Possible contributing factor to low sales

[wrightsrelics]

When I get ready to create a new listing for an item, I always Google the item and see if similar items come up against which I can compare mine and start to develop a fair price. Up until about 6 weeks ago, the Google results almost always included hits for similar eBay items, along with those on other selling websites (Poshmark, Mercari, etc.). Lately, however, when I do a search, there haven’t been ANY eBay listings in the results. There have been numerous Etsy, Mercari, Poshmark, etc. though.

Today when I searched a piece of women's clothing, almost nothing BUT eBay came up.

It’ll be interesting to see if my sales also pick back up, now that eBay is coming up in searches again.

Has anyone else noticed anything like this?

[katzrul15]

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@wrightsrelics wrote:

When I get ready to create a new listing for an item, I always Google the item and see if similar items come up against which I can compare mine and start to develop a fair price. Up until about 6 weeks ago, the Google results almost always included hits for similar eBay items, along with those on other selling websites (Poshmark, Mercari, etc.). Lately, however, when I do a search, there haven’t been ANY eBay listings in the results. There have been numerous Etsy, Mercari, Poshmark, etc. though.

Today when I searched a piece of women's clothing, almost nothing BUT eBay came up.

It’ll be interesting to see if my sales also pick back up, now that eBay is coming up in searches again.

Has anyone else noticed anything like this?

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I have not, but to be honest, I have not been buying much, except on the point n click Behemoth.  

Interesting observation, though.  I hope you are right and it was just a google-glitch and we are now getting re-sync'd or whatever it is called.  BRING ON THE SALES!!!  lol

[jgrit]

Great observation. Hope that is the case. Too much time on my hands. Things are so slow, I find myself trying to better eBay on other issues. Thanks.

[coolections]

NEVER rely on google to find items on Ebay. That is a bad mistake you and many other sellers do. Rely ONLY on Ebay as that is where buyers go to buy thing on Ebay. That is NOT a reason for low sales.

[sakic92710]

LOL!  Many times I'll do an eBay search & believe nothing is available when researching for prices or possible competition.  THEN I'll check through Google & find eBay does have the listings I wish to check out.

[bigdeals.etc]

I know about 25-30% of my sales are from buyers who found me thru Google search.

You can judge if that’s a significant amount or not.

[wrightsrelics]

I’ve experienced the same thing, sometimes the difference is just the way I described something or the keywords I used in either search.

[kensgiftshop]

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@coolections wrote:

NEVER rely on google to find items on Ebay. That is a bad mistake you and many other sellers do. Rely ONLY on Ebay as that is where buyers go to buy thing on Ebay. That is NOT a reason for low sales.

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When I look for a certain item, I always go to Google and get better results then I do searching on Ebay.

I searched for something on Ebay a few months ago and found a few listings.

Went to Google, used the same search and found a bunch of listings on Ebay.

[domin-tomas]

I've been going on Google for a few years now to see what my competitors are selling there items for so I can be compatible for my web site. It is pretty accurate for comparing prices. I have also seen a lackluster of listing from time to time from ebay.  I go to ebay to compare prices to list there and use ebay prices to list on other platforms. I have also seen ebay to be lackluster on items from time to time also.

 ***Happy and safe Thanksgiving to all***

[inhawaii]

Ebay items always come in in the search engine for me but I never use google to search for something on ebay ... I use ebay. 

[lotzofuniquegoodies]

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@coolections wrote:

NEVER rely on google to find items on Ebay. That is a bad mistake you and many other sellers do. Rely ONLY on Ebay as that is where buyers go to buy thing on Ebay. That is NOT a reason for low sales.

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In speaking to a recent customer who was looking for a particular book, they used google and because location was turned on with their phone my listing appeared at the top of the search. I've only used personally used google as a backup for doing research. Never for shopping. Interestingly there are situations where a google search will bring up an old sold listing. Hit or miss whether the listing will display if it is over 90 days old (Had a buyer return looking for an item I had sold him over 3 years ago.)  With eBay you get the recurring/annoying "Well this is embarrassing.." message.

When I've searched in eBay(pc) in the past and going forward I have always used "closest" at top and Canada on side. On dot com those seem to be very hit or miss as to when it displays. Features, as far as I know require some work to display with the app....currently. If anyone can confirm or contradict my observations, happy to listen.

-Lotz

Sidenote: 2/3rd's of my current traffic is now showing outside of ebay(google etc) vs from within. Unfortunately my sales have dropped by the same 2/3rd's. Flip-flopped with item specifics punishment.

[monroe67]

Before I set a price for anything I list for sale on eBay - - -
I always ONLY search for sold prices on eBay.
Because I am competing with other sellers on, guess where:   eBay.  

[femmefan1946]

Teh problem with Google is that it shows popular Searches.

So if something is rarely Searched and the last few Searches were a few weeks or months ago then the results will be equally dated.

And if most previous searchers chose to look at the item from AZ or WalMart or The Bay or Mom's Cupcakes and Motorcycles,

Still, if the Search brings the customer to eBay, I guess that's not actually a Bad Thing.

The Item Specifics are supposed to help us show up on Google so perhaps they are kicking in.

[coolections]

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@sakic92710 wrote:

Many times I'll do an eBay search & believe nothing is available THEN I'll check through Google & find eBay does have the listings.

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Next time you find that happening please come here so when can help you find the item on Ebay without having to go to google.

[wrightsrelics]

I’m not using Google to search for something that I want to buy. I’m using the resulting search information to determine what my competitors on other websites are selling the same or similar items for so I can price my item accordingly. It would be very short-sighted if I only used other eBay listings, if I could find any. A Google search also (usually) gives me additional information about the item itself for me to use in my item description when I list it.

For instance, this morning I did a Google search on the words “green plastic army soldiers”.  After scrolling through 19 results, the 20th was finally an eBay listing, although I was looking for additional information about the pieces more than competitive pricing. There have also been times when Google didn’t return any eBay listing and I ended up adding “eBay” to the search to get results. I just find the Google results format easier to scroll through than doing a similar search on eBay. 

When I was creating a listing last night for a book about foraging for food in the PNW, the results on eBay came up in a Dolls, Bears and Other Collectibles category. Foraging in “Dolls and Bears”??  After seeing that, I know I’ll be spending additional time going through my listings to make sure they’re all still in the correct categories.

If eBay has recently changed the categories for certain items, that too may be a reason for the lack of showings in search results.