eBay Sales Promotions

[moldy5]

I just read another article about how Amazon is preparing for tomorrows' cyber Monday event. These ads/articles remind folks where to go hunting for online deals.  Where in the world are eBays' ads being seen? I mean for actual gift purchases. Not for cars or getting something authenticated. Some promos for the things the millions of sellers hope to sell this month! Are we just supposed to hope, pray, pay to promote with no help whatsoever from the website owners???

[chapeau-noir]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

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@retro_entertainment_collectibles wrote:

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

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@toomuchstuffagain35 wrote:

There are plenty of NIB items on ebay suitable for gift giving.

Also plenty of Christmas/Holiday decorations, serving ware etc.

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@toomuchstuffagain35 

With around 1.7 BILLION listings on eBay I am sure there are plenty of New or New Other listings suitable for gift giving or as you mentioned, decorating for the Holidays ... my wife sold a 48" tall Empire Blow Mold Santa Claus two weeks ago ... used to be sure but desirable this time of year.

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Absolutely!

Yet Christmas has basically a three week assurance window come Black Friday.  Why are people spending so much money this year?  The bargains.  Where are the bargains here and quantities to suit demand that an international company, eBay, can promote from say 10,000+ eBay sellers?

It's like going to that whatever the name giant flea market in California and on a Bull Horn two months ago saying, "Ok... Everyone listen up!  Everything here needs a 40-80% markdown for The Black Friday Weekend and you need commit to that pricing now.  Anything that you can't commit, we understand.  But we're going to segment that stuff as the focus of that weekend are deep discounts."

You'd see the vendors at the Flea Market loose their minds, same here.

eBay is running ad's, focal ad's.  Those focal ad's going to bring in more traffic than, "Hey we have anything and everything.  Come roll the dice."

Too late now really leverage this weekend but I'll put it out there again...

Question:  Exactly what would any of us think be effective advertising for eBay to have done?  Take into account every retailer of size competing for consumer dollars running sales and ad's at deep discounts for new desirable products and have been for several weeks prior to the weekend.

So what do those ad's look like, everyone chime in.

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@retro_entertainment_collectibles 

I saw an extremely effective Amazon commercial during the Eagles game today ... three elderly women sitting on a park bench in winter clothing with snow on the ground and then from off camera they were handed Amazon boxes.  They looked puzzled, then opened the boxes ... inside were plastic sleds and helmets ... yep, so they went to the hill where all the kids were sledding and hopped on.  Down they went, gaining speed and really getting into it ... then they did a flashback to when the three were younger sledding together WOW!  I loved it, it was great and had a vintage nostalgic twist to it too! 

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And you just hit on why eBay should advertise - that lever they have to actually trip those memories (and sales) - NOSTALGIA. "Do you remember? Well, we've got it."

[vintagecraze50]

The ads for the authenticated items are a main focus because it brings in the most monetary rewards for the advertising fees. They need to draw in these types of buyers and to continue to do so. I would SPEND my advertising buck on the items I have that bring in the most value. Pretty darn smart. As far as the rest of the site. Get the people who have money on here and they will spend high and more.

[vintagecraze50]

So, along with eBay’s focus on ads for these items that bring in more monetary reward. Let’s use an example sample from your own merch. On mine i am going to spend on a ad rate, not too high because  ya know I gotta get a profit too. I choose some of my more desirable and expensive inventory to do that ad. But before I do that I look at my competition. Oh, so and so has this exaggerated price on this or that and I can really beat that with my price and an ad rate that I can definately make a profit from. Hummm let’s see let’s start at 2 percent. Goodness It sold. Not only because it was promoted but because it was promoted at the best competitive price. 

[mr_lincoln]

@my-cottage-books-and-antiques 

Well said ... I still get messages or Feedback that contain statements that the item they bought was something they had as a kid or their parents had or their grandparents had, etc.  I got one recently about a Buyer who said their grandchild collected these items ... the item happened to be a vintage board game of all things.   

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

Thanks @mr_lincoln 

ebay is well positioned to really market for the Holidays, but it isn't going to happen. (at least not this year, and probably not as long as this CEO is in charge).

So, as sellers, as we agree, we must just do the best we can to make it work despite its shortcomings. Or we make ecommerce work for us in other ways. 

[tobaccocardyahoo]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

So, yeah, ebay I get it....your surveys show everyone is watching their wallet, everyone wants a deal....so what? People want deals all year round.  And EVERY retailer is providing "deals" this season. Think that makes you stand out? The Season is about feelings and emotions and memories, and ebay's data driven marketers seem unable to grasp that.

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Everyone is not providing deals.

Last quarter,  Target reported lower sales and higher profits. They were not and probably are not providing deals. They raised prices by more than their costs increased.

Last quarter, Pepsi reported lower sales and higher profits. They were not and probably are not providing deals. They raised prices by more than their costs increased.

There are many companies including other major retailers who are the same story.

And every retailer who fits this pattern is making life harder for the small retailer like many Ebay sellers by sucking up buyer's disposable income.

Spending more on promotion has not paid off for a lot of companies. They have just seen their profits drop.

[femmefan1946]

Marshall McLuhan once famously said "the medium is the message".

In advertising this means the seller should buy advertising where the customers he wants are.

Now personally, think about  what media you consume?

Are you watching broadcast TV  with commercials? What is being advertised during your shows?

Same with radio. Who is advertising?

Now watch a channel or show that doesn't normally interest you at all. A cop show if you watch comedies, a game show if you prefer science fiction, a comedy if you prefer sportsball.

See how different the commercials are?

DH watches US political opinion shows on MSNBC.  The ads are for pharmaceuticals and expensive cars.  The advertising companies believe watchers are older and have money.

I watch local news. The ads are for local furniture and appliance shops and for snack foods. Apparently a younger, homemaking audience.

On the other hand, I see eBay ads  on my FaceBook page fairly often. The last ones were encouraging giving refurbished small appliances (a red KitchenAid)  as holiday presents.

[joliztoyco]

So Ford should just advertise their high dollar vehicles? Forget about the rest of the fleet that also profits their bottom line? Ford advertises their BRAND!! 
Since when does "Built Ford Tough" apply to one vehicle??

Or maybe Kroger should just advertise their "high dollar" items? When they advertise for their Holiday turkeys, don't show all the other items like rolls, potatoes, cranberry sauce etc.
Because that's exactly what they do.  They show them ALL and advertise not only their brand, but that they are the place to get ALL your  Holiday grocery needs!.

Corporations and even "Joe's Towing" spend money to advertise. BILLIONS every year.
Why?
Because it WORKS. And research has proven to them it works.

But let's let the eBay cheerleaders tell us how meaningless advertising is.
Okay then. Maybe they should work for Ford?

[chapeau-noir]

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@joliztoyco wrote:

So Ford should just advertise their high dollar vehicles? Forget about the rest of the fleet that also profits their bottom line? Ford advertises their BRAND!! 
Since when does "Built Ford Tough" apply to one vehicle??

Or maybe Kroger should just advertise their "high dollar" items? When they advertise for their Holiday turkeys, don't show all the other items like rolls, potatoes, cranberry sauce etc.
Because that's exactly what they do.  They show them ALL and advertise not only their brand, but that they are the place to get ALL your  Holiday grocery needs!.

Corporations and even "Joe's Towing" spend money to advertise. BILLIONS every year.
Why?
Because it WORKS. And research has proven to them it works.

But let's let the eBay cheerleaders tell us how meaningless advertising is.
Okay then. Maybe they should work for Ford?

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I wonder if eBay's narrowly focused advertising hasn't, at least subtly, to do with trying to distance themselves from plebeian 'yard sale' offerings? It might not be the stated purpose, but these Suits seem to live in a gated community of the mind. I can't think of any other reason, because if they want return 'enthusiast' buyers, i.e., those that return over and over through the year, just having a few verticals, particularly in such competitive categories as luxury and sports cards, isn't going to really achieve that - it's too narrow of a foundation to support such a top-heavy infrastructure without drawing these enthusiast buyers to other aspects of the site.

[mr_lincoln]

@femmefan1946 

If I didn't know any better I would think eBay is trading off the tail end of the Baby Boomer generation (a group that still has a lot of real money to spend) for a younger crowd that is more inclined to max out their credit cards, over draw their bank accounts with Debit cards and worry about how to launch a Go Fund Me page and story to pay down their debt.    I hate to think the illustration below typifies the new target buyer on the site ... 

There is nothing to say they couldn't have both groups mentioned above ... 

                        

[frugality_inc]

Let my put my consumer shoes on:

- Why would anyone shop here versus Walmart and Amazon for most purchases?

- With Walmart and Amazon handling fulfillment for most orders, why would I trust a 3rd party merchant?

- What is eBay? Car parts, overpriced shoes, collectibles and cardboard trading cards? 

- Why is search results littered with irrelevant results and these things called 'promoted listings' that are not what I'm looking for?

- Where did the eBay loyalty program 'eBay bucks' go? Why was it removed?

- I don't see many exciting promotions for categories I'm interested in.

With that being said, the results speak for themselves.

Let's see...

BFCM results so far...

Walmart up 2x compared to last year.

Amazon up 5x compared to last year.

eBay down 47% compared to last year. First time eBay has been down YoY for BFCM and in a big way. Very telling. Fun fact, I have one product on Amazon that did more merchant fulfilled order volume wise than the entirety of eBay order volume. SAD.

The site is irrelevant at this point in today's eCommerce world. Glad I pivoted years ago when I saw the writing on the wall. Let it die and I hope all eBay common stock goes to $0 so these executives have nothing left and they're properly rewarded for their contributions to destroying this once great marketplace.

[ladyindecadence]

I find it funny because the kind of people that spend 5k on a designer hand bag or 15k on a new watch or 2k on name brand sneakers likely can't afford them and put them on a credit card and make payments. I know people like this and they live paycheck to paycheck. 

I know a lot of collectors with disposable income and they are more likely to go on liveauctioneers or hibid and spend thousands of dollars on items with horrible descriptions sold as buyer beware with no money back guarantee. Then having to arrange 3rd party pickup and shipping at astronomical rates. And if you ask them about buying on ebay you get the same replies. They used to buy a lot on ebay but haven't looked at the site in forever because the search is so full of new mass produced junk they can't find the items they are interested in.

I still say ebay spent years trying to get people to think it wasn't a place to buy antiques and old stuff or even used items. But that's what everyone thinks ebay is and as they have pushed trying to be little Amazon they have pushed out the core collectors and dealers and those were the real enthusiast buyers. They came here to look for things they collect and then stayed and bought other items because it was habit to buy here.

[femmefan1946]

Or maybe Kroger should just advertise their "high dollar" items? When they advertise for their Holiday turkeys, don't show all the other items like rolls, potatoes, cranberry sauce etc.

The medium is the message.

Krogers message is "This turkey is a bargain. All our other products are also bargains."

Fords message is "We sell this tough truck. All our other products are also tough"

I have never seen a Ford ad for anything but their trucks and for that matter have not seen a Ford car being driven around for years.

The point is not that advertising does not work. The point is that advertising may not be where those complaining here  are looking.

EBay is using TV to promote car parts? But they are also saying that eBay is still a good place to find the hard to find-- even if it is not car parts.

EBay is using TV to promote sportscards? They are saying that collectibles can not only be found on eBay, but that the purchase is guaranteed to be the real thing, unlike your local card  shop or some unknown online auction.

EBay is using FaceBook to promote giving refurbished appliances for Christmas? They are also saying that eBay is a place to shop for affordable Christmas gifts.

And again, who is watching.

FaceBook's demographics are older, just like eBay sellers and buyers.

What TV shows are those car parts and sportscard ads showing up on ?

The View?

Blue Bloods?

Children Ruin Everything?

Football?

Sixty Minutes?

Black-ish?

Moosemeat and Marmalade?

What ads are on the shows you don't watch?

[chapeau-noir]

Let it die and I hope all eBay common stock goes to $0 so these executives have nothing left and they're properly rewarded for their contributions to destroying this once great marketplace.

And to hell with the millions who buy and sell here?

(I'd rather just fix the site)