Monthly Chat - January 11th at 1:00 pm PST

[devon@ebay]

Hi Everyone! This month's chat you’ll have an opportunity to talk to specialists from our Growth Advisor Team. The theme of the chat is, “Focus on setting yourself up for success in the new year and setting goals”. Get all of your questions ready for the team, so we can make the most out of this month's monthly chat on January 11th at 1:00 pm PT!

Edit: Thanks for joining us for the Monthly Chat with eBay Staff and the Growth Advisors Team.The chat thread will remain open until 2 PM PT at which point we'll close it from additional responses. After that time, we'll continue to work on responding to any queries that might still be unanswered.To post your question, click Reply in the lower right corner of this post, type your question, and hit submit between 1-2 PM Pacific Time. The format of our chat mirrors the format of our Community Discussion Boards, where each post will appear in the thread chronologically. The (specialist name) and Community Team will review each question as it comes in, and will quote the original question in our reply. This quote and the reply will appear later in the thread, so just keep scrolling down to see our answers.As a reminder, we want (specialist name) to be able to get to as many members as possible during the allotted hour, so we have a few things to ask of you:

Keep on topic
Scroll through the list of questions to see what has already been asked to decrease chances of redundancy
Keep the message/question simple and no more than one to two items. If you include multiple questions in a post, please be aware that they may not be addressed during the chat and (specialist name) will do their best to follow-up with it after the chat has closedMissed the chat? Send your questions to the podcast by calling 888-723-4630 or email us at podcast@ebay.com and maybe your questions will make it on the air! Or listen to past episodes while you wait for next month!”

[wastingtime101]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

What if anything is eBay planning to do to provide access to data and metrics that sellers can use to help their businesses grow?

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If Sarah is taking requests - I would like to see keyword search data.

For example: are buyers finding listings because they typed in Christmas or Holiday - or are both terms equally relevant?

Help us button up our listing titles by providing buyer search terms that led to our listings. We will be able to eliminate redundancies in titles and create more targeted listings.

[sarah@ebay]

@dhbookds For one/off sellers, I recommend knowing your customer base and seasonality for those items you sell. PL is a great option to help with visibility in search results. All of the options, using terapeak, sending offers, and PL are great options. Also, utilizing the store newsletter to reach your customer base helps drive and grow repeat business. Coupons and special sales can be highlighted in your store newsletter.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

I have long been a proponent of videos in listings, both for items with sound or motion, and for other items which can benefit from video. I have been pleased with ebay's video in the listing gallery, especially now that ebay appears to have reduced the time it takes for review. However, creating a video IS extra work, and while my video stands out when a buyer actually clicks through to my listing, ebay currently does nothing in SEARCH to highlight the fact that my item has a video ---which would be a way of distinguishing my listing from the competition.

In 2023, can we expect that ebay will add a search filter for video enabled listings, and/or provide a "video icon" directly in the search results?

I think the ability to stand out in this way would help me grow my business, and would provide incentive for sellers to use the video feature.

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Edit: A reply to your question can be found here. 

[itsjustasprain]

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@golfingaddict wrote:

Second example:  My post office is having severe personnel issues and is falling down on scans, delivery, you name it.    Packages shipped sometimes don't get scanned until they reach the distribution center which delays them a day or two on the "scanned in time" 

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Does your PO have a self serve kiosk in the lobby? You can do your own scanning in with that and then drop your packages in the drop box there (or hand them over the counter if they have someplace indoors where they collect dropoffs). The provisional acceptance scan issued by the kiosk is accepted as proof of mailing by Ebay so you dont have to just hope that it gets another scan further along before your handling time runs out.

[devon@ebay]

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@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:

I believe many of us could grow our sales via Live Streaming, whether auction or fixed price. However, at present, ebay's Live Streaming service is available only to a handful of ebay sellers in a handful of categories, and so ebay sellers who want to livestream to grow their business most use other channels.

Will ebay be expanding livestreaming to all ebay sellers this year?

If not, just what are the 2023 plans for Livestreaming?

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Hey @my-cottage-books-and-antiques! We have reached out to the correct team and they had this to share:

"We've been getting some really great feedback on our live beta tests. eBay Live is currently available for live selling in Collectibles and Luxury categories. Collectible items include sports trading cards, collectible toys, and comics. Luxury items include watches, handbags, and jewelry. Please let us know if you’d like to experience eBay Live selling and we’ll notify you as soon as you’re eligible to start selling live by visiting www.ebay.com/eBayLive/Seller to sign up! Check out ebay.com/eBayLive to sign up for a reminder to join the scheduled shows."

[valueaddedresource]

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@wastingtime101 wrote:

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

What if anything is eBay planning to do to provide access to data and metrics that sellers can use to help their businesses grow?

---

If Sarah is taking requests - I would like to see keyword search data.

For example: are buyers finding listings because they typed in Christmas or Holiday - or are both terms equally relevant?

Help us button up our listing titles by providing buyer search terms that led to our listings. We will be able to eliminate redundancies in titles and create more targeted listings.

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@wastingtime101  big plus 1 for that!

Keyword search data would be really helpful in so many ways.

[sarah@ebay]

@valueaddedresource eBay is consistently looking at opportunities to improve the platform and reporting options for our sellers. Reporting options are being evaluated , at this time, to see what will best serve our community.

[golfingaddict]

I would also like some information about "growing my sales" which seems to be slowing down more and more due to the enormous push to steer the sales to those that choose to pay more.

My pages are overwhelmed with promoted listings that make it hard to even find the description in the listings.

What happened to being a good seller and having your items naturally rise to the top.  These days, those with deeper pockets get the sales, no matter what quality the seller or items are.  Pay to play seems to be the answer to growth in eBay.

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Edit: A reply to your question can be found here. 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

ebay added video functionality to our store home pages some time ago, and I did create a video or two (Holiday related, so I'm not currently using a video). Again, it can take some time and effort to create a good store video (especially for those of us who have little experience with this), and unfortunately, ebay has really done nothing to incentivize us to use a store video. I have suggested that ebay could run a video contest, with prizes such as a years free store subscription or whatever....but really, the single most important thing ebay could do is provide TRACKING....I have little incentive to create a video when I have no way to track whether it is being viewed or not. A store video can help brand a business and thus grow a business, but without tracking, it's hard to see why I should bother.

Will ebay finally provide tracking for store videos this year?

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Edit: A reply to your question can be found here. 

[golfingaddict]

NO THEY DO NOT

Just like eBay.  The seller is all to blame

[wastingtime101]

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@valueaddedresource wrote:

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Keyword search data would be really helpful in so many ways.

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Yes, including sourcing and growth! Help identify trends, etc.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

One way to grow any online business is to make effective use of social media. A year or two ago, ebay indicated that we would be getting a new feature, which would provide a heavily reduced FVF for sales tracked to our social media referrals. I believe something similar is being beta tested in Australia. This would have a positive impact on my growth, as not only would I have a strong incentive to use social media, but if more ebay sellers use social media to direct buyers to the site, it would help us all.

Can we finally expect to see this here in 2023?

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Edit: A reply to your question can be found here. 

[sarah@ebay]

@wastingtime101 Great question. These webinars are separate from seller check-in and eBay Open. They are typically covering specific topics that sellers have requested information on through our verticals teams. This year, I will be working on creating a set of more general topics for sellers to view. 

Here is a link to those webinars. https://www.gotostage.com/channel/01b9e2c441374319a80014237a315f17 

[valueaddedresource]

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sarah@ebay wrote:

@valueaddedresource eBay is consistently looking at opportunities to improve the platform and reporting options for our sellers. Reporting options are being evaluated , at this time, to see what will best serve our community.

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Thanks sarah@ebay - can you at least share specifically if eBay intends on giving us access to Google Shopping Rejection information in another format?

That seems to be the number one thing sellers say they will miss about the LQR.

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Edit: A reply to your question can be found here. 

[itsjustasprain]

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@golfingaddict wrote:

NO THEY DO NOT

Just like eBay.  The seller is all to blame

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No one is blaming you. Im just suggesting a workaround if your PO has a self serve kiosk. You can use the USPS website to find a PO near you that does have one - that is one of the search parameters. The problem you are describing is with your post office - not Ebay. Extending your handling time by another day or so might also cut down on the late shipment dings. But the bottom line is that your PO is not doing what they are supposed to do.