The Classified Ad (advertisement) listing format was created for sellers who want to contact as many interested buyers as possible.
With the Classified Ad format, interested buyers fill in a contact form and their information is sent to the seller. Classified Ad format listings do not result in feedback, because the format aims to generate multiple leads rather than a single high bidder. You can use GetCategoryFeatures to determine whether support for your listing type is available in the category in which you want to list.
When the Ad format is used, no auction takes place. Instead, a user can leave a lead for an item to show interest. An application can retrieve a seller's leads using GetAdFormatLeads. To list a property in the Ad format, set the value of Item.ListingType to LeadGeneration and Item.ListingSubtype2 to ClassifiedAd when invoking AddItem. Some marketplaces, such as the eBay Germany marketplace, only support Ad format listings (no Real Estate auctions).
In upcoming months on the US marketplace, the pay-per-lead feature will enable you to use pay-per-lead functionality in classified ads. If a given category supports pay-per-lead listings, they will be created using Item.ListingDetails.PayPerLeadEnabled (as well as fields in the Item.ExtendedSellerContactDetails container) in AddItem.
With the exception of Real Estate and Motor Vehicle ads, most Classified Ads on eBay.com run for 30 days, with the option to the set the ad as 'Good 'Til Cancelled'. There are insertion fees for Classified Ads on eBay.com, but there are no Final Value Fees since eBay is not involved in any transaction that happens between the buyer and seller. For more information about Classified Ads, refer to Selling with Classified Ads.
The following Item properties are not applicable for Classified Ad format listings:
- All payment methods (PaymentMethods)
- Storefront
- ReservePrice
- BuyItNowPrice
- All shipping properties (ShippingDetails)