eBay

retromedia2 · ‎06-29-2023

OK, someone explain this to me again.

EBay claim to have over 130 million subscribers.

As they say, and I quote from their own published statistics here:

There are a whopping 100 million visitors each month to eBay. That’s 100 million potential visitors to your product listings.

100 million visitors eh?

So, I post a listing for a Matchbox "Vauxhall Cresta"........and after a few days see a total of ONE view, and that, presumably, only because I paid $2.99 for a supposedly "promoted" listing. Other non-promoted listings show "NO views!" - which is normal - right? (even when it shows 'watchers?' How exactly do they 'watch' it without 'viewing' it?)

Can't be because it's "too expensive" or "crappy photography." It certainly isn't due to "lack of detail" or

"Disinterest" in diecast cars.....because ONLY ONE PERSON (out of 130,000,000 IN THE WORLD (forty plus million in the US alone) HAS EVEN SEEN IT!"

'One view' out of that many active buyers is just not possible. (Unless of course, most of them cannot SEE the listing for whatever reason! which I suspect is the true reason)

When I began selling cars like this in the early 2000's, there were normally a few views moments after I posted it. After a few days, there were usually 150-200 views (often, way more) with many watchers. This was the norm until 2015-16 when it began to slacken off. By 2020 the first day might net 30 views......so here we are now with a highly saleable Vauxhall Cresta and just the one view!

Oh yeah, and plus the questionable decision by Ebay to take a commission for God's sake, from the sales tax and shipping costs," NEITHER OF WHICH are income.

mn467462 · ‎06-29-2023

Because there's more than one listing on ebay.

coolections · ‎06-29-2023

One hundred million does not mean one hundred million people want your single matchbox car. There are over one hundred million matchbox cars listed so you have a one in one hundred million chance of selling yours. Please do not think because there are one hundred million people visiting the site that you should be selling things. That is where so many newbies are mislead to thinking. You may NEVER sell that matchbox car.

inhawaii · ‎06-29-2023

But the listing title says "Not a listing you'll see often!" 😉

Papa Was A Rolling Stone - The Temptations

yuzuha · ‎06-29-2023

@retromedia2 wrote:

When I began selling cars like this in the early 2000's, there were normally a few views moments after I posted it. After a few days, there were usually 150-200 views (often, way more) with many watchers. This was the norm until 2015-16 when it began to slacken off. By 2020 the first day might net 30 views......so here we are now with a highly saleable Vauxhall Cresta and just the one view!

This sounds to me like interest in that particular type of item has just plain declined over the years, which is completely normal. Times change, trends change, and what might have sold in 24 hours ten years ago might not sell at all today.

As an example, I used to be able to flip Re:ZERO figures very quickly when that series was hot. But demand for it has cooled off, and now I have a whole bunch of Re:ZERO figures still sitting around that just won't move. I sell maybe one every few months, as opposed to them selling within a week or so of me listing them. That's just how it goes.

tobaccocardyahoo · ‎06-29-2023

As mn467462 says, there is likely to be more than one listing for this car.

Add to that the relatively small number of US buyers who would be interested in a Vauxhall model and the cost of international shipping which might deter buyers who are not in the US,

I regularly have listings with no views in a month. That is why my listings are in an Ebay store, and auto-renew. A relatively low percentage of my listings sell each month, but they sell at prices where even the lowest priced item meets my minimum profit goal.

This means that my product cost must be low, my number of items listed must be high, and I not pay per item listing fees, only final value fees.

It is the only strategy I have found which allows me to sell low demand items.

ebooksdiva · ‎06-29-2023

If your item was the only one listed on eBay, then possibly there would be more excitement for it. But since you have competition there are 815 listings for the Vauxhall Cresta 75 results for Dauphine Caravan

Not many buyers would be searching for “not a listing you’ll see very often”.

Perhaps changing your title to something more specific to the item you’re selling. Like adding the year the die cast was made, condition and manufacturer.

ms.rodriguez* · ‎06-29-2023

I sell mainly diecast and frankly, that particular car is very ugly. The real car NEVER sold here so very few of today's collectors want that car in their collection. The ones that had this car in their collection are in their 60s to 70s and they are probably unloading their cars too instead of buying. I have thousands of diecast cars and you could not give me that car unless you wrapped it in a 50 dollar bill. It's that ugly and undesirable to me. The collectors for that model are in the UK. They can probably get it alot cheaper in the UK.

When you pay to promote, you ONLY pay if the item sold. If you are going to lose money on this car, pay a lower promo fee.

As a seller, it always takes me longer to unload a foreign car like a Vauxhaul or a Peugeot. There just aren't many collectors in the USA for those models.

mam98031 · ‎06-29-2023

There are about 135 million active buyers on Ebay and around 18-19 million sellers worldwide. 6-7 million sellers being in the USA.

If you think Ebay or any other site for that matter can make buyers buy, you would be misinformed. Buyers are free to shop all they want and purchase when ready.

And NO those 100 million visitors are NOT all viewing your items or mine. Some of them will and the rest will be looking at other stuff. There are a couple BILLION+ active listings on the site. Not every visitor views every single one of those listings. Most simply do not matter to them.

What is true is many of us are in a real pickle. With worldwide inflation on food, gas, housing, etc., many of us have to decide what we need to have verses what we want to have and set priorities.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

chapeau-noir · ‎06-29-2023

It's not how many people use eBay per month, it's how many people are interested in your category, then of those how many people are interested in your particular item in that category out of possibly many similar listings, then those who actually find your listing.

IMHO - use richer keywords in titles - people search for stuff all sorts of ways, plus those who may not be searching for your particular item, but become interested in it when they see it, and who want to net all of those. This isn't the eBay of 2005 when I could just list a pair of shoes with a joke title and they'd sell anyway. There are 1.7 billion listings on here.

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”
— Alice Walker

#freedomtoread
#readbannedbooks

sakic92710 · ‎06-30-2023

The ratio of potential buyers & actual sales is much lower on Marketplace than on eBay yet, my amount of sales on FBM is much greater. Can anyone explain that if it has nothing to do with eBay interference? Just had a sale on Marketplace yesterday & have 3 buyers set up to come pick up over the weekend. eBay? 3 sales this month! 2 weeks ago, I sold $330 on FBM in 1 day. This is more than eBay over the last 3 months! Nothing wrong with eBay? Horse****! I have a listing on eBay with one of the most popular superheroes. As far as I can see, I am only competing against 1 other seller & their listing is almost 4x my price. Almost 12 days in & there are 0 views. 3 views the month before. Ridiculous!