eBay

inhawaii · ‎08-26-2024

I've sold a candy that was quite popular.

I sold 400+ of them.

I just found out they have been discontinued.

Will ebay let me keep the same item number and let me change the product to a similar product?

I would be changing the title, the pictures , the description; etc.

Buster Voodoo - Rodrigo Y Gabriela

inhawaii · ‎08-28-2024

Apology accepted but not necessary.

I welcome and value everyone's comments and opinions here and am not offended by them.

Buster Voodoo - Rodrigo Y Gabriela

fbusoni · ‎08-28-2024

@b86fiero wrote:
I don't understand why I was told not to bother devon@ebay to weigh in on this discussion. Previous posts have encouraged members to contact him.

Is it okay to put this into practice or not?

Not looking to argue, just really want to know the official eBay stance on this point.

@b86fiero

As far as I know, we have not yet morphed into a totalitarian state.

Unless there are some secret protocols governing what goes on here, I'd assume that you are free to ask whatever you want, incessant finger wagging notwithstanding.

But I doubt seriously that anyone from eBay has the authority or the ability to render a judgment here. And I don't think we should expect them to. My guess is that if they did reply, they'd simply restate the existing policy. In the unlikely event they took the question back to eBay central, we'd probably not hear back -- which seems to be the general trend.

The policy, which has been published upthread, seems pretty straightforward. The ethics of putting it into practice seem to me to be a personal decision. regards

eBay seller since 1999. This is a posting ID.

sakic92710 · ‎08-28-2024

Have you met people? They have the attention span of cats. I think too many would think they are buying the same product as before & it would turn into a small headache for you. Best to start as if it was an entirely different item you are selling.

sakic92710 · ‎08-28-2024

The OP gets a reasonably steady number of sales. He doesn't need 'tricks' to get by.

gurlcat · ‎08-28-2024

@gloryglorygifts wrote:
I'm sure that ebay can see revisions, as we can. At the top of the description is the "see revisions" link. If we can see them, so can they, but still no alarms would go off if it looked inane. I know I update pictures lots of times (stock photos to my own) and descriptions when needed. I agree, a snitch would probably have to be involved but then again, there's no choices for that when reporting buyers, so that's a mute point too.

I couldn't understand this part. Why would there be a choice to report a buyer for a seller's behavior?

gurlcat · ‎08-28-2024

@redlinear wrote:
IF said proposed strategy keeps or gives an item number better placement in a search result.
I say Go For It!
I'm up against competition that fills in the part number boxes in Item Specifics with THOUSANDS of un-related words. (that pull up in search results).
And/Or, they also fill in the compatibilities/fitment with thousands of vehicles that the item will not fit.
Further manipulating search results.
It's not just keyword spamming. It's keyword spamming to the extreme.
All this, just to be seen.
eBay won't do anything about it. They can't because Ai is running the show, and Ai won't catch this.
So, if there's a way to mildly trick the search bot with a relevant result? I'm all for it.

AMEN, and the example you give is something I find WAY more unethical than strumming ye olde FOMO strings. Cluttering search results and potentially tricking buyers into purchasing the wrong item (not the one they NEED) is far worse than creating an illusion that an item is something lots of people want.

gurlcat · ‎08-28-2024

@b86fiero wrote:

And if buyers discover the switcheroo, will they feel scammed into thinking an item is popular when it may not be?

Don't expect you to understand what I am presenting here, so no need to respond to me.

I'm not the person you were talking to, but I don't understand. Can you please explain what kind of buyer is moronic enough to be compelled to purchase a snack item just because they thought 400 other people bought it? Heck I know McDonalds isn't lying about "billions and billions" of their burgers being served; that doesn't make me want to eat one the slightest bit more.

And can we lay off the "scammed" hyperbole please? There's plenty enough of the real thing going on without including a victimless thing like this.

redlinear · ‎08-28-2024

@sakic92710 wrote:
The OP gets a reasonably steady number of sales. He doesn't need 'tricks' to get by.

Getting By sure isn't much of a standard

gurlcat · ‎08-28-2024

@b86fiero wrote:
new idea to many newer sellers

how many will give it a try?

I'm an older seller who's kind of inspired by it actually. But unfortunately, like (I suspect) the majority on the forums, I only sell pre-owned one-offs. Le sigh .......

gurlcat · ‎08-28-2024

@fbusoni wrote:
After reading your comments @gurlcat I come to the tentative conclusion, as I hinted earlier upthread, that eBay will allow whatever is wants to allow so long as it means more money in its coffers. That's normal corporate behavior.

It's up to sellers to live with the consequences (in this case, perhaps a guilty conscience) of their actions.

I may be projecting my own sensibilities on the OP and I apologize in advance to OP if I am indeed doing so, but the fact that @inhawaii comes here to broach what he depicts as a purely technical question suggests to me that he assesses that while the real or imagined ethical concerns inherent in changing an existing listing may well be invisible to the buyer viewing his newly redone listing, they are not invisible to him.

Personally, I like and respect people who have a moral compass. Money is nice to have, but in my opinion it's not the reason for our existence.

So do I. I believe deeply that character is personality when nobody is looking. I'm just struggling to grasp how morality and ethics are even in question here. Given what you said in your throttling post about how (paraphrasing) it doesn't hurt to remember that eBay absolutely CAN do it if they want to, also given how many sellers are using manipulations like keyword spamming and duplicate listings (and reporting them does NOTHING, so that goes back to eBay) .... can we not agree that it's such a glut of perversions that could cause a seller to even consider taking any little advantage they can?

And I would barely even call this a case of joining 'em if you can't beat 'em, or two wrongs making a right, or whatever, because to me SCOPE matters. Piggybacking off the popularity of one of your OWN previous items (let's keep in mind that the 'goodness' of @inhawaii 's macadamia nuts is unlikely to be the only factor in why he sold so many; all his other selling practices surely mattered as well) ..... how is that even remotely immoral compared to some of the things other sellers do, and that eBay supports if it makes them more money? -I believe I told you about that fine jewelry seller I discovered a few months ago who sells absolute fakes for tens of thousands of dollars, somehow dodges authentication requirements and gets every single one of their negs removed, didn't I?

I tell you what, as a true blue eBay-lover, that discovery really broke my heart. And maybe it's even why I give inhawaii a little fist bump for even conceiving of this idea he had. Maybe my polyanna spirit is now a bit jaded, I dunno, hard to be objective on that I guess.

sakic92710 · ‎08-28-2024

I & plenty of other sellers wish they could 'get by' on eBay now. After 20+ years, my sales went from 65-80 per month down to single digits.

jg.mason · ‎08-28-2024

For me it is as simple as this, a lie is a lie.

Your listing will be saying you have sold 400+ of the item when in fact you have not.

If that doesn't bother you then go for it.

ekmadonna · ‎08-28-2024

It may be a BIG DEAL, but it's dishonest!

mam98031 · ‎08-28-2024

@fbusoni wrote:
@mam98031 wrote:
Asking someone from Ebay to stop into any given thread by just saying their name will never have any success. .
That may well be true -- the Khoros folks here who are quick to edit posts to prevent or address any hurt feelings seem to be the only beings behind the scenes here who actually have a pulse -- but it has absolutely nothing to do with my previous post, and all the finger wagging the world will not alter that fact.

What??? There are rules for the Community. If you break the rules, it is Khoros' job to address it. IDK if it has anything to do with "hurt feelings", I can't imagine that you hurt Khoros' feelings. If you have had posts edited, that only happens if you are not abiding by the rules of the Community. With that said, I don't know what you are talking about specifically.

mam98031 • Volunteer Community Member • Buyer/Seller since 1999

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you." Quote from Edward I Koch

fbusoni · ‎08-29-2024

@mam98031 wrote:
@fbusoni wrote:
@mam98031 wrote:
Asking someone from Ebay to stop into any given thread by just saying their name will never have any success. .
That may well be true -- the Khoros folks here who are quick to edit posts to prevent or address any hurt feelings seem to be the only beings behind the scenes here who actually have a pulse -- but it has absolutely nothing to do with my previous post, and all the finger wagging the world will not alter that fact.
What??? There are rules for the Community. If you break the rules, it is Khoros' job to address it. IDK if it has anything to do with "hurt feelings", I can't imagine that you hurt Khoros' feelings. If you have had posts edited, that only happens if you are not abiding by the rules of the Community. With that said, I don't know what you are talking about specifically.