They're chasing after the so called "new Listing" and ignoring all the rest of the items.

[john_wade]

I've sold about 60 listings on eBay in the past 3 months. At least 75% sold were put up in less than 2 weeks and a few after a couple of days even though I have over 300 listings. They're hunting for new listings and passing up the rest. Not so sure the phrase "new listing" helps sellers. Also, there is a dirty trick that can be used to put "new Listing" on items that have been up for over a year. I've never used it. Too unethical. 

[reallynicestamps]

@selsa84 

A longtail item is one that is not expected to sell fast.

Many collectibles are like that.
I sell books on another ID and have sold items that have been listed since 2014-- some of which actually predate my temporary closedown that year when we moved across country.  I've sold books in the past year that have been listed off and on since 2008. (I started selling here in 1998.)

It's the expectation and acceptance of longterm listing that makes it longtail, instead of a slow seller or deadstock.

[ebeths_eclectic_collectibles]

And all of sudden making it a promoting listing probably isn’t going make any more desirable 

[simply-the-best-for-you]

I'm surprised so many people have an issue with ending/sell similar of old items.  I thought everyone did that.   So what else do you do when your long tail items become "stale" in the eyes of Ebay?   I try to do it regularly to keep up with items not becoming stale & it's not much effort & it always results in sales for me.  But I'm just curious what are the alternative methods people use?  Just wait it out, even though they may be super-stale?  Remove them from inventory?  What do you do if you don't relist them? 

[sapphire_studio]

It depends on the type of inventory you have. If you had like a bulk lot of jewelry or Pokemon cards that would just get completely drowned out in search  then I would promote it if it was stale. If it's a beauty product especially one that I don't have tons and tons of people to compete with, I don't worry about it I just wait for the person who wants that specific item to search for it. People will buy things that have been up for a year. You just have to wait for the right buyer.

[simba6]

A lot of buyers also search be lowest price first.  See if your prices are in line with others.  Search for your items with price + shipping  lowest first selected.

[coolections]

I hope you know that many buyers use notifications to let them know that an item they have saved in search tells them there is a new listing. Sometimes I get a sale within a couple hours. ALL the other stuff either has very low demand, or non one wants it at your asking price. Try lowering the price on the non sale items until finally someone will be wiling to buy it. If no one buys even after that you can toss it in the trash or give to Salvation Army.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

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@sapphire_studio wrote:

It depends on the type of inventory you have. If you had like a bulk lot of jewelry or Pokemon cards that would just get completely drowned out in search  then I would promote it if it was stale. If it's a beauty product especially one that I don't have tons and tons of people to compete with, I don't worry about it I just wait for the person who wants that specific item to search for it. People will buy things that have been up for a year. You just have to wait for the right buyer.

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Thanks for your input, I think it must depend on category.  I already promote everything.  Up to a year?  LOL.  I sell items that are 2-4 yrs old, all the time, but of course they have been relisted.  I guess it just depends on category & I do sell in the most saturated category there is.  I can't imagine running not relisting/sell similar items regularly.  But also, my category is seasonal, so different than evergreen categories.  Everything gets Sell Similared at least twice a year due to the seasonal aspect of clothing & that process regularly generates sales for me.  Maybe it's cuz I primarily know clothing sellers that I thought everyone did this.