eBay have announced their plans to discontinue eBay Commerce Network (ECN) from 1st of May in a bid to shift their reliance from third-party advertising to first-party advertising.
In 2005, eBay acquired comparison-shopping website Shopping.com for more than $620m (£475m). They turned the website into an advertising platform under a name eBay Commerce Network.
The move will mean that all eBay Commerce Network advertising operations will be discontinued. Merchants will no longer receive traffic and sales from their network of publishers. eBay encourages ECN merchants to leverage Promoted Listings and other core advertising solutions to boost visibility on eBay.
Sellers will have access to the Publisher Account Center and Merchant Account Center until 28th of June 2019. Reporting sent via FTP will also remain secure and will be available until 28th of June 2019. eBay say that sellers should download any reporting or account information before the stated date.
Merchants with the remaining balance in their accounts will get refunded beginning in mid-May 2019. The remaining account balance will be credited back to the original source of payment. If a merchant is paid manually, they should reach out to customer support with their merchant ID and their PayPal or banking information.
What steps to take during the transition?
- Discontinue delivery of merchant content after 1st of May 2019
- Pay all outstanding invoices (if applicable)
eBay say that they will review and address incoming support emails through 28th of June 2019. Sellers can send related enquiries via this email – [email protected].
