How to open your eBay affiliate account
Your eBay affiliate account is how eBay pays you commission on the eBay products in your store. It is called the eBay Partner Network, or EPN. It is free to join.
We can walk you through this inside your account. Go to Connect eBay for a step by step version of the application, with wording you can copy, and a box to paste your Campaign ID into when you are approved.
You do not need to sell anything on eBay to join. You are promoting other people's listings, so an ordinary personal eBay account is all you need to sign in with.
Before you apply
eBay reviews each application before it accepts you, so apply once your store has products and a few articles in it.
Have these ready:
- Your existing eBay login. Do not create a second eBay account.
- Your store address.
- A short description of your store. Connect eBay gives you one based on your niche.
- Your tax details, so eBay can pay you later.
Applying
1. Go to the eBay Partner Network
Go to partnernetwork.ebay.com and click Sign Up.
Choose the eBay Partner Network. Do not choose the eBay Ambassador option. Only the Partner Network works with your store.
2. Sign in with your eBay account
Sign in with the eBay account you already have. If you do not have one, create a personal account. You only need a business account if you sell on eBay.
Do not create a new eBay account if you already have one, even an old one you have forgotten. eBay does not allow more than one account and can close all of them if it finds duplicates.
3. Fill in your details
Enter your real name, address and details. Some fields confuse people:
- Individual or business: choose Individual unless you already trade as a company.
- Company website: your store address is fine. You do not need a separate company website.
- Currency: choose the currency you want to be paid in. If your own currency is not in the list, eBay does not offer it. You cannot change the currency after you submit, so check it before you continue.
4. Add your store
This is the part eBay reads, so give it something real.
- Business Model: Search/Comparison.
- Property Type: Website, then paste your store address.
- Description: say what your store covers and how visitors reach it. For example: "A comparison and review site for hiking gear. Visitors arrive from search and social, compare listings, and click through to buy."
- Social Networks: only if you already have them. They are not required.
5. Fill in your tax details
Fill in your tax details now rather than later. eBay needs them before it can pay you.
eBay asks people outside the US for a tax form called a W-8BEN before it pays commissions. FreshStore cannot give tax advice and cannot fill it in for you. The IRS instructions are at https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-8-ben
6. Check everything, then submit
Read the agreement and click Sign Up. eBay asks you to confirm your currency one last time. After you click Continue, you cannot change your application.
Then go back to Connect eBay and click I have applied to eBay. Your launch plan will show that you are waiting on eBay, and we will remind you if your Campaign ID is still missing a few days later.
After you apply
eBay emails you with its decision. Nothing on your store depends on it, so carry on building while you wait.
If eBay accepts you
Go to the next section and add your Campaign ID.
If eBay declines you
eBay's decline email gives a list of possible reasons and does not say which one applied to you. The reasons can include:
- the country you applied from is not supported,
- your email address has already been used for an eBay Partner Network account,
- or something else in eBay's Network Agreement.
Two of those have nothing to do with your store. So before you change anything, write to epnhelp@ebay.com, quote the decline, and ask which reason applied.
Do not apply again with a different email address. eBay does not allow more than one Partner Network account without its written approval, and a second application does not change a country decision.
Countries eBay does not accept
eBay does not accept applications from every country. eBay says the main reason is that it cannot reliably send payments to some countries. It reviews its list from time to time.
If eBay turns you down because of your country, reapplying will not change that. Your store can still earn from Amazon, AliExpress, and any other affiliate programme through Custom Offers.
🔗 Custom Offers: Feature Guide
Getting commissions with eBay
Once you are approved, you add a Campaign ID to your settings. It tracks the sales from your store to your eBay account.
eBay gives every new account a default campaign, so you have a Campaign ID from the start. When you log in to your eBay affiliate account for the first time, you will see something like this:
Open the Campaigns tab. Your Campaign ID is the number beside your campaign:
It is a number, usually 10 digits. It is not your eBay username, your campaign name, or a link. Pasting one of those is the most common reason eBay commissions never show up.
Add your Campaign ID at my.freshstore.com/settings/ebay and click Save and apply to my stores. It applies to all of your stores at once. One Campaign ID covers every eBay country.
If you want to see which store made each sale, create one campaign per store in eBay. Then set each store's own Campaign ID in that store's dashboard under Settings > Affiliate networks > eBay. A store with its own Campaign ID keeps it, whatever you save on your account afterwards.
Then check it works. Click an eBay buy button on your own store, and look at your eBay Partner Network reports within 24 hours.
Congratulations! You are now set up to receive commissions from eBay.
Questions and Troubleshooting
I cannot find a "How you promote" field on eBay.
There is no field with that name. An older version of our Connect eBay page used that heading for the description you can copy. Paste that description into eBay's box where it asks what your website is about.
What do I put for Account Display Name?
Anything you like. It does not have to match your store name, and visitors to your store never see it.
Which eBay country should I sign up with?
Sign up with the country you live in. One account and one Campaign ID cover all of the eBay sites the Partner Network includes, and your store picks the right site for each visitor.
Do I need a separate eBay account for each store?
No. One account covers all of your stores. You can use one Campaign ID for all of them. If you do, eBay reports all their sales as one campaign. Create a campaign per store if you want them apart.
My currency is not in the list.
eBay only pays in the currencies it lists. Choose the one you would like to be paid in. Check it carefully, because you cannot change it after you submit.
I chose the wrong country when I signed up.
eBay cannot change the country on an account. Contact eBay Partner Network support and ask them to close the account, then open a new one with the right country.
I applied days ago and have heard nothing.
Check your spam folder for eBay's email. If there is nothing, write to epnhelp@ebay.com. Nothing on your store is waiting on it.