eBay

monstertoybox · ‎11-08-2019

Well, my main problem, as I keep mentioning, is that my sales are in the dumper. They are down by 60% and it is the holiday shopping season, will we be getting our sales rush this year? It is looking more and more like this won't be happening.

Does Ebay want to keep us here, or do they not care? I'm a good seller, don't they want good quality sellers to make their site a great place to shop? How many other sellers are having slow to no sales this season? I see the board full of them. Would love to hear from other sellers about their experiences. If you’re doing well, please share your secrets. If you’re doing poorly please add your voice to this discussion. It does help when you know you aren't alone.

I’m following all their suggestions and more, constantly tweaking and updating, trying to chase down what works here. It is very difficult, when things keep changing. We’re trying to stay at Ebay because we believe this is a great place to sell. We just would love for it to work properly.

I am trying to get my sales kick started by taking some of the great suggestion that a few of the posters have given for Ebay and ended some items, waited a few days and then relisted them using sell similar. I did do the promoted listings again, which I don’t like at all, but I’m afraid that this is a necessary evil after reading what others have said. I listed a bunch of Christmas ornaments and I’ve added more free shipping to more of my listings. Maybe I'll try to list some more stuff today. So hopefully these things will help, whenever the site starts working properly again, that is. Still waiting …

It is hard to stay motivated, when you try everything and nothing seems to help.

I did start selling on another site (and actually got a sale today, yay), but of course I'm new and don't have a seller reputation like I do here on Ebay. I would much rather stick with where I have all my history and with what I am familiar with. It would be great if Ebay would please stop changing things and concentrate on fixing things instead, so we can get back to selling. We just want to love you again Ebay. No hate here, just frustration, major frustration. I would much rather be packing up boxes then writing on this board, believe me.

yuya_16 · ‎11-22-2019

@pink.fish.rule wrote:
@yuya_16 wrote:
BTW, when I searched for "whale plush huge" this morning the first few listings I was given were plush dog, monkey, bear, and tiger.
Those listings didn't even have the word "whale" anywhere in the title.
That was not a pleasant search experience.
An impatient buyer would have left seeing this.

I've seen similar search results for years now. At one time I even went into every single listing that was NOT what I was looking for, to see if my main keyword was somewhere (anywhere) on that listing and nope. Apparently AI decided it knew better than me what I was looking for.

Out of the 62 listings shown for the "whale plush" search on the first page, only one is really whale, the rest are caterpillar, sloth, panda, frog, duck, and even a PICKLE!?

This is almost comical. What a smart AI ebay is using.

It is trying to persuade me not to buy a whale for my child...or wait, maybe it is trying to persuade me to look elsewhere?

zamo-zuan · ‎11-22-2019

@pink.fish.rule wrote:
I just typed a response and got the "authentication failed" red banner and I am NOT typing all that again.

Khoros are as dysfunctional as Lithium were at actually running the boards apparently.

When I have that happen, I usually hit "back" and what I typed is still there! Using Chrome, at least.

zamo-zuan · ‎11-22-2019

Since you wanted evidence, here's some more in a thread I just made with screenshots:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Our-items-are-not-showing-up-in-search-even-in-search-by-store...

Even when searching directly by the products MPN, it's not showing up.

monstertoybox · ‎11-22-2019

@rschissler wrote:
Ok, I get it now. You're a "high quality seller" with amazing in demand items at the best prices, but for whatever reason, eBay is singling you out and blocking buyers from your items. Good luck with that thinking.

I am a good quality seller, with awesome Disney items and really good prices. And I do know my sales are 70% lower than last year and I see my same items selling from other sellers at higher prices. So yeah I guess that is what I'm thinking.

monstertoybox · ‎11-22-2019

@yuya_16 wrote:
@pink.fish.rule wrote:
@yuya_16 wrote:
BTW, when I searched for "whale plush huge" this morning the first few listings I was given were plush dog, monkey, bear, and tiger.
Those listings didn't even have the word "whale" anywhere in the title.
That was not a pleasant search experience.
An impatient buyer would have left seeing this.

I've seen similar search results for years now. At one time I even went into every single listing that was NOT what I was looking for, to see if my main keyword was somewhere (anywhere) on that listing and nope. Apparently AI decided it knew better than me what I was looking for.
Out of the 62 listings shown for the "whale plush" search on the first page, only one is really whale, the rest are caterpillar, sloth, panda, frog, duck, and even a PICKLE!?
This is almost comical. What a smart AI ebay is using.
It is trying to persuade me not to buy a whale for my child...or wait, maybe it is trying to persuade me to look elsewhere?

A pickle and a whale is the same, I'm not sure why you would think any differently? AI is just trying to teach you something. 😉

pink.fish.rule · ‎11-22-2019

@yuya_16 wrote:
@pink.fish.rule wrote:
@yuya_16 wrote:
BTW, when I searched for "whale plush huge" this morning the first few listings I was given were plush dog, monkey, bear, and tiger.
Those listings didn't even have the word "whale" anywhere in the title.
That was not a pleasant search experience.
An impatient buyer would have left seeing this.

I've seen similar search results for years now. At one time I even went into every single listing that was NOT what I was looking for, to see if my main keyword was somewhere (anywhere) on that listing and nope. Apparently AI decided it knew better than me what I was looking for.
Out of the 62 listings shown for the "whale plush" search on the first page, only one is really whale, the rest are caterpillar, sloth, panda, frog, duck, and even a PICKLE!?
This is almost comical. What a smart AI ebay is using.
It is trying to persuade me not to buy a whale for my child...or wait, maybe it is trying to persuade me to look elsewhere?

You're supposed to be looking for a baby shark - whales are so last year. = )

goldrushfinds · ‎11-22-2019

"BTW, when I searched for "whale plush huge" this morning the first few listings I was given were plush dog, monkey, bear, and tiger.

Those listings didn't even have the word "whale" anywhere in the title.

That was not a pleasant search experience.

An impatient buyer would have left seeing this. "

That's just ridiculous. I repeated your search and it is so true. Almost every animal but a whale. If I just type "Stuffed Whale", I get good matching results. That however is no excuse for the poor match for "whale plush huge". What are these tech people thinking and what are they getting paid for. This is absolutely unacceptable. Do programers at Ebay ever run tests for their searches. I see why potential buyers would go elsewhere.

gwzcomps · ‎11-22-2019

I kinda wish there was a way to make a comment that wasn't pointing at a specific user. This is just a general comment pointing at no one in particular.

I really question the motives of the people who try so hard to deny the fact that eBay is manipulating the search results. Either they are trolling or trying to stir the pot. Anyone who wants to think we are implying eBay is targeting specific sellers is being foolish. The search engine is a program that is configured by a human with an intent. The way the program is configured shows that there is the intent to suppress listings based on unknown criteria.

I personally am aware of the "To drive a positive user experience, a listing may not appear in some search and browse results regardless of the sort order chosen by the buyer." term. I also think it is an ethically questionable policy considering we are paying for exposure on the site. The problem is most user agreements exist purely as a way to get out of any responsibility. Typical corporate corruption and the need to screw the customer to make a profit. If anyone wants to make an argument about below standard accounts I will agree with that argument. The problem is when accounts in good standing don't get equal exposure. If eBay stops charging listing fees then we will have less of a leg to stand on when complaining.

gwzcomps · ‎11-22-2019

I have had bad search results cost me money as a buyer. Complained to eBay and they don't care. Check out all the great results you get for "256GB mSATA" if you are bored. Sadly there is no way to get these problems solved because eBay isn't willing to invest the money and effort to make changes that will provide a better user experience.

uncseniorsportsfan · ‎11-22-2019

I research every item on ebay in both actives and solds before deciding whether to list it. Now I don't know whether eBay is "hiding" my listings, but I do know that search is giving me a lot of items that aren't what I'm trying to list and that I don't get the same results from day to day.

I also know that my sales have declined on all four accounts since March 2019 and are at 20 year monthly lows in total each month. I also know that my sports stuff - always my highest selling category August thru November - has not been selling since March Madness.

I also know that eBay manipulates search not only with promoted listings but by allowing buyers to search by free shipping, free returns, and best offer. Since I don't use those "best practices" I am sure many of my listings are "hidden" from buyers that deem them more important than getting good quality, reasonably priced items..

nuclearomen · ‎11-22-2019

@gwzcomps wrote:
I kinda wish there was a way to make a comment that wasn't pointing at a specific user. This is just a general comment pointing at no one in particular.

I really question the motives of the people who try so hard to deny the fact that eBay is manipulating the search results. Either they are trolling or trying to stir the pot. Anyone who wants to think we are implying eBay is targeting specific sellers is being foolish. The search engine is a program that is configured by a human with an intent. The way the program is configured shows that there is the intent to suppress listings based on unknown criteria.

the search is a program that is configured by algorithms that are written by computers not humans i doubt there is one line of code on entire ebay platform that is actually written by employee.

The great truth is there isn't one
And it only gets worse since that conclusion...
...There is something about the rigid posture of a proper, authentic blind
As if extended arms reached to pass his blindness onto others.

gwzcomps · ‎11-22-2019

So the search engine is essentially skynet then :o? All programs have been created and designed by humans. The real question is how much does the human input influence the output?

gwzcomps · ‎11-22-2019

@uncseniorsportsfan wrote:
I research every item on ebay in both actives and solds before deciding whether to list it. Now I don't know whether eBay is "hiding" my listings, but I do know that search is giving me a lot of items that aren't what I'm trying to list and that I don't get the same results from day to day.

I also know that my sales have declined on all four accounts since March 2019 and are at 20 year monthly lows in total each month. I also know that my sports stuff - always my highest selling category August thru November - has not been selling since March Madness.

I also know that eBay manipulates search not only with promoted listings but by allowing buyers to search by free shipping, free returns, and best offer. Since I don't use those "best practices" I am sure many of my listings are "hidden" from buyers that deem them more important than getting good quality, reasonably priced items..

I am not sure I would consider filtering manipulation personally. If your item is a better deal than the one with free shipping then it should sell better in theory. I am not sure how most buyers search though. Maybe some of the psychological games work? I am too used to having a rigid price in mind when it comes to buying.

riskyslegacy · ‎11-22-2019

Very slow sales. Issues with buyers not paying. Issues with buyers returning damaged items and ebay refunding them anyway.

Seems like Ebay is trying to run off their sellers? Customer service is of no help.

Things seem to be getting worse by the day. Making more sales on other site. I used to love Ebay.

weaselsrule! · ‎11-22-2019

Buyers come to ebay during the holidays for unique and hard to find items - prices for some in demand collectibles that are no longer made can more than double during the holidays and then revert to their old prices in February. If you have items that are in demand the next few weeks can be quite lucrative.