Ebay Executives Should Try To Shop From a Google Search Then They’d Know Why Sales Suck

[calistas_closet33]

I am typically a seller but did a google search for tahitian pearl cuff bracelets and saw one I liked in a photo..it happened to be from a seller on ebay. So I clicked on the photo and it brought me to a bunch of bracelets and I had to scroll down to find the bracelet..problem #1.

Then when I decided I wanted to shop the sellers store, I couldn’t, got error messages..I would need to scroll through all inventory and the seller is big time. Problem #2  

So I let the seller know my experience.

**bleep** is wrong with ebay? If I click on an item for any other website I am brought to the item unless it is sold out. This is a major contributor to the drop in sales. I don’t have any interest in working hard to shop online..and I believe most online shoppers shop online for the ease of finding what they want quickly instead of browsing through items they have no interest in.

Ebay needs to wake up and get search results correct.  Do they do focus groups with shoppers? Rhethorical..clearly Devin is not Steve Jobs...very few can create products and experiences that customers did not know they “needed “...so note to ebay, do primary shopper market research on search engine results. 

[yuzuha]

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@tunicaslot wrote:

I just did the OP's searh on google found an Ebay bracelet and the search took me right to the seller's page and the bracelet.

Google is not Ebay and pulls up old listings as well as current ones. If google shows me an old listing - then I am directed to a page showing me a similar item.

I know the OP found the item here on Ebay when she typed in the search - but the listing google showed her may have been the link to a completed item and the seller since relisted it as it didn't sell. Google doesnot differeniate between old listings not available and new listings that can be purchased. Google links often direct me to out of stock items sold in other stores outside of Ebay - or page not available as the item I was looking at was last years model and is no longer available for sale.

You can not compare google search and Ebay search.

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I find Google to be a terrible way to search for any sort of product anywhere for this exact reason as nine times out of ten it is out of date when it comes to the availability or price of an item.  I was just searching for a particular thing to buy as a gift for a friend... the first five links that came up in a Google search for that item were ALL out of stock, including Amazon, which was the very first hit. 

[calistas_closet33]

I use google often when starting out looking for an item, when I have something typically either very specific or really broad category. Typically it works out well, and should and usually saves time.

I am a very heavy online shopper. Not in ebay though, I was years ago but now reserve for seeking out eyeglass franes I have broken, or occassionally skin care / beauty products.

Otherwise for incidentals and household items Amazon, and ocassionally some etailers purchased by them since I have a Prime membership, or Walmart or Walgreens for toiletries..Walmart for sterlite containers for storing inventory. Chewy and Petflow for pet supplies.

When I do not know where to start, I start on google, and I do not think I am unique in this type of shopping behavior.

[tunicaslot]

I always used google to shop and have said so in many posts - but I haven't been using it much lately - I'll use an alternate search engine. Google gives me more results - but like Ebay not all are pertinent to what I was searching for and that's become way more common. Whether it be an item I'm interested in buying or just information.

I was searching for sneakers size 8 - the other day on google - one of the 1st links was for what I was looking for -  $30 on sale - link sent me to a page where only a size 5 1/2 was left - I did type size 8 in search. The other links sent me to pages where the item was no longer $49.99 as advertised on google but $69.99. Found the sneakers on sale by using another seach engine for $45 at a store google didn't even show.

Like Ebay - google has changed - it's all about the $$$ they can profit from - it's not about the users anymore.

[calistas_closet33]

Forgive me, as I am recovering from back surgery 1 too many this year, for my brevity. I typically will not do a search on google for size, maybe it worked at one point, but just had not done. On department store, boutique, eBay and sometmes Amazon I may narrow down after the initial search results guides me to sites. But for clothing and shoes typically, not always, if I am unsure where to start, I will type in for example “Citizens of Humanity Petite” to guide me to vendors that carry petite sizing in their denim, then I dig further. If I added 25P to size I would be searching ostly likely vintage not new denim. But I do not do those searches anymore as I own so many each year one subset are back in style beyond the basic bootcut or skinny denim. Thx

[dinpavent0]

No same thing happened to me. I googled searched an item I was looking for and one came up on google, I click on it and it says its on ebay site, when you click the picture or link it takes you to ebay but not the item. You then have to scroll thru ebay to try and find the item that came up on google. Like other person said if I seach on google, find an item i was looking for and click picture/link, and its on amazon, it takes me directly to the listing on amazon, no scrolling thru over a hundred items to find the listing that came on google to begin with. It is so irritating!!!

[dinpavent0]

same happens to me all the time.

[dinpavent0]

same!!!!!!

[dinpavent0]

My items always come up on google shortly after I listed item, a lot of my buyers for auto parts find me thru google seach. They open account that day and purchase from me since they need the part I have, I may have best price, etc. I do get a lot of traffic off of ebay, noticed it alot past couple months.

[h13creations]

This is part of the many problems for sure, but there is something even bigger going on within ebay and they need to fix it fast. I just came back to ebay within the last 6 months, I was a former powerseller years ago, and I can not believe how little traffic there is now on ebay. I have listed a few used vehicles and it blows my mind, I am lucky to see 1000 views in a 30 day listing. Where as the same exact vehicle just on offer up or let it go (2 Free Apps to sell) gets 1000 views a day, and that is only visible to people within 30 miles of me. People really are not shopping on ebay anymore. I have had a few items up for 4 days and they have not got one view lol. Last week when I had the truck listed I actually typed in my exact title and it still did not show up on ebay. After that I typed in 2004 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD and you know what it gave me. Not a truck, but headlights, airfresherners, it pretty much gave me every thing except what I was looking for. If I go on amazon and type in basketball it doesn't show vacum cleaners, and umbrellas. 

[clu3]

Ever click on a Pinterest link from a Google search?  Talk about no-mans land....  😉

I just did a random Google search for "vintage pearl bracelet".  From the IMAGES page every one took me directly to the item - Amazon, Ebay, Ruby Lane,  Etsy. 

What was most interesting though.  The majority of the top results were Etsy.  There was a sprinkling of Amazon and Ebay and a good mix of other sites that appeared to be Shopify. 

[calistas_closet33]

I was not shopping ebay, I was shopping the www, that is how I start when looking for an item. Shopping directly to ebay is not something I do often. Reserved for hard to find items, like eyeglass frames that I broke and loved, or some skin care products. I used to buy Sundry sweatpants due to good pricing, now the prices are jacked up to cover ebays inability to drive more sales, they lose them. I do better with a sale at Bloomingdales, Revolve, Shopbop (owned by Amazon) than I do here.

How many people look on ebay to pay retail? Idk, but not me. Did pay retail for Hunter boots on Amazon this weekend because I knew I was buying indirectly from Zappos.

Ebay is not the place I think of first when looking for fine jewelry or full price items.

[calistas_closet33]

I get a Honda car dealership ad on top of my results. 🤣 Sorry for late reply, I was taking a time out, also had another surgery.

[calistas_closet33]

Etsy does show up a lot. Definitely noticed that when looking for a ring for a friend of mine.

[fr8hvnhet0]

You're preaching to the choir.

[calistas_closet33]

It is all good 😉