Why are sold listings taking me to special active listings instead of the actual sold listings now?

[albany_sellers]

For a while now, I can no longer see a lot of sold listings when I click on them to compare. It used to be that when you clicked on a sold listing, you could see that seller's actual listing that sold, and you could read the details, look over the photos and such.

Now, most of the time it just takes you to the same page that is like a default active listing for that particular item or something, and you are no longer allowed to review the details of the sold listing you wanted to check out. Is this some sort of copycat Amazon thing where eBay wants to redirect you to whatever listing paid the most to be seen?

Am I just missing something stupid here? I would really like to be able to research some of the things I am selling by comparing my condition and completion with other listings that have sold, but it seems eBay no longer wants us to be able to do so. Anyone else having an issue with this?

[wastingtime101]

You're not the only one @albany_sellers .

It's actually not uncommon for eBay to redirect you to the product page, or to a similar listing, when you try to view an ended listing.

The problem comes in when there's no link at the top of the page to see original listing. There usually is, but with the current bug that link is missing.

I tagged kyle@ebay about it earlier today as he helped us get this to the right product team last time this reared its ugly head and he said he'd file the ticket or whatever it is he does. (Thank you, Kyle. 🙂)

[kyle@ebay]

---

@wastingtime101 wrote:

You're not the only one @albany_sellers .

It's actually not uncommon for eBay to redirect you to the product page, or to a similar listing, when you try to view an ended listing.

The problem comes in when there's no link at the top of the page to see original listing. There usually is, but with the current bug that link is missing.

I tagged kyle@ebay about it earlier today as he helped us get this to the right product team last time this reared its ugly head and he said he'd file the ticket or whatever it is he does. (Thank you, Kyle. 🙂)

---

Hey @wastingtime101 thanks for checking in.  I haven't received a response on this yet, but we're still working on it!  

[stainlessenginecovers]

Typically, it does take you to another listing if there is someone else selling the same thing; there is a 'link' to click somewhere on that page where you can see the 'actual' listing you want to see.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

The reason is simple. Ebay prefers to expend resources to sell items not to research items.

The search is for the buyer.

[ittybitnot]

The search is for the buyer.

@tobaccocardyahoo 

I am a buyer.  I look at ended listings to judge condition, see sold prices, do comparisons, etc.  Just like others are reporting, sometimes I can, sometimes not.   Search is, or should be,  for everyone.  This platform seems to have entirely too many "technical" annoyances that discourage users from both sides.  Some come and go, others are called "improvements, and streamlining to provide a better experience."  One can never tell for sure what is  glitch, and what is an intended change.  Neither warrants an announcement, and that "systems report" or whatever they call it has had all green checkmarks for the last 20 years.  

[tobaccocardyahoo]

@ittybitnot 

Then you are not the target buyer, Ebay prefers them more ignorant.

[albany_sellers]

There is no link anywhere for me. 

[albany_sellers]

Is there no answer from eBay about this? Here is an example.

I want to check out this sold listings here: 

But this is the only thing that pops up when i click the sold listing. I cannot see any of the details of the actual sold listing. Only the active one that eBay forces on me.

[eburtonlab]

@albany_sellers 

As a quick workaround, try searching for that listing on ebay.ca:

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/326366975715

If you try the same thing on ebay.com, you are directed to a product page instead of a sold listing, unless you use a particular search parameter that prevents the redirection.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/326366975715?nordt=true

[toysaver]

I imagine most sellers have been on the receiving end of a sale from a buyer being re-directed this way.  Sometimes there is a link back to the original listing but it's time consuming to find.  Listings exist as a portal to sell and make money.  They are not there for other sellers to use for comparison pricing.  I find google is a better option for that, you can see multiples at once.  

[albany_sellers]

The trouble with that for eBay is that now because they made it so tough to research, I sold my Robot Coupe processor somewhere else that did not make me jump through stupid hoops. They lost the FVF on a $1,200 sale just like that, when it could have been theirs.

The added downside for eBay doing this is that now I have another site I know I can sell things on. Researching comps is a huge part of selling on eBay, and they should probably think about that.