Promoted Listings Campaigns - what is your experience?

[world-city-distro]

If you have been selling here for a while I'm sure you've pondered this situation.  To pay an ad campaign or just go organic.  Well, I have here is my story a month later.

 This year I hit Ebay hard and listed 2500 items with the theory that the more I listed the more will sell.  I suspected this not to be so easy and was probably correct. Around 2000 items I noticed sales and visibility slowing down.  This would waiver a bit and around May of 2023 things bottomed out.  

My hunch was since I was listing so much that possibly Ebay was lowering visibility to strong-arm me into paying for an ad campaign.  So I started one up and things took off again.  It was good but odd.  The campaign dug up a lot of old listings that I thought would never sell. 

Some of the items were listed and stored prior to a location system I put in place due to the amount I had on hand now.  A few took days to find, some were never found.  I figured it happens and canceled the items and chatted with the buyer about agreeing to get back in touch when things were found.  It worked out everyone was happy and most got their items in the end. This was my choice to go this route so as to not keep the customer waiting and to have full communication. My bad for being Mr Nice Guy...

As a result, my seller level went below the threshold to a 2.10.  The limit is 2.0 and once you hit that bar the ads are paused.  I received no traffic for a week since and sales pretty much haulted altogether.  I noticed I was still charged for the promoted listings even though the campaign had paused.  Still haven't figured that out.  I assume since the campaign was paused it was still covering those listings.  Perhaps they were watchlist buys purchased after the pause?  

I ended the campaign and expected things to go back to organic status.  They have yet to peak more than a bleep.  I suspect I am in some kind of Ebay jail now due to the seller level (not at 2.06).  This is quite the punishment for actually giving some customer service.  The 2.0 bar is set too low.  I understand about putting things on pause but they should go back to organic views.  

Most likely this is a combination issue.  On one hand, I did cancel 24 items in a year yet some 1,200 when smoothly.  So somewhere in the math I hit the 2.0%.  On the other I feel like I was strong-armed into paying and suspect once one stops paying the result is back to zero sales anyway.  

So keep good inventory, lie about if the item has been whipped, keep buyers waiting and you'll keep up with expectations.  LOL 

Unfortunate, 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

Not trying to be rude, I do sympathize with your situation, but basically you encountered the perils of growing too fast.

It sounds like you grew your listing numbers very quickly, but you failed to keep track of your inventory. This has been a stumbling block for quite a few sellers on ebay. Had you come here when you had your first "out of stock", experienced sellers here would have told you : do whatever you must do, stop listing new stuff, etc, and get your inventory in order ASAP, because out of stock is the fastest way to get in trouble with ebay (I believe this is also true on Amazon). 

Yes, you may have worked things out with your buyers, but on a marketplace, you need to keep your buyers happy, and you need to keep the marketplace happy. And , as I said, one of the quickest ways to make ebay unhappy is to have a lot of out of stocks. I'm guessing at this point you are considered "Below Standard" which is why you can't use PLs anymore. It also means ebay is not elevating you in search. 

You aren't being "punished" for not using PLS. You are being "punished" for not taking the time to learn the rules before jumping in with both feet, and for not moving quickly enough when you did run afoul of the rules.

[world-city-distro]

Thanks for the reply.  I understand the rules and did so going in.  Some of the cancelations were my decision. Others were just out of my control.  Trust me, I have worked with a giant auction company that dealt with 1,000s of items a week that were all bar-coded and stored like a librarian would do.  Yet still, things happened...

Aside from the cancelations... why is there no traffic now? Not even a trickle.  Seriously, this is ruining my business.  

[world-city-distro]

A month in, barely any sales, and traffic went from 300,000 views to 10,000.  One week I was in the negative on sales.  This week I have gas money. 

Ouch! Only 2 more months to go.  Yeah!  Thanks Ebay 

[fashunu4eeuh]

“This is quite the punishment for actually giving some customer service…”

Yes, you are in eBay jail as a likely consequence of too many seller-initiated cancellations and out-of-stock defects.

I would argue that canceling purchases because the inventory cannot be located does not equate to good customer service, despite keeping buyers informed of one’s failure to meet business obligations.  

The policies for seller performance and the metrics eBay uses to rate them are readily available. This includes the consequences for falling below the stated thresholds, see link below.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-performance-policy?id=4347

[starcastle33]

Ill send a gift card or some small trinket, anything I can put a tracking number on and then provide a refund, as opposed to outright cancelling.  Ebays standards on this are a little out of touch because every company experiences shrinkage but their bar is pretty high.  Anyways,  this is just what works for me, send a gift, its better than getting plummeted even further for getting cancellation strikes. 

[inhawaii]

When a customer gets a trinket rather than what they ordered, even though they get a refund, aren't they upset? 

Can't they still leave negative feedback?

[world-city-distro]

Thanks for the insight and advice in all comments...

Let me explain my choice for the "customer service". It isn't as plain and simple as a runoff the mill cancelation.

1: I deal with a lot of Aircraft Mechanics so if their parts are to be delayed they appreciate the heads up so they can resource other parts.  The parts are not the type that one can find easily. Usually, they need the parts yesterday so time is of the essence. 

2: For the most part the buyers of other things appreciated the heads-up in a similar fashion.  In most cases they bought the items in other listings when the items were found or relisted.  It really did go quite well so I rolled with it. 

3: In other cases I found the items and sent them to the buyer for free. I paid postage and all.  They were low dollar items so it wasn't a big deal.  The seemed to appreciate that as well.  In one case it was a part for a vintage model.  The buyer had needed the part for a while and REALLY appreciated it when it arrived even after the cancelation.  Now he is a return buyer and follower. 

4: Others were odd tools that have basically rotten away on the shelves.  A few times when the item finally sold and was pulled to ship it was found that a plastic handle was rotted or something like that making the odd tool non-usable.  The buyers were given the mechanics solution above for a courteous heads up on their projects.  Most understood, what was the other option?  Send a non-usable tool? Then I'm called out for selling faulty merchandise? 

5: Others were how the items were stored.  Small aircraft parts are usually old, like 20 years old.  A lot of the little parts were sold and stored in little plastic bags.  After a while, the bags were found to disintegrate or decompose.  Therefore, the little part loose and lost in the bins stored in or mixed up with other little bits.  

I can go on but I'll spare you.  Basically, it's not just a weak inventory system but other things that can happen.  

Either way, I have learned quite a lesson. Three months of low to no sales is a horrible experience.  I was in the negative in July and possibly breaking even in August.  If this was my only income I'd be on the street.

Therefore, SKU #s on everything and climate control storage when possible. If another Hurricane comes and I have to move things then the store goes on vacation and all moved items get inventoried prior to relisting.  If something has to be canceled the buyer will have to agree or ask.  

[world-city-distro]

Here is a little more on the Seller Levels month to month for the past three months.  It is confusing, to say the least.  One number says it is based on the year the other the 20th to the 20th.  I still have no idea how to navigate or look out for what comes next. Every explanation is confusing.  How anyone is supposed to know these things prior to going in is a mystery.  Just another example of people on the top being out of touch with others on the day-to-day bottom...

I chatted for a long while with customer service. Two people gave me two different scenarios of what to expect.  One said I'll be in the clear in late October.  The other said I'd be clear in August because it was only 2/03 at the time.  Neither knew how to answer nor navigate the issue any more that I. 

June: 2.15 and budged down to 2.08 - basically no traffic and no sales 

July: Somehow climbed to a 2.10 even though it also said 2.03 at some point? Even lower sales, in the negative. A few weeks of $8 payouts. A huge part return came through.  Don't even get me started on buyer's lying to return things.  But they are parts, I get it.  If they are not used return them.  I have done the same.

August says 2.10 at the moment with a forecast of September being 1.95.  I believe the 2.03 was a forecast for August but it came in at 2.10 for some reason.  

Why the 1.95 projection? Might be due to the idea of letting loose a bunch of items at $1.  If the buyer pays shipping and things are not combined it works and I break even or make $1. 

On the positive: It might work to keep up the positive FB and sales in higher numbers over time. So things can be tallied at 400 sales in 3 months rather than a rocky years mark.  

On the negative: It now makes Ebay a dollar store.