Finally have Sales/but had to take PLs (Promoted Std) to 10-12% for ALL listings to Make it Happen

[katzrul15]

The title really says it all.

Have sales, but my PL percentages are killing me.  Played with it over and over on percentages and when I lower then to even 8%, sales stop.  At the 10-12% range, we have consistent sales.

Really dreading then the FALL update, additional fees and USPS increases.  Not certain how we (us) are going to be able to do this and remain profitable overall??  Anyone else concerned about this?

[richard1rst]

I raise this more as a question than a solution.

I have seen many posts concerning promoted listings and the costs and percentages, etc.

I have NEVER used PL and I make sales every day.

I recently did a search for some ink cartridges I use and out of the first 100 listings only 8 were PL and they were scattered throughout not at the top where you expect them. One of them was 38th in line.

One respondent to that comment pointed out that a variety of other criteria may determine placement. The information in the title (I have seen some that were woefully missing information), the sellers reputation, the seller's proximity, the degree and completeness of the information in the listing itself (I have seen some that leave the description area virtually blank along with an absence of information in the "items specifics" field), and other info.

So I have to wonder if the idea of using PL is an idea that has been burrowed into your mind and never questioned.

Understand, I am not trying to talk you out of using PL. I am simply questioning if there are other ways to improve your exposure with paying a fee.

[collectfest]

Agreed pretty steep %. I have close to zero sales from anything I promote. May I ask if you sell vintage items or more modern items, ie tools, supplies, phones etc?

I sell vintage items. I admittedly promote at a low rate. Search hurts me more than anything. Was on the phone with eBay rep on an unrelated issue and we did a search 1960 Ford lighter, about 250 items came up 175 of which WERE NOT RELEVENT!

We the put a quote around 1960 and only about 72 items came up, they were mostly relevant. Not many buyers are going to tweak the search like that.

Anyway, no clue about the future to be honest. I've got stockpiled about a year or so of shipping supplies and a few years of, as they say, paid for items. So, I can survive for a bit. Honestly, shows are a much better outlet for me, cost to say about 15%, but buying more than makes up for that.

Frustrating because I really like eBay, work from etc but when I cannot get a fair search, well, they seem to be making the choice for me. 

[dnasilver]

Why use PL when you can just start with a lower price? 

[wrong66]

Looks like this giant "money grab" is working well for eBay. Some call it "Pay to Play". In your case, it's "Pay More to Play".

[wrong66]

Exactly. 

[monica-sells]

Back in the stone age of the internet (1998-2002) when I was designing and promoting "rudimentary" websites, SEO was a foreign term, but was still an art that had to be learned.
That knowledge was compromised when they started the "pay-to-play" game, in which users bid against each other on keywords and pay for each instance of that keyword appearing the search results.. Every time a search is initiated, Google would dig into the pool of relevant websites that "paid" for that keyword and choose a set of winners to appear in the valuable ad space on its search results page sorted in the order that the advertiser paid for that "keyword" (highest paid to lowest paid of course)
Initially, it did not even require the link to be "clicked" (called an 'impression/view'), but the advertiser got billed for it.....Once "G" established themselves as the "big guy" we had to continually adjust the membership prices to maintain exposure in search results....
Eventually this led to adwords, (that's another chapter) but this short synopsis is simply to point out that PL here is completely voluntary, but if you want results in a crowded field, ebay gives you the ability to 'buy' your way in....you just need to find the sweet spot on your pricing to accommodate the additional 'cost'. I lost out to some deeper pockets on some keywords, but weaseled my way in on others....kept adapting....

If you are losing ground to your competitor on similar items (who is "outbidding" you on PL to get more traffic/sales) what are they doing that you aren't?

....just some food for thought, because I don't think PL is going away, and it will evolve going forward......

[collectfest]

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@dnasilver wrote:

Why use PL when you can just start with a lower price? 

---

Yes, you would think that would help but NOT for me. Believe me, not disagreeing with your advice but in my case, some kind of issue is going on.

Example, I have two sets of monster candy box list for $40.00. Did my due diligence they sell for 31.47 and 49.99 for ONE set of ONLY 5 boxes. Individual boxes have sold from 8 to 20 sum dollars. I've even promoted them, only 2 views!

Mind you I have two sets, 10 boxes, for $40 and its crickets! Thats 10 boxes, and mine are full not empty. Came right from the original bag.

[2013grotz]

I've mentioned it before: I went PL on all my listings (and adjusted prices accordingly), and will note about 90% of my sales since then are associated with PL.  So evidently it would seem to be a necessity.  Indeed, it does seem ebay is playing a "pay to play" game.

[wrong66]

That's what's frightening.

[collectfest]

---

@monica-sells wrote:

Back in the stone age of the internet (1998-2002) when I was designing and promoting "rudimentary" websites, SEO was a foreign term, but was still an art that had to be learned.
That knowledge was compromised when they started the "pay-to-play" game, in which users bid against each other on keywords and pay for each instance of that keyword appearing the search results.. Every time a search is initiated, Google would dig into the pool of relevant websites that "paid" for that keyword and choose a set of winners to appear in the valuable ad space on its search results page sorted in the order that the advertiser paid for that "keyword" (highest paid to lowest paid of course)
Initially, it did not even require the link to be "clicked" (called an 'impression/view'), but the advertiser got billed for it.....Once "G" established themselves as the "big guy" we had to continually adjust the membership prices to maintain exposure in search results....
Eventually this led to adwords, (that's another chapter) but this short synopsis is simply to point out that PL here is completely voluntary, but if you want results in a crowded field, ebay gives you the ability to 'buy' your way in....you just need to find the sweet spot on your pricing to accommodate the additional 'cost'. I lost out to some deeper pockets on some keywords, but weaseled my way in on others....kept adapting....

If you are losing ground to your competitor on similar items (who is "outbidding" you on PL to get more traffic/sales) what are they doing that you aren't?

....just some food for thought, because I don't think PL is going away, and it will evolve going forward......

---

1st, I am not saying you are wrong, actually I believe you are right in your assessment BUT.........

well, that s fine if what the customer types in the search (what they actually want), SHOWS UP IN THE SEARCH RESULTS. In fact, what they are seeing IS NOT what they search for. As a result, THEY SHOP ELSEWHERE. I know because I am both a buyer and a seller.

What will go away are certain items on the platform. The spice of life is the "unique" item. This way of search is crushing that specific area. There is more to life than iPhones and sneakers! Fine pay to play.

But when you want a 19th century Pennsylvania Dutch painted Carved bird, and search and get 10,000 craft projects, YOU SHOP ELSEWHERE

[femmefan1946]

I consistently have used one percent (and now two percent) for PL.

I found that my Views jumped.

Now that eBay has dropped counting bot views and only counts monthly, my Views have dropped but not to where I recall them being.

Anecdote is NOT data.

What does seem to happen is that when I have a Promoted Listings, I get more sales, but not necessarily on the PL listings.

It's like the milkshakes are bringing to boys to the yard, and then they are ordering a banana split.

I did see a seller a month or so ago say that she had dropped her previous system of heavily discounting  slow moving items in favour of PL at half the percentage she would have discounted.

So if she normally would have discounted by 20%, instead she would use PL at 10%.  (She may have been factoring in that the PL fee applies to the entire payment.)

The idea being that her items would be more prominent in Search.

No idea how it turned out. I'd love to see her results.

[wrong66]

A year from now, are we going to see posts stating "I listed my items with promoted listings at 25%, and got nothing. But when I upped PL to 35%, my sales picked up big time". How far does one think eBay is going to take this? Until PL becomes a required program, starting at a certain % ?

[richard1rst]

Understand that it is not my intent to provoke an argument, I am simply continuing on with my underlying theme:

“I’ve just had my brain washed and I can’t do a thing with it:”

I have an independent web site. I have NEVER paid Google any ad words or promotional fees. HOWEVER you can not imagine the sheer ecstasy of one day finding my site as line one, page one of Google search. And my picture as the first picture on line one of Google images. The explanation is rather simple. I had something no one else had. They sold out rather quickly proving that some people wanted them.

The classic success adage: Find a need and fill it.

That one, admittedly, fluke aside my independent site and my eBay listings frequently show up on page one of Google search and both my independent pictures and my eBay pictures show up in the first few rows of Google images. And by the way, NONE of my pictures have a pure white background which Google supposedly demands. Another brainwash debunked.

It does require some effort. There are sites that offer, for free, listings suggestions and other sites that offer, also for free, to review your listings and point out shortcomings. Of course for that to work people are going to have to put heir Cognitive Dissonance on hold. And for some, it seems, that is impossible.

Pay for Play may be here but I do not accept that you must join.

It’s that Groucho Marx thing again.

[gamersbaystore]

Lowering the price does not increase visibility. For the record, virtually 100% of all listings shown on active listing pages are solely promoted listings, ebay literally tells you this when viewing listings. If you don't use PL, you don't get seen anywhere but standard search results. And search results seem to favor promoted listings as well.

Go click on any active listing, what do you see? Nothing but promoted listings (unless you're viewing your own listings).