Pay to play.
Summary: quadcitypickers discussed their experience with eBay's promoted listings, noting a significant boost in sales after promoting items, although they see it as a way for eBay to increase fees. mcdougle4248 was surprised by the percentage of promoted listings, clarifying it with quadcitypickers. Other participants shared similar experiences, with one mentioning a theory regarding eBay's algorithm affecting sellers' visibility. Some also expressed concerns about the cost of promotions and questioned the transparency of eBay's claims. Overall, there was a sense of frustration with the need to promote for visibility and competition among sellers.
Some categories are now 75-85% promoted.
I had about 30 items that did not sell for close to a month.
Promote and most sold within a week.
Seems like a nice way for eBay collect more fees - pay us or let the items collect dust.
mam98031
·1 week ago@quadcitypickers Where are you getting the 75-85% stat from? I'd like to take a close look at that.
alternativetradecorporation4
·1 week agoyep
jerzee908
·1 week ago"Similar item recently sold by promoting"
I just started seeing this message (NEVER going to "promote") above my listings. If this is true, how can I verify this when I look at "sold" listings when I don't see "sponsored" on sold listings? If promoting will sell my item faster as they are saying, then show me in the sold listings. I'm willing to bet that most sold listings are not promoted, but who knows?
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 week agoIts that are overly abundant will not make sales for some of the sellers offering them.
One could allow random forces to determine who makes the sale, or one could make money by allowing the sellers to pay for better search placement.
Ebay and other marketplaces have decided to make some extra money by allowing sellers to pay promotion fees.
IMO the big problem with promotion is the sellers who pay to promote when they should know that promotion is not likely to benefit them. Those sellers have to wait for a buyer who wants to buy the item, and that is the same whether or not they pay extra to Ebay.
I have 2 our of 5K+ items promoted. The promotion does not help those items but I harbor some hope it might.
quadcitypickers
OP1 week agoWhat I find odd is how much stuff didn't sell at all until I started promoting it.
The issue is so much stuff of some categories is promoted. As high as 85%.
So unless you give eBay an extra 5-10%, the sales tend to just not happen, because in order to get a head of the noise, you have to pay as well.
eBay has turned search visibility into a bidding war.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 week agoNo sellers listing in those categories have failed to recognize that those categories are too crowded and continued to pile on.
Unfortunately, there is no publicly available data on the sell through rate in those categories. But there is not enough pie to give all the sellers a piece. With that level of sponsorship, it is likely the pieces one gets have a small profit/
I have never listed in a category with that level of sponsorship, nor am I likely to ever do so. My criteria for listing include limits on how much competition I am willing to face.
caldreamer
·1 week agoYes, I agree with you 100%. EBAY is making a gold mine as Sellers compete against one another.
oldwestgold
·1 week agoYep, you are correct. Then the more that play, the higher the percentage goes up in a category. My main category began around 25%, then 34%, and now 62%. Funny how that works - for eBay. What happens when, say, 100% are promoted in a category?
I have been testing offline promos for about a month. That cost per click is outrageous. It averages $1 per click, not per sale. I have paid $155 in offsite fees for $352 in sales. My trial or test period will be ending shortly.
science75
·1 week ago100% this is what’s happening. And if you auction an item and it’s get 1 or 2 views, the person is going to buy your item for way less than it’s comp price. And eBay still collects their fee of course at 13.5% 🙄
zobal99
·1 week agoSomething is definately wrong when my best sellers stop selling for long periods of time.
inhawaii
·1 week agoYour best sellers aren't selling?
quadcitypickers
OP1 week agoSomething definitely fishy has been going on. I talk to plenty of other sellers and stuff that has been selling consistently for weeks will suddenly dry up for 2-3 weeks then resume like nothing happened. If you look at the research hub there is no dip in sales across all sellers, either. If you look at comps someone isn't coming in and undercutting them either.
redlinear
·1 week ago@quadcitypickers
The term "socialist algorithm" or "sales rationing" is a widespread conspiracy theory and colloquial term used by community sellers on the ebay selling forums. It refers to the belief that eBay artificially caps or rations a seller's daily sales to distribute wealth evenly across the platform.
Sellers who use this phrase often note that their daily revenue graph is strangely consistent (e.g., hitting $200 a day) or follows a strict "alternating" pattern—where a massive sales day is immediately followed by a "dead" day. They claim the algorithm "throttles" visibility once a certain threshold is met to give OTHER SELLERS a turn.
kibble-net
·1 week agoIf you think it's unfair, no one is forcing you to sell here
quadcitypickers
OP1 week agoNo one is forcing you to comment, yet...here you are.
inhawaii
·1 week ago"I had about 30 items that did not sell for close to a month."
I have items that haven't sold in years.
quadcitypickers
OP1 week agoDepends on your strategy. I do this full time so the longer things sit the more of a burden they are.
mcdougle4248
·1 week agoWOW! Just to clarify, the suggested rate is 75%-85%? That is crazy! The highest I have seen in my selling category is 20%.
quadcitypickers
OP1 week agoNo, that is the percentage of currently promoted listings.
mcdougle4248
·1 week agoOh, Ok. Thank you!
dhbookds
·1 week agoI read it the same way