As of 1st October 2009, the metrics that EPN use to determine how much they pay to their affiliates has changed, dramatically in some cases. Before this date we knew exactly what we would be paid for and how much we would be paid. We could target our niches at appropriately priced products and earn a percentage of the auction fees associated with those products. And if a new member signed up to eBay to buy products through our sites, we received a nice little bonus. But now all that has changed because some “wizard” at EPN has come up with, what they term, Quality Click Pricing or QCP. A reward system supposedly based on the measurable quality of the clicks you send to eBay.

I do have a hard time believing that these metrics are in any way associated with what I understand by quality. Firstly, EPN do not know specifically what part of our sites send the clicks/buyers. I may have a website focused on digital cameras then write an article about fishing boats because I spent some time photographing them. Then I monetize the article with some auctions for fishing boats. As far as eBay know, assuming I’ve registered my domain, they’re getting clicks on fishing boat auction from a site selling digital cameras. Hardly top quality at a domain level, but significant quality at article/page level. Is this real quality measured by EPN? I seriously doubt it. Read the rest of this entry

eBay Partner Network (or EPN) is eBay’s affiliate program.

EPN is an affiliate marketers dream because it has a constant, varied and never ending stream of inventory that you can list on your site. It is also a very well known brand name and most people have fewer problems spending money on sites that they know and trust. Massive competition amongst eBay sellers ensures that there are always bargains to be had by your visitors.

Nowadays, it is not so easy to get accepted into the EPN. However, it is well worth your time and effort in achieving membership.

A few common-sense tips regarding applying for EPN membership -

• Have a good looking site. Nice, professional looking, clean design.
• Make sure your site is “complete”, with some decent content. NO under-construction signs. The focus nowadays at EPN is very definitely on quality.
• Don’t make the focus of your pages the eBay ads. A page of just 20 eBay listings is just not going to cut it.
• Make sure that you have read and complied with all of EPN’s terms of use. All the information is at the eBay Partner Network site.
• Most importantly – you must make sure that your domain name does not contain any registered trademark, etc.

When it comes time to make your application to EPN it will not hurt if you have some eBay listings on your site. This will allow them to see exactly what you site looks like with the ads on the pages. There are some free tools that allow you to easily put the listings on your site, like the Wordbay plugin for WordPress.

It is our strong suggestion that you do not stay with the free tool, as there is a very comprehensive tool that does a way better job called phpBay – and you are going to hear a lot more about the incredible phpBay Pro plugin from both Kevin and myself. We are both avid and successful users.

Perseverance will be the name of the game when getting into EPN. If you get rejected then do not lose heart. Beef up your site even more and then reapply. If you are in a country that isn’t supported by eBay, make sure you go through a proxy server when applying because EPN has certain auto-reject features.

To sum up – as an Internet Marketer this  is one of  THE  affiliate programs that you simply HAVE to belong to. It is a source of money that you simply cannot overlook. And you need to do whatever is necessary to be accepted into the eBay Partner Network.