Ebay using Roaming visibility ?

[stampsweis]

I've been selling on eBay for decades and have noticed periodically large amounts of sales. And then periodically nothing, and it seems to be a pattern. So my view is somehow they are doing some kind of roaming visibility. What you are offering shows up in buyets search for a short time to boost your sales. And then you disappear in the search for a longer time with no sales.  Anybody have any expertise in this area?

[stainlessenginecovers]

12 years, 22000+ items sold and I can tell you it's ALWAYS been that way. From ups to downs from multiples in same state to not etc. 

My website (private) does the same. 3 orders in 10 minutes 1000 miles apart; 0 orders for 2 days, 9 orders on day 3- 2 from same state, 7 not. 

Selling is cyclical with no rhyme/reason.....even more so on the interwebs. 

You can eventually tell that sales are seasonal.

In the summer, slower because people are out; on vaca as well as the 3 holidays (except for the summer related items). Each 'category' after doing it for at least 3 years, can tell you when their 'hot months' are vs. the 'slow'. 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@stampsweis Some here have a theory that ebay does just that. I've never seen convincing proof of it. 

My own view is: This is pretty much normal retail. Ups....and downs....sometimes pretty dramatic, sometimes less so. 

[drkusedautoparts]

I believe your take on this correct. I have been discussing this with my wife for awhile now. I have been experiencing the same thing for the past year or so. I have had times when I get several sales and they are all from the same state which I don't think is just a coincidence and then sales just go dead, especially at the end of the month. I have told my wife several times that it seems like my listings are not being shown to buyers in all 50 states at the same time, it is like eBay is jumping around the map and only showing listings to certain states at a time. I go 2 or 3 days sometimes with no sales. It never used to be like this.

[slippinjimmy]

A mix of tradition retail and mailorder from the mid 1970's to 2001 and 22 years of mailorder only since then, the ebb and flow has ALWAYS been present. While general trends are fairly consistent (Saturday being a big day for retail) predicting daily sales has always been hit and miss.

The only semi-accurate predictions are month to month, quarter to quarter  or year over year, the longer the comparison period the more predictable the sales are.

Any claim that eBay is somehow controlling your sales has never been supported by any actual facts. Nor has there ever been any reasonable explanation of why they would attempt to do this.

[geo2061]

  i'd say i see a rhythm or pattern to my sales -

Spikes at the Beginning  and  End of each Month 

the times when people might perceive that they have extra cash  to spend.

(the Holiday Season is, of course, different)

But that's because i don't Sell anything that anybody Needs

they might Want or Desire it, but they definitely don't NEED it.

just my opinion 

[new_spin_boutique]

eBay is very democratic in its distribution of views/sales. It would need to be in order to provide buyers with the best experience. Activity such as listing, responding promptly to offers and messages, shipping quickly, all of these are factors that contribute to the success of eBay and the positive experience of the buyer. 

It would make sense, too, if eBay democratically governed your traffic to give you higher placement in time windows when you're active, but also to ensure that you didn't end up in a situation where you sold too much and couldn't ship it all on time. Or, put you in a situation where you spend so much time shipping that you were forced to neglect other aspects of your business. 

If I were eBay, I want sellers listing consistently, shipping on time, responding quickly to offers and messages, and providing good service. I would build my algorithm to consider those factors, so not to overload the seller while also ensuring positive experiences for the customers. 

That's how the eBay algorithm once worked. Not so sure, these days. Lots of things seem to be broken, right now. 

[chapeau-noir]

Footfall is so difficult to gauge that even large retail corporations can't really predict it day to day for staffing and stocking.  The only time I have regular sales is when I list regularly, and it has to be stuff people actually want (I don't get much of anywhere listing dead brands, for instance, even if I list a ton of stuff). "Stuff people actually want" is tougher for me to gauge than actually selling it lol. I have some real dud moments, and my market is constantly changing. 😖

[dhbookds]

Ask any retail Brick and Mortar and they will tell you the same fluctuations......Customers buy on Tues one wk.....so you increase staffing...........the next wk they buy more on Wed, etc.......  Plus all the "it happens" occurrences.......weather, fires, disasters, celebrations.....it all goes into why something may/may not sell at certain times on a general basis.......

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Buyer behavior is complex and ever changing.

There many books on buyer behavior and how to modify it be marketing and merchandising.

Buyer behavior on the internet is changed dramatically since it has matured.

Many buyers are spending less time shopping online, shopping on fewer sites, and viewing fewer offers on the sites they visit.

They are affected by the economy, and do not react in the same way as they did during the 2008 recession, for example.

What you sell matters a lot. If you are selling stamps to collectors, you are selling to a slow growing or decreasing community of buyers, much like the circus, railroad and opera collectors who are among my customers. Many are advanced collectors, and no longer seeking the common items included in my offerings. Others are dealing with limited funds.

Some buy when their paycheck or social security check hits the bank. Then they buy the best items they can find.

When these buyers find me, I see them month after month until they have bought all I have that they want, or found another seller who has more attractive merchandise.

Usually, they find me because a some item which they do a very specific search for. It is a rare item which does not have thousands of listings when a buyer does a broad search, and my chances of snagging a customer with a broad search are unattractive.

Knowing how to list what you sell so that they appear in a targeted search is a learned skill.

[schloopertz]

My experience exactly-will receive numerous sales from Maine or Rhode Island in one day, which is super weird.

There is definitely something going on with how/where our items are showing up in the search-I suspect I'm being shown in a certain region-and it's often across the country-could it be so Ebay can receive more fees with the higher shipping costs?? I know it sounds a bit paranoid, but it's an interesting theory.

I sell on three different platforms, and only on Ebay do I have this experience. Ebay does admit that your items are not shown at all times, so I feel that may explain some of our zero sale days-items are just not showing up in the search for people to purchase.

Been selling here since 2004 with two different selling ID's and believe me it wasn't always this way-this is a relatively recent development-like, in the past couple for years, and it's really maddening.

[powell-memorabilia]

Oh, boy - there are a lot of experts in throttling and reverse throttling.  Perfect example - one of my ID's had sales today, another one didn't.  Suspicious, right?  AND, I can recall having one sale one day, and two the next - a DOUBLING of sales.  When do you see eBay double their sales in one day?  Never, right?  All adds up to something pretty darn suspicious.  

Of course, I'm only upset when I'm throttled - not reverse throttled 🙂 Come to think of it, maybe my natural sales are what I'd blame on being throttled, and eBay is throwing some scraps to me when I do get sales.  Never mind - I'm still going to start a class action lawsuit.  

[downunder-61]

Good on you 😊