Selling for 20 years - 100% FB - and Ebay doesn't show my items in search results!
I recently discovered that eBay doesn't bother to show my items in search results. For example, I've a stunning vintage Douglas Hannant beaded top and skirt that has been listed for 4 years. I thought - ok, so maybe it's too expensive, maybe nobody likes the color, maybe beads are out-dated, maybe it isn't lovely as I thought, etc. But when I did a search, I found that my listing doesn't even come up. (https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=douglas+hannant&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_sop=1)
I then began general searches for other designer pieces that have been sitting in my listings for ages and found that they do not come up. No wonder sales are slow.
I guess I'll have to start selling on etsy, bonanza, poshmark, etc. but I can't shake this feeling of being pushed out by eBay.
Does anyone have a clue why eBay - apparently deliberately or via a bot system - fails to list a seller's items???
Here's my Douglas Hannant listing that does not come up in a search.
richard1rst
·10 months agoI see a lot of similar "looking for my own stuff" postings on these boards.
I have often wondered with no proof to go on, whether when you search for your own stuff the algorithm recognizes you are just wasting its time and, since "it" doesn't like being tested, just blows it off.
Well, I did a search for RAFAELLA Corduroy Jeans and they came up 5th item on [page 1.
johnrj1226
·10 months agoWhy can I view all you current 190 items you have listed for sale.- maybe YOUR KEY WORDS in you listing titles are hard to search for shoppers. Clothing is a very saturated category - Sellers need the figure out how to make their listings to rise towards the surface of the 190,000+ women's clothing items shoppers have to muddle through to find yours. Clothing is very seasonal too.. My wife will not wear white after fall begins - she is a 100% born and raised Lone Star Lady from Central Texas - will always dressed to the 9s just to retrieve the mail from the mail box. - 65 ft. from our home. Still likes to wear TAJs now an then after 8 decades. Still turns heads.
PS - Maybe you pics need some overhauling in your example listing - a gray out fit photo on a gray back ground doesn't make the item POP. Try using a light blue. Your listing is your best sales person - you gotta' make the shoppers stop and want to see more - kinda like my wife and daughter do while shopping at the mall and I'm waiting on the lady's .- I'm Max their no pay Uber Driver.
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aeparts1
·10 months agoYour item in question came up #3 when I searched Douglas Hannant .
Maybe no one wants it, that is why it hasn't sold.
vougetrove
·10 months agoI'm having the same exact issues. I can't figure out why. I haven't been ending and relisting like I use to because that didn't seem to make my sales any better. I hear eBay has lost 35 percent of there active sellers In the last 12 months.
I think some of the employees must of left too. Because someone's not doing there job. Ebay can't make money if they don't show are content. This is ridiculous! Can someone from eBay respond to this post. Please?
Thank you.
vougetrove
·10 months agoI also wanted to add that the item in question for me was something I sold previously and had more of the item in stock so I listed again under sell similar. So I know the item was showing up before ...or it wouldn't of sold .
So I don't think the reply you gave the seller was true or fair.
They've been on eBay for years . They are not a new seller. Plus. If you type your item in search it should show up regardless of what category of how crappy the description is. So that answer doesn't answer the question.
So I guess I'll figure it out myself because I don't think it's the sellers fault and it seems to me eBay doesn't want to tell us but would rather point the finger at us like it's our fault. I figured if I came over to the community this would happen.
dr.mia52
OP10 months ago@everyone
HEARTFELT thanks to everyone! I am taking all your tips and points and will revise as suggested - - -
Thank you again!
chapeau-noir
·10 months agoSearching on Google just on the designer name a couple of Hannant listings came up, but on page 3 and 4. Other websites like Poshmark, First Dibs and Etsy came up for search on their Hannant listings on page 1 and 2. This includes Google shopping. But not collection of Douglas Hannant for eBay.
After page 4 the returns come up either as stuff like 'reverse bear trap' or gibberish.
HOWEVER, when I search on Douglas Hannant Beaded Dress, your listing is right there:
I include this because I'm kind of a search freak. But also because a LOT of people do general google searches, and this apparently hasn't changed with AI/agentic AI.
chapeau-noir
·10 months agoI saw it in some categories, not in others. But it is there in the major ones.
My guess is that the price is way too high - a lot of used designer evening wear goes for a dime on the dollar here.
chapeau-noir
·10 months agoAlso forget the 100% feedback and the 20 years here - that makes 0 difference to placement, concentrate on pricing and better keywords. Evening wear is a very tough category - as nice as that is, I might expect it to go for maybe $100 - $150.
hotwheelsbum
·10 months agoIs it listed? Yes. Does it show up in searches? Yes.
But, if you just do a search for "Douglas Hannant" only to bring up EVERYTHING Douglas Hannant, it only brings up 151 Results. Skirts, Tops, Blouses, Perfume. YES, yours is right there within that 151 also. Then when you look at SOLDS, there's only 9 Results.
This is not a case of, "ok, so maybe it's too expensive, maybe nobody likes the color, maybe beads are out-dated, maybe it isn't lovely as I thought, etc....", Douglas Hannant is just not a good seller on ebay.
This is more a case of you're just not selling stuff people are buying on ebay. You said you checked other listings you have up too. My bet, WE check those listings ourselves, WE will see them listed just as WE found this Douglas Hannant that hasn't sold in 4 years now, that stuff will also be stuff people just are not buying on ebay either.
femmefan1946
·10 months agothat has been listed for 4 years.
At one time eBay sent a note, added to our Active Listings, that given items had been listed for over 16 months.
This was useful, since I could then evaluate, rewrite, reprice or remove the item.
(My stamps are also long-tail slow sellers and nearly one of a kind (OOAK.)
They stopped doing that a few years ago, and I miss the nagging.
Also the longer an item goes unsold, the lower it will be in Best Match, the most popular (and default) Search.
My suggestion is that you go through all your listings , take down the oldest ones, tweak them and relist.
In your Active List, add a Note of the date of listing.
dr.mia52
OP10 months agoThis is very helpful. I've sold on ebay 20 years and I do not recall the notes from ebay that let us know when something was listed for over 16 months. I agree that would be very helpful. And, I do not recall ever having listings up for 4 years prior to these last several years, so I knew something was not right. Ending, tweaking and relisting is a good tip. Thank you.
monroe67
·10 months agoThe eBay seller has total control over the category and sub-sub-sub-categories in which their items are listed. eBay does not force any item into any category.
The Item Specifics section of this listing, just above the Item description from the seller, shows this:
"Category: Clothing, Shoes & Accessories > Specialty > Wedding & Formal Occasion > Bridesmaid Dresses"
You, the seller, chose that string of sub-categories ("breadcrumbs"), just as you chose to list the color as "Silver Gray & Beige".
I learned from last week's Winter Seller Update that even some small "tweaks" to your listing can make a great difference in selling your items. If this were my listing, I might revise a few things, like:
* Using the photo of the full-length dress as the main photo.
* Revising the title, taking DOUGLAS HANNANT out of all-caps and removing "100% Silk" from the title.
* Removing "Bridesmaid Dresses" from the category list.
As I looked at your listing a little further, I see a very, very important detail that could be crucial to successfully selling this dress: In the title it says "100% Silk". But the content tag in the beaded top shows metal, polyesther [sic], nylon, and cotton for the beaded lace, and the lining being a blend of 87% silk and 13% elastin.
The content tag in the skirt does state it is 100% silk, with napa leather trim. I'd give more info about that: what part is leather? Is it the waistband?
Please don't give up on eBay. I am hoping for the best for your sales !!
dr.mia52
OP10 months agoThank you so much for such a detailed, helpful response. I really appreciate the specificity of the points and will correct everything. Thank you.
dryophelia
·10 months ago@dr.mia52
If a seller leaves the results in Best Match, eBay is not going to show that seller their own item.
monica-sells
·10 months agoit's there (#4 simple search for designer + silk)......i think you have it in the wrong category though...(opinion only)
dr.mia52
OP10 months agoYes, I'm going to have to review the categories of all my listings (grrrrrhh) - that seems to be the consensus here of what is the problem.
redlinear
·10 months ago@dr.mia52
What words did you search?
Yes, eBay's search results are extremely manipulated.
The people here, that can find your listing, have been doing this awhile and can find just about any listing on eBay that they want.
ESPECIALLY if they know it's there. (Almost anybody can do that)
I see about half of your title is useless words also. That's not going to help much since I don't think many people are going to search for 100% or 2-pc or USA made or &
femmefan1946
·10 months ago@redlinear
I think Made in USA is a useful term in a title. Some do Search those words.
I agree on the others.
We have 82 keystrokes.
dr.mia52
OP10 months agoYou make good points. So I have to review the category my listings are in and also for useless words in the titles.
wheelworkzmurfreesboro
·10 months agoNothing came up under search Douglas Hannant skirt but when I added Tiered it shows it. Thats crazy
buyselljack2016
·10 months agoI searched Douglas Hannant skirt, and it shows big as life among 34 results.
ETA search is default "best match".
ETA seems to be a recurring issue
Many of my items are not appearing in searches!!!! - The eBay Community
dr.mia52
OP10 months agoYes, exactly - while another member above - @kensgiftshop - did a more specific search including the words "beaded top" and mine came up. My inquiry is more to a general "Douglas Hannant" search so that's what I was inquiring about.
kensgiftshop
·10 months agoDid a search for "Douglas Hannant beaded top" and yours was the only one shown.
luckythewinner
·10 months agoBut when I did a search, I found that my listing doesn't even come up.
When I click the link you provided, I see your listing in the results.
dr.mia52
OP10 months agoOk, that is just plain weird. I did the search half a dozen times & it did not come up. Another responder pointed out it could be listed in a category that doesn't register as much in the search so I should change the category.
rsoxnation2004
·10 months agoI've sold clothes a number of times. My guess is that the eBay bot listed your clothing in a wrong category. It sounds in your case like the best road to take is NOT eBay. Try one or a few others. Then maybe come back to eBay. Online sales can be finicky. On the rebound, after you've learned about this and other sales avenues, maybe eBay isn't so bad.
chapeau-noir
·10 months agoBots don't list - we choose the category.
monroe67
·10 months ago"My guess is that the eBay bot listed your clothing in a wrong category."
eBay bots do not list clothing or anything else in a wrong category.
eBay sellers have complete control over the choice of category for all listings.
eBay sellers also have control over whether they allow Artificial Intelligence to write their item descriptions or anything else.
BTW, your post (#6 of 15) doesn't really comply with eBay's Community Guidelines . . . . .
inhawaii
·10 months agoEbay doesn't show my items in search results!
Yes, they do.
You are mistaken.
chapeau-noir
·10 months agoThe breadcrumb trail is to specialty - wedding & formal occasion - bridesmaids dresses.
My suggestion is to simply move it into either general vintage, or general dresses and specify that it's vintage. The category you have it in now is very specialised.
Your Hannant designer cocktail dress ('frock') comes up 6th in general search.
The Abboud comes up #2 in coats.
The last two have more general breadcrumbs trail. I think listing in a very tight category is causing some items to show up in general search, or very specific tight category search, but dropping out in other searches. Basically in this case it's 'all or nothing'.
rimtrim
·10 months agoCheck the category where you have the item listed. Then check the category on other similar items that come up in searches where you would want your listing to appear. If the category is different, change yours to match the "good" listings.
People seem to think categories are an irrelevant remnant of the 1990s because "everyone uses search now". The problem is that eBay sometimes automatically narrows searches to categories it believes are relevant to the query. You can get shut out of search results by being in the wrong category.
chapeau-noir
·10 months ago@dr.mia52
Comes up #20 on general search.
Comes up #3 under 'specialty'
How long has the item been running?
eBays categories can be pretty tight.