I’ve always found promoted listings a bit mysterious. When you reach the bottom of your listing page, eBay offers the option to promote your item. For an added fee, they’ll place your listing ahead of others in search results.
If your items are rare or unusual, this probably isn’t a concern—there aren’t many competing listings, so yours will naturally stand out. But if you’re selling in a saturated category like women’s clothing, promotions might be worth considering.
Why I’ve Avoided Promotions (Until Now)
I’ve been selling on eBay for about 5 months and have always avoided promotions—mainly because my profit margins are already razor-thin. Paying extra fees felt like a risk I couldn’t afford. But lately, my items have been struggling to get noticed, and I’m starting to think that without promoting, my little shop might dry up.
How Much Should You Promote?
For now, I’m only talking about “General” promotions. “Priority” Promotions still seem a bit complicated, and I want to get comfortable with the basics first.
Today I experimented, and eBay recommended a whopping 13% promotion rate. That’s way too steep for my budget—if I gave up 13% in fees, I’d barely make anything. So I did some digging and found a wide range of opinions on what percentage to use. Most successful sellers suggested anywhere from 2% to 8%. One person recommended starting at 8% for newer or struggling shops, then lowering it once sales pick up.
The higher the percentage, the more visibility eBay gives your item—but you only pay the fee if the item sells.
My New Strategy
I’ve decided to apply a 3% promotion fee to all my clothing and jewelry listings and see what happens. I’ll also try raising my prices slightly to help offset the cost. I’ve heard rumors that you can’t sell anything without promotions. That might be a bit dramatic, but I’m curious to see if this makes a difference—and how long it takes.
I’ll keep experimenting with different percentages and track the results. Hopefully, this small change will help breathe new life into my shop.
If you’re on the fence about promoting, think of it as a test drive—low risk, high learning. And who knows? It might just be the turbo boost your shop’s been waiting for.