Your prices are 24% higher than similar items... is this new??

[babs1989]

HI there!

 I'm a newer seller (6 months) and I just started getting this "alert" on my Listings page ... 

Your prices are 24% higher than similar items

There is an Adjust Prices link but when you click it, it just errors out. Is this new? Or is it just a canned alert because I haven't sold anything in a week??? I generally sell about 2 items per week so I think my prices are on point?? Just curious

[farmalljr]

No idea. However, you should do your own pricing research and not rely on eBay to "alert" you to price trends. 

I do not sell or buy concert T-shirts, but they seem pricey. Are band-aid tins really THAT valuable? Given the state of the economy, I have no idea how well that stuff sells or if your prices are too high. We have to figure that out ourselves. 

[ittybitnot]

@babs1989 

That calculation and subsequent message is "bot" driven.  "Similar items" does not take in consideration such aspects as condition or quality.  For example, the prices for 'others' in the T shirt category may be for ones that have stains, holes, or are from a musical group that nobody is looking for anyway.  

Your "alert" is just that.  Typically, the 'human brain' still works better,so do not be afraid to rely on yours! 

[meme6253]

There in lies a Big part of the problem, It does not take many things into consideration & just lumps them all together giving an inadequate assessment, Condition & quality play a big factor into evaluating an item's worth.

[meme6253]

I have never seen or heard of them doing that before.

[pls-consignments]

Yeah, that's new to me as well. It seems that eBay is trying to insulate itself against a possible recession by driving down values. Unfortunately, its at the seller's expense.

[a-lotta-stuff]

WE got it too. This account is 41% higher - oh gosh - but clicking the link and seeing what items they were talking about - priceless - 

Three things out of 181 listing. 100 plus of that branded t- shirt .... but none with our logo. Many of that boot brand and style number but not our size. Now the last one was the highest priced by far of the seven, but we did that on purpose after noticing when first listing that the started at $30/50 auctions never got bids but two high price BINs [$75 and 100 if I remember right] had just sold.  So we priced it at $100 and are waiting till it goes so we can laugh at the buyer. Still waiting after four years but got it for free so...

On other ID we were SIXTY ONE percent higher - on our ONE item shown - which had three bids. 

[jg.mason]

I don't get anything like that, it might just be a new seller thing. I remember when I started selling eBay would add best offer to my listings, that was annoying. I would put up a bunch of new listings then within a week I'd get a message from eBay telling me how they were "helping" me sell by adding best offer to my listings. Then I would have to go back and undo the best offer, they never added it back to those listings but on the next batch of new listings they would do it again. 

That went on for months.

[babs1989]

Yes I use Product Research to look up items and I normally price mine below the average since I'm looking to clean out my home, not really here to make the big bucks. It is astonishing what some things go for so I always research... Just wanted to know if this was something new. I sold 6 items last week which was well above the norm for me so just looking to see if anyone else was getting this "helpful hint" LOL

[babs1989]

Thank you!!!  I figured it was some AI/bot thing...I knew my brain would come in handy some day...who knew!!  🙂

[ltldpr]

I haven't gotten that yet, but I do know (and have for as long as it's been a thing) that the "Research Prices" link in the seller hub provides poop as "research" item comparisons. 

You can have a Lot of 20 widgets made of porcelain listed for $25, and the "research" comparison listings will be like '2 glass widgets' sold for $9.99' or '10 plastic widgets sold for $6.99'. They'll even say that the beginning bid was 99 cents, when what you have listed is in a BIN format making the "research" even more irrelevant.

Add to the above with the fact that it will also compare brand new and vintage collectibles in the same "research". Yet, those two types of things are miles apart. A brand new Chinese knockoff of a vintage collectible is going to sell for less than an original - but the bot isn't smart enough to tell the difference.

I have clicked the link every few months just to see if it ever got any better, and it never has.

[simba6]

They also suggest prices when listing items.  Those prices are picked for fast sales.  eBay's bots are always there to  "help".

You can search eBay and the completed listings to see where your prices stand.   You want some "wiggle" room if you intend to make offers too.

[slippinjimmy]

I've seen those notifications, they are potentially useful IF you are selling new common commodity items where there are many listings for the EXACT same thing.

For used and/or oddball type items the notifications are totally useless.

[ittybitnot]

.. but the bot isn't smart enough to tell the difference.

@ltldpr 

eBay bots have never been known to be smart....eBay sure does love their AI though even if it makes them look stupid. I always figure they bought the cheapest they could find, that had the minimal or no potential for machine learning (or subsequently getting "smarter" with time).  

eBay's AI was of the "catching innocent dolphins in the tuna net approach".  Collateral damage was to be expected.  Thus the takedown of listings of a crossword puzzle for a Victorian coach, and a takedown of a DVD for selling embargoed goods starring Cuba Gooding. 

Now we have "artificial intelligence did not find any policy violations in this listing" or whatever that message is they send you when you report a listing with so many violations it is hard to choose just one.   

At the same time there are still people here that think "because eBay said it is good for you, it must be true" and they pick up some business from those that think that way.  Others likely know better by now.....LOL..."good news, sellers!" announcements had us running for the hills for years! 

[a-lotta-stuff]

Got this weeks batch - thanks for the laugh ebay.

They picked a book. Going by title / author - lowest price first, ours is the fourth of eleven. Remove the one older but without jacket and the paperbacks, new issue hardback and the same year as our but without a dust jacket ones leaves ours and three starting at double or more then our price.

And the recommended fixed price? $38.33 - who prices stuff at $38.33?

But the other was 'kind of useful' -Someone has the same two books as a lot like us for the same price, so we did lower ours by a penny. Our very first 'dollar amount and 99 cent' listing