Cassini and Sales

[jeweloftheheart]

I am trying to understand what has ocurred the last few months. Cassini has been in use for a few years and there have been slight ups and downs, including just the slower slower seasons but survivable. Ever since eBay implemented the new https and changed the sight a few months ago. Sales have plumetted by about 80%. What changed? Did Cassini change? I am doing everything I can properly so why the plummett and is this permanent. I had 1 sale this weekend. I have never had this happen in the 12 years of selling. I wished an eBay representative would just be honest and explain what is really going on behind the seens so we don't have to keep searching for answers.

[nawlinsron2]

ebay hides listings...that gave themselves that power in 2014 thru the TOS you have tacitly agreed to.

[odditiesandantiquities1]

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@jeweloftheheart wrote:

I am trying to understand what has ocurred the last few months. Cassini has been in use for a few years and there have been slight ups and downs, including just the slower slower seasons but survivable. Ever since eBay implemented the new https and changed the sight a few months ago. Sales have plumetted by about 80%. What changed? Did Cassini change? I am doing everything I can properly so why the plummett and is this permanent. I had 1 sale this weekend. I have never had this happen in the 12 years of selling. I wished an eBay representative would just be honest and explain what is really going on behind the seens so we don't have to keep searching for answers.

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We'd all like the answer to that one. In my case it's like lights on lights off. When the lights are off I don't even get any questions from customers. It's like everything has gone silent. When the lights come on again, well I'm a happy lady. 

Maybe Cassini is getting old and suffering from lord knows what.

[siayan]

Your number of listings to sales ratio looks pretty good to me. Cassini has changed something in the last month or so but no one knows what that is. I think they increased the sales factor (sales bump up listings) and also cut off long listed items. I also think they put a short bump on new listings for a few (maybe 12) hours then dropped them. 

That is only a guess because that is top secret and it is always changing.

[jeweloftheheart]

That is what it looks like. So, should I not list for 30 days? Would it be "slightly" beneficial to list my Buy it Nows for 7 or 10 days? An eBay Rep and I went through some searches on the phone yesterday, she could see it did not make sense how items were showing up. Best match was several high cost new lenses, then some cheap over seas uv filters (not a lens), my item was down way at the bottom of the page when if it were really best match, should have been at the top of the page.
She is going to refresh my store and send a report to eBay. I don't think anything is going to help. Lights are out.

[jeweloftheheart]

I am not getting any questions either. Just totally invisible. Never seen this over the 12 years even during the slower times.

[nawlinsron2]

Cassini should be named Wo Fat...it loves him some Chinese sellers

[jeweloftheheart]

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.......needed that for this disappointing Monday.

[duggmills]

Yes, this is an opinion. 

I wonder if the market for camera lenses is changing? Phones, tablets and Ipads have  quailty cameras, I wonder how many people are buying high end photo equipment?

[floridainjection]

Everyone needs to remember that Cassini is not primarily a search engine. It is an exclusion engine!

Ebay signs contracts with the big sellers and China. There has to be certain sales levels or Ebay violates the contract. Ebay removes small US sellers items from the search during times when sales figures slump for these people.

There are way way to many sellers and not enough buyers. Small sellers hurt from this and also from rampant buyer fraud. Small sellers also hurt from secret ratings that further push us out of the search.

[jeweloftheheart]

It has changed some, but not the instant death like it has. I have done well over the 12 years and up until the last month, now this month died. This one is an instant change. If you read all over the boards there are others with the same problem. Something changed with eBay's website and or the search engine that we are not aware of.

[floridainjection]

Part of the secret seller raings from Cassini is things like getting dinged for late shipping, less than perfect feedback, calling Ebay, returns, not listing enough, listing in categories with big sellers that need a boost, having stale listings, having listings with low hits, having malformed HTML, having too few pictures, not paying for extras, anything that you can think of can affect your secret rating.

Your "above average" note in your dashboard means nothing.

[floridainjection]

Oh and not using UPC codes, not offering extremely liberal returns, not offering guaranteed shipping, yes the list is endless.

When your sales all of a sudden change, you will find something you did or failed to change in your listings with new policy or feature changes etc...

[tamaralea]

I am always trying new things and have had pretty good success the last two months.  I think it MAY be because I'm constantly changing one little thing on my listings each day.  It's a pain in the ^&*, and may not be the reason, but you may want to try it. 

Another thing you might want to try is altering a sold listing.  Use "sell similar" and add the new desription and pictures.  It might fool Cassini.

[tunicaslot]

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@duggmills wrote:

Yes, this is an opinion. 

I wonder if the market for camera lenses is changing? Phones, tablets and Ipads have  quailty cameras, I wonder how many people are buying high end photo equipment?

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I hadn't looked at the OP's inventory and just assumed it was jewelry from the ID - but you have a point. I don't even know how to take a pic with a cell phone but was going to upgrade my digital camera this year. Usually the Black Friday ads are filled with different deals - not this year - there was only 1 digital camera advertised at a good price but it was several hundred more than I am willing to spend.

The OP is in a niche that unfortuantely only pertains to a select number of customers and there are lots of camera stores after those few customers.