Promotions help showcase your listings to buyers when they’re actively searching and shopping on eBay, increasing item visibility and helping to improve the likelihood of a sale.
Which promotion to use depends on your product type, seasonality, competition and your motivation as a seller to drive more orders. For example, lower-priced items are best suited to volume discounts or order size discounts. Larger orders of cheaper items are more profitable to process, particularly if you offer free shipping.
For higher-priced products, a markdown sale event might be a better option. This shows the usual price as well as the sale price, so buyers can see the full value of the product.
For dated stock that you want to sell quickly, a generous order size discount such as “buy one, get one for 50% off”, could be a good fit. That way you get to clear multiple overstocked items while providing the buyer with a great offer.
The peak shopping season is extremely competitive and at this time promotions are a necessity in certain categories. Markdowns and coupons are often right to use at this time as they can be time-limited to help create a sense of urgency.