Promotion on eBay seems to be a scam

[trashy-284]

I recently made a listing on eBay and went to search for it, and it would not come up on the search, even when I cut and paste the exact title!!!!  eBay reported no matches!!!  I paid for promotion on top of it ... I feel very ripped off.  Has anyone else experienced this?

[trashy-284]

That could be a problem!  I am not sure how I did that ... Do I go in to revise to change it?  I bet you found the problem!

Dean

[gatefold]

I am not positive you can change the category midstream like that...

I think you can just use "Revise Item" to fix the category....some specifics may change, but just check all your stuff

it will again take time to re-index

[simply-the-best-for-you]

PL's are misunderstood.   They help a lot of sellers!  70% of my sales are PL sales.  BUT, they work best in highly saturated categories & they work best when you promote all your listings.   So use them judiciously, but for some they were a huge game changer, almost tripled my sales. 

[double2trouble]

So basically, if I an searching for an exact something, and there is one for sale, it may not come up at all. But other stuff that I do not want will. Sounds like a great shopping experience. 

[mum5xs]

I have also done research on paying for promotion on several items. Most times there are never any more views than before I paid. Very disappointing in paying extra. I only do promotional cost if item sells, but most want items want fee upfront whether item sells or not!

[unequivocalfruition]

Yes I have experienced this. The one Macbook Pro I’ve had listed for 6 months is a promoted listing. I was not getting much traffic or questions for the longest - no offers either. I was curious to see when I used the model number to see where it pops up in search results. Item even has a relatively new battery/ bottom portion/ keyboard etc.  It never popped up in the results. I’m willing to bet that it’s happening with hundreds of my other items. There is no way to know if eBay is conducting an honest operation. You’ve got stores selling thousands of items and they use outsourced service reps that have access. Greed has been known to get the better of some of these platforms. Why haven’t we challenged/ audited their computer systems with an independent party? They keep suggesting to INCREASE the %. So, how much do we need to give them for our items to be visible at all? 
Is the visibility on a randomized timer or something? I get the feeling that their systems are too massive to be in proper control. Also have to worry about performance/ handling time hindering us. I know my store sometimes gets a mad amount if sales and nothing for many days. That’s not coincidence. 

[unequivocalfruition]

That’s not very helpful, certainly not transparent as required by law. You don’t just let eBay go unchecked for years - find out the software is rigged so that certain people have an advantage. Ahem - Dominion- Ahem. We’re just supposed to trust them in a highly authoritative way? I trust them less and less as they shut you down without explanation  even before you start selling. No explanation given - call them up for the reason. We want a free and fair marketplace and eBay needs to build seller trust. Especially with the majority of sellers being smaller scale. Their policy in a buyer’s request to cancel is to not refund you the ad fee. You have to fight to get it!

[dbfolks166mt]

     There have been a lot of postings about PL lately and it is difficult for anyone to determine exactly what the benefits, or lack thereof, really are with using them. There are other factors that play into the picture as janet9988 mentioned in a response. For some there is probably an advantage as  

simply-the-best-for-you mentioned. However it begins to become a race to the bottom if you are using PL to maintain the potential advantage. If you are using 2% along with everyone else then there is no advantage, so you increase to 5%, everyone else follows, so somebody increase to 10% and others follow, you then go to 15%.............................. 

     The one thing you can be sure of is PL increases a sellers costs so you increases your prices to absorb that but how long can you do that, still make a profit and be price competitive in the marketplace? 

[advancedtechtm]

eBay criminal activities:

1. Charging buyers state sale's tax outside California where  eBay does not have offices 

2. Charging sellers a fee on shipment , not just on sold item price s.c. 'final value fees'

3. Including the sales tax when calculating 'final value fees' (item + shipment+ state sales tax)

4. Fee on Fake promotion offers ( your item does not appear on top as it should)

Contact:

*your local Inspector general office

 *IRS

*Better Business bureau

*Federal trade commissioner

*Talk to your lawyer - ask for Class action law suit possibility 

The more complaints these organizations receive, the greater chance to stop eBay scams.

Just complaining on this forum would not resolve anything.

Good luck to all of us! 

5. Charging sellers International fees  1.65% ( not buyers) extra $12 if buyer is registered outside USA, even he lives in USA

[robxznyc]

A common cause for promoted listings not showing in search is your browser ad block extension setting. You can use a different browser or turn the ad block extension off and try searching your listing again. 

[action-finder]

It goes beyond the promotional fees not making any difference. In my opinion (selling on eBay with the same account for over 20 years), eBay is actively burying your listing UNLESS you pay the promo fee. I’ve been selling the same kind of items for two decades, after eBay launched this scam, items that would easily receive 10-20 views in 48 hrs were receiving 1-2 views. And it’s remained that way ever since. 

[stuffyoulikealot]

By definition?Yes,they are a scam. 

"a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation" From Webster's...

They are deceptive at the very least. As well as ebay itself. Companies thrive on loopholes and lies. Fudging numbers or paying off others for committed crimes, rerouting or ignoring legitimate customer and user complaints, or settling lawsuits with no remorse or consequences felt. Manipulating public perception ,or more accurately, creating and spreading propaganda.Also hiding behind lawyers and politic powers and money. Whether it's local or on a larger scale. 

[dbfolks166mt]

eBay criminal activities:

1. Charging buyers state sale's tax outside California where  eBay does not have offices. Contact the US Supreme Court about this one. 

2. Charging sellers a fee on shipment , not just on sold item price s.c. 'final value fees'

3. Including the sales tax when calculating 'final value fees' (item + shipment+ state sales tax)

4. Fee on Fake promotion offers ( your item does not appear on top as it should)

Contact:

*your local Inspector general office

 *IRS

*Better Business bureau

*Federal trade commissioner

*Talk to your lawyer - ask for Class action law suit possibility. None of these are going to have enough merit for any lawyer to take on but feel to pursue on you own. 

The more complaints these organizations receive, the greater chance to stop eBay scams.

Just complaining on this forum would not resolve anything.

Good luck to all of us! 

5. Charging sellers International fees  1.65% ( not buyers) extra $12 if buyer is registered outside USA, even he lives in USA Totally agree with you on this one but not sure what the reference is to the extra $12. 

[it*supplyguy]

I tested this very thing just recently. Suddenly, all my listing had only 1 or 2 views, but, when I paid the extra $10 for 'promote the listing', magically, my listing went to 40 - 50 views. Ebay is promoting a scam to make extra money. They are like Ticketmaster in which they will not list the first 5 rows and then suddenly they broker their own tickets at higher prices to sell the first 5 rows.

[redlinear]

Everyday here. Same thing.  
I can pay for promotions, BIG...and it still not show up when I search for it. And it not show up at the bottom of others listings for the same item.
I might search and not be able to find it at all.
I might search and see it. Then switch to "lowest price 1st", and it be GONE (even though it is lower than what I'm seeing.
I see others listings, open them, and they are in the flat out wrong category. Yet they show up, and mine does not.
It's beyond frustrating.