It’s not just me....

[vintagequeennyc]

As I said in earlier threads, my sales are down atrociously the past two months. And not getting any better. 

Well, a few weeks ago, I started keeping track more closely of some of the sales of sellers I watch in my selling categories. These are sellers that sell very similar inventory and are what I consider to be fairly big sellers. These are the sellers I watch to gauge the market, prices, velocity, growth, etc. All of these sellers have very consistent sales and have shown continued growth, or at least stayed constant with their sales volume for at least the past year. 

Over the past few weeks, every single one of these sellers has also seen a massive decrease in sales. Their number of sold listings for the past 90 days has been dropping steadily every day I’ve checked. Most are now MANY hundreds of sold listings below what they are normally. Even a few of these sellers, the biggest ones, have seen a tremendous decline in sales. Its very sobering to witness. 

I’m not happy that others aren’t doing well either. But there is some small measure of comfort to see that it’s ‘not just me’ who’s experiencing this crazy drop off in sales. It’s definitely happening across the board here at eBay. The real question is WILL it ever pick back up or are the pie pieces just going to get smaller and smaller till we’re all starving? 

I think anyone who says ‘my sales are great!’ are the anomaly and outliers here now. 

[jeannicho22]

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@mam98031 wrote:

@jeannicho22 

I asked the question on the Weekly Chat regarding ending a GTC and reposting it or just revising the GTC.  You can find their answer here.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Community-Chat-May-8-1-00-pm-PT-General-To...

---

I guess we both just have to do what works for us.  My experience is that revise is a dirty word.  Still haven't sold a single item since revising the one I sell every 3.4 days.  

[jeannicho22]

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@mam98031 wrote:

You can Google it or search the threads.  Much has been written about it over the years but I don't think Ebay has an actual policy page that explains how re-indexing works.

https://www.google.com/search?ei=3cnPXPbHPInB-gSd95rgCQ&q=ebay+reindexing&oq=ebay+reindexing&gs_l=ps...

For a complete explanation that may suit your needs, if you have time, come and ask your question at the Weekly Chat on Wednesday and they can explain it to your satisfaction.

I don't know why someone would tell you not to revise a listing.  I'd need more information on that before commenting on that one.  Ebay doesn't give warnings for stale listings.  They put a note on your active listings in the Seller Hub or My Ebay so you can easily identify them.  Or at least I have never received a warning from Ebay for a stale listing.

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Really?  You NEVER get warnings for stale listings? I suppose you could call it a note, I call it a warning.  You say potato, I say potatoe

[mam98031]

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@jeannicho22 wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

@jeannicho22 

I asked the question on the Weekly Chat regarding ending a GTC and reposting it or just revising the GTC.  You can find their answer here.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Community-Chat-May-8-1-00-pm-PT-General-To...

---

I guess we both just have to do what works for us.  My experience is that revise is a dirty word.  Still haven't sold a single item since revising the one I sell every 3.4 days.  

---

Did you remove something from the title that may have been something that buyer's were searching by.  I did that once to my self too.

[mam98031]

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@jeannicho22 wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

You can Google it or search the threads.  Much has been written about it over the years but I don't think Ebay has an actual policy page that explains how re-indexing works.

https://www.google.com/search?ei=3cnPXPbHPInB-gSd95rgCQ&q=ebay+reindexing&oq=ebay+reindexing&gs_l=ps...

For a complete explanation that may suit your needs, if you have time, come and ask your question at the Weekly Chat on Wednesday and they can explain it to your satisfaction.

I don't know why someone would tell you not to revise a listing.  I'd need more information on that before commenting on that one.  Ebay doesn't give warnings for stale listings.  They put a note on your active listings in the Seller Hub or My Ebay so you can easily identify them.  Or at least I have never received a warning from Ebay for a stale listing.

---

Really?  You NEVER get warnings for stale listings? I suppose you could call it a note, I call it a warning.  You say potato, I say potatoe

---

It says "EBAY NOTE".

A warning denotes that you are have done something wrong and if you continue could potentially have an issue.  But if you prefer to view it as a warning, I take no issue with that.  Whatever works for you.

[jeannicho22]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@jeannicho22 wrote:

---

@mam98031 wrote:

@jeannicho22 

I asked the question on the Weekly Chat regarding ending a GTC and reposting it or just revising the GTC.  You can find their answer here.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Community-Chat-May-8-1-00-pm-PT-General-To...

---

I guess we both just have to do what works for us.  My experience is that revise is a dirty word.  Still haven't sold a single item since revising the one I sell every 3.4 days.  

---

Did you remove something from the title that may have been something that buyer's were searching by.  I did that once to my self too.

---

NO, it did not.  

You seem to take everything discussed on the weekly chat as gospel, I do not.  Likewise I do not take everything that a CSR says as gospel, but when something is said that seems to be true by experience... That I'll accept.  This is the case for me.

[jeannicho22]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@jeannicho22 wrote:

---

@mam98031 wrote:

You can Google it or search the threads.  Much has been written about it over the years but I don't think Ebay has an actual policy page that explains how re-indexing works.

https://www.google.com/search?ei=3cnPXPbHPInB-gSd95rgCQ&q=ebay+reindexing&oq=ebay+reindexing&gs_l=ps...

For a complete explanation that may suit your needs, if you have time, come and ask your question at the Weekly Chat on Wednesday and they can explain it to your satisfaction.

I don't know why someone would tell you not to revise a listing.  I'd need more information on that before commenting on that one.  Ebay doesn't give warnings for stale listings.  They put a note on your active listings in the Seller Hub or My Ebay so you can easily identify them.  Or at least I have never received a warning from Ebay for a stale listing.

---

Really?  You NEVER get warnings for stale listings? I suppose you could call it a note, I call it a warning.  You say potato, I say potatoe

---

It says "EBAY NOTE".

A warning denotes that you are have done something wrong and if you continue could potentially have an issue.  But if you prefer to view it as a warning, I take no issue with that.  Whatever works for you.

---

Oh my!!

[kh-ornesh]

Hello everyone,

This thread is getting a bit heated.  Please remember that it’s fine to disagree with others, but discussion should always remain courteous and respectful.

Thank you for your cooperation.​​​​​​​

[lovefindingtreasures2]

Agreed. I am not a big seller, I have 2 accounts here. I've lost interest in chasing this horse, I'm focusing on my stores on other sites. When the same items I have here on eBay sit and sit while they sell like crazy on another site for MORE money is, for me, a very big indicator that it is not my products or prices, it's this platform.

With the GTC now mandatory, I'm listing very little here now and concentrating on the other sites. My goal is to make money, not play the eBay game of, "What new nonsense do I have to do now to get a sale?", on other sites, just list and sell.

I had 11 sales on Monday on another platform with the exact items here. I know, I cross posted them all. I didn't get 11 sales from eBay.

I think a lot of small sellers are going to have to move to other platforms, eBay just doesn't currently work for many of us.

[tunicaslot]

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@mam98031 wrote:

@jeannicho22 

I asked the question on the Weekly Chat regarding ending a GTC and reposting it or just revising the GTC.  You can find their answer here.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Community-Chat-May-8-1-00-pm-PT-General-To...

---

I saw you ask that in chat but didn't wait around for the answer - but he says MAY  -  the better the listings search results may be. That's the problem here - we  always get a may be.

I also want people to note something that I've been told for years - not only by other sellers but by CS and it's false per Trinton.

"Lastly, I want to reiterate something that the Community Team has mentioned on the boards recently. There is no 'boost' applied to an item for being either newly listed, or ending shortly. There is no such thing as a 'boost' to search placement. We recommend sellers go here for more information bout Best Match optimization."

They continue to want people to keep the item history - but the longer that item sits - whether it's been revised or not and I was told the more views it gets and remains unsold - it loses visibility and why so many listings were culled a year ago that were GTC. I would think - those of us who rotate items - whether it be monthly or per season would actually be doing better as your item is not stagnating and is listed at the appropriate time of it's buying season so as not to clutter up the site with items that probably won't sell do to the time of the year.

[mam98031]

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

---

@mam98031 wrote:

@jeannicho22 

I asked the question on the Weekly Chat regarding ending a GTC and reposting it or just revising the GTC.  You can find their answer here.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Community-Chat-May-8-1-00-pm-PT-General-To...

---

I saw you ask that in chat but didn't wait around for the answer - but he says MAY  -  the better the listings search results may be. That's the problem here - we  always get a may be.

I also want people to note something that I've been told for years - not only by other sellers but by CS and it's false per Trinton.

"Lastly, I want to reiterate something that the Community Team has mentioned on the boards recently. There is no 'boost' applied to an item for being either newly listed, or ending shortly. There is no such thing as a 'boost' to search placement. We recommend sellers go here for more information bout Best Match optimization."

They continue to want people to keep the item history - but the longer that item sits - whether it's been revised or not and I was told the more views it gets and remains unsold - it loses visibility and why so many listings were culled a year ago that were GTC. I would think - those of us who rotate items - whether it be monthly or per season would actually be doing better as your item is not stagnating and is listed at the appropriate time of it's buying season so as not to clutter up the site with items that probably won't sell do to the time of the year.

---

I do think they changed that a couple years or more ago.  They are always tweaking that darn formula they use for search returns.  It is hard to keep up with all they do to it.  Then there is always the super secret part as well.

Views count which is why I brought that up.  If you have too many views and not enough sales on the listing, then it is best to end it.  Revise it and do a sell similar.  You are absolutely correct and this is still true.

[vociferous_commenter]

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@mam98031 wrote:

They are always tweaking that darn formula they use for search returns.  It is hard to keep up with all they do to it.  Then there is always the super secret part as well.

---

This is key to keep in mind.

Even with the best of intentions (and clear internal communications), what eventually gets conveyed to customers through forums, CS, or social teams is possibly obsolete and likely has gone through a modicum of "telephone game" distortion by the time it's conveyed. This especially so for such a complex mechanism as a search algo that may require over simplification of key factors when communicating to a general audience.

A couple thoughts:

• Keep in mind the reduction in marketing was S&M expense, not explicitly "advertising" (nor purchased traffic).
  
  
• S&M expense decreased ~$200m from Q4 and ~$14m  YoY.
  
  
• eBay ran many eBay-subsidized sitewide flash sales last year that were essentially funded by every seller, but they were particularly exploited by users who would load up on tech items and wait for flash sale, thus disproportionately driving sales to merchants with higher ASP tech items (often with thinner margins. eBay did start exuding certain items). eBay was basically 'buying' buyers and GMV through the plethora of 15% and 20% sitewide flash sales at an unsustainable rate.
  
  Here's more context to Wenig's quote:
  
  As we mentioned last quarter, we entered the year with the intention to reduce low ROI marketing spend while maintaining the focus on driving positive buyer growth with new product experiences and targeted marketing. In Q1, that's exactly what we did. We removed a significant amount of promotional spend that tended to subsidize higher priced items at low ROI. The impact of this change was lower GMV, driven by lower average price but steady sold item growth.
  eBay has done a couple things in its favor by implementing an evergreen GTC including:
  
  
• Naturally, this has eliminated any slack or possible "dead time" between relisting, all FP listings are revenue generating all the time without days or weeks sitting in sellers' unsolds not producing revenue.
  
  
• It's significantly "widened" the spectrum that the Best Match algo can factor in against listing aging with sales velocity.
  If you think of any given listing as a "neutral baseline" when freshly listed, as sales more rapidly accumulate against that listing over time that's "good", and naturally the fewer sales that the listing yields is "bad", relatively speaking.
  
  Now, instead of just 30 days of data to factor sales velocity of a given listing for Best Match purposes, in the future eBay will be able to factor all the way back to Q1 of 2019 whether the listing has 1 sale or tens of thousands, giving time aging a much longer runway in whatever way it may be factored into Best Match calculus.

[ersatz_sobriquet]

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

They continue to want people to keep the item history - but the longer that item sits - whether it's been revised or not and I was told the more views it gets and remains unsold - it loses visibility and why so many listings were culled a year ago that were GTC. I would think - those of us who rotate items - whether it be monthly or per season would actually be doing better as your item is not stagnating and is listed at the appropriate time of it's buying season so as not to clutter up the site with items that probably won't sell do to the time of the year.

---

I have a sneaky suspicion that keeping the item history is on the way out, at least with unsolds. I recently looked at a seller's completed listings and there were only the sold items. Scratched my head and tried again, nope, no unsolds to view. This seller isn't that good. Everything didn't sell within the listing time. The unsolds were simply missing.

And I wonder if that's the future of ebay. No more unsolds to see. 

[jeannicho22]

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@mam98031 wrote:

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

---

@mam98031 wrote:

@jeannicho22 

I asked the question on the Weekly Chat regarding ending a GTC and reposting it or just revising the GTC.  You can find their answer here.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Community-Chat-May-8-1-00-pm-PT-General-To...

---

I saw you ask that in chat but didn't wait around for the answer - but he says MAY  -  the better the listings search results may be. That's the problem here - we  always get a may be.

I also want people to note something that I've been told for years - not only by other sellers but by CS and it's false per Trinton.

"Lastly, I want to reiterate something that the Community Team has mentioned on the boards recently. There is no 'boost' applied to an item for being either newly listed, or ending shortly. There is no such thing as a 'boost' to search placement. We recommend sellers go here for more information bout Best Match optimization."

They continue to want people to keep the item history - but the longer that item sits - whether it's been revised or not and I was told the more views it gets and remains unsold - it loses visibility and why so many listings were culled a year ago that were GTC. I would think - those of us who rotate items - whether it be monthly or per season would actually be doing better as your item is not stagnating and is listed at the appropriate time of it's buying season so as not to clutter up the site with items that probably won't sell do to the time of the year.

---

I do think they changed that a couple years or more ago.  They are always tweaking that darn formula they use for search returns.  It is hard to keep up with all they do to it.  Then there is always the super secret part as well.

Views count which is why I brought that up.  If you have too many views and not enough sales on the listing, then it is best to end it.  Revise it and do a sell similar.  You are absolutely correct and this is still true.

---

I thought that's what I said.  Shrugs

[mam98031]

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@jeannicho22 wrote:

---

@mam98031 wrote:

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

---

@mam98031 wrote:

@jeannicho22 

I asked the question on the Weekly Chat regarding ending a GTC and reposting it or just revising the GTC.  You can find their answer here.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Community-Chat-May-8-1-00-pm-PT-General-To...

---

I saw you ask that in chat but didn't wait around for the answer - but he says MAY  -  the better the listings search results may be. That's the problem here - we  always get a may be.

I also want people to note something that I've been told for years - not only by other sellers but by CS and it's false per Trinton.

"Lastly, I want to reiterate something that the Community Team has mentioned on the boards recently. There is no 'boost' applied to an item for being either newly listed, or ending shortly. There is no such thing as a 'boost' to search placement. We recommend sellers go here for more information bout Best Match optimization."

They continue to want people to keep the item history - but the longer that item sits - whether it's been revised or not and I was told the more views it gets and remains unsold - it loses visibility and why so many listings were culled a year ago that were GTC. I would think - those of us who rotate items - whether it be monthly or per season would actually be doing better as your item is not stagnating and is listed at the appropriate time of it's buying season so as not to clutter up the site with items that probably won't sell do to the time of the year.

---

I do think they changed that a couple years or more ago.  They are always tweaking that darn formula they use for search returns.  It is hard to keep up with all they do to it.  Then there is always the super secret part as well.

Views count which is why I brought that up.  If you have too many views and not enough sales on the listing, then it is best to end it.  Revise it and do a sell similar.  You are absolutely correct and this is still true.

---

I thought that's what I said.  Shrugs

---

My comment in the string above was to Tuni, not you.  Nothing in the string above was comments by you, except for the most recent response.  

Granted the first post in the string was directed to you as you asked me for further info earlier in the thread and I was just trying to keep you updated.

[jeannicho22]

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@mam98031 wrote:

---

@jeannicho22 wrote:

---

@mam98031 wrote:

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

---

@mam98031 wrote:

@jeannicho22 

I asked the question on the Weekly Chat regarding ending a GTC and reposting it or just revising the GTC.  You can find their answer here.

https://community.ebay.com/t5/Weekly-Chat-with-eBay-Staff/Community-Chat-May-8-1-00-pm-PT-General-To...

---

I saw you ask that in chat but didn't wait around for the answer - but he says MAY  -  the better the listings search results may be. That's the problem here - we  always get a may be.

I also want people to note something that I've been told for years - not only by other sellers but by CS and it's false per Trinton.

"Lastly, I want to reiterate something that the Community Team has mentioned on the boards recently. There is no 'boost' applied to an item for being either newly listed, or ending shortly. There is no such thing as a 'boost' to search placement. We recommend sellers go here for more information bout Best Match optimization."

They continue to want people to keep the item history - but the longer that item sits - whether it's been revised or not and I was told the more views it gets and remains unsold - it loses visibility and why so many listings were culled a year ago that were GTC. I would think - those of us who rotate items - whether it be monthly or per season would actually be doing better as your item is not stagnating and is listed at the appropriate time of it's buying season so as not to clutter up the site with items that probably won't sell do to the time of the year.

---

I do think they changed that a couple years or more ago.  They are always tweaking that darn formula they use for search returns.  It is hard to keep up with all they do to it.  Then there is always the super secret part as well.

Views count which is why I brought that up.  If you have too many views and not enough sales on the listing, then it is best to end it.  Revise it and do a sell similar.  You are absolutely correct and this is still true.

---

I thought that's what I said.  Shrugs

---

My comment in the string above was to Tuni, not you.  Nothing in the string above was comments by you, except for the most recent response.  

Granted the first post in the string was directed to you as you asked me for further info earlier in the thread and I was just trying to keep you updated.

---

While it is true that your comment was not in response to me, you have reiterated things that I said earlier that you disagreed with and are now agreeing with.  I'm sorry, I don't seem to be able to catch up.  I did not ask you for further information as you indicate, but you did offer it.