eBay Partner Network

Tool · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.

Overview

The eBay Partner Network (EPN) is the affiliate programme of the eBay trading platform itself. The homepage opened with the title "Homepage | eBay Partner Network".

This is the only network in the selection whose rates are set by the network itself, not by the advertiser. The advertiser here is one — eBay, and the commission is laid out by categories of goods in an open table. The agreement is open too: the Network Agreement with the date of publication in the text itself — "This Agreement was published on the Network website on January 22, 2026".

Who is admitted

There are no numerical requirements for the audience. The condition of admission is formulated through approval: "To participate in the Network, you must agree to the terms herein and register and be accepted by EPN to use the Network".

The second requirement is continuous, not one-off: "Your eBay account must be in good standing at all times in order for you to participate in the Network". Your own account on eBay must remain without violations for the whole time of participation, and not only at the moment of applying.

The geography is set through a prohibition, not through a list. There is no list of permitted countries, there is only the requirement not to be located in a country under a US embargo and not to be on a sanctions list — "you are not located in a country embargoed by the United States and you are not on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals". From the absence of a prohibition permission does not follow: approval is with the network in any case.

On the homepage a separate eBay Ambassador programme is mentioned with the note "For US & UK-based users only" — that is a different programme, and its country restriction does not extend to EPN.

How much they pay

The rates are from the rate card; the percentages are counted from GMB, the cap per transaction is given there too in dollars:

Two particularities are worth noticing. Electronics is paid worse than clothing — 1.5–2.0% against 4.0%, even though the basket in it is usually larger. And the cap is not uniform: for most categories it is 550 dollars, for eBay Motors and real estate — 100, for Business & Industrial — 225. Where the transactions are the most expensive, the commission is cut off soonest.

The window for counting a click is 24 hours: "Makes a purchase within 24 hours after clicking your affiliate link for a “Buy It Now” item". For auctions the rule is compound: a bid within 24 hours after the click, a win in the auction — within 10 days. A reservation is obligatory: the source speaks of the window of a qualifying transaction and does not use the word "cookie".

When and how they pay

The threshold is low and set by a double condition: "your account balance exceeds the required minimum account balance of 10 USD (or the equivalent sum in the applicable currency), or the banking fees applicable to the transactions, whichever is greater". Ten dollars or the size of the banking charge — whichever is greater: if a transfer in your case costs more than ten dollars, the cost of the transfer becomes the threshold.

The schedule is monthly: "We pay partners on or around the 10th business day of each month" — around the tenth business day of the month; separately a payment calendar is published. The agreement specifies the period: "each month, EPN will issue to you any positive balance in your account due for transactions reported for the previous month".

On the methods of payout the source is only half exact. The agreement lists eleven payout currencies: USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, CAD, NOK, ILS, SEK, SGD, DKK, HKD. But that is a list of currencies, not of methods. Only "direct deposit" is named outright, on the calendar page. The fees for the transfer, as is clear from the condition about the threshold, fall on the partner.

What must be disclosed

The requirement is written into the agreement: "Your Promotional Methods must clearly and prominently identify Promotional Content as advertising and, where required by Applicable Law, disclose your economic interest as a participant in EPN (e.g., “As an eBay Partner Network Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”)".

There are in fact two obligations, and they are of different natures. The unconditional one: promotional content must be clearly and prominently identified as advertising. The conditional one: disclosing your economic interest as a participant in EPN is needed where applicable law requires it.

The phrase "As an eBay Partner Network Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases" is given in the agreement as an example of acceptable disclosure — the network's own specimen, not a universal wording.

What the network will not do

It will not wait long after a click. The window is 24 hours, for auctions a bid within those same 24 hours with a win within 10 days. A deferred purchase a week after your link will not be counted.

It will not pay the full commission on an expensive transaction: caps apply, and in eBay Motors and real estate they are the lowest — 100 dollars.

It does not give a full list of the methods of payout. Eleven currencies are named, the methods are not; only direct deposit is mentioned outright.

It will not take the banking charge upon itself: the threshold is taken as the greater of the two — 10 dollars or the cost of the transfer.

It does not publish a list of the countries of admission. There is only the prohibition for countries under a US embargo and for persons on a sanctions list — that is not a list of permitted countries.

It announces no numerical requirements for the audience.

It will not tolerate problems with your trading account: it must be "in good standing" for the whole time of participation, and not only when applying.

Not one of these silences proves that the condition does not exist — only that on the open pages it is not there.

Verified data

The checked data this deep dive rests on.

How the money works here

age: «You represent and warrant that you are over 18 years of age and authorized to consent to this Agreement». The eBay account: «Your eBay account must be in good standing at all times in order for you to participate in the Network». One account per partner: «You may not register more than one account without prior written approval from EPN»; «You may not apply without EPN's prior written consent if EPN has previously terminated your account or if you are a vendor or agency of EPN». Forbidden site topics: «Your Promotional Methods may not incorporate any topics that EPN in its sole discretion considers to fall in any of the following categories: sexually explicit materials; violence; firearms or weapons; illegal goods, services or activities; gambling or betting; discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age; libel or defamation; content aimed at…»

there is no minimum traffic and no requirement to have a site of your own in the agreement: the contract describes Promotional Methods with no audience threshold. The agreement was read in full, about 100 thousand characters of text; the robots.txt at partnernetwork.ebay.com returns 404, so there are no prohibitions

source, checked 2026-08-07

there is a country restriction on admission and it is sanctions-based: «You warrant that: (a) you are not currently under order or investigation by any federal, state, local or international regulatory or law enforcement organization; and (b) you are not located in a country embargoed by the United States and you are not on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals. You must inform EPN if you become subject to any such order…»

the network publishes no list of permitted countries of admission: the restriction is framed the other way round, through the US embargo and the SDN list of the US Treasury. This is the network's statement rather than our inference. Separately, an annex to the agreement carries the caveat «EPN may, in its sole discretion, add or remove countries and websites from this ...» — that concerns the list of eBay sites taking part in the programme, that is, coverage rather than the admission of partners

source, checked 2026-08-07

there is a review of the application and refusal may come with no explanation: «To participate in the Network, you must agree to the terms herein and register and be accepted by EPN to use the Network»; «EPN will notify you if EPN accepts or rejects your application. EPN may in its sole discretion reject your application and terminate the Agreement for any reason without any compensation to you»; «EPN must accept your application before you may display any Promotional Content or deploy any Promotional Method»; «EPN's rejection of your application automatically terminates the Agreement». The network may terminate the contract later too: «EPN may terminate (i) this Agreement, (ii) your account ... at any time in its sole discretion upon three (3) days notice»

the time for reviewing an application is not named in the agreement — it says only that you will be notified of the decision. The wording «for any reason» means the network is not obliged to explain the reason

source, checked 2026-08-07

https://partnernetwork.ebay.com/

the page opened, title "Homepage | eBay Partner Network"

source, checked 2026-08-04

Commission. Business & Industrial 2.5% (cap $225); Collectibles 3.0% ($550); Cameras & Photo, Cell Phones, TV Video & Audio, Video Games 2.0% ($550); Computers, Tablets & Networking 1.5% ($550); Fashion 4.0% ($550); Home & Garden 3.0% ($550); Lifestyle 3.0% ($550); Media 3.0% ($550); eBay Motors 4.0% ($100); Vehicle Parts & Accessories 3.0% ($550); Real Estate 1.0% ($100); All Other 4.0% ($550)

the percentages are calculated on GMB; the caps in USD are stated in the Rate Card table itself

source, checked 2026-08-04

Click-tag lifetime. 24 hours: "Makes a purchase within 24 hours after clicking your affiliate link for a “Buy It Now” item"; a bid at an auction — within 24 hours after the click with a win within 10 days

the source speaks of the term of a qualified transaction, it does not use the word cookie

source, checked 2026-08-04

Payout minimum. «your account balance exceeds the required minimum account balance of 10 USD (or the equivalent sum in the applicable currency), or the banking fees applicable to the transactions, whichever is greater»

a threshold of 10 USD or the bank fee, whichever is greater

source, checked 2026-08-04

When they pay. "We pay partners on or around the 10th business day of each month"

the agreement specifies: "each month, EPN will issue to you any positive balance in your account due for transactions reported for the previous month"

source, checked 2026-08-04

Who is admitted. «To participate in the Network, you must agree to the terms herein and register and be accepted by EPN to use the Network»; «Your eBay account must be in good standing at all times in order for you to participate in the Network»

there are no numeric requirements for the audience; the separate eBay Ambassador program is marked on the home page "For US & UK-based users only"

source, checked 2026-08-04

What must be disclosed. «Your Promotional Methods must clearly and prominently identify Promotional Content as advertising and, where required by Applicable Law, disclose your economic interest as a participant in EPN (e.g., “As an eBay Partner Network Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.”)»

the wording is given in the agreement as an example of acceptable disclosure

source, checked 2026-08-04

Where the terms are. https://partnernetwork.ebay.com/page/network-agreement

the text states: "This Agreement was published on the Network website on January 22, 2026"

source, checked 2026-08-04

How they pay. the payout currencies: USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, CAD, NOK, ILS, SEK, SGD, DKK, HKD; "direct deposit" is mentioned on the calendar page

the agreement lists currencies, not methods; a full list of payout methods was not found

source, checked 2026-08-04

Where it is available. «you are not located in a country embargoed by the United States and you are not on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of Specially Designated Nationals»

there is no list of permitted countries, only a ban for countries under US embargo

source, checked 2026-08-04

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