The problem
Slow-moving stock ties up cash and space. If a reseller has 150 items that have sat for over 60 days at about $40£30€36A$58C$56 each, that's $5,985£4,500€5,355A$8,640C$8,460 of stock earning nothing, and many buyers never scroll far enough to see it.
What the AI does
Promoted Listings with the general strategy puts your listings in more ad spots on eBay, and you pay only when the promoted item sells after a click on your ad within 30 days. The fee is the ad rate you choose, as a percentage of the total sale including postage. You can set a fixed rate or a dynamic rate, which eBay updates each day to its suggested rate for that listing, with a cap you set. eBay's fees page says Promoted Listings is for Above standard and Top rated sellers with recent sales activity. The priority strategy is different: it charges per click whether or not you sell, so start with general.
A worked example
A reseller in Sheffield, registered as a business seller, lists second-hand branded clothing and homeware and has about 300 live listings. The owner promotes 150 items that have been listed for over 60 days, at a fixed 5% ad rate.
Before
150 slow items at about $40£30€36A$58C$56 each with no extra visibility; few of them selling
After
20 promoted sales a month at $40£30€36A$58C$56 ($798£600€714A$1,152C$1,128), of which 10 are assumed to be extra sales; ad fees 5% x $798£600€714A$1,152C$1,128 = $40£30€36A$58C$56
What it's worth
About $140£105€125A$202C$197 a month in profit, at an assumed 35% margin on $399£300€357A$576C$564 of extra sales, against about $40£30€36A$58C$56 in ad fees. The working: 20 promoted sales at $40£30€36A$58C$56 is $798£600€714A$1,152C$1,128 and 5% of that is the $40£30€36A$58C$56 fee; only 10 of the 20 ($399£300€357A$576C$564) are assumed to be sales that wouldn't have happened anyway, and $399£300€357A$576C$564 x 0.35 = $140£105€125A$202C$197. Both figures are assumptions, not promises.
How to set it up
- Check in Seller Hub that your account can use Promoted Listings; eBay says it needs Above standard or Top rated status with recent sales.
- Pick slow-moving fixed price listings to start, not your best sellers.
- Create a general strategy campaign with a fixed ad rate you can afford after fees and stock cost, or a dynamic rate with a cap.
- Work out your break-even rate for each price band so the ad fee never takes all the margin.
- After a month, compare sales on promoted items with the month before and the ad fees you paid.
What goes wrong
- You pay the ad fee on any sale within 30 days of a click on your ad, including buyers who would have bought anyway, so the true extra sales are fewer than eBay's report shows.
- A dynamic rate can rise as the suggested rate changes; always set a cap you can live with.
- The fee is on the total sale including postage, and eBay's help says an accepted Best Offer after an ad click is charged too.
- The priority strategy charges for every valid click even without a sale; don't switch to it without a daily budget you are happy to lose.