This IS Ridiculous
Ok folks. I just started promoting listings, have 10 dollars off over 200 item campaigns and doing all I can to get sales. Last week with starting these we got an uptick. That’s good but this is ridiculous read on. We have competitors putting this same stuff up at the most unbelievable high prices they are much higher than where they sell them online anywhere else and jacked up because they are most likely promoting them at like 30 percent or more. We do not do anything like that and offer fair prices at a lower promoted rate, but guess what. Those ultra inflated priced listings are right up there at the top of all the search. Mine do not even show promoted or sponsored at all. And the most ridiculous of it all is that these people who promote these up to the high heavens RARELY sell them on here. That is not making ebay any money. Just helping then advertise on here and get them to buy them at their own websites.
shar_27
·2 years agoDid they really not sell anything? Or do you hope or think that no one would buy something so expensive?
If you delve into it, the truth might shock you.
Your perception of overpricing might stem from your involvement in selling similar items and understanding the related costs. However, buyers might not possess the same awareness regarding items being priced too high.
eBay only share 3.5% of US ecommerce traffic, solely targeting eBay buyers would limit your reach significantly.
Have you ever considered calculating the profit margin of those sellers who price their products higher, even after accounting for their substantial promotional expenses?
These sellers likely generate profits that are three to four times, or even more, compared to the lower-priced offerings.
As is evident, they enjoy greater visibility and exposure. Moreover, the key point is that they most of the time only pay promotional fees if their items are sold.
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vintagecraze50
OP2 years agoYes they sell but not as frequently as the lower priced items. And they probably make a fair profit.
valueaddedresource
·2 years ago@vintagecraze50
And the most ridiculous of it all is that these people who promote these up to the high heavens RARELY sell them on here. That is not making ebay any money.
It's not necessarily true that this isn't making eBay any money.
You say those inflated price listings are "up there at the top of all the search" - that could mean these sellers are using Promoted Listings Advanced ads, which are given preferential access to the top 4 slots in search, and which are charged on a Cost Per Click model.
Taking everything you've said here at face value, assuming this seller has found a reliable way to get eBay buyers who view their listings to navigate to their direct website to purchase instead (without violating eBay rules), they could view it sort of like buying Google ads - opt in to PLAdvanced to get high visibility but price the items in such a way that buyers are not likely to complete the sale on eBay and instead go to the direct website.
In that theoretical scenario, paying $x.xx per click to drive direct sales could possibly be more profitable than selling the items on eBay with full FVF etc.
Without more details it would be difficult to know for sure if they're doing anything like that, but even if there isn't some aspect of this where they are intentionally trying to drive off eBay sales, the fact remains that eBay could potentially be making money off of every click, even if they never sell a single item at those inflated prices.
vintagecraze50
OP2 years agoYES, that is a good analysis. Excellent.
vintagecraze50
OP2 years agoSo yes it’s good for advertising for them and ebay could get the fees for the click ads AND these higher priced items could sell as well and at those prices the seller will still make a profit as well as ebay. That’s an interesting strategy for these folks if that is what they do.
vintagecraze50
OP2 years agoUntil the buyer realizes they paid too much and then send it back.
onefootflipper
·2 years agoThe majority of buyers search price lowest first. Whenever I am researching prices the sold prices always cluster around or under the current lowest listed price for the item.
Promoted listings for the most part are about trying to attract the TINY percentage of buyers who purchase the first thing they see without doing any other research or even scrolling down.
caseypl
·2 years agoLess of a problem than having to deal with sellers who are slashing their prices just to get sales. It's the opposite of what corporations are doing. I have a steady W2 income and so I am not playing the game of discounts and coupons just to get some sales. No. I only wish other sellers would do the same, or at the very least, sell their remaining inventory and take a leave of absence afterwards. I've done the math and don't believe they are factoring in all the costs a seller incurs or the taxes.
So now you've figured out that some sellers can affect the market. In theory, a seller who dislikes a particular item or the other sellers who sell it could list a bunch of items like that and then put time away settings on. Buyers would see the lower prices all around and then not want to pay a higher price to a seller who has one and isn't doing time away... but that might be after they have to go through 25 or so listings and become fatigued.
tobaccocardyahoo
·2 years agoThere is too much competition and supply exceeds demand for many items.
This is due to the economy and also due to changing tastes.
The choices available for sellers are relatively few, cut price and advertising/promote are the most obvious.
Internet marketplaces are getting record revenues from advertising because sellers are competing for search placement and driving the costs of promotion up.
It quite common on many marketplaces for better placed listings to outsell lower priced listings.
One of the things we can control is what we choose to offer. I do not bother listing items with more than a certain limit of other offers. I also do not feel a great rush to sell any particular item, and can wait out the competition. I might not make a sale of a given item for 6 months or a year, my costs are low, I have the space and I have patience. About 30% of my item views are non search views, and when they are down, so are my sales.
You need to find the path that works for you, or another way to sell. My path suits me, and my revenue goals.
All of the Internet marketplaces have reached the size where they are too big for many sellers and products. Ebay is smaller than Amazon and Walmart and still too big.
If you have not noticed, Ebay has been on a path for many years to become more like the big guys.
caseypl
·2 years agoSame here. I have a solid w2 job and am not going to resort to price slashing just to get a dopamine spike from the double Ebay notification on the phone. I've calculated the costs involved in the process of selling... item cost, supplies, shipping, ebay fees, mileage, and then the 43% tax I pay (state, local, federal, self employment taxes) on any profit and I have concluded that other sellers may not have factored in all these things or are choosing to cut costs in one of those areas, or their hourly wage.
inhawaii
·2 years agoThere are 3 parts to your post...
#1) Your competitors are paying a higher PL rate than you and their items are listed above yours.
Isn't that how it's supposed to work?
#2) Even at those higher PL rates and higher prices, your competitors items are not selling.
Paying a higher PL rate does not guarantee sales.
You could be the very first listing, if people aren't interested in your item, they will not buy it.
#3) How do they advertise their own website? That is not allowed. If they are, I would report the listing.
vintagecraze50
OP2 years agoYes, to part one. But like you said. These people putting ridiculous high prices on stuff because of this are not going to sell as much.
Correct on part two—price too out of line promoted or not, wont sell.
Part three-Their website is their name on ebay.
retro_entertainment_collectibles
·2 years agoYep... Know another place that's done this, the eBay name is the exact as their business and they've been throttling traffic direct to website for a long long time.
luckythewinner
·2 years agoIf you do not get a sale, technically you do not pay any PL rate, let alone a higher one 🙂
inhawaii
·2 years agoSo is "selecting" a higher PL rate but not getting any sales a good thing or a bad thing? 😉
ed8108
·2 years agoYour loyalty & dedication is
inspiring
caseypl
·2 years agoIt sure is. Observation: time spent on these boards does not lead to more sales.
retro_entertainment_collectibles
·2 years agoNo not necessarily... I've seen this as well.
Essentially the sellers jack the price so high nobody in their right mind going to buy it BUT they use the PL feature as essentially free advertising at the top of listings often with click bait to draw someone in. When it comes to certain collectors of certain items, they will click in if for no other reason to go, "Wow! It's worth that!"
Heck I saw one seller spam down three quarters of a page, same item, different photo's, different price and different description yet... Same item.
rugerskick
·2 years agoMy store got turned off over 3 days ago. Ebay flips a swtich and its off for days.
inhawaii
·2 years agoWhy do you figure that is?
What's your theory?
vintagecraze50
OP2 years agoI wonder about that some times but I always figure it’s that the buyers for these items are not going for it again for at least a few more days. Who the heck knows.
dogofwar777
·2 years agoWhen I'm searching for items I always look for the lower priced ones so I won't even pay attention to sellers who jack their prices up.
vintagecraze50
OP2 years agoTHANK GOD!!!
chpgts
·2 years agoYour post is right on.
vintagecraze50
OP2 years agoI wonder if I should follow suit and just raise mine to the high heavens as well and then promote another 10 percent up and then not sell them BECAUSE they ARE WAY TOO OVERPRICED.
isaiah53-57
·2 years agoI believe the site is ALL IN on these Promoted Listings due to desperate times - My assessment of the program is they are uncontrolled, exploitive, on-demand rate hikes that feed on seller desperation and paranoia.
In my opinion, sky-rocketing prices; a skewed, senseless search algorithm; buyer and seller exploitation; unhealthy competition; and price-gouging were ALWAYS going to be the result of this scheme - My guess is it can only get worse unless there is a drastic course adjustment...
If memory serves me correctly, the "Trending Rate"(suggesting it was generated by user means at the time) two years ago was like 4% to 7% and now the "Suggested Rate"(suggesting it is simply what they want you to pay) seems to be running around 9% to 15%. - At the same time, the minimum rate was raised 100% - Thats a reprehensible movement in asking price over such a short time - and made even worse when you consider they have cut out just about every seller kudo they ever offered, giving a typical seller less service for more money. Wonder what this will look like in two more years?
vintagecraze50
OP2 years agoWell in our line the outrageous priced items are not a good value for the buyers at all.
soh.maryl
·2 years agoAnd wouldn't most buyers recognize that?
vintagecraze50
OP2 years agoNot always.
vintagecraze50
OP2 years agoThe economy is still out of control I heard on the news today. People do have jobs and money but this keeps the inflation up. They are raising those credit card rates again and a LOT of people used to use credit to buy stuff everywhere so this can also be contributing to less sales. I went to buy chicken yesterday and they raised the price by another dollar. Beginning of the year price was 3 dollars less. When is it going to end?
oldwestcoins
·2 years agoYes, I heard the other day on the news that credit card debt had reached a trillion dollars for the first time ever.
caseypl
·2 years agoPart of the problem is other sellers are slashing their prices. Stuff that sold at $180 easily is now sold by others at $110, for example. I only hope these other sellers take a leave of absence after burning through their inventory. Corporations have not been slashing prices the same way individuals have. Unfortunately, we can't control what others do and if they want to work at a much lower hourly rate, that's their choice as a 1099 worker.
vintagecraze50
OP2 years agoRIGHT. You have to find a balance when using promotions or you will loose money on inventory more than make money on inventory and that defeats the whole purpose completely of selling in a business manner on here.
joliztoyco
·2 years agoIt will be a dumpsterfire.
But it should be quite entertaining.