This section provides a high-level feature comparison between eBay's Promoted Listings API and UI interfaces.

Interface comparison for Promoted Listings Standard

This table compares features of the API and UI interfaces for Promoted Listings Standard (PLS).

Note: Bold text in the table indicates a difference between features of the API and UI interfaces.

Area

API

UI

Geographic Availability

US, UK, DE, IT, AU, FR, ESP, CA, CA-FR

US, UK, DE, IT, AU, FR, ESP, CA, CA-FR

Platform

dWeb, mWeb, Native

dWeb, mWeb, Native

Placement

Ad placement across eBay and eBay network, sponsored in

  • Search results pages
  • Product pages
  • Related View Items Page (My eBay, sold or ended pages)
  • External Ads on partner sites and search engine platform results

Ad placement across eBay and eBay network, sponsored in

  • Search results pages
  • Product pages
  • Related View Items Page (My eBay, sold or ended pages)
  • External Ads on partner sites and search engine platform results

Seller Eligibility

Available to Above Standard and Top Rated eBay sellers with enough account activity

Available to Above Standard and Top Rated eBay sellers with enough account activity

Listing Eligibility

  • Listings must be fixed-price
  • Currency must match with the country listing is promoted in
  • Some categories are excluded from Promoted Listings. See the full eligible category list here.
  • Listing must be created in the country that it’s being promoted in
  • Listings must be fixed-price
  • Currency must match with the country listing is promoted in
  • Some categories are excluded from Promoted Listings. See the full eligible category list here.
  • Listing must be created in the country that it’s being promoted in

Campaign Management

Campaign Set Up

  • Auto select for RBC (Rules based campaign) can be True or False

Campaign Limits:

  • Maximum of 10 selection rules for RBC; rule can be created with multiple filters
  • Maximum 50,000 listings per campaign (including RBC)

Automated Campaign Set Up

  • Auto select for Automated campaigns is always True

Campaign Limits:

  • Maximum of one rule per automated campaign
  • Maximum 50,000 listings per campaign (applies to all PLS campaigns)

Attribution

Seller fee attributed to sale if buyer clicks on promoted listing and buys item within 30 days. This fee is last click attribution; it is charged on the last clicked item that was purchased.

Seller fee attributed to sale if buyer clicks on promoted listing and buys item within 30 days. This fee is last click attribution; it is charged on the last clicked item that was purchased.

Targeting

Auto-targeting

Auto-targeting

Reporting

Cannot schedule report via API

Reports Available:

  • Account Performance
  • Campaign Performance Summary
  • Campaign Performance
  • Listing Performance
  • Inventory Performance (on pause)
  • Enhanced Transaction Report (separate metrics for PLS and PLA)

Report Functionality

  • Day level reporting

Ability to schedule report in UI

Reports Available:

  • Listing Report
  • Campaign performance is viewable on the Marketing tab and CDP page, but it is not downloadable

The Transaction report is unavailable in UI

Report Functionality

  • Day level reporting

Guidance

Find method using Recommendations API

findListingRecommendations to retrieve both item (listing) and ad rate (bid) recommendations

Recommended listings and suggested ad rate are available in the UI.

Ad Fees

Ad rate (set via API)

Ad rate (set in UI)

Interface comparison for Promoted Listings Advanced

This table compares features of the API and UI interfaces for Promoted Listings Advanced (PLA).

Note: Bold text in the table indicates a difference between features of the API and UI interfaces.

Area

API

UI

Geographic Availability

US, UK, DE, IT, AU, FR, ESP, CA, CA-FR

US, UK, DE, IT, AU, FR, ESP, CA, CA-FR

Platform

dWeb, mWeb, Native

dWeb, mWeb, Native

Placement

Slot 1, 2, 3, 4

Backfill with PLS and Organic

Slot 1, 2, 3, 4

Backfill with PLS and Organic

Seller Eligibility

Available to Above Standard and Top Rated eBay sellers with enough account activity

Available to Above Standard and Top Rated eBay sellers with enough account activity

Listing Eligibility

Fixed-price listings are available in all categories except the following:

  • Wholesale and Job Lots
  • Cars, Motorcycles and Vehicles
  • Events Tickets
  • Property
  • E-Cigarettes, Vapes and Accessories
  • Everything Else

Auction and Auction Buy It Now listings are not eligible at this time.

When creating a PLA campaign, eligible listings appear in selection view as an automatic eligibility check.

Fixed-price listings are available in all categories except the following:

  • Wholesale and Job Lots
  • Cars, Motorcycles and Vehicles
  • Events Tickets
  • Property
  • E-Cigarettes, Vapes and Accessories
  • Everything Else

Auction and Auction Buy It Now listings are not eligible at this time.

Campaign Management

Campaign Limits:

  • 1,000 keywords per ad group
  • 1,000 listings per ad group
  • 500 ad groups per campaign
  • Listing can be included in multiple ad groups/campaigns
  • Listing can be included in both PLS and PLA campaigns

Campaign Limits:

  • 1,000 keywords per ad group
  • 1,000 listings per ad group
  • 500 ad groups per campaign
  • Listing can be included in multiple ad groups/campaigns
  • Listing can be included in both PLS and PLA campaigns

Attribution

Last click attribution

  • Attribution to either CPC or CPA Site time zone (local)

Last click attribution

  • Attribution to either CPC or CPA Site time zone (local)

Fraud

  • Model based and rule based fraud detection
  • Near-Real Time Filtering
  • Coverage across dWeb, mWeb, and Native
  • Model based and rule based fraud detection
  • Near-Real Time Filtering
  • Coverage across dWeb, mWeb, and Native

Targeting

  • Exact match
  • Phrase match
  • Negative exact match
  • Negative phrase match
  • Broad match
  • Exact match
  • Phrase match
  • Negative exact match
  • Negative phrase match
  • Broad match

Reporting

Cannot schedule report via API

Reports Available:

  • Account Performance
  • Campaign Performance
  • Listing Performance
  • Keyword Performance
  • Search Query
  • Enhanced Transaction Report (separate metrics for PLS and PLA)

Report Functionality

  • Bulk request capability
  • Day level reporting
  • Custom report defaults to seller site time zone

Ability to schedule report in UI

Reports Available:

  • Campaign Performance
  • Listing Performance
  • Keyword Performance
  • Search Query

The Transaction report is unavailable in UI

Report Functionality

  • Day level reporting

Guidance

Insight: Suggested Keywords

  • Search volume on PLA API
  • Active Seller count
    • Competition metric

Insight: Suggested Items

Insight: Suggested bids for any keyword

Insight: Suggested Keywords

  • Search volume on PLA API

Insight: Suggested Items

Insight: Suggested bids for any keyword

Budgeting

CPC Daily budget control:

  • No budget rollover, daily cap remains the same
  • Out of budget - If the campaign runs out of budget it is paused in real time until new daily allowance

CPC Daily budget control:

  • No budget rollover, daily cap remains the same
  • Out of budget - If the campaign runs out of budget it is paused in real time until new daily allowance

Ad Fees

  • Charge based on 2nd price auction
  • Fee determined by sum of CPC clicks received for listing in a day
  • Additional fee details here
  • Charge based on 2nd price auction
  • Fee determined by sum of CPC clicks received for listing in a day
  • Additional fee details here