Experienced Seller's Opinion On Good Till Cancelled BIN's

[dffonline]

I've been in retail 35 years. I have been interviewed about retailing numerous times by local television & radio throughout the years and I was the yearly keynote speaker for the Fashion Merchandising classes at one of our local colleges. I was chosen because of my success in the area.

The number one question I always got & still do till this day is, "what do you do with merchandise that doesn't sell?" Any experienced seller knows the answer but this leads me to my point on why Good Till Cancelled is a horrible idea. 

Ebay puts listings that didn't sell into my "Unsold Listings" section. Having an "unsold listing" section on my seller dashboard forces my eyeballs on each listing that didn't sell in 30 days. This is a GOOD Thing!

It makes me scrutinize the listing and ask myself,  "Are there enough keywords in the title? Is there an error in the title or details section? Do the photos need to be re-done? Is the price too high? Should I make it an auction............." Whatever the case, I change that listing in some way to give it a better chance for a sale. This formula works! I did it in my brick & mortar store & I do it here on Ebay.

Now, Ebay decides to take a listing that didn't sell in 30 days & re-list it for me without giving me the option to make changes to improve the chances of a sale. It's as if those that make our rules have never retailed a day in their life. 

[this*old*attic]

Me, too!

[shipscript]

@funchoice 

Vacation? GTC and the "out of stock" option can be your best friends. You don't have to end your listings and lose the listing's momentum (watchers and views). Instead, turn on the stock control option and bulk revise your listing quantities to zero. Those who have your listings bookmarked will still be able to see them, but won't be able to purchase while you're away. When you return, revise your listings to restore the quantities and the listings will reappear. You can then turn off the "out of stock" option if you don't want it.

Read more here:

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Applying-Out-of-Stock-on-GTC-listings-some-info-for-beginners/...

[weschurch]

Lay down the Pom-Poms

First off, I don't even sell on this site anymore. I sold over a million dollars in sales from the beginning days of Ebay until about 2014, or whenever the silly DSR ratings came out. I then decided to move sites because Ebay was in a rapid decline. It was also the best move I ever made because sales were way better over there.

I do still use Ebay to find whatever I can't find elsewhere however.  I wouldn't sell on this place again if it was free to be honest. My issue is I no longer am able to find the stuff I'm looking to buy on here because the product is just not there. Why? Why is my list of 180 favorite sellers from over the years dwindled down to 4 of them that actually currently sell? Because Ebay is hellbent on infuriating sellers and running them off with there little backdoor tactics, therefor my little shopping habit of spending LOTS of money on this site goes unfulfilled. I don't need to argue the state of Ebay with you, its widely known. One little look at the messageboard pretty much sums it up and the fact that I can see the marketplace eroding by the listings I search several times daily declining at a rapid pace is all I need to know.

Sellers continue to leave, less decent product available for me to buy.  None of Ebays changes have been fruitful and have in fact been harmful to the vast majority of the overall state of Ebay. Now they roll out another one that sellers ultimately and overwhelmingly dont want, slap on the "we know whats best for you sellers" regurgitated garbage and it will just be another kick to the dying horse.

If its working for you, congrats, but to most it sure seems its not.

[this*old*attic]

The internet itself has changed and, with it, buyer expectations.

The site isn’t the new “craze” anymore plus there’s a ton of competition now.

Sales trends, and the demographics doing the buying, change over time.

And I’m sorry, but I’ve lost track of complaining sellers who, when you click into their listings, turn out to be selling shoelaces and motor oil and stuff I can zip down the road and buy at Home Depot.

[yuzuha]

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@obojoekn wrote:

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@weschurch wrote:

Who searches google for items? Not me.  I think most people got directly to the "Big A" first, then maybe come here, and thats a big maybe these days, and then if all else fails search google

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I do all the time. Nice to see what is available most everywhere in one big list. 

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Especially when you want to compare prices.

[this*old*attic]

Statistics show that more people start there than at a specific site.

[yuzuha]

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@this*old*attic wrote:

The internet itself has changed and, with it, buyer expectations.

The site isn’t the new “craze” anymore plus there’s a ton of competition now.

Sales trends, and the demographics doing the buying, change over time.

And I’m sorry, but I’ve lost track of complaining sellers who, when you click into their listings, turn out to be selling shoelaces and motor oil and stuff I can zip down the road and buy at Home Depot.

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I see a LOT of sellers who simply can't accept that what used to be popular isn't popular or in demand any longer.  Trends change, buyers change, and if you want to continue to be successful, you need to change along with them.  You can't just keep on selling the exact same thing and expecting to get the same results unless you're selling everyday needs.

[weschurch]

I'm not sure what you are selling has to do with any of this? I went to there from here and my sales were better by far "there". 

I'm here to buy OOAK collectible type stuff, concert tickets, etc. If I want anything big box I don't even think of coming here personally, I go straight to "There" or to the store down the road.

Sadly that kind of OOAK collectible type stuff is dwindling with ever seller Ebay runs off. Soon there will be no need to come here. If I want big box I'll go there, and if I want collectible OOAK stuff I guess I'll just go to flea markets or wherever. 

[lasantino]

actually,, I search google images all the time for items...   ebay's search is so messed up and often so bad I can't find anything other than chinese listings

..

i often search google images and depending on how i order the words in my search,, the results change.. I often get results that I would have never been able to find on ebay..

HOWEVER... the one big problem with searching google.and using image search is dead links!.. it's the most frustrating maddening thing..  and I believe that's why google doesn't index ebays listings.. because there is not really a way to unindex a non active listing.(that i'm aware of)..I'm sure it could be done.. but as the bots work now.. that's not the way it works..

SO.. I actually do think ebay requiring gtc as the listing duration will impact traffic a lot!..  I really do.. 

[this*old*attic]

And EBay is usually the top 2 or 3 results.... but the links are dead.

[lasantino]

exactly!   that's the reason to change to GTC.. no more dead links in google.. it will take some time for the bots to reindex... but I'm positive,,  gtc listings will move up in google search results.. with working links!

[mvls1]

GTC will produce dead links also. The rational for GTC is to have active links that will bring sellers to Ebay and eliminate the frustration of dead links in google search thus INCREASING sales. If that is true, then explain to me

how if I list a one of a kind item GTC today and it sells four days later that it will not result in a new a dead link. I see no way that this new policy will improve google search results for OOAK items that sell. It just may take a little longer until the dead links will show up.

Google may be satisfied with the GTC listings for some period of time, but eventually the dead links will start to pile up again. The only way to avoid this is the dead links will need to be searched out and removed.

There is an axiom that applies here. With every problem that they solve, they create two or more problems of

equal or greater magnitude!

[ksl9898]

You are exactly right!

[this*old*attic]

Your point is empty.

The strength of GTC is that a given item keeps its entire viewing history, the watchers who saved it, and the same item number.

It grows rather than loses visibility over time.

And who says GOOGLE doesn’t work for OOAK items?

I use it ALL THE TIME to track down the matching pieces to my various vintage dish sets (its embarrassing how many I have); I used it to track down several vintage wedding dresses for my daughter (the “in” thing is to change several times) and fascinates for the bridesmaids, and I could go on and on.

 I’m sorry, but the people “raging against the machine” are contradicting themselves.

You complain EBay is dead, then REJECT a change that will bring traffic IN.

You complain about poor sales, then REJECT a change that will INCREASE item visibility.

[davewearsredsox]

I love the Mighty Mouse reference....
1- It is very difficult to relist an item twice without editing it as it will be caught by the duplicate listing police. So I am unsure how someone would make that error.
2- When utilizing bulk relist you are not going to forget where you left off and the unlisted item remains in your unsold bucket.
3- What you suggest may work for the smaller seller but definitely not the medium or large seller. I have 9,300 active items and utilize many of the tools available to promote, discount, and auction to keep pace with my monthly needs that includes my household needs.
4- GTC Receives far less views and does not perform well on the search results. I have a Tom Petty vinyl record that is on GTC and after 3 years along with the Office season 5 DVD that have remained on GTC on purpose. Neither has sold after about 3 years yet I have sold the same exact items multiple times. I have used the two items along with a small handful of others to monitor the program independently and wanted to test that platform before converting moons ago.

So I respect your opinion but this move is more like Deputy Dog who is looking to crack the case blindfolded than to listen to seasoned sellers with a wealth of experience.