From the 13th of January 2026, eBay are upgrading (or we’d say changing) the promoted listings priority campaign strategy experience. Attribution for general campaigns will also be changed.
Exclusive ad placement with priority campaigns
Campaigns using a priority strategy for items listed on ebay.com, ebay.ca, and cafr.ebay.ca, will get exclusive access to the first ad slot at the top of eBay search results. This means that only priority listings will be eligible to show up in the top, most visible position. With more visibility, your items should have a better chance of selling, but obviously this comes at the price that non-priority campaigns will get lower visibility than previously.
eBay first introduced the priority campaign strategy to help sellers reach more buyers and sell their items faster by providing priority access to high-visibility ad placements and advanced controls for increasing sales velocity. Over the past year, they have launched new features like AI-powered keyword guidance, Smart Targeting, and trend-based campaigns.
With this update, a priority campaign strategy provides exclusive access to the first ad slot position in search results – helping you drive greater visibility for your listings and generate more sales. This also means campaigns that use a general strategy will no longer be eligible to show ads in the first ad slot position in search results.
Updated attribution for general campaigns
From the 13th of January, 2026, items listed on ebay.com, ebay.ca, and cafr.ebay.ca and promoted with a general campaign strategy will use the following attribution definition when reporting sales and charging ad fees:
An attributed sale will be when any buyer purchases the promoted item within 30 days of any click on the ad, regardless of whether the buyer themselves clicked on the ad. The item must be promoted at the time of click and the time of sale. The seller will be charged the ad rate at the time of sale.
eBay say that this update will simplify campaign reporting, which many sellers have requested for greater ease-of-use and clarity, while allowing you to maintain control over your spend – you continue to only pay when your item sells.
The big difference however is that if buyer A clicks on your ad and doesn’t make a purchase, but later buyer B clicks your ad and makes a purchase, you’ll still be charge the promoted listings fee. It doesn’t matter that buyer B didn’t click the ad, someone did and that triggers the charge for subsequent buyers over the next 30 days.
As with any update, eBay recommend you monitor ad performance and adjust your strategy accordingly.
