EBay’s New Ad Attribution Rules Look a Lot Like a Seller Tax

Summary

The episode breaks down eBay’s new Promoted Listings General attribution model that takes effect on January 13, 2026, explaining that any click on a promoted listing within the past 30 days will attribute all subsequent sales of that SKU to the ad, regardless of who actually purchases. This change dramatically expands ad fee exposure, especially for multi‑quantity listings, and pushes the top search slot exclusively to Priority (CPC) ads, effectively creating a pay‑to‑play environment. Host highlights seller backlash, noting the pattern of rising ad rates, higher minimum bids, and reduced organic visibility, which together act like a “seller tax” by inflating eBay’s take rate. Listeners are urged to audit their ad performance, recalculate margins, and consider scaling back eBay ads or diversifying sales channels.