eBay

timemachine777 · ‎06-14-2015

I Just posted this statement before deciding it needed it's own thread. I know I'm not the only seller that is consonantly experiencing eBay holding back our sales numbers for some unknown reason. As a buyer I have also experienced how eBay blocks me from not only purchasing an item, but also opening another sellers listing or hiding them from me completely as stated in an older post to Griff:

http://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Current-Feedback-Test/m-p/23943165#M509512

I tried to boost sales using items guaranteed to sell. Example: I have multiple accounts and Recently I was adding more and more inventory to each account per day, however sales stayed the same per week and the total value of sales stayed within it's regular range. I decided to see what would happen if I listed a bunch of rare Salesman Sample Near Mint Pin up Calendars from the 1930's, so I listed about 5 per day and They did really well for sale numbers and OK on ended price. The result was that it pushed me above my normal sales level on both price and number of items sold for the month.

Here's the big issue... None of my regular inventory sold and even through I added some more Pin-ups and some very rare Near Mint Maxfield Parrish Calendars, and an Over sized Calendar "Our Gang" (Little Rascals) one from the 1930's for my next round, all my sales, on all my accounts have stopped since the 9th of this month and that's pushing me back toward my normal monthly range now.

If that isn't eBay controlling my accounts and what buyers see or can access, than I have the intelligence level of an Ameba. So here's my theory: eBay blocks sales for a number of reasons...

1. To use our better listings as bait for their sponsored ad portals to earn larger commissions from off site sales. ( I also wonder if they are practicing "cookie stuffing" too inflate those profits).

2. Bandwidth restrictions to enable eBay to cater to the Big Box sellers and Large Chinese sellers.

3. Trying to spread the wealth among the small sellers due to a limited amount of buyers.

That's main part of my theory list what's yours?

timemachine777 · ‎06-14-2015

@kansasperf wrote:
Buyers can not see the items. eBay hides them. The Question is ??? On Purpose Or Is the Site Such a Mess They Can Not Fix It..

I think its both.

timemachine777 · ‎06-14-2015

@retrose1 wrote:
For over a year I got consistantly between $300 and $450 in sales a month. But May has been a downer. But since I treat ebay like the secondary dumping site it so obviously wants to be, I am setting up at more real world shows this summer and my sales on other sites are doing well.

I am not going to have sales when ebay isn't bothering to show my listings to anyone. It smacks of desperation. I'm just going to ride it out for 6 months until ebay gets around to changing things up again and things should get back to normal.

Are you sure a day like that will ever come?

tgspub · ‎06-14-2015

Buyers too, feel the bad karma from Ebay's self-righteous stubbornness to create real customer service department. As a buyer, if I ever got sent to a non-english speaking person with a horrible accent -- I 'd never buy there again... That,s why you won't see a Dell computer receipt anywhere on my desk.

I've been lucky, I suppose as seller reaching only American english CS reps.

When the enthusiasm among sellers is 6 feet under the gravestone, the buyers DO feel it. That was proven factual when the 911 attacks hit.

Ebay has raised the fees to pay back that 5 billion$ to PayPay? They have eliminated good honest sellers through insane policies. They choose to grade adults as though we're still in junior high school. They are BDSM specialists when it comes to handling seller's complaints or problems.. not to mention the LIES we get from CS reps.

jlhdistributors · ‎06-14-2015

@kathieskorner wrote:
Oh boy, another conspiracy theory thread. Ebay is hiding my listings, ebay is controlling my sales nembers, ebay is forcing out small sellers, etc. etc. etc.

It is always about what ebay is doing - never what the seller is selling, increased ecommerce competition in general, the season of the year, etc etc etc.

Yes, yes, yes, it most definitely must be the small seller. Sells drop by $3000.00 a month. It is the sellers fault. Sells drop by half again, it must be the seller. That large competitor has gained hundreds of sells without changing anything, yes that is the small sellers fault also. The large stores sells increase by hundreds, your sells decrease. You have better prices for the exact same items. It still must be the smaller sellers fault. Never happened before, just happened in one month, but still it is the small sellers fault.

Where else are expectations of success based on the good ole days so high??   Where else do sellers expect the same results from smiliar inventory month after monthy - year after year??    Thank heavens most ebay sellers aren't trying to run a brick and mortar store with a lot of overhead the same way they run an ebay "business".

That is a non argument. If it is clothing or shoes, styles change every few months. It is not the same old stuff. The same goes for most categories. Maybe not if you were selling paper clips. Styles and items change at a fast pace, so it in not the same stuff year after year. Nike sells shoes, they don't stop selling shoes because shoes sell year round. They change the style is all. If one is selling the same shoes they had in stock years ago, get rid of them, they have dry rotted. That is a silly argument.

Do I believe that ebay's search is currently an unlevel playing field - yes.    Exactly how and to what extent - I don't know. But at the same time I know that ebay fixed price items are not getting the same exposure in google as they once did - especially if a seller lists the same item on multiple venues that submits google feeds.

Do I believe that ebay's search is currently an unlevel playing field - yes. Do you think?
Up above you are trying to make an argument that it is not eBay, it is the seller. Now you admit that eBay in your opinion has something to do with it. That is say two things at the same time. Make a case for eBay, than make a case against eBay. That argument is like say the dog is chasing it's tail.

People that have seen their sells drop know the real truth. One can argue that a black sheep is white all they want. That these sellers just can't believe their lying eyes. Of course when they see sells drop month after month they know better than to listen to the cheerleaders.

jlhdistributors · ‎06-14-2015

@kathieskorner wrote:
Oh boy, another conspiracy theory thread. Ebay is hiding my listings, ebay is controlling my sales nembers, ebay is forcing out small sellers, etc. etc. etc.

It is always about what ebay is doing - never what the seller is selling, increased ecommerce competition in general, the season of the year, etc etc etc.

Yes, yes, yes, it most definitely must be the small seller. Sells drop by $3000.00 a month. It is the sellers fault. Sells drop by half again, it must be the seller. That large competitor has gained hundreds of sells without changing anything, yes that is the small sellers fault also. The large stores sells increase by hundreds, your sells decrease. You have better prices for the exact same items. It still must be the smaller sellers fault. Never happened before, just happened in one month, but still it is the small sellers fault.

Where else are expectations of success based on the good ole days so high??   Where else do sellers expect the same results from smiliar inventory month after monthy - year after year??    Thank heavens most ebay sellers aren't trying to run a brick and mortar store with a lot of overhead the same way they run an ebay "business".

That is a non argument. If it is clothing or shoes, styles change every few months. It is not the same old stuff. The same goes for most categories. Maybe not if you were selling paper clips. Styles and items change at a fast pace, so it in not the same stuff year after year. Nike sells shoes, they don't stop selling shoes because shoes sell year round. They change the style is all. If one is selling the same shoes they had in stock years ago, get rid of them, they have dry rotted. That is a silly argument.

Do I believe that ebay's search is currently an unlevel playing field - yes.    Exactly how and to what extent - I don't know. But at the same time I know that ebay fixed price items are not getting the same exposure in google as they once did - especially if a seller lists the same item on multiple venues that submits google feeds.

Do I believe that ebay's search is currently an unlevel playing field - yes. Do you think?
Up above you are trying to make an argument that it is not eBay, it is the seller. Now you admit that eBay in your opinion has something to do with it. That is say two things at the same time. Make a case for eBay, than make a case against eBay. That argument is like say the dog is chasing it's tail.

People that have seen their sells drop know the real truth. One can argue that a black sheep is white all they want. That these sellers just can't believe their lying eyes. Of course when they see sells drop month after month they know better than to listen to the cheerleaders.

jlhdistributors · ‎06-14-2015

I don't know how it posted twice.........well could say I thought it was important so posted twice lol

sugarnspice777 · ‎06-14-2015

@miyasamaco wrote:
@kathieskorner wrote:
Oh boy, another conspiracy theory thread. Ebay is hiding my listings, ebay is controlling my sales nembers, ebay is forcing out small sellers, etc. etc. etc.

It is always about what ebay is doing - never what the seller is selling, increased ecommerce competition in general, the season of the year, etc etc etc.

Where else are expectations of success based on the good ole days so high??   Where else do sellers expect the same results from smiliar inventory month after monthy - year after year??    Thank heavens most ebay sellers aren't trying to run a brick and mortar store with a lot of overhead the same way they run an ebay "business".

Do I believe that ebay's search is currently an unlevel playing field - yes.    Exactly how and to what extent - I don't know. But at the same time I know that ebay fixed price items are not getting the same exposure in google as they once did - especially if a seller lists the same item on multiple venues that submits google feeds.
We were all just waiting for the cheerleader to come along...

Well said @miyasamaco

sugarnspice777 · ‎06-14-2015

@kathieskorner wrote:
We were all just waiting for the cheerleader to come along...

I've never been called an ebay cheerleader before - I've hated most of the changes made since JD came aboard. But I have been in the business world long enough to recognize that all the problems sellers complain about on this site aren't ebay's fault anymore than little Johnny not doing his homework and failing a test is the fault of his school, his teacher, or his parent.

Back in the early days of ebay - all we had to do was list items, and they would sell with little effort on the sellers part   That was the California Gold Rush of ebay's history - selling online today whether ebay or any other site takes far more effort and business savvy on the part of the seller to achieve continual success.

I've sold books on Amazon almost as long as I've been on ebay - sales there today are only a fraction of what they were ten years ago, and now there are all these big sellers than sell items for less than $1.00 - you even get to compete against the Amazon warehouse and Amazon Prime.   And their fees and return policies are even worse than ebay's - the difference may be in seller expectations.

This Blame Ebay for all that isn't working is no different than Blame Bush or Blame the Republicans or Blame Obama that is prevalent in today's politics - we have to find someone to blame rather than take ANY responsibility for our own actions (or inactions).

It doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out there going to be several posts together pointing the blame at sellers. Of course its us! We all sell junk but you, right!

jlhdistributors · ‎06-14-2015

mistwomandancing stated.....Even the complaints of eBay *hiding* listings so they can't be seen is questionable. I've tried over and over to NOT see somebody's listings, but they nearly always come up in search.

That don't make sense unless there are only a handful of sellers that have that item for sale, or there are thousands of sellers with that item and it is the same sellers that keep coming up in your search. If that is the case, eBay must be pushing those that always come up in your search.

timemachine777 · ‎06-15-2015

@jlhdistributors wrote:
@mistwomandancing stated.....Even the complaints of eBay *hiding* listings so they can't be seen is questionable. I've tried over and over to NOT see somebody's listings, but they nearly always come up in search.

That don't make sense unless there are only a handful of sellers that have that item for sale, or there are thousands of sellers with that item and it is the same sellers that keep coming up in your search. If that is the case, eBay must be pushing those that always come up in your search.

It's not just about hiding items in the search anymore, It's also about blocking items too, and at different stages. Recently I tried to view some listings that did show up in search, however, when I clicked on the title I was redirected to a "similar items" page.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=10%20VOLUMES%20ANNUAL%20REPORT%20AGRICULTURE%20OF%20MAINE%2018...

The only way I could access the listing was through a Google search link.

A while back I had 2 laptops in front of me while one showed 0 results for my search, the other showed 12 items. Everything was the same except the laptop with 0 results was logged into eBay.

I've even had my own listings where everything was fine except when you tried to do the final step in the purchase you got sent to a page that stated the item was no longer available, or a 404 error.

And the funny thing is that it doesn't stop there. I get all types of redirection, etc on eBay. The one reason that I might be getting more than others is because I'm always on eBay doing research on items I have. Everyday I research over 25 items. Lots of sellers are good at providing some of their knowledge within their descriptions, so when I search for items, I also open the listing. The problem is that these issues are becoming more common for me and not flukes.

mistwomandancing · ‎06-15-2015

timemachine777 wrote: awhile back I had 2 laptops in front of me while one showed 0 results for my search, the other showed 12 items. Everything was the same except the laptop with 0 results was logged into eBay.

I've even had my own listings where everything was fine except when you tried to do the final step in the purchase you got sent to a page that stated the item was no longer available, or a 404 error.
And the funny thing is that it doesn't stop there. I get all types of redirection, etc on eBay. The one reason that I might be getting more than others is because I'm always on eBay doing research on items I have. Everyday I research over 25 items. Lots of sellers are good at providing some of their knowledge within their descriptions, so when I search for items, I also open the listing. The problem is that these issues are becoming more common for me and not flukes.

I can imagine that would have been more than just irksome! So far I've never run into any particular problems, although things seem to differ occasionally, depending on the browser I use.

kathieskorner · ‎06-15-2015

People that have seen their sells drop know the real truth.

So a seller that has been selling here since 2010 and sells primarily shoes is an expert on ebay from the complaints of a tiny fraction of those selling on the site.

My sales have dropped through the years both here and on Amazon with the biggest drop in 2007-2008, but it has more to do with the economy, ecommerce expansion, and increased competition than anything that ebay or Amazon has done. Inexperienced sellers with unreasonable expectations have hurt this site as much as dishonest buyers and sellers or ebay "glitches". That's the "real truth".

A retired accountant, I have kept detailed sales records for the 15 years I have been selling here and elsewhere. My 2015 Jan-March sales were consistent with the same period for the past five years, my April-May sales were actually up 20-25% with June (my slowest month of the year for 6 out of the previous 7 years) falling back to previous year levels. If this is a typical year my sales will pick back up after July 15th, peak in Sept-Oct, drop off again after Thanksgiving, and pick back up after Christmas.

Yes, I believe that Cassini search may be flawed - previous ebay searches have been. And I object to Chinese sellers not being treated the same as sellers of other foreign countries whose listings appear as international sellers after US listings - a policy decision that affects some sellers more than others.

Far too many sellers on ebay today read a post like this one, and immediately any perceived drop in sales is ebay's fault. I have to wonder how many have kept detailed sales records for any length of time or simply believe that their items should sell as well in June as in November.

Ebay has not been a one-size-fits-all venue for almost ten years now.

miyasamaco · ‎06-15-2015

@jlhdistributors wrote:
@mistwomandancing stated.....Even the complaints of eBay *hiding* listings so they can't be seen is questionable. I've tried over and over to NOT see somebody's listings, but they nearly always come up in search.

That don't make sense unless there are only a handful of sellers that have that item for sale, or there are thousands of sellers with that item and it is the same sellers that keep coming up in your search. If that is the case, eBay must be pushing those that always come up in your search.

I have done the tests with specific items that I know that I sell exclusively. It will show up in a search (using the exact same search criteria) each day, then all of sudden, there are days on end when it will show no results at all.

This is eBay's site and of course they control what shows up and what does not. That is not a seller's fault!

myra2.0 · ‎06-15-2015

Absolutely. We've all done our individual tests, or careful observations. I have no doubt that ebay is intentionally hiding listings, and heavily manipulating search results, based on seller stats. It's not a free market, and that's all that most sellers expect.

timemachine777 · ‎06-15-2015

@mistwomandancing wrote:
timemachine777 wrote: awhile back I had 2 laptops in front of me while one showed 0 results for my search, the other showed 12 items. Everything was the same except the laptop with 0 results was logged into eBay.
I've even had my own listings where everything was fine except when you tried to do the final step in the purchase you got sent to a page that stated the item was no longer available, or a 404 error.
And the funny thing is that it doesn't stop there. I get all types of redirection, etc on eBay. The one reason that I might be getting more than others is because I'm always on eBay doing research on items I have. Everyday I research over 25 items. Lots of sellers are good at providing some of their knowledge within their descriptions, so when I search for items, I also open the listing. The problem is that these issues are becoming more common for me and not flukes.
I can imagine that would have been more than just irksome! So far I've never run into any particular problems, although things seem to differ occasionally, depending on the browser I use.

I was wild about it and this was my post to Griff:

eBay admits to not showing buyers all the listings in their search query. It's posted in black and white in their listing condition policy. So that's no conspiracy.

Here's a perfect example of that practice by eBay:

1 month ago my wife was looking at a book on eBay and wanted it. She asked me to purchase it since she doesn't log onto eBay on her laptop. I was currently logged on eBay and typed in the title "Cora Pearl" and the search kept changing Cora to Coral, until I disabled the search engine from changing my keywords. When my search came back with 0 results I checked the sold and completed listings and got the same thing. I asked my wife to spell the name in case I spelled it wrong. That wasn't it. After spending 15 mins sorting through everything under all categories I gave up.

My wife brought her laptop down stairs to me and said "what your problem?" There's 11 copies of the book for sale on eBay. I told her that I couldn't pull them up using the search. She hands me her laptop and there's 11 copies staring me right in the face. I'm PI55'ed at this point and I replicated everything she did and still I got 0 results. I ended up on the phone with eBay CS ripping some unsuspecting rep a new one about the system interfering with my search as a buyer.

I guess I should also be grateful that eBay was looking after my best interests by using cookies to redirect my searches and showing me only whateBay thought I should look at to buy. Not happening here. I can think for myself when I'm shopping. I don't need eBay as a wet nurse. One of those sellers lost out on a 75.00 book sale because I didn't buy the book on eBay. There's another way that eBay costs sellers sales. Rile up the buyer.