?
               You gave a really good explanation - thank you, I appreciate your input.
               
               Sally

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                  Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  An impression is when someone views the page.  The HP Ads program pays on impressions.  Adsense pays a very small amount for impressions (it's mainly based on clicks).   eBay and Amazon pay nothing for impressions and nothing for clicks.

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                     sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     Thanks Marisa.

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      DrMark1961posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I havent seen anything in months either, so I am no longer adding ebay to my new capsules, and will delete them when I get around to it.
      It kind of makes me wonder about the staff at ebay. Are they stupid? They are going to end up like other great retailers like Wards.
      I guess they figure their fifteen minutes are over, and they are going to destroy what remains as quickly as possible.

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         sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Perhaps someone needs to take a fresh look at this - seems a shame - all that effort to become an affiliate - for what!

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   3. 75

      Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I've earned a few pennies and that is it since September. I've removed most of my eBay ads already. Why have them if you can't earn anything?

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         sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I started doing the same and then got bored but yesterday I decided to refresh many of the ads to see what would happen - lots more traffic but so far no sales!

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      Breatheeasy3posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hey Sallybea.
         Good topic of discussion here. I think I have only used ebay once, if that, lol. My amazon capsules have never produced any sales for me either. To be honest, I had given up on them in the past several articles I've written. I mostly have concentrated on good content and impressions to produce some residual. Not much though, but do see potential with simply producing more articles. It's a numbers game it seems like to me.

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   5. 91

      Phyllis Doyleposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      The last time I earned anything from an eBay ad? Uh .... uhmmmm .... well .... gee ! I do not remember.

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2. 91

   LCDWriterposted 10 years ago

   Yes I understand that the change is permanent.

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      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks DWriter.

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3. 72

   relacheposted 10 years ago

   I had earnings in October and November.  Way smaller than what I used to see before the change, but it would seem there are still a few of my Hubs for which having eBay is still appropriate.

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   1. 94

      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Could I ask whether the earnings were from click or impressions or did they result from a product being sold?
      
      I know that I had nearly 800 impressions last month and a few clicks but no earnings from any of the clicks  - for months.

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         relacheposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         You can ask, but according the the TOS here, for me to discuss specifics of clicks or impressions would be a violation.  I'm not feeling up to testing just how lenient or strict the Powers-That-Be are in these matters.

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            sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            relache - oops - was not aware of that - my apologies.
            
            Sally

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4. 85

   DzyMsLizzyposted 10 years ago

   I don't have e-bay, so I wouldn't know, but, I was under the impression that it works pretty much the same as Amazon, which I do have.
   For that, clicks and impressions count for nothing--the visitor has to actually buy something from your ad to earn you anything.  For me, that has never worked.  I've "sold" nothing from any Amazon capsule, so I'm not even going to apply for e-bay.
   Besides, since I used to have a presence on e-bay, and may someday return, that might be considered a conflict of interest....

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   1. 94

      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      DzyMsLizzy,
      I have made money on both - not much - pennies from clicks on e-Bay and also a few sales on Amazon - nothing on e-Bay since they made the changes.
      It is re-assuring to see that one person so far has made a fairly substantial amount from one sale eBay.  I might continue for a bit longer to see what happens.
      I spent a lot of time today altering my ads today - they look great aligned right with the color behind them and I can now see that I have lots of little red arrows on my pages today.
      Thanks for the comment.  I appreciate your input.
      Saly

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      1. 85

         DzyMsLizzyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         You're welcome--though I know my lack of experience was of  no help to your question. 
         I've had Amazon affiliate in place for over a year and a half, and have yet to reach their payout threshold.  I don't think it's worthwhile at all.
         I write about travel, society, how-to's, and such--I don't write hubs selling or touting products, and I doubt I ever will.  My Amazon capsules tend to be for books: "more information" on the topic of the Hub, or, rarely, a tool related to a how-to article.
         I debate whether there is even any point to keeping the affiliate account active.

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            sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            DzyMsLizzy
            Funny how when you join HubPages one tends to focus on getting an AdSense account because without it, you can't earn anything.  Once you get that, you begin focusing on Amazon and e-Bay Ads in the hope that they too might bring in an income.  How sad is that!

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               Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               I hope you've also got the HP Ads program active?

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                  sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Yes I have - it is the only thing which seems to be working.  Thanks Marisa.

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                  DzyMsLizzyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  I do, as well, though I'm not earning much.  It is exceedingly rare that I will earn as much as a single dollar in one day.  I only reach payout threshold about 3 times a year.  :-( 
                  My conclusion is that I just don't seem to be interested in writing things to tout products.  I write what I want, and that doesn't draw many readers who will click ads.  Oh, well.  I never expected to get rich here, anyway.

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                     sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     DzyMsLizzy - we can live in hope!
                     I was hoping I would reach the dollar a day before the end of my first year! 
                     The best laid plans don't always go to plan!
                     I tend to agree with you, if you don't enjoy what you are writing, there is little point in it at all. 
                     Honestly, I hoped it might be possible to earn a little more.
                     
                     Sally

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            2. 95

               Solarasposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               I am earning about $20.00 per month from Amazon. I selected my products carefully at first, and earned nothing. 
               
               When I let Amazon choose products for me, I do much better.  I sell strange things that have nothing to do with my articles: hiking boots, sponge refills... fine, I will take the money lol.

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                  sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Solarias
                  Do you mean you a keywords when you do your selection?
                  
                  I was told that you had to choose items which were based around a Hub.  If you use keywords - Amazon and e-Bay sometimes add something which i completely unrelated and I just move on until I find the right product!  If you could describe your method, it would be useful, thanks.
                  
                  Sally

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                     Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     The advantage of using keywords is that if that particular product goes out of stock, you're not left with a blank space.  So using keywords can be good. The trick is to use several words, and use negative words if need be (put a minus sign in front of the word).
                     
                     To fine-tune your keywords, try doing a search on eBay or Amazon.   Type in your keywords and see what comes up.   Then keep refining the search until you get just the products you want.
                     
                     For instance say I want to display pointe shoes. I type in "pointe shoes", but I find I get souvenir pointe shoes as well as new ones.  I try "new pointe shoes" but that cuts out too many, because most listings don't include the word "new" in their title. 
                     
                     So instead, I try searching for "pointe shoes -souvenir".  That does the trick by excluding all the souvenir shoes.

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                        sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        I have been using several words at a time to find exactly what I want.  It does seem to work quite well.   I will try out the minus sign - I learned something new,
                        Thanks Marisa.

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                           Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                           Just remember NOT to leave a space between the minus sign and the word you want to avoid.  I often forget, and then wonder why it's not working!

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                              sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                              Thanks Marisa

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   IzzyMposted 10 years ago

   I made over $20 on a single eBay sale a few days ago. It was a product not listed on the hub the sale came from, so I am assuming click-throughs leave a cookie same as Amazon? It was less than 6 days ago, so I suppose it might yet disappear...

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   1. 94

      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      IzzyM
      Great, I am glad to hear it as I did not want to take all the E-Bay Ads off until I knew if it were possible to make any money these days.   I appreciate your very positive feedback.
      Thanks so much
      Sally

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   Grant's Worldposted 10 years ago

   I have made zilch in the last few months from ebay

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      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Grant's World
      
      You and many more - sad but true - hope things improve over time.
      
      Sally

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         Grant's Worldposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I don't have many hubs that are good for ebay sales anymore. I moved them to a different site.
         I always thought promoting products would be a great thing to do but I can't usually come up with enough to say when I really don't have hands on experience with the product. Have to learn how to be more of a salesman ha ha.

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            sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Grant's World
            I never thought I would write a Product Hub as such but you probably have one in there somewhere - just think of your hobbies - body building or fishing perhaps!

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7. 88

   IzzyMposted 10 years ago

   No-one could have been more surprised than me at getting that sale! I have never earned more than a few cents on eBay, and this was only my second sale since the change. The rate seems to be much higher than Amazon where I normally do quite well.

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      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      IzzyM - I am delighted for you.  Here's hoping for your next sale!
      
      Sally

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8. 88

   Theophanesposted 10 years ago

   I have never earned anything with e-bay but I'm not surprised. None of my Hubs are product-related or buyer friendly. That's something to consider. I mean if none of your Hubs are about something you might purchase off E-Bay then there's little point in trying...

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   1. 94

      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Theophanes,
      
      Many of my own hubs can be related to products so I shall continue trying.  to promote them.  Every now and then one strikes lucky!
      
      Thank you for your comment.
      
      Sally

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9. 84

   Faith Reaperposted 10 years ago

   Nothing ever.

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      sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I am astonished - nothing in 20 months!

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    hardlymovingposted 10 years ago

    I made a few dollars per month at best or pennies per day.  This was when Hubpages were evaluating Editor's Choice articles which seems to be going on for months.  One by one, articles I wrote years ago were being selected and my article visits and ad revenue was going up in both Hubpages and Amazon;  meanwhile nothing was happening with Ebay.  So I decided to delete all my Ebay ads and leave all my Amazon ads alone.  Then out of nowhere ... bam ... over $80 in one month!  However, I decided not to re-post any Ebay ads.  The Hubpages and Amazon ad revenue, over the last few months,  is good enough for me.

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       hardlymoving - that is really interesting, I might find myself revisiting my Hubs again and deleting the e-Bay ones.  $80 dollars in one month!   Some of us can just dream!

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11. 91

    Rochelle Frankposted 10 years ago

    Usually a few pennies per month, but I have never posted many eBay ads.  I did get a couple of dollars one day a few weeks ago. These things are just little surprises. I did hear recently where someone got a monetary boost from someone who bought a truck on eBay.--- not related to the hub, so some people get lucky.

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Rochelle Frank - sounds like it could have been a good monetary boost - a high value item - less chance of a sale but a real boost if it actually happens.  I tried that yesterday with an Aga Stove.  Dream on!

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12. 88

    Victoria Lynnposted 10 years ago

    I get a few bucks per month. I nearly always add in eBay capsules, as my state won't allow Amazon affiliates. I'm glad for the extra money.

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Victoria Lynn - I would do the same if I were in your position - at least we have a choice.

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    SpaceShantyposted 10 years ago

    Today!  I had two sales yesterday!

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Great,
       
       I am delighted to hear it.  I am so glad I did not remove all my e-Bay Ads now.
       Good for you.
       
       Sally

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          SpaceShantyposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          To be honest it was the first sale in a long time, probably because we are getting close to the holiday season.  I don't yet fully understand how it works yet, I had about four eBay sales a few months ago but didn't seem to receieve anything for it.  I always find, as with Squidoo, the products I sell are never related to the article!

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             sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             Funny, I had to smile because I had an Amazon purchase today but this one was related to the Product.

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    Stacie Lposted 10 years ago

    Sadly I haven't earned a dime from eBay since May...and my hubs get hundreds of views..sigh

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Same here Stacie - I have tried going back to my Hubs and making some changes in the last few days, by adding new titles etc.,   I have had a lot more views and clicks.    I need someone to explain to  me how to put Buy It Now items onto my Hubs which are US based.    I think that Buy It Now Items might work better than Auction Items.  Perhaps I will have to check out some older Hubs or pose the question in a forum to see if someone can tell me how to do it.
       Thanks
       Sally

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          Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          It can't be done.   I do it on my own sites and I have asked HubPages to consider allowing that ability, but they won't.

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             sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             I wonder why not - what could the reason be.  Did they give a reason?

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                Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                No, they've never given that feedback.  Obviously it would require some work on their part to code the change, so perhaps it's too difficult.

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    CaptainJoeySweetposted 10 years ago

    Marisa and Sallybea,
    I just wanted to thank you both for this in-depth info. As a newbie to HP I have found myself spending more time wading through all the ins and outs of the payment process, and less time writing content. Threads like this have helped bring a little more clarity to how things work here. Happy Holidays!!
    Joey

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       sallybeaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       CaptainJoeySweet
       Welcome to HubPages - glad our discussion was able to make things a little clearer for you.
       Happy Holidays to you too.
       
       Sally

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16. 94

    sallybeaposted 10 years ago

    Breatheeasy
    
    With Christmas just around the corner, I decided to edit my Amazon and e-Bay Ads.  There could not be a better time because people are buying things online now for Christmas.  I have seen increased traffic and had one small sale.  I think it is well worth the effort as the Hubs look better and I have seen a lot more little red arrows on my accounts page. 
    
    Sally

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