Sellers (and buyers) opinion on variations listings.
As a buyer, I hate it when I'm looking at a variations listing and majority of the variations are "sold out".
As a seller I have 2 variations hat listings:
5 variations, 4 of them are sold out and I don't think I can get any more.
8 variations, 7 of them are sold out and I don't think I can get any more.
Should I leave the listings as is with only 1 variation available or change it to a single item listing?
10 comments
onefootflipper
·10 months agoVariation listings are toxic. Customers hate them because of nothing but poor experiences with them, either the variation they want is sold out, or the seller seeded the listing with some garbage variation in order to game the search by lowest price (all the t-shirt sellers who have a photo of the t-shirt graphic as a variation option come to mind).
As a seller they are also really hard to manage. They also minimize your exposure. If you have 12 variations then 12 listings makes you appear in search up to 12 times. You are only showing up once with that variation listing.
I still have a few personalized Christmas ornament listings where I list variations, but I am getting rid of those after Christmas this year. I am going to bulk out the ones that need the variation listing and only sell the ones that I have blanks of (or that can be erased) so I can put any name on them the customer asks for..
gurlcat
·10 months agoWhen I read your post, my immediate response was that anytime I think "As a buyer, I really hate it when..." -then I should tailor my selling strategy to what I'd prefer as a buyer.
But then I got to thinking about this exact experience with variation listings (whether on eBay or any other platform). I too "hate it" when the vast majority of variations are out of stock ... but do I hold it against the seller/store, and not buy because of that? No. If the remaining choice(s) is/are acceptable and all other factors are good (price, shipping time, etc.) then heck yeah I'll buy one of those available ones!
Incidentally, when I see a standalone listing for a single variation and it's clearly one of the last (unwanted) versions of a broader line ... say a shirt with a hideous pattern ... then I see another hideous version as another standalone listing .... all that does is make me start searching for another seller, who has a broader spectrum of it, available in one multi-variation listing, so I can see and possibly buy one of the better versions.
So, long answer short, I actually must dissent with the majority here. Also if you end the listing, you lose whatever off-platform traction it had in search results. On the other hand you'd get a recency boost here on eBay. I have no idea which is more crucial to your items' visibility, but it's something to consider.
toomuchstuffagain35
·10 months agoIME every time I decide to end a variation with mostly OOS items and list them individually, I then somehow come across more to restock lol Murphy's Law I guess.
bashort
·10 months agoThey are great if used correctly like color and size T shirts, size,length, qty of bolts etc., many good uses.
I have one that is electrical wire, color and length options.
Anything that you are not able to restock should no be a variation in my opinion.
tobaccocardyahoo
·10 months agoAs a buyer I hate variation listings for other than size and color, and will not buy from them on any site.
I prefer single listings for both size and color as well, but do not buy new, in production items on Ebay, so my preferences are irrelevant.
Ebay listings for these items usually lack depth and are often inaccurate because the sellers generally only do a single buy when the opportunity presents itself. Your situation @inhawaii is a common Ebay seller situation.
roccotacodad54
·10 months agoI only buy and totally agree with the others. It can be frustrating to look at one after another after another listings only to find out the item I want is out of stock.
At that point I usually just look for the item listed singly even if more expensive or look elsewhere online.
wastingtime101
·10 months agoKeep the listing, but delete all of the out of stock variations. Change the listing default pics to show only the variation in stock, and update the listing title to reflect that variation.
mkaczorsee
·10 months agoTotally agree...thinking I have found the item I want only to see the size/color I wanted was sold out.
I end the listing and relist with the only the variations available.
I think buyers appreciate this!
chapeau-noir
·10 months agoThis ^^^ Although I know you don't intend it to be, but it's almost bait and switch to have a bunch of variations but only one or two of them available.
albertabrightalberta
·10 months agoI would end the listings and do a single listing for each of the single items.