Sales Down? Can't sell if you can't be seen
Some of you think eBay is hiding your listings.
Some of you think that's nonsense.
I just walked by an inventory location here. Saw I had a shelf full of turbo chargers. Wondered why? (they sell pretty well). Figured I better do some research to find out what's going on. (drop price probably...competition probably).
Ran my search (Cummins 5.9L Turbo Charger HX35W).
Sorted Low$ to High$.
Sorted "used".
ONLY 27 RESULTS (so clearly not too much competition with that search).
My titles are good with the search words. My items specifics are good with those words, and info. As are my descriptions.
ZERO results of my turbo chargers....BUT, Two of my Three turbo chargers are way down at the bottom under "Results Matching Fewer Words". Just two though. The 3rd is nowhere to be found.
I go back up to the 27 matching. Most of what I see are titles that are missing a word or two of what I searched.
NOW, this may be different tomorrow. It may be different 10 minutes from now.
And you want to know why your sales are down?
Can't sell if you can't be seen.
Can't research/price if you're not seeing the whole picture.
The worst part about this to me, is....only 27 results and I'm not there with a pretty direct search
tjs_needle_and_hook_book_nook
·3 years agoI feel frustrated with all the additional fees with promotions which used to be cycled for sellers. Some of the percentages "suggested" on promoted listings are crazy. I had one I just viewed with 12.5% suggested to promote in addition to the already 15%, plus store monthly fees. Now there is the new promotion for number of clicks or something. We need ebay to focus on how to attract more buyers, not focus on how to charge sellers more fees.
tjs_needle_and_hook_book_nook
·3 years agoI am experiencing the same issue. Ebay has changed how wording works and you can put in a search with all of the correct words that match your listing, and it now won't pull up. They have changed where they control based on order of the wording, and they cut out some of the correctly worded listing by saying they are "refining" your search where they choose what is being seen, and what requires an addition click on the part of the buyer to see all listing. I've have the worst weekend and week I have ever had in about 7 years...........
tjs_needle_and_hook_book_nook
·3 years agoYes, they are making it more difficult for people to find what they are looking for. Ebay used to have the best search system to find exactly what you wanted. Now it's more like amazon where you put in a book title and author and it pulls up vitamins, kid toys, plastic cups and napkin rings etc. so disappointing. Thank you for your response.
dolcetreasures
·3 years agoWorst month I’ve ever experienced. What’s funny is that the few items I sold that weren’t returned were profitless meanwhile one of my least returned items that I sold large quantities of (1/25 until recently ) I sold two of and were both returned…. Ironically the buyer asked if he could return the item before buying. I should have blocked him at that point.
inhawaii
·3 years agoWhen people search for a turbrocharger do they search for a "turbocharger" or "turbo charger"?
There are thousands of listings for each way.
If it were me, would include BOTH ways in my listing title.
Baseball "hat" and "cap", "chainsaw" and "chain saw", "lawnmower" and "lawn mower".
As for you thinking ebay is hiding some of your listings.
I'm one of those people you mentioned who think that is nonsense.
Good luck to you.
redlinear
OP3 years agoI see it several times a day. Not just my own items.
You search for something and the items way down bottom (results matching fewer words)...will have the exact words you searched in the TITLE. (4 or 5 words, not 1 or 2)
Explain that.
shar_27
·3 years agoGood job of putting lipstick on a pig.
eBay users should learn a lot more to use eBay search.
Or maybe spin around, clap hands, touch nose, do a somersault then search again to get better result.
Search should be simple and easy, Period.
wastingtime101
·3 years agoThrowing out another set of search results for: Cummins 5.9L Turbo Charger HX35W
-----
Default sort best match, results: 183
Your listings on the first page of results land at #5, #10, #17, #20, #24, #25, #32, #49, #51
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Add search filter and select brand Cummins on the left, results: 12
Your listings on the first page of results land at #1, #3
Additional listings appear under "results matching fewer words"
-----
Remove brand filter and back to original search results. Change sort order to price lowest first. Results: 224
Your listings on the first page of results land at #2, #3, #11, #22, #31, #32, #34, #35, #37
redlinear
OP3 years agoNine? What about 12?
You should have little trouble finding 12..... that now that you know there are 4 more.
And the crazy part is? Cummins is not the brand on all 12
wastingtime101
·3 years agoI did not look past the first page and there were several pages of search results. 9 of your listings appeared on the first page when no brand filter was used. I assume the other 3 were on subsequent pages.
Edit: searching price lowest first there are 9 results on page 1, 1 result on page 2 and 2 results on page 3 which accounts for all 12.
redlinear
OP3 years ago@wastingtime101
If I have a main issue (out of ranting about several issues..LOL).
It's the fairly specific search. Then used filter. Then low to high filter.
And my exact matches showing up under "results matching fewer words"
(especially with only 27 exact searches)
I mean, how can I be in the exact match if being EXACT isn't going to get me there?
wastingtime101
·3 years agoWhen I use those exact parameters I see 9 of your listings above the fold. The 3 not showing are the high priced listings. They're hidden with a price low to high sort.
But when I apply the lowest price sort, then at the top where it says "We’ve streamlined your search results to show you the best listings. See more results" I click on see more results, then I apply the used filter, I see all 12 of your listings above the fold. I get 31 results and all 12 of your items are included.
My assumption is sorting by lowest price, eBay is hiding listings above a certain price unless you click to see more results. That's just an assumption though - you should ask @eburtonlab if it's correct as he knows more about search here than pretty much any other poster on this forum.
These 12 listings are for all different parts. Wouldn't a buyer search with keywords to define the part like spacer, actuator, clamp, etc? I would.
eburtonlab
·3 years agoMy assumption is sorting by lowest price, eBay is hiding listings above a certain price unless you click to see more results.
I think the filtering takes place more on the low end rather than the high end, price-wise. The idea being that the Lowest First sort will tend to push lots of cheap junk to the top of the results: parts, accessories, plans, kits, t-shirts, books all tend to appear before the actual item the average user is searching for. If you are searching using the keyword iPhone, you do not want to have to wade through all 100,000 iPhone cases and accessories before you get to an actual working iPhone.
In the past I have tried to figure out exactly how eBay decides which items appear by default in a Lowest First sort, and have not had much luck. I think it may be similar to how eBay ranks "Best Match", but clearly it is not exactly the same, since I have seen situations where items appear near the top of the Best Match sort do not appear at all in the default Lowest First search.
The nearest I can figure is that eBay is able to assign a number based on title keywords or other factors and how they relate to a buyer's search terms, and then listings that rate below a certain threshold do not appear by default.
So in a search for a widget, sorted Lowest First, each widget listing will get so many points for certain desirable keywords or terms positively correlated with actual past widget-search purchases (first edition, golden, new-in-box, mint, complete), and perhaps lose points for negatively-correlated keywords (broken, for-parts, obsolete, incomplete).
redlinear
OP3 years agoI was looking for the turbo charger itself in my initial search. I eventually did find them, just took more looking than I thought the average shopper should have to go through.
I knew they were there, just had to find them.
Customers/Buyers don't know that.
wastingtime101
·3 years agoHey @redlinear. Asking out of curiosity because I didn't examine your listing or your competitors' listings.
What's the difference between your preowned turbocharger for $215 vs some of the other listings for new stock at $150? Are they the same model/compatibility? Wondering if you knock your price down if that would change the search results.
Not suggesting you do that because it's a big reduction and I'm not telling you how to price things. Just wondering aloud if your price + preowned status are why the 3 turbocharger listings are hidden behind "see more results" when you filter by lowest price first - relating to some of the suggestions eburton made above about how listings are ranked for algorithms and search results, different sorts and filters, etc. What makes your listing rank a hidden-behind-seemorelink status when search is sorted by lowest price compared to those new turbocharger listings?
One thing I find noteworthy, is one of those turbocharger listings for $215 is ranked in the #5 spot sorted by eBay's default "best match" - so that's what most buyers will see when they search. It's when you change the sort order to lowest price that things start to change.
redlinear
OP3 years ago@wastingtime101
My $215 turbo charger has a part attached to it that needs to be replaced. (thus $215 instead of more expensive). BUT, $215 because it's OEM Cummins/Holset. (it's the real thing).
Those $150 turbo's are overseas aftermarket.
Most know better than to buy those cheap aftermarket turbo's.
Good price for one of these, Good used, OEM is $300 to $350.
Generally those sell real fast, for under $250, with a minor issue like that.
coolections
·3 years ago@wastingtime101 Thanks for helping out the OP. At least he now knows people can find his stuff.
sextons-sweet-deals
·3 years agoI do feel the search engine is a mess!
Just seems it's all now based on the item specifics information and some of those item specifics don't allow the seller to put in the correct information. Meaning you have to select one of their drop-down options only.
I still believe the search should be based on the title search / key words / part numbers.
I have searched for items similar to mine and use the 'distance nearest' and I have to go about 180 miles away from my location until I see my own listing(s). ???
reallynicestamps
·3 years agoJust to be clear, are you Searching on your own ID or from an anonymous Search?
Because it would seem mostly pointless to see your own listings if you were shopping so those may be being dropped from the Search.
I've noticed, and anecdote is not data, that if I run a Search and don't View or Watch anything, then run it again, I get a different group of items.
At a guess, the algorithm decides that if I didn't like those listings, it will show me an different batch.
redlinear
OP3 years agoIt's "usually" not too hard to find something that you know is there. Filter enough, back up, Filter different, Look further, search around the page for small print "links".
If I know it's there. I can usually find it, one way or another.
Hidden may the wrong word. Then again, "hidden" does not mean, not able to be found.
I'm just saying it's difficult to see the entire picture. Yet, most shoppers think they are seeing it, and don't know to look further.
coolections
·3 years agoYou need to understand search better. When you search using a lot of words Ebay only shows the basics not the complete title like using the term HX35W. If you search cummins 5.9L turbo charger yours is #5. Congratulations !!! How it works is Ebay gives you every choice in the world for every turbo charger listed on Ebay but lets you know they did that because there are 1,000 different titles. It takes the top words and tells you it searched using less words. Don't sweat it, your is not hidden.
redlinear
OP3 years ago@coolections , I need to Re-Learn search better. Wasn't like that not too long ago.
Problem is, my potential customers need to learn it to.
Dear my potential customers...Please attend a 6 month seminar on how to search eBay before it changes again a week later? LOL
My search was worded that way in order to find specific turbo chargers. There are thousands and thousands of different turbo chargers, and pieces, and parts, and even more "turbo charger related" items.
I needed to find my competition. Excluding a couple of words makes even worse search results for research.
Glad everybody sees something different than I do in the search results.
I'll be paying y'all for research soon.
eburtonlab
·3 years agoSorted Low$ to High$.
Search results are often filtered (or "streamlined") when using "Price plus shipping: lowest first" sort order.
To see all results, use the "See more results" link or try a different sort order.
There are many, many reasons why a particular item might not appear in a given search; that is just one of them.
redlinear
OP3 years ago@eburtonlab , yeah (see more results) is a good way to hide listings from your average ebay shopper. With such few results, not much reason to tuck items away under another link.
Although, that's usually where the Too Cheap stuff is.
You can low price you way out of immediate results by being TOO cheap.
dhbookds
·3 years agoI did a search (best match) with Cummins 5.9L Turbo Charger HX35W
236 results...........all 12 of your items are on the upper half of the lst page.....
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2334524.m570.l1313&_nkw=Cummins+5.9L+Turbo+Charger+HX35W&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0
redlinear
OP3 years ago@dhbookds , I just did the same>
Best match....190 results.
Filtered nearest 1st and 236 results.
Switch to Low to High 223 results.
See more results, back to 236 results.
Filtered to USED, 27 results.
My turbo chargers are under the 27 results. Under "results matching fewer words"