eBay

tyler@ebay · ‎03-22-2022

Hi everyone -

Opening the chat up for your questions and feedback. I'll be reviewing and responding tomorrow afternoon!

See you then,

Tyler

Tyler,

qplushome · ‎03-22-2022

Hi Tyler,

My account is registered with eBay Canada and our business address and bank details are in Canada. We recently acquired a distribution centre in states and our now advertising on ebay.com with products that are in the US warehouse.

I have been monitoring the traffic on the .com listings and noticed none of them are showing up on search results even though they are all being Promoted through 'Promoted Listing'.

This was not the case before but I am certain that my listings are being supressed on ebay.com searches. Simple keyword terms that would bring up these listings Organic or Sponsored are not displaying my listings.

Can you please check and let me know what's the cause?

Double Ring Brushed Nickel LED Flush Mount Ceiling Light
4 inch Recessed Gimbal LED Downlight w/Junction Box 10w Dimmable
4 inch Recessed Slim LED Downlight w/Junction Box 10w Energy Star Dimmable

Common search terms that I used to look for my items: Ceiling Light Flush mount, recessed lights, recessed led lights, 4 in gimbal light

I spoke to an eBay rep earlier and he wasn't able to locate my listing either. He said a ticket will be raised and someone will call me within 15 minutes and nothing happened.

I hope you can help me here.

Thanks

lucitabby · ‎03-22-2022

It doesn't look like you have shipping to the US. I checked a few of your listings and they only show shipping to Canada. If they are all like that then they would not show up on ebay.com as there is no shipping shown for US.

Too simple? Am I missing something?

qplushome · ‎03-22-2022

Edit: Just to clarify on my post. The search for my listings was performed on eBay.com and not on google.

qplushome · ‎03-22-2022

Hi,

I am selling on both channels, here are few listings exclusively for US that are being handled by the US distribution.

eBay item number:

125163534907

125169397882

125169349006

intimewithmusic · ‎03-22-2022

Hi Tyler and eBay Sellers,

Thanks for this weekly session and the opportunity to voice opinions. Further to last week's input I'm concerned about fees. Not just FVF's but store subscription costs, features and the cost of promotions to sell a single item in a blur of the 1.6 billion active items on eBay.

You can skip the recap if you want which was;

ITWM "Fees are too high":

Tyler: "When it comes to fee structure, percentage and overall costs to sell I don't have a lot to say: our fees are our fees. Those decisions are made 'to keep us competitive industry-wide' and also well above my station. I will make sure that I share your insights into them, and if I hear back I will share what I learn!

**Edit to add**

I have to clarify for anyone else reading that while you built Promoted Listings costs into your observations and experiment, it is not required in order to sell your item on eBay. Thanks!"

In perspective it's important to add that myself and many others are selling under the umbrella of eBay Canada. Some of the encumbrances include ; Massive shipping costs, missing listing features and much more limited eBay store owner perks. (Details have been spared)

I love selling on eBay. I can't say it's easier than brick and mortar because it's not. I like it because unlike B& M I can regulate it and remain positve. You can't sell anything unless you are happy and positive. In B&M sometimes I had to reposess musical instruments personally, attend alarms in the night with my little kids and go to court to deal with bad guys.

I currently have 10,000 unlisted items that require a lot of effort and knowledge of policy to list. I watch Canadian media carefully as the internet's platforms are all challeging each other for market share. Last year, in the fourth quarter I didn't see any marketting by eBay to attract new buyers as I did in previous years. Still, "overall" costs went up. I agree you do not need to use promoted listings to sell however if you list in a competitive category like clothing you're items will fall off of the map without it.

My question is;

On the cusp of the Spring Seller Update. Will overall fees for Canadians stay the same?go up? or down? Will Canadian sellers see free listing quotas equal to the USA or vice versa?

You promised to pass on the concerns but you also said "I don't have a lot to say: Our fees are our fees:"

In the Okanagan where I live there's lot of talk in the spring about fruit of the vine. Vines grow if one happy farmer was excited enough to plant a seed.

eBay Canada has a lot of sellers that want to plant seeds. They're in Vancouver, Prince George, Merritt, Kamloops, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Edmonton, Swift Current, Regina, Wetaskawin, North Battleford, Winnipeg, Brandon, Port Nelson, Kapuskasing, Timmins, Ottawa, Sudbury, Great Whale River, Rupert House, Quebec City, Chicoutami, Roberval, Mellville, St. Johns, Hamilton Inlet, Nutak, Bonavista, Meductic, Halifax, Dartmouth, Charlottetown, Cape Breton, Montreal & Dartmouth. I can't forget Whitehorse, Makenzie Bay or Hay River and the rest of this vast vast vast country.

Tyler, as our spokeperson, how about eBay CANADA planting seeds for the harvest by lowering our fees and equalizing features for Canadian eBay store owners with the USA? Why not bring spirit and happiness by helping Canadian sellers overcome the encumbrances we face to get out products to the global market place?

A great Canadian band I love and worked with many times over the years is called "Chilliwack". A wonderful group of guys. Songs like Lonesome Mary, Crazy Talk, Arms Of Mary etc. They had a song called "Rain-o".

Raino, raino
Fall upon the earth again
And make it good
Make it cool and fill the river
Fill the pool, quench the thirst
Of every fool and every sage
And every sour soul
Who's lost so much
He doesn't know his need

Mmmm, in vain, in vain
I tell you we're all the same
'Cause there you stand
A-sayin' man it's not for real
'Cause we're the ones
Who get to steal the show
And I don't know
I guess you're right
But even so
If there's no audience
There just ain't no show

Raino, rain
Won't you fall on me again
Ah because a moldy mold
Has settled, settled on my brain

And in vain, in vain
I tell you we're all the same
'Cause there you stand
A-sayin' man it's not for real
'Cause we're the ones
Who get to steal the show
And I don't know
I guess you're right

But even so
If there's no audience
There just ain't no show

I said in vain, in vain
I tell you we're all the same
'Cause there you stand
A-sayin' man it's not for real
'Cause we're the ones
Who get to steal the show
And I don't know
I guess you're right
But even so
If there's no audience
There just-a ain't no show

Raino, rain
Won't you fall, won't you fall on me again
Mmm yeah, because a moldy mold
Has settled, settled on my brain

Vain, in vain
I tell you we're all the same
'Cause there you stand
A-sayin' man it's not for real
'Cause we're the ones
Who get to steal the show
And I don't know
I guess you're right
But even so
If there's no audience
There just ain't no show.

Please help Canadian eBay sellers. Lower fees and offer us the listing and store features our competiors in the USA have. ... because without us there just ain't no show.
IT

I appologize for any typos. My laptop keys are not what they used to be and my soup is boiling over. ..

pjcdn2005 · ‎03-23-2022

@qplushome
When you look for your listings on .com, are you searching with a US zip code? If they ship to US only you may not see them with a Canadian address.

qplushome · ‎03-23-2022

Yes, I changed it to US zip code.

The steps I took to search for my item.

1. Connected a VPN with US IP Address

2. Used Incognito mode on Microsoft Edge

3. Navigated to ebay.com

4. Used the search term mentioned above.

5. Checked and make sure that a US zip code was entered for shipping on top right hand corner of search results.

qplushome · ‎03-23-2022

Since this is an open chat I wanted to discuss the difference in sales compared to Amazon Canada.

We have been selling Lighting on Amazon Canada for about two years and are averaging about good 6 figures monthly. The crazy thing is I am responsible for eBay and have replicated the exact same products that are offered on Amazon at lower prices and can't even get $1k per month in sales from eBay.

The one USP that eBay has which others lack is the opportunity for the buyers to 'Make an Offer'. I have activated this on all my listings and still no traction.

One thing, eBay doesn't showup on Google searches in the Top 10 when you search for recessed lighting, or ceiling lights. That real estate is packed with Amazon, Home Depot, RONA, Lowes, Canadian Tire and other Lighting company. I know eBay says that the listing may show up on Shopping Carousel but there is no guarantee.

I really think there needs to be investment in Google search as this category has great potential and a simple search on Amazon will highlight this fact.

joels-retrocade · ‎03-23-2022

Hi Tyler,

It would be nice if there was something to level the playing for people like me in Ontario. We have super high tax rate here and because of that I end up paying way more in fees than say someone in the USA. I am still dissapointed that Ebay managed payements was advertised as most would pay less in fees; i guess I fell into that small category of people that got screwed. I'd post way more stuff if there were less fees. Instead I end up selling locally. Something to think about.

motomike_canada · ‎03-23-2022

@joels-retrocade wrote:
Hi Tyler,
It would be nice if there was something to level the playing for people like me in Ontario. We have super high tax rate here and because of that I end up paying way more in fees than say someone in the USA. I am still dissapointed that Ebay managed payements was advertised as most would pay less in fees; i guess I fell into that small category of people that got screwed. I'd post way more stuff if there were less fees. Instead I end up selling locally. Something to think about.

What do you mean you pay more in fees because of taxes? HST paid on fees is claimed as an ITC and goes against HST collected from customers.

motomike_canada · ‎03-23-2022

Hi Tyler - I am having issues with the Tax Rate Tables not working most of the time. I send parcels to addresses that fall into the postal code on the matrix that shows it should add the surcharge, and most of the time (like literally 80-90% of the time) it does not add the surcharge per my Rate Table.

I had contacted eBay a while back about it, provided a number of examples, had someone say they would follow up but now that email is dead and nobody has responded to recent emails about it.

I just sent another one to a Pxx postal code this morning that should have incurred the surcharge but it didn't.

Yesterday I had a few that billed correctly... I'm not sure where the trouble is, but would really appreciate it if you could pass it along as an ongoing issue, as I am losing $ on shipping quite frequently.

tyler@ebay · ‎03-23-2022

@qplushome wrote:

Hi Tyler,

My account is registered with eBay Canada and our business address and bank details are in Canada. We recently acquired a distribution centre in states and our now advertising on ebay.com with products that are in the US warehouse.

I have been monitoring the traffic on the .com listings and noticed none of them are showing up on search results even though they are all being Promoted through 'Promoted Listing'.

This was not the case before but I am certain that my listings are being supressed on ebay.com searches. Simple keyword terms that would bring up these listings Organic or Sponsored are not displaying my listings.

Can you please check and let me know what's the cause?

Double Ring Brushed Nickel LED Flush Mount Ceiling Light

4 inch Recessed Gimbal LED Downlight w/Junction Box 10w Dimmable

4 inch Recessed Slim LED Downlight w/Junction Box 10w Energy Star Dimmable

Common search terms that I used to look for my items: Ceiling Light Flush mount, recessed lights, recessed led lights, 4 in gimbal light

I spoke to an eBay rep earlier and he wasn't able to locate my listing either. He said a ticket will be raised and someone will call me within 15 minutes and nothing happened.

I hope you can help me here.

Thanks

Hi @qplushome - welcome to the chat, and thanks for being thorough and providing examples as well.

For what it's worth, when I search for your items on .com with the item title (grabbed from the item numbers you provided) I find your items every time. This is true even when I cut the title in half or even search with just the first few words of it.

In my experience the first 5 words of your item title are the most heavily weighted when it comes to search terms. I notice in a few of the items you've provided that you're leading with 'QPlus', then following with the dimensions of the product.

I'm not an expert in these types of items, but in general I encourage you to write your eBay listing titles like you were a buyer looking for the item. I think perhaps leading with what the item is (LED Downlight w/Junction box) then follow it up with dims, brands, or other features, that could help your item appear in the more generic keyword searches you are performing as a test. If 'Qplus' is a key differentiator and used frequently by buyers to find these types of products it may be worth keeping in that pole position.

There are some other general tips and tricks for adapting your items to our search algorithm here.

Ultimately, if your item location is listed in the US and the item is listed on .com it should be appearing in search results in line with our Best Match algorithm.

Tyler,

tyler@ebay · ‎03-23-2022

@intimewithmusic wrote:

Hi Tyler and eBay Sellers,

Thanks for this weekly session and the opportunity to voice opinions. Further to last week's input I'm concerned about fees. Not just FVF's but store subscription costs, features and the cost of promotions to sell a single item in a blur of the 1.6 billion active items on eBay.

You can skip the recap if you want which was;

ITWM "Fees are too high":

Tyler: "When it comes to fee structure, percentage and overall costs to sell I don't have a lot to say: our fees are our fees. Those decisions are made 'to keep us competitive industry-wide' and also well above my station. I will make sure that I share your insights into them, and if I hear back I will share what I learn!

**Edit to add**

I have to clarify for anyone else reading that while you built Promoted Listings costs into your observations and experiment, it is not required in order to sell your item on eBay. Thanks!"

In perspective it's important to add that myself and many others are selling under the umbrella of eBay Canada. Some of the encumbrances include ; Massive shipping costs, missing listing features and much more limited eBay store owner perks. (Details have been spared)

I love selling on eBay. I can't say it's easier than brick and mortar because it's not. I like it because unlike B& M I can regulate it and remain positve. You can't sell anything unless you are happy and positive. In B&M sometimes I had to reposess musical instruments personally, attend alarms in the night with my little kids and go to court to deal with bad guys.

I currently have 10,000 unlisted items that require a lot of effort and knowledge of policy to list. I watch Canadian media carefully as the internet's platforms are all challeging each other for market share. Last year, in the fourth quarter I didn't see any marketting by eBay to attract new buyers as I did in previous years. Still, "overall" costs went up. I agree you do not need to use promoted listings to sell however if you list in a competitive category like clothing you're items will fall off of the map without it.

My question is;

On the cusp of the Spring Seller Update. Will overall fees for Canadians stay the same?go up? or down? Will Canadian sellers see free listing quotas equal to the USA or vice versa?

You promised to pass on the concerns but you also said "I don't have a lot to say: Our fees are our fees:"

In the Okanagan where I live there's lot of talk in the spring about fruit of the vine. Vines grow if one happy farmer was excited enough to plant a seed.

eBay Canada has a lot of sellers that want to plant seeds. They're in Vancouver, Prince George, Merritt, Kamloops, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Red Deer, Edmonton, Swift Current, Regina, Wetaskawin, North Battleford, Winnipeg, Brandon, Port Nelson, Kapuskasing, Timmins, Ottawa, Sudbury, Great Whale River, Rupert House, Quebec City, Chicoutami, Roberval, Mellville, St. Johns, Hamilton Inlet, Nutak, Bonavista, Meductic, Halifax, Dartmouth, Charlottetown, Cape Breton, Montreal & Dartmouth. I can't forget Whitehorse, Makenzie Bay or Hay River and the rest of this vast vast vast country.

Tyler, as our spokeperson, how about eBay CANADA planting seeds for the harvest by lowering our fees and equalizing features for Canadian eBay store owners with the USA? Why not bring spirit and happiness by helping Canadian sellers overcome the encumbrances we face to get out products to the global market place?

A great Canadian band I love and worked with many times over the years is called "Chilliwack". A wonderful group of guys. Songs like Lonesome Mary, Crazy Talk, Arms Of Mary etc. They had a song called "Rain-o".

Raino, raino
Fall upon the earth again
And make it good
Make it cool and fill the river
Fill the pool, quench the thirst
Of every fool and every sage
And every sour soul
Who's lost so much
He doesn't know his need

Mmmm, in vain, in vain
I tell you we're all the same
'Cause there you stand
A-sayin' man it's not for real
'Cause we're the ones
Who get to steal the show
And I don't know
I guess you're right
But even so
If there's no audience
There just ain't no show

Raino, rain
Won't you fall on me again
Ah because a moldy mold
Has settled, settled on my brain

And in vain, in vain
I tell you we're all the same
'Cause there you stand
A-sayin' man it's not for real
'Cause we're the ones
Who get to steal the show
And I don't know
I guess you're right

But even so
If there's no audience
There just ain't no show

I said in vain, in vain
I tell you we're all the same
'Cause there you stand
A-sayin' man it's not for real
'Cause we're the ones
Who get to steal the show
And I don't know
I guess you're right
But even so
If there's no audience
There just-a ain't no show

Raino, rain
Won't you fall, won't you fall on me again
Mmm yeah, because a moldy mold
Has settled, settled on my brain

Vain, in vain
I tell you we're all the same
'Cause there you stand
A-sayin' man it's not for real
'Cause we're the ones
Who get to steal the show
And I don't know
I guess you're right
But even so
If there's no audience
There just ain't no show.

Please help Canadian eBay sellers. Lower fees and offer us the listing and store features our competiors in the USA have. ... because without us there just ain't no show.
IT

I appologize for any typos. My laptop keys are not what they used to be and my soup is boiling over. ..

Hi @intimewithmusic - we did announce new listing allotments for sellers in our Winter Seller Update, coming into effect March 30th of this month. You can read more about it here.

As an advocate for members I pass along feedback, pain points and other suggestions that could improve the quality of life for eBayers weekly. I have made sure your input is shared with the appropriate leadership teams and I'll continue to do so.

Thanks!

Tyler,

tyler@ebay · ‎03-23-2022

@joels-retrocade wrote:

Hi Tyler,

It would be nice if there was something to level the playing for people like me in Ontario. We have super high tax rate here and because of that I end up paying way more in fees than say someone in the USA. I am still dissapointed that Ebay managed payements was advertised as most would pay less in fees; i guess I fell into that small category of people that got screwed. I'd post way more stuff if there were less fees. Instead I end up selling locally. Something to think about.

Hi @joels-retrocade - I appreciate this input, and I'll make sure it's shared!

Tyler,

tyler@ebay · ‎03-23-2022

@motomike_canada wrote:

Hi Tyler - I am having issues with the Tax Rate Tables not working most of the time. I send parcels to addresses that fall into the postal code on the matrix that shows it should add the surcharge, and most of the time (like literally 80-90% of the time) it does not add the surcharge per my Rate Table.

I had contacted eBay a while back about it, provided a number of examples, had someone say they would follow up but now that email is dead and nobody has responded to recent emails about it.

I just sent another one to a Pxx postal code this morning that should have incurred the surcharge but it didn't.

Yesterday I had a few that billed correctly... I'm not sure where the trouble is, but would really appreciate it if you could pass it along as an ongoing issue, as I am losing $ on shipping quite frequently.

Hi @motomike_canada - this one is disturbing to me, I'm sorry it's been going on so long. I've gotten it reported from my end and the product team may have some more questions, I'll make sure to reach out to you if I'm not able to address them on my own.

Thanks!

Tyler,