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?

[vintagecraze50]

I have had items sit for a very long time and eventually it sells. Some things sell faster than others for reasons I cannot fathom completely. It’s like a game of chance here at times. 

[simply-the-best-for-you]

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@herbaearth wrote:

When i sold ebooks and webmaster user tools way back in the day with my first eBay business accounts, posting a new listing every hour on high traffic times was a golden technique for sales, and it use to bring in a ton of customers to my other listings too increasing from more dwell times on my listing pages and bringing in a ton of sales. I can see how relisting tangible products is kind of like that in eBays modern era.

Best of luck

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There is actually still something to that.  I try to do my relists when I'm in "on" mode & I've got a flurry of sales.   Best of luck to you too! 

[herbaearth]

12 up votes for that comment lol classic

[chapeau-noir]

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@simply-the-best-for-you wrote:

@herbaearth  It sounds like you understand the complexity of "the algorithm", most people do not.  Absolutely, all the variables are weighted differently & may even be weighted differently based on variables of the selling account.   

I used to work for the 3rd largest software company in the world & every week to Fortune 100 clients & helped them troubleshoot their legacy systems using our software.  I did that for a decade.  From that experience (& my prior programming experience), I can tell you that it is not at all uncommon for big corporations to not really have any idea how their software works.  Between poor coding, programmer & business unit attrition, contractors & nowadays, outsourcing to overseas programmers, it's not uncommon that there's a behemoth of a jumbled mess that runs the most vital & critical aspects of the business & everyone is scared to touch it b/c no one really understands how it works anymore & one mistake can impact a company's core business in a very negative way.   Now Ebay's systems have not been around quite that long, but they've been around long enough to be impacted by many of the issues above & it would not surprise me in the least if very few, if any, programmers at Ebay understand the architecture of  "the algorithm", themselves.   So, I take it all with a grain of salt,  as even most of the programmers who worked on it & are still there, probably only know their own little piece of it. 

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I expect eBay's legacy code is a tangled mess of spaghetti - with Meg Whitman bragging that they 'code on the fly' and don't bother with documentation, even if they brought back the original developers they probably couldn't remember what they did, especially if they were too stupid to document in the first place.

[rugerskick]

Well remember Nike sells as a wholesaler much of the time, to retailers.  So they adjust price according to who they are selling to and what volume is being bought at the time.  Trying to equate the typical Ebay seller to Nike isn't necessarily an apples to apples comparison.

[incrediblefinds199]

i should have worded that differently i have a couple accounts, my other account i have the 2nd highest store level and they assign you a rep you can call.  he was the one telling me that. yes there is a list of words they bump you down the search. he motioned it to me as he seen something i listed. he explained to me the algorithm and i dont mean how it works. there is so much factored in. he just mentioned a few things that help and dont help.  like i said very few people know, i am sure its a small circle at ebay.  i dont think anyone will be able to give a definitive answer. it's unfortunate for sure. its all hearsay even what the rep tells me i take with a grain of salt cause who knows.  

[merca621]

Totally disagree.  I find my sales increase immensely when I end an item and relist.  The buyer who hates to see my relisted product just moves on.  The new buyer then can see my item as new.  It works for me quite frequently.  I highly recommend doing so.

[kh-stanley1]

Hi everyone,

Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread HERE if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.

Thank you for understanding.