5 dvds for 10.00

[loumil46]

I WANT TO  LIST VARIUOUS TITLES IN ONE LISTING AND HAVE BUYERS CHOOSE THE FIVE THEY  WANT  AND INCLUDE ANY ADDITIONAL DVDS FOR 99 CENTS AND INCLUDES FREE SHIPPING..I KNOW ITS BEEN DONE I JUST NEED TO KNOW HOW,HAVE OVER FIVE HUNDRED MOVIES DISC ONLY AND NEDED SOME ADVISE IF IT CAN BE DONE AND THEN HOW...THKS LM

[kensgiftshop]

To do any promotions like that, you need a store subscription.

[wastingtime101]

Variations are intended for variations of the same item. Sellers using variations for assorted DVD/CD titles are violating policy. Trying to avoid this abuse of policy, eBay gives sellers with Store subscriptions (Basic and above) 10K+ extra listings in specific categories including Movies/Music.

You should be putting up separate listings for each item.

Also with a Store subscription you can set up order discount promotion to accomplish the price discount you want to offer.

You cannot force a buyer to purchase 5 items unless you select the 5 items and list them in a single listing as a bundle.

eBay Store info:

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/payments-and-fees/subscriptions-and-fees

[inhawaii]

Someone correct me if i'm wrong, 

A listing for 5 DVDs for $10, you select the 5 you want from a dropdown menu.

I don't think that can be done.

You could do a listing for $2 per DVD.

Select the title from a dropdown menu.

That would be 5 DVDs for $10.

And yes, as @wastingtime101 said, tha is called a "variations listing" and that's not what variations listings were meant for. 

[paxilill]

Sounds like something that would make my agro as a seller, i'd just sell in a large lot, locally as a one and done 

[orangehound]

---

@wastingtime101 wrote:

Variations are intended for variations of the same item. Sellers using variations for assorted DVD/CD titles are violating policy. Trying to avoid this abuse of policy,

---

Is it an abuse of policy, or a violation?  Where?  I've not seen it.

eBay allows, and even describes,  a variation listing for parts and accessories, where one might part out the various components of a product.  The only criteria is that it each item has to have the same fitment, which would easily apply to a variation listing of DVDs since they all would be compatible with a DVD player.

Perhaps you are right, but I've done such a listing before ... and I've not seen anything prohibiting it.

(Looking at the variations page, there seems to be a limit of 250 variations, so one could not list 500 titles).

[wastingtime101]

Sorry, violation not abuse. Poor choice of word.

Several reps on this forum have confirmed as much over the years. I can recall Trinton and Brian specifically saying it and giving specific examples in music, movies and video games.

My understanding is it varies by category what's acceptable and what's not.

Ex: Movie

You can list the original title, the director's cut, the special anniversary release - all same title - on a variations listing.

You cannot list Back to the Future I, II, III all on the same variations listing because they're different. (Though I think that should be allowed.)

You cannot list Back to the Future, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Die Hard all on the same variation listing.

Ex: Trading Cards

You can list all cards from the same pack/set on a variation listing even though they are different players, teams, etc.

You are not supposed to mix different series, conditions, etc on the same variation listing.

I don't know how it works for every category, but I have a good idea for many categories @orangehound . It's also possible eBay has changed over time what they allow and what they don't. They never went that detailed in the policy pages so we learned a lot from eBay reps on this board.

[orangehound]

---

@wastingtime101 wrote:

Several reps on this forum have confirmed as much over the years. I can recall Trinton and Brian specifically saying it and giving specific examples in music, movies and video games.

---

I hear you ... I get that it might not be an elegant way to employ variations, but it is common and doesn't seem to be forbidden.

I think the OP is just trying to figure out the best way to do what is done on here all the time.

Here's a listing that's been going strong for 3 years:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/292842152402

[wastingtime101]

I used to see listings like that taken down on a regular basis and sellers complaining about it. But I have noticed a distinct lack of complaints in that area in recent years. Maybe the policy changed, or maybe the policy is the same but eBay's not actively enforcing it anymore.

It's been a while since the last official word on this topic; let's ask an eBay rep what the policy is these days.

Hi kyle@ebay - can you please review all the posts in this discussion and advise back on variations? Would like to make sure those of us helping sellers on this forum are giving appropriate advice on variations, especially for music/movies/games as those are the most frequent categories that new sellers ask about. I don't want to lead sellers down a path that could get them a policy violation, but I also don't want to push them into using separate listings if it's not required. Thanks!

[slippinjimmy]

The problem I see with this type of listings (I see quite a few for music) is that you could have 1 item out of a hundred that someone really wants but they will likely never find it in search. You really only get the buyers that specifically look for this type of listing (not really the type of buyers that I look for).

[orangehound]

---

@wastingtime101 wrote:

I used to see listings like that taken down on a regular basis and sellers complaining about it. But I have noticed a distinct lack of complaints in that area in recent years. Maybe the policy changed, or maybe the policy is the same but eBay's not actively enforcing it anymore.

---

@wastingtime101 

I found the policy under fee avoidance schemes.  

My guess is that eBay didn't want a seller doing this because one could compress what should be multiple listings into a single listing, thereby avoiding insertion fees.

But, now, insertion fees are less and less part of eBay's revenue since all sellers have been bumped up to 250 free monthly listings and stores have 10,000 listings in categories such as DVDs, music, etc.  So, my guess is that it is a policy that is technically prohibited, but not really being enforced.

[wastingtime101]

That's a good theory @orangehound , and I'd say it's probably accurate that it's around the time we saw that store listing increase is when the complaints about variation policy violations stopped flowing.

They also bumped selling fees in music/movie categories several years back so that probably makes up for loss of insertion fees.

Signing off. Have a good night.

[kyle@ebay]

---

@wastingtime101 wrote:

I used to see listings like that taken down on a regular basis and sellers complaining about it. But I have noticed a distinct lack of complaints in that area in recent years. Maybe the policy changed, or maybe the policy is the same but eBay's not actively enforcing it anymore.

It's been a while since the last official word on this topic; let's ask an eBay rep what the policy is these days.

Hi kyle@ebay - can you please review all the posts in this discussion and advise back on variations? Would like to make sure those of us helping sellers on this forum are giving appropriate advice on variations, especially for music/movies/games as those are the most frequent categories that new sellers ask about. I don't want to lead sellers down a path that could get them a policy violation, but I also don't want to push them into using separate listings if it's not required. Thanks!

---

Hey @wastingtime101 there has definitely been some fluctuation over the years on what was allowed and what was not allowed, in relation to listing with variations.  So I don't blame anyone for not knowing where we landed.  But that fluctuating has settled down to the current state, which does allow DVD's to be listed together as a variation listing.  So in your example, you actually CAN list Back to the Future, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Die Hard DVD's all in one listing with variations.  

As long as the seller isn't including something else like a DVD cleaner for $1 or something like that to skew the results, they should be fine!

[wastingtime101]

Thanks kyle@ebay - appreciate that updated info!

[wastingtime101]

---

@loumil46 wrote:

I WANT TO  LIST VARIUOUS TITLES IN ONE LISTING AND HAVE BUYERS CHOOSE THE FIVE THEY  WANT  AND INCLUDE ANY ADDITIONAL DVDS FOR 99 CENTS AND INCLUDES FREE SHIPPING..I KNOW ITS BEEN DONE I JUST NEED TO KNOW HOW,HAVE OVER FIVE HUNDRED MOVIES DISC ONLY AND NEDED SOME ADVISE IF IT CAN BE DONE AND THEN HOW...THKS LM

---

With the updated info received from eBay @loumil46 , you can list your titles in a variation listing.

That said, you cannot set up those types of promotions without paying for an eBay Store subscription to access promotions manager as mentioned in the first reply above.

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/payments-and-fees/subscriptions-and-fees

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling-tools/promotions-manager?id=4094