Listing other seller's similar items not once but twice on my page and before complete my info
Does anyone feel this is a bit wrong for eBay to show your item page and before the customer even gets to shipping info there are a list of other seller's similar items. The same thing happens again before you get to product information. It use to be the other seller's items were listed after all the product info. I understand that I may benefit from this too, but if there is a better price on these similar or same items it just seems a bit unfair. More importantly free shipping. I cannot afford free shipping except on higher price items ($20 or more). I have a lot of small items that the shipping is $3.85 plus on any thing from 0-5oz. This is my first time posting and just want to put this out there.
12 comments
retro_entertainment_collectibles
·2 years agoIt's really not a price competitive addition as its sponsored listings and will IMHO ultimately not have the desired effects nor will the "Inspired by" section.
Many who use Sponsored up the pricing to cover the additional costing of sponsored view. There is no price filter sort, conditions sort or anything else there so it really is more like a exposure attempt sell than anything all too impactful.
It may actually HELP the original listing seeing that sponsored items may not suit thus those paying for sponsored items actually delivering the qualified buying traffic to the original listing. It is by no means a well calculated alternative to Amazons "One Product Many Offers" which by nature harvests competition.
Further, those who pay for promoted to get top placement in general search probably not be all too pleased to see other promoted listings within theirs. Atop this just as the OP is distressed to see it so will be many other vendors further reducing their confidence as point of sale for the service. Whilst PL's may be a stop gap measure for company revenues they don't address the actual problem(s) as to why those revenue boosts need occur. This makes PL's a reactive measure versus proactive change to market and economics which is in part why I've said before they are zero based... They do not address the fundamental problems which are in no particular order:
1. Pricing
2. Consumer Confidence
3. Vendor Confidence
4. Market Competition for the dollar (traffic/traffic retention).
5. Value added resource towards #4.
With #1 there need be no "proofing" as Amazon, Walmart, Temu as simple examples of low price. We are all shoppers too and most all of us will seek low price along with confidence when shopping. All three of the above have differing models that have made their success explode. Amazon is one listing, multiple offers driving price competition. Walmarts is demanding low price against all other major retailers or they'll hide listings. The ship to store and treatment of orders no differently than their retail locations gifts a significant advantage even over Amazon and the companies logistics are superior to even Amazon due to retail presence. Temu, for what they offer is tremendous values at low price.
Not being market competitive natively within the site is issue yet atop that not being market competitive to external venues just adds atop it.
As to #2 and #3 without the glue of trust between transacting partners the entire fabric becomes flawed. Money Back Guarantee's are well and fine and a consumer might go, "Oh... Ok, well this didnt go well..." but if it happens again in recent terms of time odds are that consumer is gone and may well take family or friends along with them. With vendors if they are taken at what they consider significant effect they too change their ways. That might be not listing items of risk, listing them elsewhere and/or seeking local transacting. For example I know perhaps a dozen online sellers and not a one of them will put items of risk on here. For example, friend who does PC's, he'll list low cost legacy laptops, laptop parts, this/that on here but the gaming PC's, high end video cards on and on, he wont. He told me flat out, "Done doing that there." He claims the moment PayPal exited so did his ability to defend against consumers taking him. I dont know if that's true or not, but that's what he claims. Now he sells low end gaming PC's at Amazon and the high ends rigs through FB Marketplace direct, they come to his store.
#4 relates right back to #1, #2 and #3 and to extent #5.
#5 We see all over from retail to cellphone providers whom offer value added capabilities and offers for buying their products/shopping with them, even many of the card issuing entities offer said abilities.
eBay's problems are not of eBays creation per se, they all revolve around seller and buyers.
4pawsup*
·2 years agoTo me that is the essence of capitalism. Fair market competition.
adkhighker
·2 years agoHeck yes I think it's wrong that eBay does that. It's almost like an invasion of the seller's privacy. I sell mostly antiques of the unique variety, so when eBay does it to me it has no effect because any "similar items" they could stick on my page are not close to being similar to what I'm selling.
The only thing I can think of that you might try is maybe grouping up some of your lower priced items that are similar to each other and selling them as a group of 5 or whatever quantity, which might make it harder for eBay to put invasive ads from other sellers in your listing that are similar enough to influence anyone.
Anyway, stick with it and best of luck to you. I viewed some your listings and you are doing a really nice job.
hartungcards
·2 years agoAn invasion of the seller's privacy? You have no privacy if you're selling stuff on the internet.
hartungcards
·2 years agoIf there's a better price on these similar or same items, then your price is too high. Look at it as a research tool.
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 years agoAlthough this may make it more obvious to buyers, it does not change the fact that if you are unable to compete with other sellers offering the same or similar products, you should not be listing the item.
This may sound cruel, but price sensitive buyers can and will find the lowest priced offers. They will do so with very little effort, like sorting the search results by lowest price first.
If there is nothing compelling about your listing and your sales history, the competition will make the sales whether their sponsored ad is on your page or not.
If you can't compete, either find products which you can compete with or find a different way of selling your items.
A significant number of Ebay buyers buy solely on price.
denhug-20
OP2 years agoThis is certainly true that they look for the lowest price, but that low price may be $3 with free shipping and average price listed is $12 and no free shipping. Hard to compete with that. I sell my items and I do not mine that we often are selling the same or similar products, all I am saying is let the customer see the whole listing before showing the competition.
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 years ago$3 with free shipping is either an idiot or a con man. There is no profit there.
You cannot compete with them unless the buyers see that as evidence that the seller is an idiot or a con man - some do. For serious buyers of things of merit, a price which is too low sets off alarm bells. If you do not set off alarm bells you can make the sale.
If the item is only worth $3 with free shipping, you should not be offering it and expecting to make a profit. There are many items being sold which are only worth $3 with free shipping and this site would be better off if they were gone. So would the seller offering them if he is also paying for promotion.
You cannot expect to never have to deal with clueless competition.
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years agoBeen that way for years. It's what is done here. You just have to deal with it because they are not going to change it.
denhug-20
OP2 years agoSorry it has not been years. Yes posting of other sellers items at the end of the product page not where it now being listed. This is my 5th year and it just recently changed.
valueaddedresource
·2 years ago@denhug-20 - @stainlessenginecovers is correct, there have been multiple rows of competitor Promoted Listings above descriptions for years.
If you need proof, here's a post I made in a community chat almost exactly 2 years ago with a screenshot showing 2 rows of ads above the product description - and it was not a new thing even then.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Monthly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Community-Chat-December-29-1-00-pm-PT-General-Topics/m-p/32578122/highlight/true#M28551
Previously, eBay often didn't show ads in those spots to you as the seller when you were looking at your own listings, but I can assure you that buyers have been seeing them there for years.
Earlier this year, eBay started testing a new design for the view item page and as part of those changes, sellers were suddenly able to see those ads on their own listings as well, which is why many sellers think this is new even though it has been happening for years.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/We-are-testing-a-new-View-Item-experience-on-desktop/m-p/33652116#M442006
As part of the new View Item page design, eBay has promised to "Bring critical information like Item specifics and seller description higher up on the page before any modules that show other items & ads."
However, we're 9 months into the "test" now and so far it hasn't happened, which does not inspire much confidence that eBay actually plans to keep that promise.
More threads about this topic if you're interested:
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Is-there-a-new-way-that-our-listings-are-displayed/m-p/33926963
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/NEW-Listing-page-layout-Thumbs-UP/m-p/33781112
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Promoted-listings-from-other-sellersshow-up-on-my-pages/m-p/33815449
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years agoThis is my 27th year as I've been here when the internet was AOL.
Anyway, it HAS been years, as when ebay started Promotions, I saw that 'other sellers' items were on MY listings, so that is when I signed up for Promotions and now, not only was MY items shown on MY Listings, but on 'other sellers' listings as well.
It's not quite the same now, as they now do sell 'other sellers' regardless of 'promotions' but...
It's been this way for years...