eBay Sellers Seething Over Targeted Ads

hoagiecat writes "eBay isn't just an enormous auction site; it's also a publisher of Google and Yahoo targeted ads, which earn eBay money every time a user clicks on them. But those clicks take users to a new page, and lead them away from the auctions — and those who make their living from those auctions are starting to get upset. Is eBay doing the right thing to make some extra cash from the hot advertising market? Or are they cannibalizing their income and hurting the sellers who have been the backbone of their business?"

target="_blank"

[Scrameustache]

Open in new tab.

Problem solved!
eBay, feel free to send me a few millions as a reward. KTHXbye.

Auctions?

[Waffle Iron]

But those clicks take users to a new page, and lead them away from the auctions

Auctions? eBay still has auctions?

Maybe, but only if you consider (Reserved Price = $1.99), (Buy It Now ® price = $1.99), (shipping = $17.99) to be an "auction".

Re:You gotta ask the Ebay users.

[Cpt_Kirks]

These tend to be people who will pay more for used items than the item costs new. So, yeah.

Re:You gotta ask the Ebay users.

[TheRaven64]

They can't be more stupid than eBay when it comes to advertising. A couple of years ago, I tried googling my name and a co-worker's name. For both, there was a sponsored link to eBay with the caption 'buy {name}! Get {name} on eBay!' Sadly, there wasn't one of me on sale, and so I had to finish work for myself.

Re:It isnt' a simple question

[hansamurai]

boxes with other things inside

http://www.xkcd.com/325/ [xkcd.com]

Re:You gotta ask the Ebay users.

[courtarro]

With names like Viagra von Penis Enlarger and Porn McWeight-Loss, you and your coworker should have seen it coming!

Random Ads

[Kelson]

A couple of years ago, I tried googling my name and a co-worker's name. For both, there was a sponsored link to eBay with the caption 'buy {name}! Get {name} on eBay!'

I had that same experience [hyperborea.org] once, looking for the phrase, "nigerian scam". It brought up this convenient advertisement:

Nigerian Scam
Looking for Nigerian Scam?
Find exactly what you want today.
www.eBay.com

I found that "419 scam" also displayed one of the ads, but "advance fee fraud" did not. And when I searched for "random stuff," eBay claimed they had that too!