eBay

universalman69 · ‎03-30-2016

I just found a short but interesting article that was just posted on Ina's site about some new changes being initiated to ebay search designed to "enhance" customer search results. The article quotes excerpts from eBay product manager Jason Fletchall taken from eBays corporate blog. Here are a few doozys:

"Providing too many options can be overwhelming for people shopping on eBay"

"At eBay, we've started enhancing our product and search results pages that will meet our customer needs at each step in the shopping process."

"As consumers browse eBay, we've leveraged machine-assisted and deep learning features to help surface the best items for their needs."

"Our goal is to make it easier and more convenient to understand the unparalleled breadth of eBay's inventory, as well as quickly cut through this inventory to find the best deal for you. Doing this well involves understanding the tradeoffs between different listings for something you are shopping for."

Here is the link to the article for anyone who wants to read it:

http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y16/m03/i30/s02

I am one day away from my worst sales month in 2 years, and this article instills little confidence that things are going to get any better soon for small sellers on eBay.

beadingfx · ‎04-01-2016

I think that ebay double talk for China first in search?. Secondly it not ebay's inventory its their sellers.

savanna.dance · ‎04-01-2016

"stopped doing auctions over a year ago when I got burned a few times by starting items at .99 cents and not even ending up with what I originally paid for the item. I started researching sold listings on peoples auction items and was horrified to discover how many sellers were getting burned and losing money on really nice items. ****I don't blame the buyers**** so much as I blame eBay for giving our items such limited visibility."

Hi @universalman69 why would buyer's bear any responsibility in the scenario you described?

·•❖•· the wolf you feed wins ·•❖•·

grasshopperx · ‎04-01-2016

I do very well with views there. 150 a day, and hardly any views here.(maybe 2 a day) I love to list the things, its easy and fun, and looks nice. People are fun and friendly and actually will talk to you. The venue doesnt babysit and manage everything you do, and punish you like a baby. In my case sales are ten times ebay sales. But not as good as the OLD ebay was. But still its not enough to get by on. My plans are to put my efforts there and still look for another site, and dump this one eventually. because i agree with graciejoy, small sellers with no sales is ebays way of pushing us all out.

Then ebay can become exactly what they want to be. A site that sells all the new stuff, just like every other site out there. Overseas Junk and the items you can find anywhere. All cataloged with upc's, so if your not the one with the lowerst price, you dont get a sale.

universalman69 · ‎04-01-2016

@savanna.dance wrote:
"stopped doing auctions over a year ago when I got burned a few times by starting items at .99 cents and not even ending up with what I originally paid for the item. I started researching sold listings on peoples auction items and was horrified to discover how many sellers were getting burned and losing money on really nice items. ****I don't blame the buyers**** so much as I blame eBay for giving our items such limited visibility."

Hi @universalman69 why would buyer's bear any responsibility in the scenario you described?

Hi Savanna, thanks for pointing that out, I should have worded that much better. I do NOT blame the buyers at all. After all, they are simply bidding on an auction, and if they happen to score an antique 11 piece sterling silver vanity set from Gorham for $29.99, then thats just their good fortune and your loss. Just because eBay recommends starting auction items at .99 cents doesn't mean we have to do it. Ebay makes money on every sale no matter how much we end up selling our item for. Our profits and losses matter naught to eBay so long as we pay our bill.

I do have to admit though that when I followed eBay's recommendation and started an auction for a really awesome Diesel Messenger bag at .99 cents with free shipping and it ended up selling for $12.00, well I felt pretty PO'd because I ended up making zip for all my time and effort. I actually had to keep telling myself not to be angry at the buyer for being stupid enough to follow eBays advice in the first place (lol). Ebay made money in the transaction and I didn't. My failure was eBay's success (great business model huh). Moral of the story: Don't shoot the "Messenger" (yeah bad pun, I know).

moondogblues · ‎04-01-2016

I haven't read past the OP, but I'll share the results of a search I tried a day or so ago. It was for Avery plastic SLIDE protectors...which I have bought here in the past. No matter what I did, or what order I put the words, I could NOT ever get to what I wanted. I finally gave up and was going to buy them off-site.

Luckily DH figured out a way to pull up a year old purchase, and there they were. How many buyers are going to put up with that? Why oh why does it feel like eBay is intentionally shooting themselves in the foot.

If I am searching for apples please don't show me oranges. Or teacups. Or truck bumpers. I want apples.

savanna.dance · ‎04-01-2016

"I do have to admit though that when I followed eBay's recommendation and started an auction for a really awesome Diesel Messenger bag at .99 cents with free shipping and it ended up selling for $12.00, well I felt pretty PO'd because I ended up making zip for all my time and effort. I actually had to keep telling myself not to be angry at the buyer for being stupid enough to follow eBays advice in the first place (lol). Ebay made money in the transaction and I didn't. My failure was eBay's success (great business model huh). Moral of the story: Don't shoot the "Messenger" (yeah bad pun, I know)."

Hi @universalman69 I think most of us learn the hard way. I had a pair (others who have read this before, sorry) of spendy Italian boots end at the starting price of $.99 + shipping. The going rate for soles was around $350 US. I packed up the boots and sent them to the buyer. I cried in line at the P.O. but it never occurred to me to cancel the sell. This was back in the day when non-performing seller strikes would get you banned.

Hmm ... a little off topic, but eBay tightening up on the OOS cancellations is a bit like non-performing seller 2.0.

·•❖•· the wolf you feed wins ·•❖•·

yem_crystals · ‎04-05-2016

Yes....now you can no longer search by seller location...US only. I have lots of competition from guess where? CHINA. I am guessing that I will see declining sales as a result. I am sure it was done to enhance the seller market for Chinese junk.

Mary

tunicaslot · ‎04-05-2016

I can still search by seller location but this article explains my current frustration.

I usually do BINs but decided to auction off a few items just to shake things up. I listed a Zippo collectible lighter - 3 days ago - it's only had 1 view and that was a bot. I've sold Zippo collectibles before so know that this should be getting views, watchers and bids within the 1st 24 hrs. I just revised it to see if things will change.

oceanviewengineer2015 · ‎04-05-2016

You too? Yeah, I was pluging along in my new (reduced) normal and suddenly all the lights went out. Started to slow last week and this week I just died.

Zero sales today. I haven't had that happen in a very long, long time.

oceanviewengineer2015 · ‎04-05-2016

I started at bEtsy last year. I had a couple of small sales, enough to pay for my listings--testing the water.

I let all my listings run out when I got busy again over here (bad call, I know) but maybe I will give it another go---

I WISH there was another platform with traffic!!!

ekmadonna · ‎04-05-2016

1200 items, 4 sales in 5 days! plus 2 bids on auctions, A disgrace!!

kalebct · ‎07-21-2016

Well I just went to search for things I always look for and I can't find a goddamn thing!

I currently have auctions running which I think I will cancel since NO ONE will be ABLE TO FIND THEM!

Half the fun of eBay was searching through listings to find the treasures now we can't!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What kind of MORONS think this BS up???????

They are about to lose me as a buyer and as a seller.

They just took away impulse buying by browsing because now you have to KNOW what you want to find!

Idiotic short sighted boardroom mentality

UNBELEIVABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tmotley3 · ‎10-07-2016

What a bunch of nonsense. I was hoping this "enhanced search" would offer me more advanced search options,such as searching items offered by a particular seller or sellers. (I know how to list items from a particular seller, but that's not searching). Instead I see a useless marketing quote that suggests users will have less control over their searches. What a joke.

goodluckselling · ‎10-08-2016

@pikabo-icu wrote:
That is absolute BALONEY!

I am NOT overwhelmed by too many results. I'm a big girl, I can handle it.
I don't want eBay or anyone else limiting/throttling my search results! BAH!

That makes me angry..

You are a regular user here at eBay both and a seller and buyer so your abilities to navagate this site is greated enhanced and perfected. The general user is not as versed as you are, that is almost a given.