Why are my item views so low? Average of 3 or 4 views per listing.

[intervalmagic]

I've been on eBay since 1999. I've sold and purchased items and have a pretty good understanding of how things work on here. But since I've started to sell stuff again, I've noticed that virtually no one sees most of my listings.

My item descriptions and photos are accurate and detailed, so I see no problem there. As of today, I have 23 items listed, and I've had to relist them at least a dozen times, each time yielding a very low view count. Right now, almost all of them have between 2 and 4 views; one has 12, the other 76 (because it's the only Buy It Now item). What's going on here? I swear I don't remember my view counts being so low when I sold stuff years ago. 

I've heard some people claim eBay prioritizes big sellers over small sellers like me because the company makes more money from the big guys. But that doesn't make sense because eBay cumulatively must make tons of money on the small sellers' listing and final-value fees. Is eBay's algorithm not picking up my listings for some reason, or is it because people just aren't searching for my type of items (books)?

I mean, what's the point of going through the trouble to create detailed item listings when no one sees them? I have hundreds of more items I want to sell but am considering other options. I could probably generate more views on my own website. Is eBay _trying_ to drive away small sellers who have the potential to be big sellers, or am I doing something wrong? I share a link to my listings from time to time, but doesn't part of eBay's services include putting our items in front of as many eyes as possible?

[kensgiftshop]

@intervalmagic 

Auctions are good for hard to find, rare items, but everyday items are better as a fixed price.

Some people want their items yesterday and don't want to wait for an auction to end to see if they win or not.

[wildpitchsports]

Promote your listings at the 1% ad rate and watch your views, watchers and sell through increase. 

[nobody*s_perfect]

You are listing in a very narrow specialized area, which automatically narrows down your potential audience significantly.  Have you researched the eBay Completed and Sold histories for your titles?

I agree with the above advice to list in fixed price format, perhaps after giving the listing one or two trial runs in auction format in case there is a demand.  But after running a listing two times unsuccessfully as an auction, it's easy to see that the demand is low and that a fixed price listing is more effective in the long run.

Views are counted only when a listing is opened, not when it just shows up in search.

Potential buyers might be turned off by an auction duration of 10 days. Perhaps try for 7 instead.

You have clearly put a lot of effort into the Description sections of your listings. But the eBay basic search doesn't include Description content, so a potential buyer who is looking for a specific title or ISBN will not find that item in your listings for lots.  Try breaking down a few of those lots into individual titles.

[jayjaspersgarage]

I think I am in a similar situation with my two main selling categories,  but I list in numerous other categories just to get eyes to my store.  The titles are the only thing that matters in searches.  You sell in one area, magic.  

If you could legitimately get the word girlie or nude in your titles somehow I bet you would get 2000 views on every listing.  lol 

I saw some vegan alligator jackets listed the other day.  Maybe your books are vegan, technically?  That's a buzz word right now.

Hmm, paying for promoting at a low level might not be a bad idea for a month or so.  I tried promoted listings and it brought some sales.  Of course I raised my prices 20% to promote them at 10%.  

The bottom line is that few people are looking for used magic books or your prices are too high to start with.  Only the shadow knows.

[intervalmagic]

Thanks. I appreciate your thoughts. LOL regarding those seductive keywords. So the thing is, magicians love to buy magic books, so while it's a niche, it's a super-popular niche within magic circles. I know the market well, so the prices are fair. I'm just not getting views or apparently click-throughs. But I'll try some of the suggestions above. Thanks again.

[intervalmagic]

Thanks. Perhaps I will break them up into individual items. Usually magicians love to bid on magic-related auction lots, even for some beginners' books on the subject. But perhaps I will target everyday consumers instead of magicians by listing individually. Appreciate your thoughts.

[intervalmagic]

Thanks, nobody*s_perfect.  Yes, I'm very knowledgeable about the topic itself but have also researched how similar titles are doing on eBay. Specialized, to be sure, but magicians are always searching for used lots.  But yeah, I think I'll try to list individually and see what happens. I'm not sure it's even worth the time, but experimentation is in order as well. Actually, eBay search does pick up words in descriptions, but I think it might only be in the "Advanced" search area (click on "Advanced" to the right of the search box: https://www.ebay.com/sch/ebayadvsearch). But point taken. People outside of the niche interest might not be using advanced search.

[coolections]

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@intervalmagic wrote:

I think I'll try to list individually and see what happens. 

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You do not necessarily need to list them individually but definitely make the lots "smaller". If a person collects those types of books, they probably already have one or two of them and would not want to buy a lot of 6 and two being doubles.

[americainabox]

I would not put anything up for auction or offer free shipping especially on items under 10 bucks.  Auction to me is good for items that are hanging around in inventory for more than 3 months.

[slyders_finds]

Views are not accurate. I have items with not one view in 2 weeks. I find that hard to believe considering how nosey other sellers are. 

[ebooksdiva]

This is an old thread from December 2021 and is subject to closure. 

[kh-adrian]

Hi everyone,

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

Thank you for understanding.