Our universe 100% shifted on eBay. Now to make sales new thoughts, activities must go into listings!
Any new listing now automatically comes with 30-50 competing listings on your sell item page.
I am now going forward NOT selling anything not unique, one of a kind because on my items page a competitor will under sell me with a similar like exact item.
Items in multiples whether a designer brand, an antique or vintage item not rare but generic or in fact anything a book, plate, car part, sweater, etc., will be forevermore on your page with many or most cheaper similar options available 1 click away.
No point to even go to the trouble to list that item if it’s obviously likely it will have no real chance of selling especially if cheaper items are readily available.
What is needed I theorize is an unusual item not already listed here no body else has!
I made a decent living selling here for the past 25 years but the bottom dropped out on me this year.
I have listings from the past currently up here for sale now but this post is about eBays future.
stainlessenginecovers
·2 years agoI so don't understand why this keeps coming up as if though it's something new.
This has been going on for YEARS (since PL started)
When PL first came out, I saw other sellers on my listings; so I joined PL immediately and now almost all items shown are my items; as well as my items are showing on my competitor listings.
I pay the min (was 1%, now 2%).
2021 sales $ were 8% up from 2020
2022 sales $ were up 9% from 2021
2023 sales $ are 5% up from 2022
sextons-sweet-deals
·2 years agoI looked at one of your listings and then checked one of mine as a 'shopper' and I see the same thing.
Not cool eBay!
sextons-sweet-deals
·2 years agoI was hit with the new listing format this morning.
I see that a potential buyer now has to click on 'description' to see what I wrote about the item, measurements, and other details, but in order to do that, they have to scroll past the 'similar sponsored items' in order to click on it. That is totally not right!
Are the 'similar sponsored items' the people who pay-to-play to have their listings show first in a shopper's search description?
If so, this is not fair. ethical, and I have to wonder if even legal. These are our listings that we pay for and eBay is putting other seller items in our listings.
What I'm seeing is two sections of so called 'sponsored items'.
1. 'similar sponsored items' which I have never looked at, so that makes we wonder if these are 'pay-to-play listings?
2. 'Sponsored items inspired by your views', which I have looked at have moved on or put on my watch list already.
This is just my observation. Not trying to start a feud. Just want to share with eBay so they can put themselves in our position and understand why it is no right.
valueaddedresource
·2 years ago@sextons-sweet-deals just to clarify, are you seeing a module that requires the buyer to click to the description tab - like this?
If so, are you saying the ads are above the module with the item specifics, description etc?
So far in the version I'm seeing, they have moved the ad modules below that (like in my screenshot) which is just about the only positive thing about it imo....would be interesting if they are also testing a version like this where the ads are still above.
sextons-sweet-deals
·2 years agoI'm now seeing what you show, but now there even more below that.
Influenced by recent sponsored views
Related sponsored items
People who viewed this item also viewed
Find more sponsored items
valueaddedresource
·2 years agoThanks @sextons-sweet-deals! Yeah, there are definitely still rows and rows of PL even further as you scroll down the page, but mostly I'm interested in whether they keep the ones above the IS/description or not because they've promised the new View Item page design will be moving IS/description above the ad modules.
cardxcraft
·2 years ago.......................wrong post
 
joliztoyco
·2 years agoeBay has no "future" vision.
They only have a "now" view.
A "now" that only concerns itself with squeezing every drop of profit they can from their sellers, and keeping their stock price propped up.
A stock price that is integral in every eBay executive's decision, and THEIR portfolios.
Their own self interest is obvious in every "improvement" they roll out on this platform.
How else will they have a great big "golden parachute" to fall back on when they abandon the dumpsterfire they've turned eBay into?
But on a brighter note eBay's Promoted Listings revenue was UP again last quarter!!
Isn't that great??
anjofak
·2 years agoHad spotted this a few months ago taking a look at our listings from the outside perspective, seeing the average sales price listed right underneath ours only about 30$ lower so I clicked it only to find nothing similar, and a mess of items that not in anyway were similar to each other...big wow on the , thanks for damaging another good thing..
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoYour listing at its price and quality should be presented with other similar listing in that approximate price range, which in most cases I see that on mine with a few exceptions. They definately should not be putting el cheapo listings like used junky looking pictures from non pro sellers on that comparison page.
coolections
·2 years agoJust being honest. After looking at several of your listings I would easily sold the same things you have listed for at least 40% less than your asking prices.
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 years agoThose who sell commodities have little to compete based on other than price. And that little might be presenting an image which makes people more likely to buy from you rather than one of your competitors.
Many buyers buy on Ebay for price reasons. I buy inexpensive Chinese electronics on Ebay because they are cheaper than Amazon virtually all of the time. I buy name brand expendable products on Amazon because they arrive in a day and do not cost me more than Ebay.
I buy used or collectible products on Ebay when they are priced below where I feel they should be. I am no longer motivated to collect unless I can do so without any financial weight lifting.
I am at the point that most of what I sell on Ebay is at least 50 years old and a significant portion is between 100 and 150 years old. I live in an area which had a population back in those days, but some of that 50+ year old merch is stuff I bought when it was new, common and cheap.
Yes it is harder to sell here. Many of the buyers who would have bought some of my items, are looking to get rid of their own related items. Many of the Ebay sellers are selling items they know nothing about, do nothing to educate their buyers (or themselves) and expect to sell everything quickly. They drop prices when no one has even looked at their items, let alone bought them. When a real buyer comes along, they pay well under what they would be willing to pay, and the item is forever cheapened in the eyes of anyone who sees the sale price.
Notice that at no point am I blaming Ebay for these problems. Ebay is not perfect, but many of the sellers on this site are helping to destroy the value of the things they offer. And there are lots of buyers who are glad to help them.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoThat is a big problem on this website. Too many people putting things up that are not pro sellers and giving the stuff away. They have not a inkling how to price their items.
mr_lincoln
·2 years agoHi @jewelbiz
We are seeing more and more of this complaint whereby eBay splits up a Seller's Listing space and dumps in sponsored listings right in the middle of the Seller's real estate. There is plenty of room below listings or in the side gutters for ads, period.
@devon@ebay , @kyle@ebay
I believe this is another issue that is gaining momentum, I know I am against a listing being split up by several lines of listings from other Sellers ... as stated, there is plenty of room outside the Seller's Listing space for ads or sponsored listings.
Then on top of that the OP reports after 25 years the bottom dropped out on sales this year.
norskmediashop
·2 years agocompletely agree,
and just too many geeks working at these companies. they don't know anything about business and they don't care.
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@norskmediashop Sadly, the programmers do what they are told so the issue is higher up and it is intentional. What is driving eBay is that they are trying to get more fees via PLS and PLA to double their Fee base on fewer sales. And even sadder is the Seller has no control over what they are doing ... a number of us have been tracking the Suggested rates eBay publishes and they have magically doubled and tripled in a very short period of time ... so the trend I have tested is that listings are suppressed - hidden - buried = etc if one does not use eBay's Suggested rates on PLS campaigns. I have been tracking trends with PLS for quite a while ...
devon@ebay
Hey @mr_lincoln! This is something that the team in charge of the desktop redesign is aware of and they are looking into it. We will update you and others once we know what the next plan is for the redesign.
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@devon@ebay Thank you for the quick reply and I appreciate you sharing the listing format insight for the OP's and other members' benefit!
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·2 years ago@devon@ebay @valueaddedresource
Devon, actually, I think splitting up the page in this way is something the Team has promised more than once will NOT be part of the final design. So now they are "looking into it"? Does that mean they might decide to renege on that promise? Valueadded, do you perhaps have some screen shots to support what my memory is telling me?
And while we're at it, I'll go ahead and ask: can we get some kind of timeline for this testing to end? Will it be before Q4, or will this just go on throughout the year?
valueaddedresource
·2 years ago@my-cottage-books-and-antiques in fact, @devon@ebay is the one who originally posted it but, but happy to jog his memory if needed. 😉
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Buying/We-are-testing-a-new-View-Item-experience-on-desktop/m-p/33652116#M442006
Also when questions came up because the first iteration of the test most of us saw did not move the description above the ads, whoever is behind @buyer_team@ebay reiterated that commitment was still part of the plan.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/eBay-showing-other-Sponsored-Listings-inside-your-Listing-before/m-p/33809482/highlight/true#M2227419
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·2 years agoThanks, @valueaddedresource Glad to know my memory is still good, at least for some stuff LOL
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoI hope they get this done before Q4.
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@my-cottage-books-and-antiques , This would be a good question to post on the eBay Monthly Chat if it isn't already an ongoing topic there.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·2 years ago@mr_lincoln Monthly Chat is usually on one pre-selected topic. August was Shipping. Technically, posts are supposed to be confined to the announced topic, so unless the View Item Redesign/Adsteam is the topic, I'm not sure that would help very much. September's topic hasn't been announced yet. And, given that Sept is ebay Open, I'm not sure they'll even have Monthly Chat.
allthingssurplus
·2 years agoIn my view eBay has no vested interest in removing the wave of competing listings on a Sellers listing. The concept of a listing is to show a Buyer what you have to sell in the best manner you can. The part that is a rub is we Sellers are paying for that space. So in fairness how about we get say 5-10% of the competitors sale if it was first seen on the original Seller listing. Not sure if thats clear.
Here is what is missed with all of this unwanted advertising on a Sellers listing, free trade has been removed from the process. When you add on Promoted listing in the mix now it just does not matter how good of a Seller you are. The other missed part of this process is the site is in motion to not be sustainable. Sellers like myself have with drawn. I only sell 10% of our product on eBay and working to reduce that. We do like $300k on the site. Someone on the thread stated the IT people don't think like business people. Never has a statement been more true. We have determined with throttling we are allowed to have normal sales like 6 times a month. I can chart it. Organic sales and developed relationships are the way to growth. eBays current path is only reducing platform ridership and declining Gross Market Value (sales). Yes folks GMV has declined for the last 8 quarters in a row. and each quarter we are told as we were today how great the last quarter was. I don't know what they are passing around in the meetings that take place, I do know I don't want any.
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@allthingssurplus
Throttling, suppression, hiding, burying, etc it's basically all a form of manipulation for specific reasons. There are quite a few knowledgeable Sellers on the venue that notice obvious changes based on their experience in their categories and regardless of their size ... while I am about 1/6 of what you do here I can easily see when a major venue change alters sales in the wrong direction ... after said changes were advertised to INCREASE sales ... my experience for the last two years is quite the opposite.
Growth has stopped ... only 2 of the last 18 months have set new high dollar sales amounts. Sell through rate has dropped significantly which makes selling less sustainable ...
I am just hoping we aren't approaching "it was fun while it lasted" ...
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoSold usually over 100 grand a year on here for several years. This year at this time we are only at 50 grand. Something is definately not right and I am not sure what is causing this.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoBut, they are making a lot on their focused categories. That’s the main focus.
nilis13
·2 years agoWell said!! And unfortunately nothing will change for the better.
richard1rst
·2 years agoThey are only just now aware of the problem and are looking into it? Haven't they been paying attention to the multitudinous complaints?
To me that statement is proof positive that the people setting the rules have NEVER actually run a business. They have absolutely no idea how their “brilliant ideas†adversely affect us all. Typical bureaucratic mindset - Goals not Achievements.
Reminds of the story way back when the automobile was just rolling out. The instruction manual actually said (paraphrased - I don’t remember the exact words)
If you car needs repairs be sure that the black smith or mechanic has actually seen a car before and knows how they work.
Same premise to eBay’s programmers.
rugerskick
·2 years agoGiving people an overdose of choices leads to no choice at all being made. They are too overwhelmed at all the choices. Its called choice paralysis. It happens in other areas of life as well.
Its actually detrimental, and in this case, detrimental to sales.
vintagecraze50
·2 years agoGood point. At some point you just have to narrow this stuff down or it becomes huge information overload.
coolections
·2 years ago@rugerskick Actually it is quite the opposite. I watched a marketing video and it basically said if given only one choice a buyer who has not made up their mind has a greater chance of not purchasing the item. When given more than one choice the buyer will more likely buy because they now decide to either purchase one or another instead of nothing.
valueaddedresource
·2 years ago@coolections what did that marketing video say about giving the buyer 75-100 choices? Because that's what eBay does on every listing page....as with many things in life, moderation and balance are key.
coolections
·2 years ago@valueaddedresource It didn't say but I can tell you for a fact, the item that was originally clicked has the "best" chance of getting the sale. That is assuming the seller did their due diligence and has it priced correctly.
rugerskick
·2 years agoYou are confusing things.
TOO MUCH CHOICE has negative effects.
Some choices is good. People here, however, are getting bombarded and overwhelmed with choices. Ads forced into every nook of a page, on every page they visit. That is what leads to choice paralysis. Choice paralysis is a very real phenomenon, and you can read about that as well.
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@rugerskick Good point ...
jewelbiz
OP2 years agoI remember somewhere in the past I read it’s best to offer 3 items to have a client choose from not more not less. 3 only 3…More is just clutter…
It always made sense to me.
I was often reading business advice and tips on success when I was starting out and young.
mr_lincoln
·2 years ago@jewelbiz Google did research and this came out in US Senate hearings I listened to on Public Radio a few years ago ... on average, Buyers purchase from the top four spots on a returned search because they "trust" the internet ... this is similar to your 3 items to choose from point ...
eBay implemented their Promoted Listing Advanced feature in either late 2021 or very early 2022. Sellers pre pay for advertising to place their item(s) in one of the top four spots on a returned search. They must have listened to the same thing I did LOL! Anyway, with Sellers actually paying for placement it does NOT mean the top four items returned in search are the best choices ... they just happen to be there because Sellers were willing to pay for them to be there ...
rugerskick
·2 years agoIn most cases three items to choose from is sufficient to feel like a real choice can be made but not spend too much time over analyzing the choices.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·2 years ago@jewelbiz I think you might be thinking of what is sometimes called the three box strategy, which is a bit more nuanced than just saying three choices work best. Here is one explanation: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/3-boxes-pricing-strategy-businesses-stanley-agu/
Think of the old newspaper supplement ads---three toasters on sale, at three different price levels, A, B, and C. Which one do you think the retailer is REALLY pushing? The one in the middle. And that's the one most people will buy, because the price seems reasonable...not too cheap (toaster A), not too expensive (toaster C)....Truth is Toaster A might be just as good really, but the average buyer will think it's not as good because it's the cheapest. It's a good bet that the retailer has the best margins on Toaster B, too.
stephenmorgan
·2 years agoVery good observation. I often give up looking and buy from a website that only represents itself as the retailer.
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoThese ads have been around for a while, though. I don't let them direct my actions because I can't predict the future, nor how other people react to them. I sell in a super-saturated category and just keep listing what I think people will like, not whatever white noise adverts clutter the page.
slippinjimmy
·2 years ago@jewelbiz
"around for a while" = Several years AT LEAST. They started showing up at least 5 years ago, as PL grew and grew the number of these increased because this is where Promoted Listings are shown for the most part with a much smaller number showing up in actual search results.
Up until a few months ago they did not show if a Seller was looking at their own listings but anyone else would see them.
In the testing of the new Listing Page Layouts they have been moving them around and actually REDUCING the number that show above the Items Specifics and Description while increasing the number that show below that info (this is an improvement).
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·2 years ago@chapeau-noir I agree...I continue to make sales, even when my items aren't the only one, or the cheapest.
However, it is very true that, for quite some time now, the old analogy that used to hold up no longer holds up. It used to be: ebay brought customers to the site, I wrote a listing that could be found in search and clicked on, and , once clicked on, it was my job---my listing's job---to close the sale. It still is.
The difference is, ebay has made sure that other salesmen are vying for the attention of the customer even as I try to close the deal. There's no question that makes my job tougher.
So I think it's worth asking: Under these circumstances, are there maybe some new "best practices" to try?
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoI guess I've just never stopped experimenting and trying new things, and all of this clutter hasn't changed that.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·2 years ago@jewelbiz
A couple thoughts:
1. Offer only truly one of a kind items.
OR
2. Offer bundles/lots that might contain non- one of a kind items, but your bundle is the only listing with that specific grouping.
OR
3. Give your buyer reasons to buy from you rather than the other guy...price is not always the only decisive factor in a purchasing decision.
Hopefully others can add to this list.
norskmediashop
·2 years agoYes this has been a horrible thing, ebay has thrown us all under the bus.