Are any 'Top Rated' sellers noticing that you are not near the top of the page anymore?

[doodledog8]

Shortly after I became a 'Top Rated ' seller I was pretty consistantly near the top of the page with my listings. Usually never lower than the 3rd line in the gallery view. But now I am finding that there are a lot of sellers who are not top rated, have less than 100% feedback rating, or some who don't even have a feedback rating because they've less than 10 sales that are above me on the page. I still have a 100% feedback rating. I am finding that this is really starting to 'bite' into my sales.  Any ideas? When I pointed this out to an ebay rep, the answer was 'I don't know' , isn't this what they get paid for ?????

Any ideas and help wuld be very much appreciated.

[chrysylys]

"Top Rated" has never meant 'top of the page'.

[rolenboy01]

Not really I don't go searching every item I have obsessing if it's at the top or not I have too many items to be doing that and better things to do.

[castlemagicmemories]

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Shortly after I became a 'Top Rated ' seller I was pretty consistantly near the top of the page with my listings. Usually never lower than the 3rd line in the gallery view. But now I am finding that there are a lot of sellers who are not top rated, have less than 100% feedback rating, or some who don't even have a feedback rating because they've less than 10 sales that are above me on the page. I still have a 100% feedback rating. I am finding that this is really starting to 'bite' into my sales.  Any ideas? When I pointed this out to an ebay rep, the answer was 'I don't know' , isn't this what they get paid for ?????

Any ideas and help wuld be very much appreciated.

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I don't think there are any guarantees as far as search placement, and some buyers have come to feel that Top Rated does not mean there is any greater chance of a successful transaction than there is with a newbie seller.

As far as being at the top in search placement, that is very fluid and just being there does not mean you will get sales.  Buyers may not buy the first thing that catches their eye.

Good Luck to you, and better sales.

[southern*sweet*tea]

I've been TRS for a long time, and my stuff is never near the top of the page, unless you're referring to page 10 lol

Actually, I don't know now. I don't go looking for my stuff, and haven't for a very long time.  I could be at the top of the heap, or the bottom of the pile for all I know.

TRS has never seemed to make a difference as far as sales go.

[ag47silver-us]

Ignore these folks that don't think checking your search priority is a priority.  It's probably the most helpful thing you can do aside from listing more items.

eBay changed it's search algorithms and you need to change your listings' titles to reflect this.

As a general rule title your items with the first 4 or 5 words matching exactly what someone would type into search.

I see you are putting the dates and numbers and color of the items before what the item is.

For example: " Vintage 75082 Fossil Key 1954 Leather Handbag"

Should be more like: "Vintage Leather Handbad 1954 Fossil Key 75082"

What the item is should be the first words, it's describing features should follow, when creating a listing title.

If you follow this tip with all your items your sales may doulbe like mine did when i changed everything.  Best sales in 5 years started the end of last month right when i started renaming.

[luckythewinner]

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@doodledog8wrote:

When I pointed this out to an ebay rep, the answer was 'I don't know' , isn't this what they get paid for ?

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I do not think that eBay customer support representatives have any insights into how Best Match works.

The algorithm is supposed to be a secret so that sellers cannot figure out how to game the system. 

If CS told sellers, it would no longer be a secret. 

[thevintagesilvershop]

I think being TRS+ means NOTHING these days as far as search placement.  I have been an ebay seller for 22 years.  A few years ago, using Best Match, I could put in one keyword that described many of my items.  I'd always have 25 - 35 items in the first 250 results.

Nowadays?  I'm lucky to find 1 or 2 in the first 250 results. 

I try to guess the algorithms by seeing who is at the top.  My guess, these days, is this is what puts you at the top, no matter what your rating:  sell-through rate, auctions, and sponsored. 

All the rest of us fall wherever we may. 

[lewisburggold]

It truly is hard to tell what gets to the top of the page .  We always thought we all took turns no matter who top rated or not.  Best regards

[nowthatsjustducky]

If people are sorting by price + shipping low to high or high to low, or if they are sorting by ending soonest or newly listed, and your item is not lowest, highest, ending soonest, or recent, then TRS status is not going to put you at the top of the search results.

[tamaralea]

I agree with the OP, after checking one of my listings in best match.  I'm on page 4 now.  In the search I did, the number one spot is a new listing, the number 2 spot is a seller with a 98% feedback rating and free shipping, and the number 3 spot is another TRS.  

[doodledog8]

I do realise that Top Rated doesn't mean top of the page, but when I first became one, I do appreciate it said now that you're a TRS ,you'll have better page placement especially if you have a 24 hr or same day ship, so I did all of that and thought I was pretty happy landing where I was above all of the other sellers who had a less than stellar feedback rating

( as mine is)  and so that when I would double check some of my listings there they were TA DA !  And of course I was always checking the pages on the "Best Match' . But now, and maybe this is because for some reason February and March tend to always be slower months for me, I'm down the page or pages.  

<…sigh…>

Thank You all for your input, I do appreciate it

[sports-cards-n-stuff]

on 95% of my listings; I am lowest price, yet on the many I checked I am last & on last page from best match; many of the one's in front of me aren't even the same item, let alone the same category.  That's what I get for being a trs+, and busting my butt working ebay, running promotions, driving around and catching the last mail man on any given day, etc.  I guess when I close my store down and spend that money promoting my website I'll be better off.

[kathieskorner]

Not really I don't go searching every item I have obsessing if it's at the top or not I have too many items to be doing that and better things to do.

My sentiments exactly.   In 18 years on ebay I have never spent time searching for my own items.   I do my searching before deciding to list an item.