Ebay is adding information about what other items sell for on listings

[bids-n-bargains-r-us]

Recently may listings have something added by ebay.  There is an area by the price that tells the buyer what other similar items cost.  This new feature brings up other items that sold but they are not the very same item.  I can't tell how these items are selected by ebay but they are always a lesser price than what I have listed and aren't even the same item.  An example is:  teapot for sale.  Ebay shows some cups and saucers at a reduced price.  My question is this:  How is it possible to sell an item for a fair price when ebay keeps telling people items sold for a much lesser price?   It doesn't make sense to me that ebay would show an item that sold recently and not have it be identical to the item listed.  It give the impression to the buyer that they are considering paying too much.

[pburn]

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@bids-n-bargains-r-us wrote:

This new feature brings up other items that sold but they are not the very same item.

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I've not noticed eBay displaying listings of items that have already been sold. Can you post a snippet of that?

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@bids-n-bargains-r-us wrote:

It give the impression to the buyer that they are considering paying too much.

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eBay is a buyer-centric platform. Their aim is to provide the best service and range of choices to buyers, including items at a lower price. It's then up to the buyer to research the best item for them to purchase.

[theteamsetguy]

Not an issue if you source your inventory properly. Like they say you make your money when you buy not when you sell.

[bids-n-bargains-r-us]

I was a bit confused.  Looking back at my listings it does not show on my listings.   This box came up when I was preparing the  listing.  It showed a box with what ebay called (what other listings sold for) and I suppose they are hoping you  lower your price to what they recommend.  I did not lower my price .  When I look into my listings now, the box that showed (what other listings sold for) no longer is there.  

[buyselljack2016]

eBay poor attempt at doing price comparison research for you. It may work in some instances where to same item shows, but is just useless  clutter for many items.

It's like eBay telling me the weigh, and size of similar item when I am doing a listing.

I have the item sitting on the scale right in front of me at 1# 6.5 oz, and eBay is suggesting that I apply the 1# weight, and a box size that is smaller than the item 🙂

[little*blackdog]

That box only pops up when you are listing.  It's supposed to be a guide to appropriate pricing for similar items, for your benefit.  It doesn't show up on the finished listing.  No one sees it but you.

[bids-n-bargains-r-us]

You are correct.  I discovered that by reviewing my listings and the box disappeared.  This happened while I was listing the item.   My first impression was to change my price, that is until I looked at the items they showcased as "similar sold items" and when I looked these items they were not even close to the item I was listing.  I'm so glad the buyer doesn't see that box.  I'm beginning to see how other listers are listing items at a bottom level price.  If they don't  know the value of what they are attempting to sell, and have little knowledge of the product, they will assume the cost ebay shows them as correct and sell very low.  This may be great for a buyer but the seller is actually selling way below market value and losing out on profit.

[ebeths_eclectic_collectibles]

And quite often ebays suggested prices are way too high. Frequently i will edit a listing with the intention of lowering the price and eBay will tell me based on similar items that I should double or triple the price

[joliztoyco]

I find the vast majority of sellers here are well aware of the value of their items. And how to click on the "sold items" when they do a search for the same items are selling. How else would come up with a value to list it?
If anything, new sellers overprice their items and then wonder why they're not selling anything. 

[2013grotz]

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@bids-n-bargains-r-us wrote:

 My question is this:  How is it possible to sell an item for a fair price when ebay keeps telling people items sold for a much lesser price?   

Truth be told there's a lot of extensions, apps, and even one of the browsers (Edge) with features that do this exact same thing across multiple sites (Ebay, Amazon, yadda yadda).  I can imagine Ebay is only trying to catch up and mimic things.

But as a seller when I'm listing stuff, it's still pretty funny to review my items with those things enabled and have them squawking at me.  The thing to remember is that buyers can do these things too, even just look at "Sold Items" or sort by "lowest price first".  But at the same time, you know what your item is worth and what you need to get out of it.  A good skill is holding to that (100% true here with buyers pushing OBOs at you), especially since there are sellers that really don't know what they're doing on so many fronts out there putting up items for prices where they'd have to pay substantially to GIVE the item to the buyer.

[inhawaii]

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@bids-n-bargains-r-us wrote:

  My question is this:  How is it possible to sell an item for a fair price when ebay keeps telling people items sold for a much lesser price?  

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Ebay is not telling you what to sell it for. The information they are providing is for your information only.  You may use the information (right or wrong) to price your item or you may ignore it if you wish.