eBay

gloryglorygifts · ‎12-06-2022

I recently got this email from ebay and if there is ever an argument NOT to promote listings it is this. I'm assuming it's from my "send offers" because I really don't promote listings other than that. My ROI will buy me one tank of gas. What a joke. Make sure that if you do promote listings that it makes it worthwhile for you.

dbfolks166mt · ‎12-06-2022

A Canadian seller is currently experimenting with PL vs Markdowns.

He is using Promoted Listings at the (very high ) 10% rate and using a (very low) 10% markdown on similar items.

His products (stamp dealer) tend to be one of a kind. So there is a problem already.
Note that using PL costs him 10% more in fees, while Markdowns cost him a 10% loss in income.

So far, and he has only been doing this for a couple of months.

But so far (and anecdote is not data) he finds PL works better given his clientele than markdowns.

The basic difference being who (other than the seller who profits from any sale) benefits?

And from comments on his reports, many sellers cannot wrap their heads around the idea that they might willingly pay eBay more for the sale.

Which is an emotional response rather than one based on results.

I never really worried about what eBay makes I am only concerned with my own ROI. Actually depending on his cost model the markdowns may be costing him less than the 10% depending on other factors related to his listing like shipping and what the sales taxes are. The PL on the other hand depending on how they have their cost model structured may in fact be costing him more than 10%. See examples in other response.

onefootflipper · ‎12-06-2022

@reallynicestamps wrote:
A Canadian seller is currently experimenting with PL vs Markdowns.
He is using Promoted Listings at the (very high ) 10% rate and using a (very low) 10% markdown on similar items.
His products (stamp dealer) tend to be one of a kind. So there is a problem already.
Note that using PL costs him 10% more in fees, while Markdowns cost him a 10% loss in income.
So far, and he has only been doing this for a couple of months.
But so far (and anecdote is not data) he finds PL works better given his clientele than markdowns.

The basic difference being who (other than the seller who profits from any sale) benefits?
And from comments on his reports, many sellers cannot wrap their heads around the idea that they might willingly pay eBay more for the sale.
Which is an emotional response rather than one based on results.

a lot of PL listings were more expensive in total cost and shown ahead of non-promoted listings which were cheaper
Yes.
That's what eBay is promising the seller.
Thank you for confirming that PL works as promised.
Not every program benefits both buyer and seller.
PL benefits sellers.
The Global Shipping Program benefits sellers.
The Money Back Guarantee benefits buyers.
All programs benefit eBay.
EBay is not your friend. EBay is your landlord.

Stamps are exactly the sort of thing I imagined promoted listings would work on. Flooded category that is also a category in decline and it has customers that will often just sort of be browsing instead of looking for exact items. I am not suggesting any existing dealers pack up and quit, but it is definitely a category that I would not be holding back anything, but trying to get every sale possible. Outside of the highest end stamps they are just all going to lose value over time as more collectors pass away and more collections are presented to a continually shrinking number of collectors.

redlinear · ‎12-06-2022

I use a few promoted listings to get people to the door, then in the door.

reallynicestamps · ‎12-06-2022

often just sort of be browsing instead of looking for exact items.

Apparently you don't know many stamp collectors.

All the stamps of the world are catalogued, and most active collectors are looking for very precise items.

Did you know there is such a thing as competitive stamp collecting? DH has several medals for his Solomon Islands exhibit including an International Silver he won in Switzerland.

allen1853 · ‎12-06-2022

I think you mean a $7 gallon of gas, or you have a tiny tank. The graphic is poorly communicated. It suggests the eBay promotions you spent $168.84 on were solely responsible for your sales at a multiplier of 7.29. $168.84 x 7.29 = $1230.91. This is of course **bleep**. Your ad fees may not have generated a single actual sale.

dhbookds · ‎12-07-2022

Your ad fees may not have generated a single actual sale

That's true of almost any advertising......

We all buy groceries......whose to say those groc ads every week spark anymore sales than there would be normally?

gurlcat · ‎12-07-2022

I'm not talking about his profits but his total sales. Even if $1231 is pure profit, it would only be a hundred bucks a month income. Like I said, if extra money is all someone is after (and if they don't care how long items sit on the shelf) then not promoting is absolutely fine.

onefootflipper · ‎12-07-2022

@reallynicestamps wrote:
often just sort of be browsing instead of looking for exact items.

Apparently you don't know many stamp collectors.
All the stamps of the world are catalogued, and most active collectors are looking for very precise items.
Did you know there is such a thing as competitive stamp collecting? DH has several medals for his Solomon Islands exhibit including an International Silver he won in Switzerland.

I was assuming casual customers who don't search properly, which are generally the only ones that promoted listings tend to work on. Those stamp customers must exist since promoted listings are indeed working for people in stamps.

Your focused collector looking for a specific item is absolutely going to search lowest price first, perhaps ticking off a condition box as well and then going from there, something promoted listings does not work on at all. I don't even use promoted listings on any good collectibles for this exact reason, because they don't need it.

There is also the other possibility, that the supply of most stamps is so incredibly high that there will be dozens or hundreds of examples available at the market price, at which point promoted listings would indeed work for that reason, since someone isn't likely to look at 150 different listings of the same stamp that only vary by 50 cents in price.

gloryglorygifts · ‎12-07-2022

That figure is the sales generated from coupons sent to people following items and not from my total sales. Just fyi, but thanks for your feedback.

redlinear · ‎12-07-2022

As for the comparison research showing 10% Promoted creating more sales than 10% Discount?
I would agree.
A Promotion gets customers to see your listings.
A Discount does no good if nobody sees it.

I cannot run searches and "consistently" see my items. I can run the same search back to back to back to back....with different results showing up each time.
Makes research a nightmare.

gloryglorygifts · ‎12-07-2022

That's right on both accounts. LOL. A tank of gas and the ad fees. P.S. I don't own a car.....

gloryglorygifts · ‎12-07-2022

Again, that is NOT my total sales. It is the sales generated from coupons.......

gloryglorygifts · ‎12-07-2022

The only thing I can think of is that it is for coupons that I send customers that follow products. I really don't promote anything on here because it's a bit of a nightmare to track and an added expense. I looked at my invoices and haven't paid any insertion fees so that's the only thing I can think of. They get the ROI by taking the sales and dividing it by the fees. So if it is a direct correlation between the coupon and sales, that's a low ROI.

it's a good learning experience for me. Watch your bottom line even if your only promotion is a coupon.