To start, you need to become very familiar with Ebay's affiliate rules and how commissions work. You also need to be aware that Ebay is unique with its auction system and features beyond a simple buy it now product purchase.

The program has changed a few times over the years, the latest reducing the tracking cookie to 24 hours. This could be a big problem if you are sending traffic that watches an item to bid on it at the last minute. You'll get zero commission unless they bid within the first 24 hours.

As a result, there has been a mass affiliate exodus out of the program this last year.

Some affiliates, though, have thrived. I have yet to see anyone doing well provide a success tutorial for the new system so that someone new can step in and compete against them.

Ebay recently made its affiliate forum private, IMHO so all the affiliate complaints, and constant tracking and reporting failures are not publicly aired. You will want to review all the forum threads for the past year to get a better understanding of what has been happening, why commissions for many affiliates are gone, and evaluate what you can do based on suggestions others have made.

FYI - I am an Ebay affiliate and doing well enough to be continually adding new sites. This isn't Amazon where you just add product links to pages, get traffic, and make money. Unlike Amazon, Ebay really doesn't have product links because listings change daily. More like keyword links. It will take time to understand how this works and to put together a game plan.

But now is a good time to start. The Christmas traffic to Ebay is incredible.

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