Has anyone actually read the new eBay Partner TOS?

Yes, I've read the TOS. I suggest you do as well so that you don't find yourself violating something that you've overlooked.

 

Yes, I read them before signing up.

 

People, you who read the TOS, what does this mean?

"...The use of the following Promotional Methods might be subject to further requirements:

1. E-mail, instant messaging, IRC channels or other electronic communications;
2. Downloadable software;
3. Charity;
4. Incentive programs;
5. Distribution of Promotional Content via distribution partners or ad networks; and/or
6. Building your own Promotional Content by using eBay's API.
..."

Especially in 6. Does this include use of any BANS-like methods?

 

It didn't say what the further requirements would be unless I missed it. I don't currently use any of those methods. I just cut and paste code from the editor kit directly into my website. You can ask the ebay team questions about anything in the new program but I think you might have to wait for a reply as they are so busy.

 

I told you guys, ebay has never done anything without a catch. I maybe wrong but BANS will be history pretty soon. Why would ebay want anyone to become rich off of them? Are you kidding?

If I am wrong let me know. I was just accepted for their partnership program. I was planning to use BANS but then I thought: will a multi billion dollar company actually want a folk like me to be sharing in their wealth... Nah! No more humily. No more worshipping CJ for them. Get real, I guess. Total domination has just begun.

 

ok, this is only my opinion, but I don't think BANS will be a problem. I mean, yes, sure - people may be making money off them, but for every sale made through a BANS site, eBay is taking its share. If any well marketed site is making eBay money, why would they want to close it or prevent it?

 

Considering eBay brought BANS in on the conversion process long before the rest of us had a chance to look at it, I'd say BANS and phpBay are both safe. What's more perplexing is that they've made the conversion process far more difficult for the people who built static flexible links using the tools provided by eBay when they were with CJ. I think eBay is going to get a lot of uncompensated referrals from static links that some people won't bother changing because it's not worth the effort to them.

What I'm getting at (cough... eBay affiliate managers... cough) is that it would have been a lot nicer if you had made minimal changes to the link structure, or at the very least made the old links trackable with just a minor change or two (such as swapping the PID for the new EPP affiliate number).

 

One thing that caught my eye is that buying through your own links is now expressly forbidden by the new terms. Previously the wording was along the lines of "you may or may not be compensated for sales by you or your agent" so it was kind of gray area.

 

There is still ways around that. Of the 5-10 things I buy a year from Ebay I like getting a little kick back. Just put your cookie on a family members computer/IP,and the pennies come rolling in.

 

Good catch. I think that is something that definitely needs clarification, as there are a lot of sites out there running eBay ads that could probably be considered childrens sites. Many collectibles are originally intended for a young audience but it ends up being the adults who collect them (and buy/sell them on eBay).

 

Very true though I most likely won't bother worrying about it for the time being. I've been an eBay member since early 2000 and have maybe spent $1K there during that entire time (I've always focused more on selling with around $30K of sales to date). I tend to use eBay for stuff I can't find anywhere else so my buying is very sporadic. Of course if down the line I'm going to buy something expensive the effort would be justified. I really can't see them policing this unless your buying is really excessive and raises a red flag. On the other hand for the moment I think I'll let someone else test the waters as I certainly don't want to jeopardize my account just to get a $.30 kickback.

 

I second this too. the static link generator is horrible. I'm just hoping that the integration goes smoothly for my account. Does anyone know if old CJ account number will be merged into the new system?

 

Hmmm, that's a really good question Kerosene. I read that earlier and it didn't click at the time. Given that eBay's terms clearly restrict membership to those 18 and older this policy doesn't make much sense to me. I don't have any sites that would be affected by this but I agree with davewashere, clarification is warranted on this policy.