eBay

crownsfieldcellular · ‎04-06-2019

Well its official...Since the wonderful GTC change was released? My sales are now down by 50%...Thank you eBay!!! And I do not want to hear:

1) It's the time of year, NOT the GTC change

BULL **bleep** !! Ok...I am selling high ticket EXTREMELY popular items, iphones have (or at least they HAD) an 85% sell through rate on eBay..It doesnt matter what time of year it is, they SELL CONSISTENTLY and QUICKLY...But NOT anymore!!! I did over 20,000 in sales in JANUARY THIS YEAR..

JANUARY WHICH IS THE WORST TIME OF YEAR..FEBRUARY WAS NOT TOO FAR OFF FROM THAT, BUT I BOUGHT LESS AND HAD LESS INVENTORY TO SELL, BUT IT ALL SOLD...March??? Sales RIGHT IN THE TOILET, THE LOWEST MONTH I HAVE HAD SINCE I STARTED DOING THIS..AND APRIL AINT LOOKING ANY BETTER ALREADY..So please save the ITS THE TIME OF YEAR **bleep**..

2) You havent given it enough time yet

I dont need to give this anymore "time" to see the OBVIOUS destructive impact this is having to MY business...

When someone cuts off your arm? Do you "keep giving it time" to make sure you're going to BLEED TO DEATH AND DIE?? Or do you immediately try to rectify the problem and run to the hospital?? Just as I would know that having my arm cut off would prove to be fatal?? I KNEW this was GTC IDIOCY was going to be fatal as well...And sales down 50%?? IS DEFINITE PROOF right now that I was right..

I am bleeding to DEATH, and eventually? I will be dead as a business...DEAD

3) But you'll be getting more google traffic, and therefore more sales

Really?? Ok..So wheres all the google traffic?? Where are all my newly realized GOOGLE DRIVEN SALES??? Cause I dont SEE ANY..I dont see ANYTHING BUT SALES DOWN 50%!!! Thats all I SEE...Would someone like to SHOW ME ALL THE SALES I AM GETTING FROM "GOOGLE" AND ALL THIS IMAGINARY MONEY I'm supposed to making? Because let me tell you something = I WAS MAKING MONEY BEFORE!!! NOW IM NOT...Do I need more proof here that this is NOT WORKING???

4) The GTC change makes things more convenient for you..Because now you never have to re-list, and your listings will gain valuable watchers and a sales history, which will help you make more sales..

Hmmmmmmmmm...Actually NO THATS NOT CORRECT...I sell ONE OFF ITEMS..Everything is ONE OFF, and I have NO repeat inventory or MULTIPLES of items...So what does this mean for me? Well, I still HAVE TO RELIST, BECAUSE I LIST EVERY ITEM INDIVIDUALLY ANYWAY!! MY lisitngs also are GONE AND DOWN when they sell, because there was only ONE in the FIRST PLACE..So NO I dont get any sales HISTORY..And guess what? I DONT WANT WATCHERS!! I WANT BUYERS!!! Watchers do NOTHING FOR ME UNTIL THEY BUY...THE SHORT TIME FRAMES GOT THEM TO BUY. GTC?? Gets them to WATCH.

5) Well this is how it is now..You'll just have to adapt to this new change and make the best of it. It's great for some sellers.

Yeah, well when someone puts my balls in a vice, and makes decisions that effectively put me out of business??? My solution is not to ADAPT..My solution is to A) Get my balls out of that vice by any means necessary and B) Go someplace where I can actually make money again...If I was selling in a Mall where I was renting a Kiosk for $1000 a month?? (which is about what I pay to eBay or more) And that mall took AWAY my best selling tool to MAKE SALES I HAD?? Guess what?? IM OUT OF THERE..IM NOT GOING TO ADAPT..

And as far as this being "great for SOME sellers" and not effecting them? Yeah, I'd assume those were the sellers that GTC WAS ALREADY WORKING FOR. They ALREADY HAD AN OPTION THAT WAS WORKING FOR THEM..WHAT THE HE LL SENSE DOES IT MAKE TO TAKE AWAY MY OPTION THAT WAS WORKING WONDERS FOR ME????????????? IF SOMETHING IS "NOT" GREAT FOR ALL SELLERS?? YOU DONT FORCE EVERYONE TO DO IT!!

6) eBay wouldnt make decision like this to hurt your sales..They make money when you make money. They know what they are doing, dont worry..

Hmmmm yeah logically I would think that, but SADLY?? Thats not the CASE HERE..eBay has made the decision here (whether intentionally or NOT), to do something that HAS CUT MY SALES IN HALF!!! So now, they are effectively making HALF THE MONEY TOO..So do I now follow along with MORON LUNATICS who would do something this bizarre and ridiculous to BOTH OF US? Or do I finally see and understand that these people just have ABSOLUTELY no idea what they are doing, and do I get off this sinking SHIP finally, once and for all...

I think this is seriously it for me on here...I can't really find anymore reasons to stay...This website is now completely **bleep**, and these idiots arent going to correct this..

Even if this change costs them BILLIONS? My prediction would be that they wont budge on this, just to save FACE they won't fix it...Staying here is like watching a train wreck..Happening right on your front lawn and the train is also effectively running you over as well as it happens and as you watch...

I had a GREAT THING GOING ON HERE EBAY - AND YOU HAVE DESTROYED THIS FOR BOTH OF US!! THANK YOU!! REALLY, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

frenchblueshutters · ‎04-07-2019

It Does Not Take a Rocket Scientist To Figure out WHEN ALL SMALL SELLERS are Suffering What it Was. GTC is the Absolute WORST THING EBAY CAN DO to Small Sellers who By the Way Know What works for them. I am a Buyer always Have been. If I Put Something in My Watch List That Has 30 days on it I forget about it.. I SHOP ENDING SOONEST PERIOD!!! It Doesn't Even Come Up in My Reminders from Ebay Until It is Ending 30 Days later. GTC WORKS FOR BULK SELLERS PERIOD!!! NOT ONE OF A KIND SELLERS!! Your Statement of Give it Time Is Heartless!! Or That we Don't know GTC Caused It. REALLY!!!! We All Started Suffering with GTC. MOST SELLERS CANT WAIT 30 Days For Sales.

crownsfieldcellular · ‎04-08-2019

@coolections wrote:
You may suggest to posters you do not want to hear it, but all 6 bullet points are true. It has not even been 30 days for you to know the reason why your sales are slow.

I know WHY my sales are slow, TRUST ME...Thats BECAUSE = MY ITEMS SELL BEST WHEN THEY ARE OFFERED ON A 3 DAY BIN LISTING!!!

Do you want to know HOW I know this???

BECAUSE I WORKED VERY HARD AND TESTED A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS FOR A VERY LONG TIME TO GET IT RIGHT, AND WHEN I FINALLY DID????

'

IT WAS WORKING PERFECTLY!!! I WAS GETTING FAST CONSISTENT SALES AND A TON OF ACTIVITY ON MY LITSINGS!!

THE ONLY THING THAT HAS CHANGED HERE IS I CANNOT DO THAT ANYMORE!!

DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!?!

THAT'S THE **bleep** PROBLEM!!!

bohemiandreams7 · ‎04-08-2019

Couldn't agree more, totally feel your anger...

vinylrecon · ‎04-08-2019

I totally agree with all you've stated,i'm seeing 20 years of work going down with a sinking ship

anabas · ‎04-08-2019

My sales over the past few weeks have tanked, they are by FAR as low as they've ever been. Almost nothing. I'm a small/hobby seller (200-300 listings at a time -- all listed via monthly free listings). I'm working to disperse a collection in which I no longer have interest, pass these items on, and make a little spending money.

While I like being able to access large and commercial sellers on ebay (I avoid Amazon if I can), but it's sad that ebay policies appear to be favoring these big sellers over the small sellers who built the system and make unexpected and novel discoveries possible.

I've sold unusual items such as orphaned parts to old toys or tools. There are probably only a couple people in the entire country looking for these things, but it's satisfying to connect the odd item with the perfect buyer. Likewise, I sometimes seek and buy such odd and unique pieces....

zamo-zuan · ‎04-08-2019

With GTC you start with a boost and then after a few months settle in place in most cases. A few items will have a bit of an upward incline, but most items will have a downward include until you repost when they go stagnant.

It's unsustainable. I hope that since now everyone is GTC they will have no choice but change it.

zamo-zuan · ‎04-08-2019

@crownsfieldcellular wrote:
@coolections wrote:
You may suggest to posters you do not want to hear it, but all 6 bullet points are true. It has not even been 30 days for you to know the reason why your sales are slow.
I know WHY my sales are slow, TRUST ME...Thats BECAUSE = MY ITEMS SELL BEST WHEN THEY ARE OFFERED ON A 3 DAY BIN LISTING!!!

Do you want to know HOW I know this???

BECAUSE I WORKED VERY HARD AND TESTED A LOT OF DIFFERENT THINGS FOR A VERY LONG TIME TO GET IT RIGHT, AND WHEN I FINALLY DID????
'
IT WAS WORKING PERFECTLY!!! I WAS GETTING FAST CONSISTENT SALES AND A TON OF ACTIVITY ON MY LITSINGS!!

THE ONLY THING THAT HAS CHANGED HERE IS I CANNOT DO THAT ANYMORE!!

DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!?!

THAT'S THE **bleep** PROBLEM!!!

3 day BIN listings basically had a permanent boost.

7 day listings had a near permanent boost.

30 days had a fairly steady boost, but since the listing was not up for long, the SEO didnt' really begin to factor.

GTC, I've posted on extensively over the last year. It's complicated, but long story short, you need to invest in promotions or sponsored listings to get the same amount of visibility.

Sorry to say it, but this is what I've been complaining about for the last year. First it was the tech issues, then catalog issues. Once that resolved, this is basically what we've been seeing. It's just that mainstream sellers didn't get to see it unless they were GTC as well.

kittykat.949 · ‎04-09-2019

Buyers come to Ebay & shop ---Ending soonest---& when your listing is listed for 3-5-7- days it comes to the top of listings in 3-5-7 days---when listing for 30 or more days your listing DOES NOT come near the front for 28-29 days. I do not believe SEO has any thing do do with it because I have NEVER gone to Google when looking for something on Ebay----How can you not understand that is beyond me.

kittykat.949 · ‎04-09-2019

I wanted to add this example-----If you were standing in line for some limited show tickets would you want to be 3-5-7th in line or 30+ back in line

jayhawk_antiques · ‎04-09-2019

Mine are down too. The reason is simple. Many of my buyers are also sellers, that use that money to fund their buying (collections). Many have quit selling because of the change and as such, ain't buying either.

zamo-zuan · ‎04-09-2019

@kittykat.949 wrote:
Buyers come to Ebay & shop ---Ending soonest---& when your listing is listed for 3-5-7- days it comes to the top of listings in 3-5-7 days---when listing for 30 or more days your listing DOES NOT come near the front for 28-29 days. I do not believe SEO has any thing do do with it because I have NEVER gone to Google when looking for something on Ebay----How can you not understand that is beyond me.

I understand that perfectly fine.

But if you list a NEW LISTING, lets say product code 1234. If you search 1234, in the best match search (NOT ending soonest), you naturally have a boost in SEO when creating new listings, and when expiring soon. They get a boost simply because they're new. This boost will determine their initial search placement, and then over the next 30-90 days it will attempt to "normalize" as long as it doesn't go stagnant.

That's what I'm talking about.

Nothing I said is related to Google, either. I'm talking about eBay's SEO with Cassini.

That's the thing here. GTC isn't just affecting the search types of "Ending Soonest". Many buyers don't even use that anyway.

It has much more long lasting effects on search placement as a whole in best match, which is default and much more widely used on eBay (with a much bigger effect on impressions) and also effects advertisements/sponsorship visibility.

kittykat.949 · ‎04-09-2019

With ALL due respect----All I know is the bottom line for me is I have experimented with ALL the options over the years & GTC absolutely DOES NOT WORK or me-----7 day BIN was my sweet spot. The only thing that worked better than 7 day BIN was when Ebay used to let you list 1 day with no fee & that is when I had my best sales ever but as usual that option was taken away---another in a LONG continuing policy of TAKE AWAYS

zamo-zuan · ‎04-09-2019

@kittykat.949 wrote:
With ALL due respect----All I know is the bottom line for me is I have experimented with ALL the options over the years & GTC absolutely DOES NOT WORK or me-----7 day BIN was my sweet spot. The only thing that worked better than 7 day BIN was when Ebay used to let you list 1 day with no fee & that is when I had my best sales ever but as usual that option was taken away---another in a LONG continuing policy of TAKE AWAYS

Hey, by no means am I saying it "does" or "should" work for you.

I'm not disagreeing with you, we're on the same side. I'm actually in agreement that GTC is more problematic than 7/30 day BIN listings. I've been trying to show everyone the problems with GTC for almost a year now.

With the amount of listings we have, we've had to stick to GTC for awhile just because they were simply too many to manage. Also some of our items had somewhat active history since 2013 that performed well. But we did some extensive testing on other listings, and one of my gripes with eBay over this last year is we discovered *many, MANY* problems with GTC listings.

I know 7/30 performed better for a lot of people. Some of the reason for that is the situation is what you described. But based on the extensive testing we did, a huge amount of eBay's "Best Match" SEO is built on an unsustainable system.

The only good thing about these changes are that they're mainstream now, and if they don't take action at this point, it's DEFINITELY going to show in their numbers as sellers are not happy at all.

And they won't be able to hide the fact that their design for GTC listings/SEO is unsustainable.

I've met in person with eBay category managers and expressed these issues to them personally, and it seems (at least so far) no action has been taken against the problems, and furthermore changes like GTC are making the problems worse.

Not saying it's good for any of us. But I hope this is finally going to be the straw that breaks the camels back and forces them to do SOMETHING to improve GTC, or to force "strong seller performance" to actually mean something. It's disgraceful that long time, honest, hard working sellers are now getting the same performance as poor sellers with 10% or more negative feedback. And the only way to get better visibility on eBay's search engine is dish out more sponsorship money/promotion money to them.

We regularly watch Terapeak in our category and we're seeing all the top sellers in the category slowly die. We were #1 in our category since prior to 2014, and we've suffered huge drops (check included image).

But despite our own huge drops, the entire category is dropping along with us, and we're still #1.

Honestly, everyone should have been alarmed since a year ago. Now everyone is seeing what's really been happening to GTC listings since January 2018.

3eyedfishcatcher · ‎04-09-2019

The sales have dropped because of the browser issues, search results not displaying more than the 1st page. the search button returning all items on ebay rather than the category you were searching in. While users on the mobile apps can find your items their algorithm changes and cuts parts of your description out thus making the item seam un desirable or worst causing the buyer to misunderstand the condition and demand a return. While most of these users are on older devices and need to eventually upgrade if you do not release fully functional updates usable by all browsers and users then items can not be located, Items will not be found, Traffic will not go to the store you are paying for and sales will plummet as they are. It is not your pricing or the items you are selling but their staff making untested changes. These changes that are being planned and implemented by a sales staff that either does not have the experience or knowledge to dot he job they have been tasked with. When you log into community they have a banner add promoting their weekly chat with the ebay staff fallowed by 18 pictures of their staff members. All are clearly bellow 30 and most likely actually 18 to 25. When you look at the picture the thought comes to mind were are your senor staff members with the experience and education to know what is a good idea and what is just bad. Just because they are young does not mean every thing they come up with is a good idea or that their plan of action is truly execution able. While they may use trendy new buzz words really they are just changing the names for long existing marketing plans and a senor staff member should already know if they have a good idea and if the idea should be skipped.

weschurch · ‎04-09-2019

@3eyedfishcatcher wrote:
The sales have dropped because of the browser issues, search results not displaying more than the 1st page. the search button returning all items on ebay rather than the category you were searching in. While users on the mobile apps can find your items their algorithm changes and cuts parts of your description out thus making the item seam un desirable or worst causing the buyer to misunderstand the condition and demand a return. While most of these users are on older devices and need to eventually upgrade if you do not release fully functional updates usable by all browsers and users then items can not be located, Items will not be found, Traffic will not go to the store you are paying for and sales will plummet as they are. It is not your pricing or the items you are selling but their staff making untested changes. These changes that are being planned and implemented by a sales staff that either does not have the experience or knowledge to dot he job they have been tasked with. When you log into community they have a banner add promoting their weekly chat with the ebay staff fallowed by 18 pictures of their staff members. All are clearly bellow 30 and most likely actually 18 to 25. When you look at the picture the thought comes to mind were are your senor staff members with the experience and education to know what is a good idea and what is just bad. Just because they are young does not mean every thing they come up with is a good idea or that their plan of action is truly execution able. While they may use trendy new buzz words really they are just changing the names for long existing marketing plans and a senor staff member should already know if they have a good idea and if the idea should be skipped.

At some point people just need to accept that sales are and have been consistently declining because buyers have pretty much left Ebay.