eBay

vintageista · ‎11-07-2018

I don't like to buy into conspiracy memes but something is REALLY wrong at eBay or they have just decided they don't want me any longer! I run 3 sites on eBay, my main site, the one I spend the most time on and depend on, is the site with this name, I've been here 20 years & other than a few slow periods, it has made rather dependable sales, I am now down 29.6% since last month.

I have a smaller collectibles site & I fully realize those are not hot items, but have been making occasional sales there, that site is down 42.1% same period . The 3rd site I am helping a terminally-ill friend with, just so he can run out his inventory, it is small, doesn't require much maintenance, mostly all I have to do is mail packages, but has made steady sales for years, it is down 26.8%,

These sites are very different types of products, so really can't be blamed on specific merchandise. This has all happened since OCT 15 to now! Nothing seems to help! I am to the point of panic! I had to borrow money from my son to pay my rent this month if I can no longer depend on eBay, I will be out on the street by year's end! This has always been the best selling season, but not this year! The economy is good, stores are packed! But something is just not right!

I've heard all the stories of eBay wanting to get rid of small sellers and I never put much stock in that, but now I am wondering, is it maybe true??

I really wish I knew some way to jazz sales, but nothing seems to be working any longer!

selsa84 · ‎11-11-2018

Just gotta keep on with the keepin on. Have a great day

zamo-zuan · ‎11-12-2018

@coolections wrote:
@zamo-zuan
Most is not accurate. Impressions just mean no one went to page 16 to see your stuff. It's there, either no one wants it, no one is willing to pay that much for it, they saw the picture and the price so didn't need to click on it as they knew they where not interested, it's not in demand, there are too many others selling the same thing. Lots of "real" facts, no conspiracies please. How did you manage to sell 2,000 items since August if Ebay hates you so bad ?

That is NOT how an impression works. You only get an impression if you show up ON THE PAGE that is viewed.

Honestly, if you aren't even sure how these things work, why are you commenting on them? It only leads to abusing sellers, as they are getting blamed for things that are not their fault.

You also obviously didn't even read what I've said. I said our account was affected by tech issues until June. Since June, we are still down 15-20% from last year, and yes selling 2,000 items since August is still DOWN from every past year.

Futhermore, during our tech issues we were above 40% down from last year, as low as 60%. Our impressions went from 2.5 mill to 600k.

This is direct statistics. Not opinion. Not presumption.

Nobody at eBay could explain why the market was UP, the overall market had MORE impressions, yet ours were under 1/4 of our normal one.

Yet this was 100% tied with the statistic issues on our account. Once they fixed teh technical issue, we shot back up to normal.

Since we are traditionally #1 in our category, we have 100% certainty that we can out-perform our competition. Look right now at our statistics against other sellers, and it proves it. If we don't have technical issues, the competitors can't match our prices/offerings/service.

Yet during our tech issues stages, even at lower margins than this and cheaper prices than the competition, with the market UP from April-June, nothing we did allowed our listings to get impressions.

EBay's search was not letting us appear. Plain and simple. And other competitors who had copied our listings prior to our issues, and were EXACT listings but with higher prices, somehow pulled ahead of ours.

I'm not sure if you simply don't understand how impressions work, or if you are intentionally being misleading... but the fact is, if you lose 3/4 of your impressions in a months time, that is perfect statistical evidence that eBay is not allowing your listings to show up in search.

zamo-zuan · ‎11-12-2018

@pauyo_1218 wrote:
FACTS

39.4% Down
Compared to prior period
>10.0%Up
Market

Coolections. This is exactly the problem right here. This percentage comes from comparing two days in October to two days in November.  You cannot do comparisons on that short a window. The figures are completely skewed and if you are down and in the red, you are not going to be getting sales or customers. It's a hard, solid fact. One you can't blow away.

Throughtout the month, if you are lucky you will have a few periods where you current month exceeds the previous month. Then sales appear and we're back in business. It's documented, provable.  The damage that is being done is not going to be offset by a few cheerleaders who spout things that are contrary to the eBay User Agreement itself. There are thousands (millions?) of sellers affected. They know what's happening. You don't appear to.

UA
We strive to create a marketplace where buyers find what they are looking for. Therefore, the appearance or placement of listings in search and browse results will depend on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to:
seller's history, including listing practices, Detailed Seller Ratings, eBay policy compliance, Feedback, and defect rate;
To drive a positive user experience, a listing may not appear in some search and browse results regardless of the sort order chosen by the buyer

This is exactly what I describe. This is not a NORMAL scenario. The only way it makes sense is:

A) There's a penalty on your account - eBay can verify this.

or

B) There's a technical issue.

If you think a market can fluctuate that much in 1 month, you obviously have not had much time in eCommerce/online marketing, or have not studied statistics or SEO.

Furthermore, it goes beyond "theory" when you speak to Sellers Health team. They can send you a readout of your stores statistics. If the readout has BROKEN STATISTICS that DO NOT ADD UP, this 100% CONFIRMS A TECHNICAL ISSUE!. That is exactly what happened to us.

@castlemagicmemories wrote:
@pauyo_1218 wrote:
Thank you for recognizing zamo-zuan Castlemagicmemories.

Reading his posts has helped me to try and understand what is going on. He has been a very positive force for many people.
Thank you, he has more than earned that recognition by sincerely helping others.

Thank you both for the kind words!

But it is a problem when you have forum members of this community who have been made aware of problems, yet will intentionally mislead other sellers. At the very least, there needs to be transparency of the problems that exist, so they can be FIXED! EBay will never fix them if you have people saying "There's no problem! These things aren't real!".

EBay's tech team sets a priority based on how many reports they have. It's hard enough to find hard evidence (You can ONLY do it with an anchor subscription & the sellers health team assisting you). But how are you supposed to learn how to do that, with a community forum of people saying there's no problem....?

The tech issues are real, and need to be fixed. The Utah CSR's are aware, but the tech team will not escalate it without enough reports!

Denying these issues exist does nothing but make eBay an UNSAFE and INSECURE marketplace. I honestly hope every seller here never has to experience these issues... but sadly it seems like some people won't believe it unless it happens to them...

That's not a healthy community, in my opinion.

@caninekopz wrote:
Cool,

Maybe he was selling 4000 before that, or even 10,000. Point is things are sour here right now and it is because of Ebay, not the sellers.

Yes, we have suffered this year, but right now are less than 20% down from last year, which is fine - we can survive. But our major problems early this year lost 50% of our staff in 1 year. I don't want to see that happen to ANY other businesses! No more lives should be ruined because of tech issues.

I'm still here because these problems on eBay still exist, and are affecting other sellers. Once the problems fixed, I will gladly shut up. I'd rather not have to spend time on here than working. But being affected by these issues has inspired me to work towards trying to help others in the situation we were in, in hopes that the issues will be finally repaired & peoples lives won't be at risk.

coolections · ‎11-12-2018

@zamo-zuan wrote:
That is NOT how an impression works. You only get an impression if you show up ON THE PAGE that is viewed.

Correct and thus the reason why you have no impressions. No one goes to page two or three to see your stuff. Ebay does not hate you and Ebay is not hiding you items. You'll need to find a better excuse for lack of sales. My guess is there are only so many buyers for your type of items and your sales will never get any better here. You could try lowering your prices to get buyers when they search lowest first but that is about the only way.

zamo-zuan · ‎11-12-2018

@coolections wrote:
@zamo-zuan wrote:
That is NOT how an impression works. You only get an impression if you show up ON THE PAGE that is viewed.
Correct and thus the reason why you have no impressions. No one goes to page two or three to see your stuff. Ebay does not hate you and Ebay is not hiding you items. You'll need to find a better excuse for lack of sales. My guess is there are only so many buyers for your type of items and your sales will never get any better here. You could try lowering your prices to get buyers when they search lowest first but that is about the only way.

We are NOT on page two or three. The analyze tool on eBay even tells you sales rank. I provided eBay with items that were #1 sales rank, yet not appearing at all, on ANY page. Furthermore, we were not added in the catalog properly (another issue I discussed) which was a large part of the reason we were not visible.

Are you even aware of the analyze tool? It compares your listing with others in the category and gives you the items rank. If we are sales rank 1-5, we will NEVER be appearing on 2nd-3rd page. So if this is the case, and the market is up for that item, how could you possibly explain our items not getting impressions, UNTIL our tech issue was fixed....?

You seem to be ignoring the fact that we are #1 in the category, and able to compete with the very best prices on eBay.

If we provide the strong shippin/returns plans we do, IN ADDITION to being the cheapest prices available, yet don't even appear when sorting by price? It can NOT be argued that there's no problem, as you seem to be implying.

You are also ignoring the fact that we had statistic issues affecting our account at the time of the drop. You are well aware of this, why are you ignoring this fact? Sellers health sheets did not have statistics that added up - I have screenshots on my topic of their report. Their own information did not match accurately.

Once this was fixed, the issue resolved. Are you saying that's a coincidence as well? Suddenly, 4-5x as many people wanted to buy our items?

Are you also saying that our top 10 ranked ites out of our 6000+ items, somehow went "out of demand" for months, with OTHER BUYERS at MORE EXPENSIVE prices than ours gaining our lost sales, with the market being up, and then once the tech issues fixed, suddenly went in demand again?

There's no denying the issues here. For you to disagree with any of this, is disregarding a piece of information that we have provided statistical proof of.

How come you have intentionally/selectively ignored facts that you have been made well aware of, in your claims when you blame sellers for problems that are eBay's responsibility to fix? How is doing so even within the community forum policy? It's honestly abusive, and hurts sellers who come here in need our help.

coolections · ‎11-12-2018

@zamo-zuan

You have not yet provided the item that you say is hidden. Been asking for months now but you refuse to accept facts we see your stuff. If no one is buyers your stuff it is not Eby's fault. Maybe they are shopping others sites or at stores. It's tuff luck to not getting the volume of sales that you prefer. Try branching out or changing whatever it is you are doing to not get sales. Don't feel bad, Sears is closed and Lowes is shutting down many stores. Stock market down. People have stopped buying so much right now.

zamo-zuan · ‎11-12-2018

@coolections wrote:
@zamo-zuan
You have not yet provided the item that you say is hidden. Been asking for months now but you refuse to accept facts we see your stuff. If no one is buyers your stuff it is not Eby's fault. Maybe they are shopping others sites or at stores. It's tuff luck to not getting the volume of sales that you prefer. Try branching out or changing whatever it is you are doing to not get sales. Don't feel bad, Sears is closed and Lowes is shutting down many stores. Stock market down. People have stopped buying so much right now.

I guess you disregarded the part where I mentioned our issue resolved in June and I'm here to help the people still being affected by the issue? You have replied to a number of posts where you seen me saying this. Why act as if you don't know things you are aware of?

You also NEVER asked me to provide an item. I'm fairly certain you have never asked so in ANY of my topics.

Why would I need to send you anything to "prove" it when you can check my topic for screenshots of our impressions being 1/4 of what they are normally? This is solid proof, moreso than any random search in eBay will give you.

You know providing you with an item to search doesn't really prove anything either. Because A) You are aware that search issues are intermittent, as it's been well documented on these forums that items sometimes items show up sometimes they don't. And B) You can claim you are seeing it, even if you don't bother trying to search. There's no way to prove if you did or not.

But impressions DO prove it! Lack of impressions tells you far more than an attempt at a search does.

Arbitrary statements such as the ones you are giving don't have a lot of relevance either. Because it's relative to the market. You have commented on my posts before where I showed Terapeak records and showed that the MARKET for motor mounts is up, but the top 10 sellers are down MORE THAN 33% from a year earlier. This is huge, and considering sellers outside of the top 10 can't compete with prices against the top 10 (being major manufacturers or wholesalers), the only way this is possible is if traffic has been redirected to new sellers rather than giving as much to top sellers. It's easy to tell in our market that there is manipulation taking place.

A few minutes browsing our category, and you can see search results have a fair mix of sellers with low feedback, mixed in with sellers having more competitive offerings.

This is beyond the fact that you have responded to topics of buyers upset because cheaper options did not appear for them when they were ordering, yet suddenly show up after their order.

This is beyond the fact that customers from many sellers, including ourselves, have informed us that they have not been able to find our listings - and this is how we discovered the issue was affecting us!

I have always told everyone on here, don't just believe what myself, or anyone on here says. Look up the statistics and test it for yourself! Statistics don't lie. Statistics don't selectively ignore relevant data.

The only reason there's not more people with solid evidence of these issues is because you need an Anchor subscription to speak to the Sellers Health team, and they are the ones that can provide you with extended statistics, where the error is found.

If statistics don't add up, you can be 100% certain there's a technical issue at hand - which is precisely the issue that I have been reporting since I started regularly browsing these forums - and this technical issue is linked to visibility being lost for sellers.

I asked you in the last post and you ignored, how come you are selectively ignoring facts that you have been made well aware of? Can you answer that?

The answer to this question is important. Because treating other sellers the way you are, is hurting the lives of the people who come here asking for our assistance, and these people often have others relying on them to find a way to resolve these issues.

Our job is to help these people, not hurt them. We should not be causing grief to the people who need help.

I ask you, for the sellers sake on this sellers forum... Please stop abusing sellers who need help. Even if you "share a different opinion", how about let eBay and the sellers health team be the ones to determine if it's a technical issue or not, and please stop treating sellers if they are guilty. Because no matter what you claim or what opinions you have, you have no evidence at all that these people do not have an issue affecting their account.

Without being able to tell them with 100% certainty that there is no problem, it's not constructive at all to tell them there's no problem. Sellers deserve the benefit of the doubt, rather than being held guilty without a trial....

coolections · ‎11-12-2018

Your problem is there is just not enough people wanting to purchase motor mounts on Ebay. Most dealers have their own source and as the working crowd gets younger and younger they do not do mechanic work in their garages like we used to. You'll need to find other ways to sell your motor mounts and not rely on Ebay only. No need to keep calling CS as they cannot help you.

moms**art**window** · ‎11-13-2018

@vintageista wrote:
I don't like to buy into conspiracy memes but something is REALLY wrong at eBay or they have just decided they don't want me any longer! I run 3 sites on eBay, my main site, the one I spend the most time on and depend on, is the site with this name, I've been here 20 years & other than a few slow periods, it has made rather dependable sales, I am now down 29.6% since last month.

I have a smaller collectibles site & I fully realize those are not hot items, but have been making occasional sales there, that site is down 42.1% same period . The 3rd site I am helping a terminally-ill friend with, just so he can run out his inventory, it is small, doesn't require much maintenance, mostly all I have to do is mail packages, but has made steady sales for years, it is down 26.8%,

These sites are very different types of products, so really can't be blamed on specific merchandise. This has all happened since OCT 15 to now! Nothing seems to help! I am to the point of panic! I had to borrow money from my son to pay my rent this month if I can no longer depend on eBay, I will be out on the street by year's end! This has always been the best selling season, but not this year! The economy is good, stores are packed! But something is just not right!

I've heard all the stories of eBay wanting to get rid of small sellers and I never put much stock in that, but now I am wondering, is it maybe true??

I really wish I knew some way to jazz sales, but nothing seems to be working any longer!

I've started using facebook to post some of my more interesting items with links to my eBay store also as a link on facebook,as soon as i can afford i'm checking into some advertising on facebook to see how it works,you look like the real deal to me no turn offs that i can see,maybe one day in the future eBay and facebook will merge and combine platforms and ideas,ebay could alsorunthe entire platform from facebook without merging,i think something like that is the only hope to out compete unamed trying to become unamed rather than something more inovative and original would be the way to move forward,never met you but that title "targeted for extinction" is brilliant and shows genius,they are really throwing the baby out with the bath water here it shows lack of creativity no doubt short of ideas and they really don't want any it's a new breed of corporate arrogance that's head is so big it's just going to fall over like humpty dumpty,the answer to your question is in this comic strip,you will be ok you are the best!!!

caninekopz · ‎11-13-2018

Thats not true at all. I am in the market for Motor mounts and the first place I usually look is Ebay because I am here all day.

18704d · ‎11-13-2018

"Without being able to tell them with 100% certainty that there is no problem, it's not constructive at all to tell them there's no problem. Sellers deserve the benefit of the doubt, rather than being held guilty without a trial.... "

--------------

I don't believe that cool... is abusing anyone here.

If he/she wishes to comment on other sellers, stating what he/she 'believes' might be the problem...

I'm not sure what that hurts?

Perhaps readers and lurkers can view those posts as thought provoking, and learn new ways how to study their own businesses here?

I myself have re-evaluated a few of my listings and practices, based on the variety of opinions I've seen on threads here. Even on threads not directed to me.

His/her opinion and statements aren't forced on anyone.

There's always two sides to any issue, an alternate viewpoint isn't harmful

and I dont' see anyone here, intentionally trying to act harmful.

No one has to take the advice they read here.

But again, I feel all sides of any issue should be explored.

Readers can decide if they find these opposing opinions to be valid, or not.

Thanks,

Lynn

Lynn

You love me for everything you hate me for

.

pharper999 · ‎11-13-2018

Im on here reading this because I see the period death in sales and its usually after an update or tweaking of the system by Ebay. I sell on thing, have built it up pretty quickly and notice that I am either in the feed or NOT. I am a former computer industry person and the nature of antiquated mainframe computer based systems is probably at the root of these problems. Ebay has been around a long time and so has its base software. As they try to move to a more adept, user friendly experience they are probably still on their old systems that require programming changes and then have "bugs". The more they mess with software, the more bugs they are throwing off on some of us. I literally have watched as search of my main brand word bring up non brand Chinese junk items instead of the hundreds of branded hits it should get. You can do searches on days your sales are fine and see that the search engine is working appropropriately. You sales fall off a cliff and do a search of your brand and all these junk listings pop up. It is as others have said. Sales off 30% month over month and its because you are not getting in the feed from search results. Theres nothing you can do to be a better seller if the its the Ebay algorithms and searches not returning the results that include YOU! I feel your pain to the posters who are supporting something is up with visibility. It 100% is.

pharper999 · ‎11-13-2018

Im on here reading this because I see the period death in sales and its usually after an update or tweaking of the system by Ebay. I sell on thing, have built it up pretty quickly and notice that I am either in the feed or NOT. I am a former computer industry person and the nature of antiquated mainframe computer based systems is probably at the root of these problems. Ebay has been around a long time and so has its base software. As they try to move to a more adept, user friendly experience they are probably still on their old systems that require programming changes and then have "bugs". The more they mess with software, the more bugs they are throwing off on some of us. I literally have watched as search of my main brand word bring up non brand Chinese junk items instead of the hundreds of branded hits it should get. You can do searches on days your sales are fine and see that the search engine is working appropropriately. You sales fall off a cliff and do a search of your brand and all these junk listings pop up. It is as others have said. Sales off 30% month over month and its because you are not getting in the feed from search results. Theres nothing you can do to be a better seller if the its the Ebay algorithms and searches not returning the results that include YOU! I feel your pain to the posters who are supporting something is up with visibility. It 100% is.

zamo-zuan · ‎11-13-2018

@coolections wrote:
Your problem is there is just not enough people wanting to purchase motor mounts on Ebay. Most dealers have their own source and as the working crowd gets younger and younger they do not do mechanic work in their garages like we used to. You'll need to find other ways to sell your motor mounts and not rely on Ebay only. No need to keep calling CS as they cannot help you.

You know this is not true. I have shared data in the past that shows the market is up for motor mounts compared to last year, and you have commented in those topics.

The market is up, but search changed in a way that has reduced the maximum potential for top sellers. This does not just affect motors but other categories as well.

I see you are still not having an actual discussion, you are ignoring questions asked to you, and you are ignoring the request to please stop treating sellers in need the way you are.

zamo-zuan · ‎11-13-2018

@18704d wrote:

"Without being able to tell them with 100% certainty that there is no problem, it's not constructive at all to tell them there's no problem. Sellers deserve the benefit of the doubt, rather than being held guilty without a trial.... "
--------------

I don't believe that cool... is abusing anyone here.
If he/she wishes to comment on other sellers, stating what he/she 'believes' might be the problem...

I'm not sure what that hurts?
Perhaps readers and lurkers can view those posts as thought provoking, and learn new ways how to study their own businesses here?

I myself have re-evaluated a few of my listings and practices, based on the variety of opinions I've seen on threads here. Even on threads not directed to me.

His/her opinion and statements aren't forced on anyone.
There's always two sides to any issue, an alternate viewpoint isn't harmful
and I dont' see anyone here, intentionally trying to act harmful.

No one has to take the advice they read here.
But again, I feel all sides of any issue should be explored.
Readers can decide if they find these opposing opinions to be valid, or not.

Thanks,
Lynn

If someone is aware of certain things, yet pretends he is not aware, and continually misleads sellers who need help, and instead blames them? I definitely think that is abuse.

New readers here are not aware of the truth of the situation, and if they blindly believe him, that could be one of the most costly mistakes they make.

Other sellers I have assisted in the past have vented to me because he told them to leave eBay. That is not right.

These people could need our help, isn't it a travesty if they are someone who has an issue and truly needs help, and we shame them, blame them, and drive them away from the forums?

If there's a 50/50 chance that it's a mistake that is their fault, or a tecnical issue... isn't it our duty to assist them as best we can in the case that it may be a tech issue?

Wouldn't it be horrible if it was NOT their fault, yet they got blamed and told there's no problem?

What is the worst that can happen by treating them nicely in this situation? It ends up being their fault, but at least we assessed the possibilities and TRIED to help this person.

There's nothing positive at all about ignoring known facts, past cases, seeking only to blame sellers, when we have no idea if they truly need help or not.

Why should it become the "norm" to assume sellers are lying/wrong/at fault before even confirming this?

I can respect if you don't think it is abuse, but since I've seen the pattern enough times to have certainty that these facts that have been communicated to him are being intentionally ignored, only to blame sellers, or furthermore cause them distress and telling them to just leave eBay? I can't agree with anyone who says that is not abuse. I've honestly not seen anyone else on here be more abusive to sellers, and this is the SELLERS forum...