eBay has announced the eBay Partner Network, which will officially launch on April 1st. The program brings the online marketplace’s affiliate program – which rewards Web publishers for driving new users and bids to eBay – in-house. Previously, it was handled by Commission Junction, the cost-per-action arm of ValueClick.
With more than 100,000 affiliates, eBay’s affiliate program has certainly become one of the largest on the Web, on par with that offered by other e-commerce giants like Amazon. However, in running it through a middle-man like Commission Junction, eBay loses a few points on every transaction that affiliates drive – which, certainly adds up in the long-run.
Amazon has long maintained their own affiliate program (called “Associates”) in-house, and offers a fairly robust platform to allow publishers to tailor ads to their visitors. This seems to be part of the advantage that eBay also sees in bringing their affiliate program in-house, according to Matt Ackley, vice president of Internet marketing at eBay:
“The new eBay Partner Network will allow us to have a direct relationship with our affiliates, innovate faster and deliver new products and tools in a more timely and efficient manner, providing new revenue opportunities for our affiliates and creating a more streamlined user experience for our buyers and sellers.”
