I’ve been waiting for this repo to update because that’s what I’ve been using. At a certain point I might just have to do my own implementation 
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We have been experimenting with ebay affiliate links as a revenue stream and possibly as a way to replace Google ads. We have an existing section in the ToS about the usage of links:
https://www.elitefourum.com/tos#heading--affiliate
The eBay affiliate compliance employees periodically audit how people use affiliate links. They asked us and based on what we told them they were satisfied with how we did things. Today however they sent a mass email with this link Affiliate disclosure FAQ | eBay Partner Network
Reading that I felt we actually weren’t in compliance. So I wrote a component that fixes this and improves transparency about which links are affiliate. I also didn’t want it to be super intrusive as to put a big blurb every time an ebay link was posted or having another banner at the top of every page.
So here is my solution. Inline links will have a little #ad behind them similar to the counter that shows the number of clicks. Oneboxes will have that one sentence at the top and also carry the #ad.
Inline: 1889 N5 Allen & Ginter Birds Of Tropics SCHREIBER’S HUMMING BIRD (PSA 1) RARE! | eBay
Onebox:
Now to be clear about how the links work.
Ebay links posted on the site are converted to affiliate links. The way affiliate links work is that when you make an ebay purchase within some timeframe after clicking the link, a portion of the ebay fees will go to the ebay affiliate partner aka smpratte.
Which means the buyer is not paying more and the seller is not paying more. It’s a system that is both passive and aligns the incentives of everyone → the buyer found an item they were interested in enough to buy, the seller gets a sale, ebay gets some fees, the ad host gets a portion of the fees. Personally, its a revenue model I prefer much more over others (ex. random banner ads, subscription based).
I’m open to any feedback on this.
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Just so people are aware, the ad revenue doesn’t currently cover the cost of the site. Affiliate banner ad’s might be something we try in the near future. Ultimately all of these revenue streams are inconsistent, so we have to try and tweak things as we go.
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Just to be clear, every eBay link posted on this site will now be an e4 affiliate link and the revenue will go to smpratte. Is that correct?
And that ad revenue is only tied to that specific listing on eBay?
I think if you click on an affiliate link to eBay, you can buy any item and it still pays out
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It puts a cookie on your device so anything you buy while that cookie is active qualifies. So if you click that Birds of the card Tropics card above, then go to your saved searches, find something newly listed and buy it, a portion of the ebay fees of that sale will go to smpratte and, after covering the expenses of operating the site, me as well.
In other words if you want to “donate” money to the forum, and there’s something you want to buy, click on any link before you make the purchase.
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Thanks for the description! Is this newly implemented or has it been ongoing for several months now?
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The affiliate converter has been activate for a few months. I was working on different affiliate approaches for a while now (though it’s kind if moved to the backburner). If you remember the custom ad for the goldstar Rayquaza auction, that was another example.
Right now I have a mostly complete plugin that replaces banner ads with ebay links. Still undecided if we want to roll it out. Not entirely sure how to source the links (ie. Which listings to advertise). Ideally it would be a tool useful to the members here instead of something annoying. Like if it could show you new listings from a personalized saved ebay search.
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Cabal members assemble! Commence the link clicking and eBay buying to finance our leaders!
In all seriousness, I will be doing this before I purchase items now. Great way to get some revenue for the site without too much extra effort. We appreciate the transparency as always.
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Does any ebay link here work for that, like smpratte ebay profile link in his posts? Wondering if i should save some ebay post as a bookmark or just use someone’s ebay profile link when i’m going to buy something
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I just updated the plugin now to use the affiliate url, thanks for the suggestion 
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Petition to add a 7th sprite.
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Take a likes vote. 
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Petition to keep it 6 sprites and never change it.
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7 sprites? bruh
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