eBay added a “Boost” icon on listings that can be seen only by sellers. Some sellers feared clicking on the icon, not knowing what would happen, but those brave enough to click said they saw a popup box encouraging them to advertise their listing (if they weren’t already) or to spend a greater amount if they already advertised.
Sellers included screenshots of what they were seeing in a discussion on the eBay boards, such as a listing for a CD of Nietzsche’s autobiography, which the seller was already trying to boost through eBay’s Promoted Listings. The screenshot showed a message telling the seller:
“Increasing your ad rate can help you show up higher in search.”
- Sellers saw 40% more impressions when increasing their ad rate, on average.
- Only pay when your item sells.
Current ad rate: 2%
Low ad rate may limit performance.
Apply suggested ad rate 11.0% (hyperlinked).
On a similar thread, a seller said they had noticed the Boost icon a few weeks ago on listings they were not promoting.
One seller had noticed the new icon at the end of June, writing in a Facebook Group, “WTF is that boost icon next to all my listings when I go look at what I am selling?” While it served to irritate some sellers, only eBay will know how effective the Boost icon is in getting sellers to take the bait and increase their ad spend (or start advertising). In the example above, eBay encouraged the seller to increase the rate from 2% to 11%, a significant impact on the seller’s profit margin.
One of the irritated sellers wrote, “it’s honestly exhausting how often sellers see this garbage, pop ups, ads, suggestions, etc., for bleep promoted listings!”
Another seller replied, writing, “Agreed! I receive approx 3-4 messages per day about the other Priority promoted listings. If there was ever a way to anger & turn off sellers from listing on your platform, eBay has found it. All while providing zero customer service.”