Does ending a listing and then re-listing it as Sell Similar do anything?

[namtrag1]

I remember there was a time when ending a listing  and then sell similar was considered a good strategy.

Is this old school now or does it actually help sales?

[lakefor94]

It can help with buyers using "newly listed" as a search option and I hear newly listed items get a bump in search. The newly listed tag lasts for ~24 hours last time I checked.

I used it about a year ago on about 400-500 long tail items that had no significant cached Google search results to lose by closing the old listings and doing a sell similar. It did it about every 2 weeks for a month or so.

Very minimal  sales results doing sell similar with those items, though some still sell every month, without doing sell similar. They are just slow movers. If buyers are looking for the item and the listing has enough keywords to be found in the description,  title and item specifics,  search can find those items. Buyers have to be looking for them and it certainly helps if there are not a hundred or thousand(s) similar items out there for sale......

If I am selling something that has a particular part or model number that a buyer can search with and the listing comes up on the first page of Google search results, I don't ever end the listing, just leave it ride.

Without looking, I think I remember you sell shoes.  Don't know if that would apply with a model/part number search by the buyer. If it does, make sure to enter that identifier in title, description and item specifics. 

I have bought jeans here like that before, searching for the model number on the tag.

[broto_64]

Since ebay considers selling here a business it should be mentioned that sellers ought to know how to value their time. It does not appear profitable in terms of ROI to spend time ending listings early simply to publish them again for a supposed boost in ranking, there exist better methods of boosting ranking that are guaranteed and cost only a few percents of the sale in question.

Granted, some sellers have a lot of time on their hands.

Still, there are better uses of one's time.

[lakefor94]

Listings can be ended in bulk and listed as sell similar in bulk. Does not take but a few minutes to do 100 or 200 at a time. 

I did allow mine a days rest, so to speak, after ending and before doing a bulk, sell similar.

[turtles-trading-post]

Exactly!  

Do you know how when you are listing multiple items, some sell (or get bids) while you are still sitting at the listing table?  That's because that listing has the "New Listing" banner on it, and goes to the front of the line of listings in that category.  People do cruise categories with "Newest Listings First".

And I see them selling to my regular customers.  You know those emails... "New Listings From Your Favorite Sellers?"   Yup, you get that publicity too.

"Sell Similar" does exactly that. It takes your old listing and creates a brand new listing, just as if you had listed a fresh item.   

I have about 5100 listings, maybe 4800 Fixed Price. I will cause  "Sell Similar" at  50 or 100 at a time every Friday and Saturday night.  I take my oldest listings, right now that's about November 2023,  cancel them, then do "Sell Similar".  And it works.  I see those tired old items suddenly selling.  It's not like 50 of them sell,  maybe 5 or 10, but those are sales I didn't have!  And maybe new customers who will become repeat customers.

People who have 5-10 listings will do the Sell Similar refresh and tell you it didn't work!  It's the law of averages and they just didn't have enough listings for it to work.

Two important things-

1.  Once you do the sell similar, and check your new listings to make sure they took,  delete the expired listings. Otherwise they may show up later and cause havoc.

2.  Watch how many listings you  "Sell Similar" against your store's monthly allocation. They do count as new listings!

[az93]

If you have an old listing with no watchers lower the price. Same if you do have watchers, but make a mental note to donate if lowering the price doesn't move it.

[albertabrightalberta]

I end my listings and do "sell similar." It doesn't violate any policy and since I usually search by newly listed, I figure it can't hurt if others search that way too.