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Product Views on Ebay
I've been using Facebook Marketplace with success and thought I would give eBay a try. What a difference – and disappointment. My product views on Facebook are outpacing eBay 10 to 1 with quick consumer response. No boosting or buying ads. How do you get product views on eBay? Do you have to 'boost' everything to get attention and a sale?
44 comments
kh-christelle
·8 months agoHi everyone,
This discussion has gotten a bit heated. Please remember that while it’s fine to disagree with others, all discussions must remain friendly and respectful, in accordance with the Community Guidelines.
To prevent further escalation, this conversation is now locked until further notice.
Thank you for your cooperation.
vtgbeersigns
·8 months agoDefinitely true about views. I sell stuff on there from around the house that can't sell on eBay and have done ok. You don't get top dollar but tons of views and inquiries. I'm listing stuff on eBay , good stuff between marketplace and eBay prices and get 0 views. It's a joke.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoAs you've discovered, FBM is better for certain things, and eBay works well for others. All of us have to find which is the better place for our wares.
powell-collectibles
·8 months agoI really do take exception with you pretending to be a seller at times. You give out counsel to folks on how to sell when you either haven’t ever sold or by what you say haven’t sold in more than 20 years. It isn’t fair to represent yourself as a seller, and give advice to those asking for help with how to sell.
mtgraves7984
·8 months ago@powell-collectibles
Broaden your mind... even a '20-year sober' recovering alcoholic can give excellent advise to others in need. Similar, no? Maybe @soh.maryl's life experiences are absolute qualifiers. I'm just sayin'...
mtgraves7984
·8 months ago@bonjourami
I typed ^^^ that... sat back and looked at it... and pressed 'Reply'. 😂
powell-collectibles
·8 months agoI don’t doubt that she has some life experience to share. It isn’t about that. It is about the continual giving of advice as a seller, claiming to be a seller of some sort – strongly alluding to it, to be sure – but she has no selling experience. Yep, there is a story about one heavy sewing machine. Over 20 years ago. The lack of honesty when giving out advice to people that are trying to make either a living or some extra money is troubling. That she’s told people that smart sellers don’t list anything that is under $20 is troubling. That she tells people that every single seller needs to use tracking is troubling.
jonathanbrightlight
·8 months agoShe’s not representing herself as a seller and you know it. Stop the harassment.
bonjourami
·8 months agoMaryl, just ignore the troll, as we all do.
powell-collectibles
·8 months agoNow I’m not allowed to express the opinion that someone that at best has not sold in 20 years and maybe has never sold Shouldn’t continue to represent at times that she is a seller? And that she shouldn’t dole out advice as if she has a working knowledge of selling on eBay or any other platform? there was absolutely nothing disrespectful about my post. I absolutely do take exception with it. I absolutely do think it is disingenuous and unfair to those that look for advice.
bonjourami
·8 months ago"Definitely true about views. I sell stuff on there from around the house that can't sell on eBay and have done ok. You don't get top dollar but tons of views and inquiries. I'm listing stuff on eBay , good stuff between marketplace and eBay prices and get 0 views. It's a joke."
You also are selling mostly collectibles. Which has become an oversaturated,dying, market on Ebay, with millions of listings. But, as suggested, if Fb is doing ok for you, better to stick with them.
monica-sells
·8 months agoJust an FYI:
Facebook Marketplace:
Page Views
(Impression): When your item's picture and title appear in someone's feed or search results as they scroll, even if they don't stop or click on it.
eBay:
Page Views
(Impression) When an items individual listing page is opened from a search or direct link. A page view is counted when someone views your listing on the eBay website or mobile app .
Sorry...you can't compare that metric with any certainty or result. Two different things.
In addition......
Whereas, ebay filters out 'bot' queries (hits) Meta does not:
it does not fully filter out all, or even most, bot traffic from views on Facebook Marketplace. Many users find that Marketplace listings often receive inflated view counts from automated bots and scrapers
stainlessenginecovers
·8 months ago@monica-sells
So, just to clarify (and curious if I have it right)
on ebay:
an 'impression' means that the item may be on the 'return of a search result' but can also be on page 98 and never clicked/seen (I always have about 2,000,000 impressions in 30 days)
a 'view' is an actual 'click' on the item? (always have around 12,000 in 30 days)
jonathanbrightlight
·8 months agoYou’re almost there. If it’s on page 98 in the search results, it counts as an impression if the searcher actually loads page 98. Merely being a result isn’t sufficient, it actually has to be on a displayed list of results.
inhawaii
·8 months agoSell products that interest people.
No. Many of us don't "boost" (promote) anything and we are able to make sales.
It's all about supply and demand.
luckythewinner
·8 months agoDo you have to 'boost' everything to get attention and a sale?
No. I Have six selling accounts and have never promoted an listing. But I have relatively little competition for my listings.
To a great degree, it is what you are selling that determines the need for promotion. Compare a search for Roxy Music Country Life promo poster (two results) versus a search for Hanes Navy Blue Tee Shirt (3,000 results) and you will see what I mean.
robert-rdu
OP8 months agoListed items are unique.
bonjourami
·8 months agoThey may be unique, but maybe Fb is best for those 'niche' items. Collectibles have been taking a beating here for several years, an extremely oversaturated category,especially pricey collectibles.The younger generation doesnt seem to be interested in them like we older folks once were.Personally, I think your items are way overpriced, especially for Ebay, but if they are doing well on fb, more power to you.
reallynicestamps
·8 months agoHave you considered how you will package those items for shipment to me here in Canada?
Or for that matter to Hawai'i or Australia?
robert-rdu
OP8 months agoHa! For Canada, Hawaii, and Australia, I would consider personally delivering the items! Canada would also get a better price!
tobaccocardyahoo
·8 months agoIMO if all you are going to offer for sale on Ebay is three expensive items at a time, you will find Ebay is not worth the hassle. You will experience delays in payments due to trust and safety policies, and be a target for scammers due to the obvious signs of inexperience in online sales.
The casual, infrequent Ebay seller is another of the remnants of the early days of the internet and Ebay when there were fewer entertainment options online.
robert-rdu
OP8 months agoConsidering the global flood of merchandise on eBay, perhaps that is why the views of merchandise for sale are so small compared to Facebook Marketplace. Still evaluating the platform. We'll see.
aeparts1
·8 months agoPersonally, I don't care about views, I care about sales.
But that's just me.
Cool radio you have listed.
robert-rdu
OP8 months agoYes, I feel the same way. Unfortunately, when nothing is happening on eBay and Facebook is hot, I have to compare the 'views' as a starting point. Facebook is outperforming eBay 10 to 1...
soh.maryl
·8 months agoSo then Facebook is where you should focus your selling energy, right?
kibble-net
·8 months agoYes you will get a lot of VIEWS on facebook. How many dollarydoos does that amount to, though?
meme6253
·8 months agoDollarydoos??, Is that a real word??
theteamsetguy
·8 months ago@meme6253 ,
Why did you think it was not a word?
an informal, humorous slang term for the Australian dollar (AUD), originating from a famous 1995 episode of The Simpsons where the show's characters visited Australia and encountered the fictional currency name, leading to a real-life online petition in 2015 to officially rename the currency, though it didn't succeed.
eburtonlab
·8 months agoDollarydoos??, Is that a real word??
"It's a perfectly cromulent word."
robert-rdu
OP8 months agoEvery time I list on Facebook, the items are heavily viewed and sell. Having a really slow start with eBay, with some excellent items.
christworks
·8 months agoI'm curious, are you dealing with local buyers on FM Marketplace? You are in a major metro area. Sellers in major cities often do well on FB Marketplace because of the large number of local people on there looking for things. You don't have to deal with shipping, which saves buyers money.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoAs mentioned in my other post, those are indeed three lovely items; however, they are very much "niche" type things. Ask yourself this: How large is the buying pool for any of these items vs the buying pool for baseball cards, or coins, or concert type T-shirts, for instance?
And if you have had more success on FBM with items like this, then maybe that's your happy place.
ed8108
·8 months agoIs that because Facebook has a better public perception ?
caldreamer
·8 months agoRobert, you have to a lot of patience and a very thick skin to sell on EBAY. Competition is stiff because it is a worldwide marketplace.
If you are selling rare, one-of-a-kind items it would be a waste of money to promote your items and pay extra "ad promotion" fees.
Before you can sell anything, you need to register as a Seller. EBAY requires that you provide your checking account# and social security# (EBAY reports income to IRS). NAME on your EBAY profile page, checking account and social security card must be EXACT MATCH (or your application may be delayed).
When you sell an item on EBAY you are charged "selling fees" on (purchase price, shipping, sales tax). EBAY also has monthly "listing fees". If you use "general ad promotions, when item sells, you pay "promotion fee" on (purchase price, shipping, sales tax).
EBAY 30-Money Back Guarantee (supersedes "no returns" policy) allows customer to return item by claiming "not as described, counterfeit, defective, missing parts" (Seller will be forced to refund "purchase price + shipping BOTH ways"). EBAY does NOT require the customer to prove their claims. EBAY always rules in favor of the Seller.
EBAY holds Seller responsible if item gets damaged or lost in shipment.
There are scammers on EBAY who target new Sellers or anyone selling "high value items". EBAY will NOT protect you if you get scammed.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoThe OP has 3 current listings, so it would appear that he's already registered as a seller; however, all the information you've posted is really helpful for all eBayers.
Thank you.
stainlessenginecovers
·8 months agoI don't think you have a 'register', meaning 'set up Managed Payments with Checking Acct' etc. to 'list things'- per all the 100's of threads started by 'newbies' that 'sold something' and then wonder how they get paid.
I think??
soh.maryl
·8 months agoSo what would have been a better term to use than "registered as a seller", "enrolled", "signed on".?
Was replying to someone who was telling the OP how to get started as a seller. It seems he's already listed some items. Although you can evidently buy without being an eBay member, don't think it works that way for sellers. Where would their payments be deposited? I think the sellers who ask how they will be paid are the ones who didn't do much reading about the 30 day hold for new sellers.
stainlessenginecovers
·8 months agoWell, I know that people can easily 'list' things and have been able to do so (yes, become a 'member' first) but they don't have to be 'completed' with sign up for Managed Payments and/or have even started but can still 'list'.... then they're in trouble when it comes to being paid?? I don't know if the system has now required 'new' members to get signed up and approved before listing now, or not??
soh.maryl
·8 months agoDon't know either, but was pointing out to the person who gave a brief tutorial on listing on eBay that the OP already had several listings.
Thank you though.
jonathanbrightlight
·8 months agoUnfortunately, eBay does allow users to begin selling before they set up their Managed Payments account and payout destination, which leads to problems often where sellers don't understand before they jump in. I wish they would change it to at least require those details to be set up before they can list their first item, but at present that is not the case.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoThank you. Guess I was unaware of that.
robert-rdu
OP8 months agoAll signed up...
reallynicestamps
·8 months agoI don't think you have a 'register', meaning 'set up Managed Payments with Checking Acct' etc. to 'list things'-
One of the dumber ideas eBay had.
I understand they want to make it 'easy' for a newbie, but not only does setting up Managed Payments mean the newbie will get paid, but it also acts as a filter for the impatient and the hard of thinking.
Dollarydoos? Our dollar coin is the loonie, and the two dollar coin is of course a toonie, although there was some hope at first that "doubleloon" would catch on.
soh.maryl
·8 months agoIdle curiosity: Are you selling a lot of items in that price range on Facebook Marketplace?
Personal opinion: At this time, in this place, for this economy, some items appeal to a smaller buyer pool and may take awhile to sell, even if you promote them.