faulty logic for GTC

[evry1nositswindy]

I know we have all been talking about GTC and how it affects our accounts.  The reasoning from eBay was that it kept the item # the same so it would be 'current' on google searches.  If I look at my traffic report, VERY few impressions/sales come from outside of eBay itself.  Here is a picture of it.  Does anyone show that their views from outside of eBay are statistically significant (5%)?

[ms.rodriguez*]

The ONLY logic behind GTC is that ebay gets to screw every seller by charging them a relisting fee. Since I joined 1998 with my main seller account, I have NEVER used Google to buy an item on ebay. Go ahead and end your listings before they end and relist them using sell similar so that at least, they are considered new for a day or so and you might actually get a few sales.

As a seller of inexpensive items, I do not see a reason for a someone to watch my item and buy it next August. Sorry. I have a credit card linked to my paypal and if I want something , I don't wait weeks to buy it. A day , at most just to make sure that I want that particular item. Goodluck with your sales.

[myangelandmyprincess]

What I like about it as a buyer and as a seller is it stays on the watch list.  

[goodluckselling]

I did the research you are asking about a couple months ago and both eBay and Amaz are showing about 20% of all traffic is from outside sources like google and any other incoming link as a combined total.  This number is up considerably from just a couple years earlier where both platforms were in the 10 to 12% area.

It is not just for external search engines.  It is also helpful to sellers who do there own promoting so they do not have to continue to update the URL address they have active on the internet (social media, blogs, websites, etc).

Affiliate marketing sites have been ineffective because the original links were only good for 30 days before they were useless.  Now these links will be active longer and useful.

Also by keeping important attributes like sales history, watchers, views, (buyer engagement details) eBay can do a better job at identifying which listings are engaging buyers which they use for search placement, or to use for email promotions, for inclusion in on site promotions and also for inclusion in google shopping ads that eBay buyers for sellers.

Good Luck Selling!

[zamo-zuan]

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@ms.rodriguez* wrote:
The ONLY logic behind GTC is that ebay gets to screw every seller by charging them a relisting fee. Since I joined 1998 with my main seller account, I have NEVER used Google to buy an item on ebay. Go ahead and end your listings before they end and relist them using sell similar so that at least, they are considered new for a day or so and you might actually get a few sales.

As a seller of inexpensive items, I do not see a reason for a someone to watch my item and buy it next August. Sorry. I have a credit card linked to my paypal and if I want something , I don't wait weeks to buy it. A day , at most just to make sure that I want that particular item. Goodluck with your sales.

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The true reason for GTC is that they force everyone to use the algorithms now. 30 day listings avoided the algorithms and thus had an advantage in search.

Now everyone has to be subject to eBays algorithms and sees how broken they are. But for those of us who been using GTC the whole time, this is nothing new sadly.

Welcome to the GTC pool 😞

[luckythewinner]

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@evry1nositswindy wrote:

 If I look at my traffic report, VERY few impressions/sales come from outside of eBay itself.  Here is a picture of it.  Does anyone show that their views from outside of eBay are statistically significant (5%)?

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Given that there are 1.2 billion items on eBay, I'm sure some items would get heavy traffic via Google, while other have almost none.

For instance, I sell primarily music memorabilia. My items don't seem like the sort that would lend themselves to a Google search. Most people looking for 30 year old promo photos or concert posters music probably come directly to eBay.

On the other hand, people looking for consumable items like furnace filters or printer ink might be items that people would be more likely to search for on Google.

That being said, sellers who wanted the benefits of GTC already had that option available. All eBay did by forcing GTC was to take away additional options that some sellers (like me) found to be very useful.

[orangehound]

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@evry1nositswindy wrote:

I know we have all been talking about GTC and how it affects our accounts.  The reasoning from eBay was that it kept the item # the same so it would be 'current' on google searches.  If I look at my traffic report, VERY few impressions/sales come from outside of eBay itself.  Here is a picture of it.  Does anyone show that their views from outside of eBay are statistically significant (5%)?

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Have used GTC since before GTC was hip ... 🙂

Our views from outside of eBay are at 4% for the last month, and that looks to be about what we always get.

[tunicaslot]

Tagging - I actually use google search more than ever when I'm looking for an item either to buy or because I want to see how many others of something I want to list are available online. I've often searched Ebay for similar items to what I want to sell and get 0 results but when doing a google search find the link that shows me all the similar items. Go figure.

I just read an article where Devin explained that to have all GTC BINS does allow Ebay to monitor those that interest buyers vs things that people aren't interested in. Due tho to the lack of transparency and not knowing what criteria are used for the algorithm - it was suggested that if an item hadn't sold in 6 months that the listing should be cancelled and sold using sell similar - revamping the listing as if left as it was - it would continue it's death spiral to the bottom.

That's not saying there aren't buyers that may not be interested in the item because unless the buyers can see that item - they can't buy it. I really expect Ebay to do a purge next Spring of all items that have hit a 12 month period on GTC with few sales if not sooner to open up the servers to newer items.

[gracieallen01]

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@zamo-zuan wrote:

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@ms.rodriguez* wrote:
The ONLY logic behind GTC is that ebay gets to screw every seller by charging them a relisting fee. Since I joined 1998 with my main seller account, I have NEVER used Google to buy an item on ebay. Go ahead and end your listings before they end and relist them using sell similar so that at least, they are considered new for a day or so and you might actually get a few sales.

As a seller of inexpensive items, I do not see a reason for a someone to watch my item and buy it next August. Sorry. I have a credit card linked to my paypal and if I want something , I don't wait weeks to buy it. A day , at most just to make sure that I want that particular item. Goodluck with your sales.

---

The true reason for GTC is that they force everyone to use the algorithms now. 30 day listings avoided the algorithms and thus had an advantage in search.

Now everyone has to be subject to eBays algorithms and sees how broken they are. But for those of us who been using GTC the whole time, this is nothing new sadly.

Welcome to the GTC pool 😞

---

I thought it was because, now with GTC, to get a leg up in search, more people would be using 'promoted listings'.  What with more links from the outside, that would mean more chance of someone 'elsewhere' seeing an offering, buying it and ebay getting the added % from the 'promoted' sale.

[gracieallen01]

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@goodluckselling wrote:

I did the research you are asking about a couple months ago and both eBay and Amaz are showing about 20% of all traffic is from outside sources like google and any other incoming link as a combined total.  This number is up considerably from just a couple years earlier where both platforms were in the 10 to 12% area.

It is not just for external search engines.  It is also helpful to sellers who do there own promoting so they do not have to continue to update the URL address they have active on the internet (social media, blogs, websites, etc).

Affiliate marketing sites have been ineffective because the original links were only good for 30 days before they were useless.  Now these links will be active longer and useful.

Also by keeping important attributes like sales history, watchers, views, (buyer engagement details) eBay can do a better job at identifying which listings are engaging buyers which they use for search placement, or to use for email promotions, for inclusion in on site promotions and also for inclusion in google shopping ads that eBay buyers for sellers.

Good Luck Selling!

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I wonder if ebay took into consideration the increased percentage of external views to figure how much more they might be getting from promoted listings?  In general, do you know if the percentage suggested for the promoted listings still trending up?

[lintbrush*]

@evry1nositswindy 

You need to look below that chart at the other one as well.  Do your sale days coincide with the meager outside views?  You can hover your mouse on one of the bars and it'll show on all 4 charts so you can decipher it.

Although they are low, my outside view days coincided with several sales.  (I still don't like forced GTC though!)

[evry1nositswindy]

Yes, I did do that but it's hard to tell because I had a few small sales on some of those days.  Am I missing where it tells which sale comes from outside of eBay?  I see where it says the number of impressions from eBay and from outside eBay, but I don't see the number of sales for both.  Thanks though, that will help others!  @lintbrush*  

[goodluckselling]

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@gracieallen01 wrote:

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@goodluckselling wrote:

I did the research you are asking about a couple months ago and both eBay and Amaz are showing about 20% of all traffic is from outside sources like google and any other incoming link as a combined total.  This number is up considerably from just a couple years earlier where both platforms were in the 10 to 12% area.

Good Luck Selling!

---

I wonder if ebay took into consideration the increased percentage of external views to figure how much more they might be getting from promoted listings?  In general, do you know if the percentage suggested for the promoted listings still trending up?

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 eBay promoted listings will keep increasing because eBay is much more focused on specific advertising opportunities now than in the recent past. 

External traffic and promoted listings are not the same thing?  Promoted listing are on site promoted listings and not used as I have ever seen on external search engines.  Promoted listings actually would be against external search engines policies of no duplicate listings at the same venue.  I guess eBay has some kind of way to format eBay promoted listings so external search engines do not pick them up?

eBay in the past couple months (May 1st) ended a long running advertising area called eBay Commerce (old shopping.com) click here where merchants advertise products that match content people browse on those third-party sites, with the ads going back to merchants’ own domains.  eBay now wants to build its own data base about shopping and is focusing on affiliate sites (coming back to eBay only) and advertising directly on eBay (promoted listings, cross promotions, etc).

This first level data (eBay on site listings) versus the third level (eBay commerce) should render more data and better accuracy and increase revenue from advertising.  Remember eBay does not allow off site links any longer.  Basically they are saying we can drive brand name interest on the eBay platform.  I think we will see a big increase in famous big brands selling here from the trademark owners account and flooding the on site advertising opportunities.

Good Luck Selling!

[orangehound]

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@lintbrush* wrote:

Although they are low, my outside view days coincided with several sales.  (I still don't like forced GTC though!)

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It would be informative if eBay let us know how many sales were generated from people visiting our listings from outside eBay ... but alas, they don't distinguish.

[mam98031]

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@goodluckselling wrote:

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@gracieallen01 wrote:

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@goodluckselling wrote:

I did the research you are asking about a couple months ago and both eBay and Amaz are showing about 20% of all traffic is from outside sources like google and any other incoming link as a combined total.  This number is up considerably from just a couple years earlier where both platforms were in the 10 to 12% area.

Good Luck Selling!

---

I wonder if ebay took into consideration the increased percentage of external views to figure how much more they might be getting from promoted listings?  In general, do you know if the percentage suggested for the promoted listings still trending up?

---

 eBay promoted listings will keep increasing because eBay is much more focused on specific advertising opportunities now than in the recent past. 

External traffic and promoted listings are not the same thing?  Promoted listing are on site promoted listings and not used as I have ever seen on external search engines.  Promoted listings actually would be against external search engines policies of no duplicate listings at the same venue.  I guess eBay has some kind of way to format eBay promoted listings so external search engines do not pick them up?

eBay in the past couple months (May 1st) ended a long running advertising area called eBay Commerce (old shopping.com) click here where merchants advertise products that match content people browse on those third-party sites, with the ads going back to merchants’ own domains.  eBay now wants to build its own data base about shopping and is focusing on affiliate sites (coming back to eBay only) and advertising directly on eBay (promoted listings, cross promotions, etc).

This first level data (eBay on site listings) versus the third level (eBay commerce) should render more data and better accuracy and increase revenue from advertising.  Remember eBay does not allow off site links any longer.  Basically they are saying we can drive brand name interest on the eBay platform.  I think we will see a big increase in famous big brands selling here from the trademark owners account and flooding the on site advertising opportunities.

Good Luck Selling!

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Just to add a little to this.  GTC decreases the chances of dead links with searching through Google or another outside search engine.  This fact was a driving force behind the change.  With listings that are short term, the links remain out there on the internet but they become dead links when the listings close.  So GTC will cut down on that.

I still don't think GTC is something that works for all sellers.  While I've used it for years, I know others don't like it for a variety of reasons.  And it is important for Ebay to understand this IMHO.