Item Specifics - Why does eBay want people build their own (eBay's) database for free?

[boldrocket]

Why is eBay asking for useless item specifics? I'm specifically referring to the books category. They are now requiring "Title", "Author", and "Language". I tried entering their item specifics for books. I got, "Title too long. more than 65 characters". It's a car repair book, who's title is very specific. I finally gave up on that item.

More specifically all this does is WASTE MY TIME. eBay should want me to LIST MORE ITEMS. If it takes me 5 minutes to list a book instead of 2 , I'm going to list fewer items. Also, I won't be listing lower value items because why spend 5 minutes to list a $10 item?

eBay needs to hire better programmers, or at least those who have skills in  AI (Artificial Intelligence). Those programmers should be able to use AI (Artificial Intelligence) to process the information in the listing to pull out the title, author, and language (which is the most ridiculous new required specific) from users listings. 

I also don't buy that these item specifics will help in search results. For example, anyone who searches for "Gone With The Wind" in the google or eBay search bar will see listings for that book. Does anybody really believe someone who wanted that book would somehow forget the full title, use "Gone" in a search bar, and because of the item specifics I was forced to input,  have "Gone With The Wind" populate because of item specifics? I'm not buying it. 

Final thoughts - If eBay really wants people to spend the time to add item specifics to their listings they should PAY people to do so. They could accomplish this by lowering final value fees in items that have item specifics, or lower store subscription fees based on a percentage of listings with required item specifics. Also, anything that causes me to LIST FEWER ITEMS = COSTS eBay MONEY. Why can't they see this?

[dhbookds]

Since there are multiple listings for most items, not sure that it costs ebay money if someone doesn't list another Gone with the Wind book.. 

Data is king today.........and that means fitting info into a little box..... and if you don't do it, plenty of others will........so why in the world would they pay for it?  In fact they have said they will remove items that don't have the required IS filled out.   

Required IS are just not a choice if you want to sell here.......

[craft-stash]

Ebay keeps wanting to be THE  expert for sellers. I'm the expert! Started collecting in 1971 and selling in 1991. Ebay let us make the call. 😎

[dugoldstuff]

You're right; it's absolutely bizarre.

I had some books on black powder rifles listed, and I put in all the "item specifics" that applied. However, no matter what I did, when I went back out to my stupid Seller Hub view, it kept saying "Add Item Specifics" and a number of how many "Item Specifics" were missing. 

Finally, it got it down ONE missing "Item Specific." What was that? What KIND OF COOKBOOK it is! Really!

After that fiasco, I thought, forget it.

[dugoldstuff]

Data is king today.........and that means fitting info into a little box..... and if you don't do it, plenty of others will.

No, we won't.

We'll just go over to ABE.

[dugoldstuff · Accepted solution]

Ebay keeps wanting to be THE expert for sellers. I'm the expert! Started collecting in 1971 and selling in 1991. Ebay let us make the call.

Exactly.

 I'm the expert.

That's how I picked up an 1834 copy of "Kaspar Hauser, oder der Findling"  the other day FOR FREE. 

Bet some eBay policy guru would have tossed it in the trash. 

Meanwhile, they dream up little boxes for me to fill out. Ha, ha.

[luckythewinner]

Why does eBay want people build their own (eBay's) database for free?

Because they know sellers will do it for free.

If eBay really wants people to spend the time to add item specifics to their listings they should PAY people to do so

Why would they pay people to do something they will do for free? You listed items yesterday without eBay paying you to do it.

anything that causes me to LIST FEWER ITEMS = COSTS eBay MONEY.

That means eBay will get less money from your sales. It does not mean that they get less money overall. If you choose not to list your copy of "Gone With The Wind", buyers will simply buy one of the other 3500 copies listed.

[dhbookds]

If you look just below recommended IS, there is a box that says don't show me these again..........

if you check the box AFTER you do the revisions you want (you do NOT have to fill in anything except REQUIRED).........it will stop reminding you to add IS on THAT listing.......i.e. it will NOT come up again.......

[katzrul15]

We were at a local bookstore recently.  They have a "free" table area...usually a mish-mosh of stuffs.  We always look/dig thru what they consider worthless and are too lazy to put in the dumpster.

There were 14 copies of Elie Wiesel's Night.  4 were signed copies.  We sold them all, with the signed ones for the most.  Kept the best signed copy for us.  

What an important book/story to be told and he is no longer here to tell it himself, only thru his book.   

[boldrocket]

Luckythewinner replied

"anything that causes me to LIST FEWER ITEMS = COSTS eBay MONEY.

That means eBay will get less money from your sales. It does not mean that they get less money overall. If you choose not to list your copy of "Gone With The Wind", buyers will simply buy one of the other 3500 copies listed."

This is flat out wrong.

The Gone With The Wind was just a hypothetical example. Anything that reduces the number of listings on eBay is bad for eBay. You are assuming that eBay will always have every possible item listed on their site in every possible category and if it isn't, a magical seller will appear to fill the vacuum.  

If eBay makes it too difficult to list an item, then people will stop listing items on the site. Suppose a  person  is looking for "Tamerlane" by Edgar Allen Poe. A seller has a copy , but decides not to put it on eBay because eBay requires item specifics, thus eBay loses a $662,000 sale. Can you magically produce a copy of this book? Of course not, there were only 12 made. 

As far as your other two points, yes people will still list on the site, until eBay drives enough sellers off the site. Unless the item specifics are magically going to drive more buyers to purchase things (eBay has provided no data to substantiate this - in fact several sellers have reported DROPS in sales after adding these item specifics) then forcing sellers to waste time doing this will eventually catch up to eBay in lost market share and revenue. 

My point in making the post is to try to let eBay know that what they are doing is counterproductive to their business. As a seller I want them to succeed. Providing negative incentives to sellers doesn't help them. They are focusing on the wrong things.

[dhbookds]

if eBay makes it too difficult to list an item, then people will stop listing items on the site. Suppose a person is looking for "Tamerlane" by Edgar Allen Poe. A seller has a copy , but decides not to put it on eBay because eBay requires item specifics, thus eBay loses a $662,000 sale. Can you magically produce a copy of this book? Of course not, there were only 12 made.

(seller) decides not to put it on eBay because eBay requires item specifics, thus eBay loses a $662,000 sale.

errrrrr...............so did the seller who, from your example, would have listed it without the IS..........

NO ONE is going to lose that kind of money/or a lot less by not filling in 2-4,5 blank boxes.......... it's not hard, not strenuous or difficult.  They will have to fill in Title/Author on ANY site.........Language, I'm not sure of.......but how hard is that? 

[boldrocket]

dugoldstuff replied:

You're right; it's absolutely bizarre.

I had some books on black powder rifles listed, and I put in all the "item specifics" that applied. However, no matter what I did, when I went back out to my stupid Seller Hub view, it kept saying "Add Item Specifics" and a number of how many "Item Specifics" were missing. 

Finally, it got it down ONE missing "Item Specific." What was that? What KIND OF COOKBOOK it is! Really!

After that fiasco, I thought, forget it.

I hope eBay reads your post. I once read that when someone is happy with a restaurant they might tell 2-3 people about it. But when they have a bad experience, they will tell 20. 

Because of what eBay did, they will lose out on the revenue that they would have collected when you LIST and SELL your item. Other people commenting in this thread are assuming that every possible item that has been ever made is for sale on eBay, so making sellers add item specifics doesn't hurt everyone. Or they are saying, "It's not that big a deal to waste sellers time. They'll adjust." Of course they'll adjust, until they won't, like you did. 

Anything that causes me to list fewer items is Bad For Ebay. 

Here is a simple equation        More Listings = More Revenue For Ebay or if you don't like that one

                                                              Less Listings = Reduced Revenue for Ebay

[chapabargain]

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/WHAT-THE-FFFFFFF-IS-THE-DEAL-WITH-EBAY-ASKING-FOR-ITEM-SPECIFI...

@boldrocket 

[raffieleo]

This new format is garbage. Waste of time. Go back to simple and quit making things so darn complex. 

[craft-stash]

Exactly Again! Ive been a Picker/Diver for decades and have found Gems for pennies on the dollar or in the street😎 Expert!