Simply-the-best-for-you Volunteer Community Mentor
@siamjane8 wrote:@simply-the-best-for-you In looking at what you sell- (relatively inexpensive used women's clothing)- i would tend to agree with you that you almost need to promote. That category is probably the most saturated on ebay with no way to differentiate yourself from others without "paying more than the next person " for visibility.
Unfortunately, ebay's one size fits all implementation of PL has destroyed the relevancy of the search engine to the point of it favors PL regardless of what was searched for over the actual item searched for. We find ourselves having to use google search to shop on ebay or we are never shown the actual relevant items to our searches! If it weren't for google search- ebay would be dead in the water.
How can google search practically everything in the world on the internet and show me 10x more relevant results than ebay which only searches its own site? Its because google algorithms are designed to show the most relevant result because THAT IS WHAT WE ALL WANT TO SEE. This is 100% an ebay programming/design flaw.
@siamjane8 Keep in mind, I did not make any reference to whether people should use it or not & who 'needs' to & doesn't 'need to'. I simply answered the OP's question as to how it's going & informed them that the option is NOT new, despite the new name. I was not giving advice, simply sharing my experience.
I agree with some of what you said, not with everything you said, but I simply relayed my experience as to how it works for me, as a SELLER. I never said that I or anyone else 'needs' to use it. Everyone has to decide that for themselves.
As to your point on Google searches & buyers needing to use it. I've certainly seen wonky search results at times, but I can tell you that the VAST majority of my views come directly from Ebay, not from Google. The number of views I get from outside of Ebay, are neglible. So, it would appear that at least in my category, most buyers still use Ebay search. This really depends on category though. Some categories have 50% or more, views from external sources.
@gurlcat wrote:
@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:I'm not going to start taking screen shots of what I see in my active listings just to prove to you that I am not a liar.
Yes please do.
Here are a couple you might find interesting. This first one I took just 15 or so minutes ago. That INSANE 15.8% suggested (supposed "trend") ad rate has steadily risen since I started this listing ....just like all supposed trend rates. And if I allowed ebay's "dynamic" bot follow the trend, that's what my actual ad rate would be. Now -yes there is the personal cap option, okay so what if I had it capped at 12%? -Then my ad rate would now be 12%, and the algorithm would be treating my listing as if it's almost 4% below trending.
But really ........
........after doing some "things" and taking a new screenshot, here is the REAL trending rate for this exact item:
I mean in another thread you're casually talking about if a seller wants to set their cap at 20%, and you don't even seem to think that is CA-RA-ZY. Twenty percent?! On top of all the regular fees?!! Would the 'you' of a couple years ago not find that insane?
This is all INSANE - Seriously? - You call 15.8 % INSANE, but how is it you dont find the 10.5% Suggested Promoted Rate you seem to be comfortable with INSANE?? - You do realize that likely amounts to fees near 24% of the ENTIRE TRANSACTION, which in turn likely equates to near 40% of the item price, and furthermore if you owned the item for 1/2 of the items selling price the fees will likely equate to ebay taking 60% or more of your profit?? I cant believe people talk about this program like its OK on any level - This is the epitome of "The emperor's new clothes", "the slippery slope", "the frog in the boiling water", etc, etc...
@chapeau-noir wrote:
@simply-the-best-for-you wrote:The dynamic rate is not new, just the name is. I've been using it for several years & am very happy with it. I like the ease of set it & forget it. The rate DOES in fact go both up & down. It always has. Those of us who sell seasonal items may just notice it more than others.
This is my experience, too - I've been tracking ad expenses and breakdowns, and whereas my ad spend went up a little, it was not so much that it make a noticeable difference when I rolled it into my pricing, and my sales improved.
Both @simply-the-best-for-you and I sell in the very supersaturated clothing category, and Simply has a notable record of success in what is a very tough market, so I felt it was a sound move, and it was.
Awww, thank you. I just don't want this misconstrued as me reccomending it to others. Everyone has to decide what works for them. This works for me. I'm glad it helped you too @chapeau-noir . Each category is different.
On another note, I LOVE your new siggie :-)))
@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:Yeah, and I was a little mystified by it:
@my-cottage-books-and-antiques wrote:I'm not going to start taking screen shots of what I see in my active listings just to prove to you that I am not a liar.
Yes please do.
Since my statement says I'm NOT going to start taking screen shots to prove to you I'm not a liar., I was confused as to why you said "Yes, please do."
When I wrote it I had missed the word 'not'. I don't think you are a liar; I think you have false memories of observing Suggesed Ad Rates going down as well as up. I WISH they really did, and would be thrilled to see proof that they do, but so far all I have seen in at least a year of these discussions is you and Simply insisting that you've seen it. So, if taking screenshots is such an absurd request, as if this is about something that doesn't matter, then why are you repeatedly insisting it's true? If you WANT people to believe it so much, then why not give undeniable evidence? Could it be that when you really think about it, you're not ...quite ....certain you've seen SAR's decrease? I am quite certain I have never seen it, in fact I'm certain I've never seen them not rise.
And lo and behold, just since I made the other post here on July 4th, look what has happened on that necklace's SAR. Risen from 10.5 to 11.7, in only FIVE DAYS.
In your other post you say you've observed no rise in SAR on your 4 test items in four days. You ..... say that. But .......
