The shifting change of technology, algorithms, opportunity and traffic flow

[herbaearth]

How the algorithms of eBay work is a very interesting topic. A long time friend of mine who's been selling high volume on eBay non-stop for 20+ years told me the time when listings end, and re-post, is when traffic seems to get a boost. It is certainly something most eBay sellers are not willing to do early, and how not being compatible with a new strategy to adapt to 'product forward' algorithms is effecting traffic and sales. I've been buying and selling on eBay randomly for almost two decades and recently decided to come back as a seller(after being locked down for the past few years) and started cleaning out about 40 items of old attic stuff. I was shocked to learn my friend has walked away from eBay due to all sorts of reasons, but i think everything that is turning great sellers away could be the exact opportunity to corner a new curve on eBay. I understand that liberal fees, low traffic, low sales, a new payment management system, lack of paypal, and all sorts of problems are frustrating the best sellers, but I honestly believe these complaints are all connected to the new algorithms, and old sellers are stuck in their old ways of doing business as usual on this platform.  When i learned the basic of eBay in the early 2000's, it was what everyone know about ending listings on Sundays, posting on Thursdays for 10 day auctions, using SEO and finding the right niche market if you want to keep merchandise going as a business to close a lot of sales for good income. And even though those tactics are still viable, it seems they way sellers have 'perfected the old sale' by sustaining long term listings might be exactly what is complicating the flow of income for the best sellers, and without adapting to apparent systemic change, it is proving to be difficult and that can not be denied. I am not claiming to have the best supply of products or even be an expert of what exactly is happening to the best sellers, although excuses and blame is easy to communicate, I am thinking more and more about the product forward algorithms boosting sellers who are willing to post listings at a relatively high frequency or on consistent bases. It doesn't make sense for so many sellers to be complaining and there not be a reason based on old strategies to not figure out what the curve is around the corner in the future. I do know top sellers post and hold so if that's the old way, and its not working then what's the new way? Is that strategy how sellers list? Is it targeting the highest or lowest fee categories? Is it the algorithm itself? I don't know, it's just a thought and this is what I'm thinking about. What do you think?

[slippinjimmy]

If there were paragraphs I would probably read, as it is I just can't follow it but I see snippets that lead me to think it might be worthwhile to read.

[herbaearth]

If it were a professionally written book i would sell it, but It's just a very long thought. If you find a good section that interests you, it's certainly worth a comment.

[laststopgeneralstore]

I sell in probably the most saturated market on eBay & I have never ended listings and sold similar & most of my items sell in 6 months or less. I think a lot of it has to with niching down into a single market versus selling a bunch of random things. I went from selling everything to niching down to selling electronics only & now only clothing. When I went from selling everything to electronics only, it made a massive difference. Same thing from switching from selling electronics to clothing. Selling in only one category & being an expert at it will make a big difference. This doesn't mean you can't sell everything but it does help a lot to narrow it down to one thing.

I also think that far to many sellers worry way way way to much about things that don't matter such as fee's, "hidden" fee's, eBay doing this & that etc.... If more sellers would just sit down and run their numbers and actually read & learn how eBay works before jumping in then they would be making more money. eBay is very transparent with how they do everything & exactly how they operate. You may not like it or disagree with how they do, but at the end of the day they for a very small fee they have 100's of millions of eyeballs for us & it's our job to get the sale, not eBay. When I look at the threads of people complaining about eBay & blaming them for no sales or no traffic, I'll take a look at their store & 9/10 times the listings are horrible, titles are absolutely horrendous, barely any photos and not enough, horrible return policy & no description. Of course nobody wants to buy your crap.

Lastly, the fast nickle will always beat the slow dime.  I don't understand why so many people get caught up with needing to get the full amount for something that they listed versus selling stuff lower than what they listed it for. At the end of the day it's all averages. Nike doesn't selling 100% of their items for what they originally had them on the floor for and neither does most retailers in the world. You go to any store in your area & they are all running some sort of sale.

Use all of the tools that eBay provides you. Stop complaining & start doing. Cheers.

[nobody*s_perfect · Accepted solution]

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@herbaearth wrote: ... told me the time when listings end, and re-post, is when traffic seems to get a boost. ...

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Maybe you're overthinking it. Maybe it's not a fancy algorithm, but just because many potential buyers sort their search results by "Newest first."

[kerbel1]

I find that the higher number of items you list at one time, the higher your sales are. Say I only list 10 items (I do auctions), I get a relatively low number of views  per item (unless there is an item that is a truly high demand /designer item). But if I list 30, then my numbers go way up. Not sure if it is visibility or algorithms, but I strive to get a higher number per week.

[m60driver]

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@nobody*s_perfect wrote:

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@herbaearth wrote: ... told me the time when listings end, and re-post, is when traffic seems to get a boost. ...

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Maybe you're overthinking it. Maybe it's not a fancy algorithm, but just because many potential buyers sort their search results by "Newest first."

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It is both.  Clearly there is some segment of an algorithm that pushes down an older listing with few views down the list when people browse, or window shop, using more general search terms.  And clearly there are people who like to search using "newest first".  Like many others, I too have found that ending older listings and then relisting with sell similar gives me a slight increase in sales.

[herbaearth]

Great points. I notice the clothing category has one of the lowest fee structures so you definitely know what you're talking about with researching how ebay works. Focused on specific categories is smart.

Aside from new users who dont know what they're doing, it is the disgruntled sellers who have a long history of very high volume distribution, and now complain about how their profitable business which once profited solely from the ebay platform, is now in decline due to "a constant raising of seller fees"  and "a lack of steady traffic in sales" is somehow perceived as destroying their steady income. Apparently being "unable to buy things from other sellers on ebay without having that extra income" is the environment expanding the continuity of increasing seller fees. I'm not familiar with any of that, because i just sell my stuff from my attic.

What I'm thinking about: is if "ebay is money hungry" or "ebay only cares about high ticket items," how do we think as a seller to target that niche. Is it the lowest fee categories to pull a quick profit, or the highest fee categories to get the bigger bucks, but pay a little more in fees to target the wanted traffic?

There's definitely something behind consistent posting traffic and promoting long term traffic. That's pretty much eBays job, to bring in revenue for stock holders and provide service for hundreds of millions of customers, because its basic corporate finance 101. All I'm really thinking about is: where is it leading,  what does the product forward algorithm want as in where's the profit purpose, and how to get in front of it! 

Everything else is in the details. - Cheers

[herbaearth]

That could be it! We're all just simple customers wanting to buy something in real time.. Excellent point

[donsdetour]

Wow an interesting read;

Such is the changes over time< caused the seller less and less protection.

Also the latest changes in the tax laws I am sure run folks off....

As for the search system, it has been changed from a category system to an item specific system.

Who know what criteria they use for the individual search...

Its a mess at times and then it seems to work. Pay attention to your views watchers and how many offer you get:

Such will tell you real fast the thing at this time is a wreck.

Oh and the pay to play promoting game eBay want you to play so they make more money may also a cause of such I am sure...

[richardwillardcollection]

I am sick and tired of these fantasia post's. They are unproductive total fantasy.  While the law of supply and demand is functioning like it always does, eBay has the ability to turn us off, or on.

[herbaearth]

I remember when posting across multiple categories meant you were bringing in a variety of customers who would typically want to buy more than one item from you. It seems the general explanation today is customers are purchasing specific things in specific categories for exact reasons, rather than shopping around for basic needs. The competition from other corporations is much more aggressive than it was even 10 years ago. I agree, more product listings absolutely equals to more viewers, watchers, and ultimately more sales without a doubt. I just wonder why so many veteran sellers with a long history of ebay success would have the same issues and be so vocal about those issues. Times are always changing and expert sellers are missing out on something. I'm just thinking about the future of selling. There's a curve on every corner!

[herbaearth]

There's a lot of experienced sellers with a long track record of success which are speaking about specific issues and direct reasons why. It's easy to call this post a fantasy, but there's definitely a system in place which was updated over the past year or so. To think it's only supply and demand, and it's only ebay turning off and on traffic for us sellers, speaks exactly what sellers are complaining about. It doesn't hurt to explore why. 

[varebelrose]

"..eBay is very transparent with how they do everything & exactly how they operate. "

Is this a joke?

[herbaearth]

The change in the algorithm is very interesting. I have no problems with anyone making money, whether that be eBay or smart sellers who have worked the system to get in front of customers. It is the changing of times that is bringing us NFT's, when not too long ago i was selling ebooks and webmaster user tools. Thanks for your advice with an open view in reality.