Hot Off The Press From eBay!!!

[1786davycrockett]

Just found this in today's email:

"We found that 1969 of your listings are missing item specifics we recommend adding like brand, size, and color that buyers commonly search for."

Yep -- and, as long as they remain "recommended," I'm not  even going to bother.

Besides, the vast majority of my buyers have never asked about "brand, size, and color" of any of my items, which are mostly old books and magazines.

I just hope we're not getting an early hint of what the 2022 eBay Spring Update may be entailing. . ..

[firesteel_surplus]

I've mostly ignored the "recommended" item specifics too. Once in awhile I'll go in an update something if I know it off the top of my head.

But yeah...if this is the sign of things to come....

Mike

Firesteel Surplus

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

"I just hope we're not getting an early hint of what the 2022 eBay Spring Update may be entailing. . .."

I could be mistaken, but I think every Update in the last couple years has had category/IS changes....so , yes, I fully expect another round in the next update. But how much that will impact me will largely depend on which categories they decide to "improve" this round.

[chapeau-noir]

And this is why I never read my email lol. 

[katzrul15]

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@1786davycrockett wrote:

Just found this in today's email:

"We found that 1969 of your listings are missing item specifics we recommend adding like brand, size, and color that buyers commonly search for."

Yep -- and, as long as they remain "recommended," I'm not  even going to bother.

Besides, the vast majority of my buyers have never asked about "brand, size, and color" of any of my items, which are mostly old books and magazines.

I just hope we're not getting an early hint of what the 2022 eBay Spring Update may be entailing. . ..

---

Yes.....received a similar email.

And like in the cartoons, my feet are running so fast to go get mine revised/updated (again)............(so Not.... lol)

[simply-the-best-for-you]

Yeah, I got that email today too.  Ridiculous! 

[dariudaudery_0]

At this point eBay may just remove all the categories...

Just think about it - no categories, only item specifics.

Personally i can see this happening 😉 

[ittybitnot]

Personally i can see this happening

@dariudaudery_0 

Actually, I have thought this was part of the plan all along.  No more search by title and/or description...just specifics.   As a buyer I used to like "browsing" antique categories.  One never knew what interesting item would be found.   Not so much anymore.  

[kensgiftshop]

I've been getting those messages and emails for months and I file them away with the rest of the junk email I receive.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

I don't see ebay removing categories in the future. 

[bbravo65]

...what is the main reason behind pushing so hard for these (ridiculous) item specifics...???

...2022 eBay is very different from 2005 eBay...

[femmefan1946]

Search Engine Optimization

By providing consistent terms for descriptions Google (and I suppose Bing still exists and DuckDuckGo) is able to find and show your items to buyers who are not Searching on eBay.

I rarely use the Recommendations, but the Item Specifics do seem to work. Even though one of the IS for books is Title, which it is difficult to believe many sellers do not give.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

@femmefan1946  "Even though one of the IS for books is Title, which it is difficult to believe many sellers do not give."

For fiction, I usually put the title and author in the ebay title line. However, for non-fiction, I sometimes follow the advice (given long before IS existed) of a very successful online bookseller---many non-fiction buyers aren't searching by title, they are searching by subject, and many non-fiction titles don't always convey the subject very well....so sometimes it is best to describe the contents of the book rather than provide the title in the ebay title line. That's probably more true now, because you CAN put the title in the IS and it WILL be searchable by title, and you get the bonus that buyers who aren't looking for the title might find it by seeing your subject description...

[femmefan1946]

I rarely sell non-fiction, but that is a very good idea. Thank you.

[flyingmvp]

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@bbravo65 wrote:

...what is the main reason behind pushing so hard for these (ridiculous) item specifics...???

...2022 eBay is very different from 2005 eBay...

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They are trying to recruit the sellers to work hours for free in building Ebay's mother (and father) of all Ecommerce catalogues,

I got the same email today as well, deleted.

please stop asking us to waste our time with unnecessary Busy Work. 

Thank you.