Variable Listings, Algorithms, and Maximizing Your Store

[theresalecouple]

Hello everyone,

I had trouble finding an exact answer I was looking for.  I am wondering if I could get some answer as I am considering restructuring our store. My hang ups are due to hearing people talk about "Post X times a day to improve rankins" So, i'd like to pose a few questions.  Please keep in mind I often sell collectable figures.

First, how does the algorithm treat variable listings?  If I post 1 listing with 100 variations i'm confident that looks like i posted once today.  However, how does that change if I were to "revise listing" to add variations i have bought that I didn't have before?  Do 10 new variations count as 10 new transactions to the algorithm?

Second, with the above scenario. Does the "revise listing" count as a post for the day?

Third, how does the same variable listing potentially becoming a year+ old (assuming I keep selling these figures and finding new ones) affect my search ranking? I remember hearing that if a listing gets 3 months+ old it tends to drop off search results.

I hope i've been clear in my questions.  If you need more clarity I will be happy to give more.  Thank you everyone for your help and have a wonderful evening.

[mam98031]

Post what some number of times a day?  A new listing?  Posting on the forums?

What is a "variable listing"?  Do you mean Variation listing?  If so they are treated like all other listings.  There isn't any special treatment.

I would caution posting a Variation listing with so many variations.  It can be overwhelming for a buyer to look at.  You may consider splitting them up a bit more.

[dhbookds]

A word of caution...........There are many old/new theories on Ebay's algorithms......be advised that ebay also "seems" to change them .....some say every 3 months or so.....so what seems to work today, may not work tomorrow.  Some people report listing consistently "something" each day helps sales......other's not so much.....but certainly the more listings you have, the more chances you have to sell something......

Likewise on age of listings........  as a personal experience, I routinely sell items well over a year old......the right person comes along that needs/wants the item (finally).  On the figures, I would think people are going to search for the exact name/title.......so even if it's been up for 6 yrs.....it should come up in a search.....assuming there aren't 2000 of the same thing. 

In looking at your listings........on the figures......just a suggestion......your pictures are too dark and you need to crop them to eliminate so much blank space.  They need to be large enough for people to be able to see every feature and the picture needs to be attractive enough to make people want to look at the listing. 

just some thoughts

[theresalecouple]

My apologies on being vague.  I meant posting X amount of listings a day to sell.

"variable listing" may be the wrong term.  I meant a listing that you can have multiple items in one listing.  It seems most people use them for Size / color.  My intent would be to get specific would be a listing for "Skylander Swap Force Figures" and then list each figure i have from the set.

To your lost point.  That is kind of some of the thoughts I was having.  Usually people want to find a specific piece of the collection they are missing.  However, I'm seeing my competition do the variation style listings and selling hundreds a week.

[theresalecouple]

Thank you for the criticism.  You arne't wrong.  I've notice the pictures getting a little darker.  We have been fighting our lighting big team.  I just use a ring light.  We may need to get a second one... or maybe turn this one up.

And to the point about people looking for the exact figure that is kind of what i was thinking.  However, the figures are WAAAAY more profitable when you can sell even just 2 instead of one at a time.  So i try to sell all figures "buy 3 get 1 free".  So, i thought a listing with variations would help them find different ones faster.

Thank you for being my sounding board and for the constructive criticism on the listings.

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

ebay itself has said that the algo does NOT consider the number of listings per day, or the regularity of your listing (daily, intermittently, etc).  That said, ebay has also acknowledged that regular listing can indeed increase sales, but it is likely because: 1. more items increase the chances of more sales and 2. more buyers might add you to their favorites list, since you keep adding inventory they might be interested in, and 3. new listings get a bump in Best Match and in Newly Listed Sort, and that increased visibility can result in more sales (especially when the buyer clicks into your other listings and maybe finds something else he wants.

In other words, regular listing is a good practice, but the value is not directly tied to the algo. 

Since the algo does not count how many listings you list per day, it doesn't really matter whether it would count a ten variation listing as one listing or as ten.

For something like action figures, I wouldn't give much thought to  the 3 month old thing. Especially if you are selling figures from the listing at a good pace. That activity will help keep you higher.

I think your basic idea---using variation listings in order to encourage more multi-item sales---is sound and I wouldn't hesitate to try it if I were you. However, improving your photos might be just as important....you still want the best quality listings you can make. 

[theresalecouple]

Thank you for the thorough answer there.  I agree about the pictures.  My wife and I played with the lighting tonight to try and improve it.  We have ~30 figures in our picture pile we are planning to get to this weekend.  I'm excited to see if they look improved.

On a side note.  We noticed her camera takes much brighter pictures than mine (we both use our phones) in the exact same lighting / position.  We tried playing with my phone settings but it didn't improve much.  We are going to figure something out.  Thank you again for the tips / help.  Have a wonderful evening.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi! To lighten pictures, once a pic is uploaded to the listing form, there is a brightness setting that can be used to lighten the photo. There is also a sharpness setting. (Fyi just in case you were unaware of that possibility.)

[mam98031]

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@theresalecouple wrote:

My apologies on being vague.  I meant posting X amount of listings a day to sell.

"variable listing" may be the wrong term.  I meant a listing that you can have multiple items in one listing.  It seems most people use them for Size / color.  My intent would be to get specific would be a listing for "Skylander Swap Force Figures" and then list each figure i have from the set.

To your lost point.  That is kind of some of the thoughts I was having.  Usually people want to find a specific piece of the collection they are missing.  However, I'm seeing my competition do the variation style listings and selling hundreds a week.

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Few can actually post new listings on a daily basis.  That would take a pretty strong inventory of stuff and more coming all the time.

That is Variation Listings as I stated in the post you are responding to.

There is nothing wrong with variation listings, I use them all the time.  I simply warned you about overwhelming your buyers with 100 or more options on one listing.  Take it or leave it.  It is just something I personally would not do.  Selling 100's per week and having 100's on a single variation listings is two different things as I'm sure you know.

[mam98031]

How are you shipping items with Free Shipping and only charging $4.93 for the product?  You would be shipping via FC Parcel now and on July 9th it changes to Ground Advantage, price is the same for less than a pound.  But how are you making any money off that item after your shipping and Ebay fees, leaving no room for the purchase of the product.

[theresalecouple]

I was NOT aware of this.  Thank you!

[coolections]

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@theresalecouple wrote:

My hang ups are due to hearing people talk about "Post X times a day to improve rankings"

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Whoever told you that was wrong.

[theresalecouple]

So, a few of my items i see as "lead lossers"  to continue to offer free shipping.  Most of the items i have up for 4.93 I bought for 0.25.

Just this weekend one individual bought 35 figures.  The shipping was just under $9.  So, now on the entire purchase i'm quite positive (due to some other large orders i had a few months ago).  On the more specifics of the purchases i lose just a bit of money on one 4.93 figure.  However, if they buy a second i'm up to a $3 profit due them being so light, and that is assuming its two 4.93 figures not a more expensive of the figures.  That is also why I offer the "Buy 3 get 1 Free" on all my figures.  I'm actually thinking of going to "Buy 2 get 1 free" to put more pressure on my competition. 

I like to keep the cheaper ones up too because maybe they buy two from me because I have one the competition doesn't.  So, they buy multiples from me.  It is a bit of a risk.  If you have more questions or want more specifics I'm happy to share.

That is part of the reason i've thought about going to the variation listing to help incentivize the purchase of more than one figure.  

[coolections]

@theresalecouple   

$5.40 shipping

$0.95 ebay fee

$6.35 cost to sell

$4.93 asking price

$1.42 loose on every one sold

[theresalecouple]

@coolections and @mam98031 I can try to get real specific if you'd like.  I'll show some screen shots on a recent sale where i sold one figure.  I haven't sold one solo cheap in a while though:

I would add ~.50 for shipping material cost which brings us to 4.25.

I live in MI so i have 6% tax so 4.93  so the Fee is ~.68 cents for the sale (4.93-((4.93*1.06)*.13).

so 4.93 -.68 -4.25 - .25 (COG) = -.25

But if I sell two (again assuming the cheapest I offer it comes out to this):

Ebay fee of ~1.36 and a sale of 9.86.  The figures are a half of an oz each so shipping doesn't change.  They fit in the same envelope. 

So, 9.86 - 1.36 - 4.25 - .5 (COG) = +3.75

So those multiple sales add up QUICK.  That is how entire purchases stay profitable. 

I am making a bit of an assumption that my total fees are ~13% but it is pretty close I might be off by a few cents here or there.