Suggsted promtional percentage getting out of hand....
Anyone else not use the "suggested promotional" percentage and use a lower one? That has also seen a significant drop in sales? If it recommends 12.8% I put 3 or 4%. Every listing has at least 3%. If we do the suggested that's sometimes 16%, that's over 25% of the sale going to fees. I say either remove the standard final fee or remove promotion suggested margins. Something has to give.
18 comments
pls-consignments
·2 years agoJust curious, do you look to see how many competitor items there are before raising the PL to 50%? I can understand it if its a saturated item. However, if there are less than 5 or 6 for sale, then wouldn't you be wasting money??
universalscreenarts
·2 years agoOne thing you can do is use the DYNAMIC auto ad rate feature. This allows you set your ad rate to not just a fixed percentage, but to automatically adjust your rate based on the current suggested ad rate and your own business needs.
For example, you can set yours to match the current suggestion or to automatically adjust to a % above or below the current suggestion, and you can set a maximum that it will not go over. So let's say the suggestion is 10%. You say you want to go 1.5% over that so it makes your rate 11.5% ( same for going under: you say 1.5% below the suggestions so your rate is 8.5%). Then you can set a maximum it will not go over. So let's say you set the max at 13%. The suggestion goes up to 12%, you said +1.5% (13.5) but the max you put in is 13 so you only pay 13%.
You can adjust this granularly for however you set up your campaigns (by category, style, or individual items). It's a simply way to stay competative and work within your budget.
brightlightbookseller
·2 years agoDynamic ad rate sounds great if you assume eBay has your best interest at heart... I don't.
redlinear
·2 years agosuggested rate "appears" to be "more" of a category thing than an item thing. (but who knows for sure).
I think some sellers promote certain items BIG and that tends to raise the suggested rate for the whole category including items that really can't be promoted big.
If I add an item as BAIT with an exaggerated price and a 50% promotion... I think that raises the suggested rate for the whole category. AND, even if that's not correct, it for sure DOES raise the suggested rate for that item or similar items.
My intention isn't to actually sell said item at all.
My "bait" item stands a good chance at making other sellers lose money on like items if they don't pay close attention to their promotional settings.
pls-consignments
·2 years agoWhen PL started, I remember several threads of prognosticators predicting the long-term consequences of this. I think its safe to say that we are now seeing the fulfillment, especially as it becomes more difficult for eBay to rely upon it's GMV and fees to generate revenue due to (fill in the blank). As a result, the only way to offset lost revenue is to push sellers to increase their ad spend. Fortunately for sellers, this is still "optional". 🙂
brightlightbookseller
·2 years agoI'll add, my understanding is that the suggested rates are actually based on what other sellers are doing, though it'd be hard to prove either way. My guess would be eBay is saying that's what's needed to beat the top offer currently in that category or on what it considers similar items. That would be in line with previous eBay decisions on things like that, as it drives up the ad rates and makes them more money while leaving them some plausible deniability about having manipulated anything, because they can just say they were showing it based on what sellers were doing.
mordecai8614
·2 years ago I don't promote
luckythewinner
·2 years agoAnyone else not use the "suggested promotional" percentage and use a lower one?
There are 20 million sellers here.
Some sellers are using lower rates.
Some are using the suggested rates.
Some are using higher rates.
Some are not using promoted listings at all.
I say either remove the standard final fee or remove promotion suggested margins.
I say just ignore the suggested rate if it does not work for you.
brightlightbookseller
·2 years agoWe never promote over 2%, and it works in our categories. I imagine it wouldn't in a more saturated market, but we've been happy with it.
dolcetreasures
·2 years agoI’m seeing suggestions as high as 19.8% which is absolutely impossible. Everything is now between 12-18% otherwise which is bonkers considering how little traffic there is.
Unavailable member
·2 years agoI ignore eBay's suggestions on everything....because it's just a suggestion.
Use your best judgment.
hartungcards
·2 years agoSo, are you saying that when you end a listing and eBay suggests lowering the price by $10 and relisting it, you just ignore that?
adamcartwright
·2 years ago@hartungcards
The seller needs to evaluate eBay's suggestions based upon his own timetable.
eBay is pushing for fast sales.
Think of eBay as a real estate listing agent who's pushing to lower the price for a fast sale.
But the seller isn't in a hurry to sell and has a lot more to lose by lowering the price than does the agent, who would only lose a small percentage of commission.
So, yes, a seller who's in it for the long haul may decide to ignore eBay's suggestions.
selsa84
·2 years agoI never base my prices off eBay suggestions. Nor do I use the "suggested " ad rate. I'm in this to Make money not give a majority to eBay in fees.
Unavailable member
·2 years agoIf I ever see a suggestion like that, yes, I would just ignore it. But I never see anything like that. I may sell on eBay but my business isn't run by eBay.
hartungcards
·2 years agoeBay is planning to remove those fees when it's cold enough to go ice skating in he11.
selsa84
·2 years agoSecond Tuesday of next week
chariot_badges
·2 years agoEvery store, every inventory, every owner is different.
There is no 'one size fits all' answer to this or many questions.
I am very aggressive (generous, foolish, pick a verb) in my advertising.
If I can spend $1 and make $2 I will do it all day long.
Looking at my metrics I see that last month I spent $77 in promotional advertising, and it made me an extra $970. Seems like a fair trade to me.
That said, what I do is a set number, double digit, I go under that if it is suggested lower.
The choices you outline above are choices we all have had to make, and actually make every day.
Try different stuff, measure cause and effect.
In a year or two you'll have your answers.
*I JUST NOTICED that we sell the same inventory. And you been doing it longer than me (here, anyway). You should have a better handle on things than me!
So ... salute to my direct competition.