does ebay limit visibility of you're item if you don't promote

[northforke]

I'd like to know IF anyone knows, does Ebay limit you're items visibility in its selling forum IF you

don't use one of their selling options like promotions?

Please, if you're going to be snarky just go away.  I'd like information if possible...

[monica-sells]

You're going to get a lot of different opinions on this straight forward question.

The way it is worded ("limit") .......

I don't think it is limited visibility...it's just that promoted items get more exposure through other various methods of marketing that non promoted items do not get. By sheer logistics, this creates the illusion of "limited" visibility by the sheer number of promoted items 'crowding out' non promoted listings (after all, they are paying more for the exposure) and getting precedence.

[bashort]

absolutely 100%, if ebay promotes some items that means that other non promoted items have to have less visibility.

[brightlightbookseller]

No, they don't, but they boost your visibility if you promote, so you just need to swap the thinking.  Yes, you get "lower visibility" because you won't be in those "Promoted Listing" slots, but your placement in organic searches is unaffected.

What really does affect your organic search results is how well you fill in the title and item specifics.  The latter being mostly applicable once the buyer places a filter on their search, then your item might be filtered out not because the filter they use isn't accurate to your item, but because it doesn't match what you put in your IS fields.

[mybigsale]

@northforke 

does ebay limit visibility of you're item if you don't promote

Not a simple answer to your question. If I had to give a simple answer it would be:

No, not directly. Indirectly the result of eBay Ads is that your un-advertised items get much less visibility.

Before the introduction of eBay Ads, good organic search results would make your listings highly visible. Now with eBay Ads, the advertised listings (with good or bad organic search results) will get priority over your unadvertised listings, even if they have better organic search results.

The objective result of the introduction of eBay Ads is that eBay appears to be limiting the visibility of unadvertised ads. In reality good and bad (based on search terms) advertised items may be given much more visibility than your non-advertised items (resulting in less visibility for your non-ad listings).

[chevymontecarlo88]

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@northforke wrote:

I'd like to know IF anyone knows, does Ebay limit you're items visibility in its selling forum IF you

don't use one of their selling options like promotions?

Please, if you're going to be snarky just go away.  I'd like information if possible...

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I don't believe your visibility would be intentionally limited, but if there are more promoted listings than non-PL, yes you would not receive as much exposure as a PL listing. Being the lowest-priced seller of the listing is one of the easiest ways to combat PL. IMHO

[selsa84]

Short answer, yes. 

[az93]

I think if someone searches for your item it will appear. I say this because buyers find my items somehow and I never promote anything.

[robbie31415]

Only thing I can say.

No one on this forum actually knows.

"Limit" might not be the correct wording.

I think it would be safe to assume you'd have decreased exposure if you don't promote.

As others use it and get boosted up, that only pushes you down further. The impact would be more severe in areas with higher competition.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

The reason for promoting is that there are more sellers offering an item than there are buyers looking for an item.

If you do not promote, the buyer will have made the purchase before they have even seen your listing in the search results.

If your items are uncommon and the results when a buyer does a search looking for it are few, promotion does not alter your chance of selling by much, if at all.

It amazes me that so many sellers do not have a clue as to why and how promotion works, and whether they should promote. Like so many things in life, you can compensate for selling products which are "as common as dirt" by throwing money at the problem.

[redlinear]

Yes. 
And Yes even if you do promote.
eBay will give you (everybody) a really good chance to be seen.  But it short lived because somebody else gets that chance next.
If you promote, you'll get a longer chance to be seen.  But, not much longer.
Depending on how you promote depends on where you have the chance to be seen.
    This chance to be seen may happen once a year, or many times a year (depending on how saturated your category is-vs- how vacant it is). 

[miesqu_92]

I ve_i  been an eBay user for over a decade now and things were much different and better than they are now.. Ebay has monopolized  its website and has changed their policies way too many times targeting the sellers ..the one that make them the money and keep them in business.Now as a seller you will post the stuff up and expect more than 20 % of your money that you make to go to them..not only do they take more than 20...THEY LIMIT  THE VIEWS ON YOUR ITEM... I ve once tried looking for the items I was selling on a few friends eBay accounts and couldn't find my ad at all..one time I found my ad at the very end out of a bunch of stuff that didn't even relate to my search and item I was selling going through multiple pages where I almost gave up looking. I sell thing where I know they should ve sold that same day but didn't sell till weeks later. When you do sell ..they hold your money for a long time but pay themselves right away. Their customer support is impossible to get a hold of ...

So be prepared to waste an hour of your valuable time waiting or search for the right person to talk to. When. You get a hold of somebody..you get some person..that's foreign and someone that's gonna give you limited information or some **bleep** that doesn't make any sense. Your be lucky to get someone that will help you the way they should .They prolong all matters hoping the sellers just won't bother to attempt to fix and just lose out. As long as they get their money first is all they care about.. they'll make you repost delaying any money you need to make for their selfish personal gain. I've had nothing but problems with eBay just recently within the past few years.. I once had thousands of sales with 100 percent positive feedback.. and now I have to use a miscellaneous account and play their **bleep** waiting game and get treated wrongful.. just wish their were other sites like eBay that are popular.. but my items are rare and can't be auctioned on Amazon..plus the clientele is mostly on eBay. Anybody else having this kind of problem??

[fashunu4eeuh]

No one really knows as eBay is not very transparent on the subject. eBay can certainly limit visibility and they have been known to use that authority as a penalty when a seller underperforms on his selling metrics, or has serious policy violations, etc.

I have been a seller for 15+ years, was a buyer long before that. Have tried the promoted listing route. What i discovered is that 1) having a good title with 2) accurate descriptors and Item Specifics, and 3) having clear descriptions about the item (without interminable selling terms crowding out item info) is enough to get my items sold. So i do not normally promote, finding it an unnecessary expense. Overall I also limit the things i sell to items that are not commonly available.

eBay does discuss what will work in gaining visibility thru Best Practices which i follow. See link below for more info.

https://www.ebay.com/sellercenter/listings/listing-best-practices

[toysaver]

I don't think they have the ability to purposely limit views.  What they can do is increase the possibility of more views with promoted listings.   

[fbusoni]

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@northforke wrote:

I'd like to know IF anyone knows, does Ebay limit you're items visibility in its selling forum IF you

don't use one of their selling options like promotions?

Please, if you're going to be snarky just go away.  I'd like information if possible...

---

@northforke 

Please have a look at the comment I posted in another thread here.

I do not believe that there is any connection between eBay limiting listing visibility and one's use of promoted listings.  It would not make economic sense, from eBay's perspective, do so so.

However, I am convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that eBay will limit seller listing visibility under certain circumstances having nothing whatsoever to do with promoted listings.

There is no proof of this, but eBay has the capability of doing so.  And because the capability exists, I assume it is happening.

I know for a fact that eBay promotes my listings because I ship same day and have 60 day paid returns.

I do not and have never used promoted listings.