legzzalot
03-20-2009, 09:45 PM
I just found this online and thought I would share for those of you who are selling on ebay like me. I had no idea that you could do this. But, when you create a link to your ebay store from outside of Ebay (like your webpage, forums, emails, etc) if you add the referral code to the end of it, then ebay gives you 75% off of the final value fee. Wish I would have known this months ago since most of my ebay customers came from my other websites.
Here is the step by step instructions from Ebay:
To direct buyers to your Store by creating links on Web pages outside of eBay:
1.
Decide which part of your Store you'd like buyers to visit.
In addition to your Store's home page, you can include links to these parts of your Store to
become eligible for the credit:
*
The item page of one of your Store Inventory items
*
Your About the Seller page (your About Me page)
*
A Store category within your Store
*
A search results page within your Store, based on keywords you've specified
*
A custom page you have created in your Store
Important: You must include a referring ID at the end of the URL that you send to prospective buyers. See Step # 3 below.
The area of your Store that you want buyers to visit should depend on what you think will be most effective. For example, if you know that buyers are particularly interested in one of your Store categories, you may want to promote that category and enable them to access the category page directly from an outside link.
2.
Obtain the Web address (URL) for the part of your Store that you'd like buyers to visit.
The URL of your Store's main page is based on your Store's name:
http://stores.ebay.com/yourstorename
To obtain the URL for other parts of your Store, go to that part of your Store in your Web browser. Copy or write down the URL that appears in your Web browser's address box.
3.
Add a special referral code to the end of the URL you've obtained. The code is ?refid=store or &refid=store, depending on the area in your Store that you want to link.
When a potential buyer clicks the link you've created, the referral code in the URL will tell eBay's system that the buyer is entering your Store because of your promotion. If you do not include the referral code in your link, eBay will be unable to give you a Store Referral Credit, even if a sale meets all of the other requirements.
Here are some examples of how Store URLs with referral codes would look (referral code shown in bold):
*
Your Store's home page
Referral code: ?refid=store
Examples:
http://stores.ebay.com/yourstorename?refid=store
http://www.ebaystores.com/yourstorename?refid=store
*
The item page of one of your Store Inventory items
Referral code: ?refid=store
Example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Name-Of-Item_W0QQitemZ4560088038QQcategoryZ378QQtcZphotoQQ cmdZViewItem?refid=store
*
Your About the Seller page (your About Me page)
Referral code: &refid=store
Example:
http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws2/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid= yourUserID&refid=store
*
A Store category within your Store
Referral code: ?refid=store
Example:
http://stores.ebay.com/yourstorename_W0QQdptZ0QQsclZallQQtZkm?refid=store
Note: The structure of Store category URLs has recently changed. If you've previously created links to your Store categories using the old URL structure (such as http://www.stores.ebay.com/yourstorename/plistings/list/all/dept2/index.html?col=2&dir=1&refid=store), they will continue to qualify for the Store Referral Credit.
*
A search results page within your Store, based on keywords you've specified
Referral code: &refid=store
Example: http://search.stores.ebay.com/search/search.dllMfcISAPICommand=GetResult&sid=41101180
&store=Your+Store+Name&colorid=6&fp=0&query=keyword1+keyword2&srchdesc=y&refid=store
Note: To obtain the URL for a keyword search, conduct the search in your Store as if you were the buyer by entering the keywords.
*
A custom page you have created within your Store
Referral code: ?refid=store
Example:
http://stores.ebay.com/yourstorename/pages/pagename?refid=store
Note: When adding a referral code, if a URL already has a "?", use "&" before "refid=store". Otherwise, use "?" before "refid=store". Also note that the referral code may not appear in the buyer's browser after clicking the link that included it. This is normal, and eBay can still track the visit for any eligible purchases.
4.
Use the URL to create a link on a Web site outside of eBay.
Any Web site that does not have ebay.com in its URL is considered outside of eBay. For example, you could create a link on your own personal Web site:
Shop at my eBay Store!
The URL for the link would be: http://stores.ebay.com/yourstorename?refid=store
Here is the step by step instructions from Ebay:
To direct buyers to your Store by creating links on Web pages outside of eBay:
1.
Decide which part of your Store you'd like buyers to visit.
In addition to your Store's home page, you can include links to these parts of your Store to
become eligible for the credit:
*
The item page of one of your Store Inventory items
*
Your About the Seller page (your About Me page)
*
A Store category within your Store
*
A search results page within your Store, based on keywords you've specified
*
A custom page you have created in your Store
Important: You must include a referring ID at the end of the URL that you send to prospective buyers. See Step # 3 below.
The area of your Store that you want buyers to visit should depend on what you think will be most effective. For example, if you know that buyers are particularly interested in one of your Store categories, you may want to promote that category and enable them to access the category page directly from an outside link.
2.
Obtain the Web address (URL) for the part of your Store that you'd like buyers to visit.
The URL of your Store's main page is based on your Store's name:
http://stores.ebay.com/yourstorename
To obtain the URL for other parts of your Store, go to that part of your Store in your Web browser. Copy or write down the URL that appears in your Web browser's address box.
3.
Add a special referral code to the end of the URL you've obtained. The code is ?refid=store or &refid=store, depending on the area in your Store that you want to link.
When a potential buyer clicks the link you've created, the referral code in the URL will tell eBay's system that the buyer is entering your Store because of your promotion. If you do not include the referral code in your link, eBay will be unable to give you a Store Referral Credit, even if a sale meets all of the other requirements.
Here are some examples of how Store URLs with referral codes would look (referral code shown in bold):
*
Your Store's home page
Referral code: ?refid=store
Examples:
http://stores.ebay.com/yourstorename?refid=store
http://www.ebaystores.com/yourstorename?refid=store
*
The item page of one of your Store Inventory items
Referral code: ?refid=store
Example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Name-Of-Item_W0QQitemZ4560088038QQcategoryZ378QQtcZphotoQQ cmdZViewItem?refid=store
*
Your About the Seller page (your About Me page)
Referral code: &refid=store
Example:
http://cgi3.ebay.com/ws2/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewUserPage&userid= yourUserID&refid=store
*
A Store category within your Store
Referral code: ?refid=store
Example:
http://stores.ebay.com/yourstorename_W0QQdptZ0QQsclZallQQtZkm?refid=store
Note: The structure of Store category URLs has recently changed. If you've previously created links to your Store categories using the old URL structure (such as http://www.stores.ebay.com/yourstorename/plistings/list/all/dept2/index.html?col=2&dir=1&refid=store), they will continue to qualify for the Store Referral Credit.
*
A search results page within your Store, based on keywords you've specified
Referral code: &refid=store
Example: http://search.stores.ebay.com/search/search.dllMfcISAPICommand=GetResult&sid=41101180
&store=Your+Store+Name&colorid=6&fp=0&query=keyword1+keyword2&srchdesc=y&refid=store
Note: To obtain the URL for a keyword search, conduct the search in your Store as if you were the buyer by entering the keywords.
*
A custom page you have created within your Store
Referral code: ?refid=store
Example:
http://stores.ebay.com/yourstorename/pages/pagename?refid=store
Note: When adding a referral code, if a URL already has a "?", use "&" before "refid=store". Otherwise, use "?" before "refid=store". Also note that the referral code may not appear in the buyer's browser after clicking the link that included it. This is normal, and eBay can still track the visit for any eligible purchases.
4.
Use the URL to create a link on a Web site outside of eBay.
Any Web site that does not have ebay.com in its URL is considered outside of eBay. For example, you could create a link on your own personal Web site:
Shop at my eBay Store!
The URL for the link would be: http://stores.ebay.com/yourstorename?refid=store