Are you looking for another way to monetize your WordPress blog?   Back in November 2008, I wrote about a new premium WordPress plugin called Auction Thumbs.   After that post was published, there seemed to be a lot of interest in this type of product.  This seems to be because people are quickly discovering they can make a lot of money online by doing nothing more than simply sending traffic over to eBay for relevant auctions!  In this post I will be discussing a similar WordPress plugin which has actually been around for over two years now called PHP Bay Pro.

PHP Bay is an eBay affiliate script that comes in two forms.   The first is a stand-alone API version which allows non-WordPress PHP based websites to quickly and easily add eBay keyword based content advertisements to their website.  The second version is the one which will apply to our readers, and that is the easy to use PHP Bay WordPress plugin.

PHP Bay Pro lets you take advantage of the 80 million auctions on eBay by adding relevant auctions to your WordPress blog.   When users click on the auctions, they are taken to that auction on eBay.   Then once people buy ANY item on eBay, you earn a commission, even if it wasn’t what you referred them for.  In fact, you get commission for any auctions won over the next 7 days by that person.   If that wasn’t enough, if someone signs up for an eBay account within 7 days of clicking on your eBay auction link, you also get a very nice commission (can be as high as $40.00 I believe, but usually around $15.00 each).

Here is the feature list you get with PHP Bay:

• Earn revenue through the Ebay Partner Network or other popular programs like PepperJam, Mediaplex, TradeDoubler or Affilinet!
• Add keyword rich Ebay items to your php based web site that encourage impulsive buys!
• Easily Integrate into any New or Existing WordPress Blog!
• Thousands of free WordPress templates available across the web to create virtually any type of site!
• Not Javascript based! Auction listings are 100% pure html based creating additional targeted content for your site!
• List auction items regionally from 17 different countries!
• List items by postal code (zip code) for localized results.
• List items from specific Ebay categories.
• Listings displayed in language and currency of selected country.
• Listings displayed in rows or specified number of columns for a Web 2.0 look and feel!
• Access to our active members only forum that offers a tremendous value in how to get more out of phpBay Pro, strategies, tips and tricks and much more!
• Use on as many sites as you own! phpBay Pro is not limited to one domain. It can be used on one, or hundreds of sites with one license!
• Comprehensive user manual with illustrations, in PDF format, for both the WordPress version and the API version, that will walk you through, step-by-step, to install and get working quickly with phpBay Pro!
• Upgrades are free for the life of the product! phpBay Pro is nearly two years old with three major upgrades made with suggestions from our user base!

If you are considering buying this WordPress plugin, make sure the topic your WordPress blog(s) covers will convert well on eBay.  Product based websites which cover something that is often bought on eBay seems to convert the best (electronics, pictures, etc.).   If your blog covers free products or some sort of service, chances are using a WordPress plugin like this won’t be worth your effort and will annoy your readers.

If you decide you’re interested in PHP Bay Pro, it looks like it is currently available for $79.00.  I believe they used to have a free version as well, but I’ve not been able to track that down so they may have removed it since I bought my copy of this plugin last year.

Though there are a large number of free WordPress plugins available to meet most WordPress blogger’s needs, generally speaking, when you are looking for a quality affiliate marketing plugin, you’re going to need to browse through the premium WordPress plugins available.

In today’s post I want to introduce you to a new premium plugin named Auction Thumbs.   For people that maintain a WordPress blog which discusses products that convert well on eBay, this plugin might be very profitable for you!

How Does Auction Thumbs Work?

If you’ve ever used BANS or another software to build an eBay niche store that takes advantage of eBay’s affiliate program, then you’ll have a general idea how this plugin works.   Auction Thumbs allows any WordPress user to fully integrate eBay’s affiliate program into their blog in just a few minutes.

Simply activate the Auction Thumbs plugin, enter your eBay campaign code (you can generate one in your eBay Partner Network account), and select where you want to place your ads.   With this plugin, you can easily display your eBay ads in any/all of the following places:  display a gallery of thumbnails, display pictures below each post, or as a widget in your blog’s sidebar!   By default, thumbnails will immediately show up in the footer of every current and archived post on your blog upon activation, but it comes with a fully configurable admin panel so you can control everything from the WordPress dashboard.

The plugin will then display relevant auctions (it matches the tags assigned to your post with eBay’s inventory) and when someone clicks on it, they are taken to that eBay auction.   Of course that is only the beginning, as a 7-day cookie is placed in their web browser and you get a percentage of EVERYTHING that person buys during that time.

The author lists the following features which are included with the purchase of Auction Thumbs:

Appearance

• SEO-friendly links (no rover links)
• Displays within page, post, and sidebars automatically, blog-wide
• Display can be suppressed at the individual post and page level
• Gradiant configurable color background
• Smooth-scrolling user page navigation
• Configurable, no-distortion thumbnail image sizing
• Fit or Fill thumbnail images
• eBay listings configurable to top or bottom of post

Performance

• Powerful database cache that reduces server overhead and greatly speeds pageviews for your site visitors. No calls to eBay for each pageview!

Filtering

• Supports 15 eBay country sites, including language, currency and product categories
• Filter by eBay category
• Filter out specific sellers’ inventories
• Display items from one or more specific sellers (great for promoting your own items).
• Listing Type filter (auction items, store items, etc.)
• Sort order setting
• Min and Max price range
• Min and Max bid count
• Display items with bids first

Administration/Reporting

• Configure default settings and all current and archive posts and pages will instantly have eBay listings
• No coding, script or shortcode configuration
• Widget-based sidebar configuration
• No .htaccess modification required
• Automatically pull post tags to use for eBay listings keywords (optional)
• Country-specific search category wizard
• Tabbed administrative interface
• Color picker to visually choose background color
• EPN custom ID text for reporting purposes
• Category wizard to pull live country-specific categories for fine-tuning product listings
• Debug Mode to aid in fine-tuning settings
• Embedded mouseover help for all configuration fields
• Customizable thumbnail border color
• Cache clear button
• Cache contents count display

eBay EPN Revenue Generation

• SEO affiliate links with 301 redirect
• Multiple Campaign number fields for granular performance tracking (sidebar, post, post link)
• Default settings propagate instantly for all posts in the blog archive.

eBay Affiliations

• Passed the eBay Compatible Application check
• Member of eBay Developers Program
• Included in eBay Solution Directory (pending)

Where Can I Purchase Auction Thumbs?

If you decide you want to purchase auction thumbs, it normally only costs $79.00, but WPHacks.com readers can use promo code “wphacks” to receive $15.00 off, meaning you can use this plugin on unlimited sites for only $64.00!

To give you an idea of this plugins potential value, when I purchased BANS a few years ago (costs $97.00), I made that investment back in under a month and a half.  Everything after that was pure profit and is still providing steady income today.  I’ve been using Auction Thumbs for a few days now on my video game blog and my book review blog, where I expect this plugin to convert well, and expect more of the same success as I’ve enjoyed with Build a Niche Store.