Old Listings: Relisting vs Sell Similar vs Updating Listing

[thebestbuybaril]

Hi everyone,

We haven't been listing much for months because of health reasons, but we are going to try to get back into this summer as I will be off work.  Right now we are down to only about 140 items listed.  Most items are over 6 months old.  

I need help with what to do with the old listings. (I'm just going to list my questions, please don't judge. I have ADHD and listing helps me.)

1) I was looking at what to do to refresh listings and I came across some posts in here from 2022 that said eBay considers listings over 1 month as old ghost listings and therefore those listing drop down in the algorithm or whatever?   Is that true?

2) If is is true,  It makes no sense to me that eBay would automatically relist your items, but not make them fresh again.  Why wouldn't they want things to sell? What am I missing?

3) They (the people in the thread) recommended ending the listing and then  "sell similar".  Actually that may have been the other way around "sell similar" and then end the old listing.  Is this good advice? Does it matter which way?

4) Someplace else I saw that you only need to go in and change up your title and your description.   I heard that same thing from one of the eBay YouTube creators.  Can I just do that so it doesn't eat at my 250 free?

That's all for now.  Thank you in advance for the help.

Lisa

[wastingtime101]

Hi Lisa. Generally revising the listing is the best option, sell similar has its place, and relist is not a good option as it'll just carry over the poor search placement.

Your photos are pretty good and while some of your titles could use more clarity, most of your titles are straightforward so probably not too much to do on that front.

Changing prices is going to have the biggest impact for you in terms of search placement, but let's also dissect one of your listings to pull out tips you can apply to all listings. I'll go with item 134280154527 since that one could use title improvement:

1. Current title Makeup Glam Bag by Ipsy does not offer prime keywords. Ex: pink, floral, size, etc.

2. Item specifics are practically non-existent. No need to go overboard but definitely fill out more than you currently have.

3. Description: Again, practically non-existent. For example, what is the item's size? Material? Describe the pattern, color, etc.

Pretend you are the buyer. What are the basic essentials you need to know about the item?

In case you're not familiar with Product Research, this is a good tool to see current selling prices for comparable items. https://www.ebay.com/sh/research

I did not evaluate any of your current pricing to see whether you're spot-on, too high or too low.

[thebestbuybaril]

Thank you, I made some changes to that one. It's an oldie.  I appreciate your advice.

Thank you for the Product Research link.  That must be a little newer as I don't remember that.  I love that it goes back three years.

So I understand then that Revising Listings is enough to get the listings refreshed or whatever in the algorithm?  Yes, I know you can't put lipstick on a pig, but is revising the general thing to do?

Also, how often should this be done?

[thebestbuybaril]

I just realized that is is Terapeak.  I remember using that in the early 2000's on another account.  I'm sure it has changed a lot.  Thanks again for bringing my attention to it.!

[bimm_corp]

Haven't used an eBay listing page in years. "Sell similar" is the only way to go. Just edit the old listing to match the parameters of the new item. Plus the new item gets a new item number and a "New Listing" flag which often puts it at or near the top of search pages.