eBay

wecango88 · ‎08-08-2020

Hello,

When I search for my listing using my keywords, my listing is nowhere to be found in the results when using Incognito mode. If I open a clean browser (where I am not logged-in), I also cannot find my listing. It might be kind of hard to sell something when eBay results do not show your item...

I had this issue happen previously, and back then I contacted CS by phone. The issue was never really resolved, my item never sold. It was just passed off as some one-off issue with search.

Now I am having this search problem happen again with at least one listing that I know-of which I listed back in early July. I had my item priced at the lowest price I saw when I listed it. Competitor items were selling frequently for more than my item's price. My item had very low views. No watchers. I even ended the item near the end of July, did a Sell Similar item hoping it would help and rejigged the title. It is still not visible as a search result.

Should I just contact eBay directly again? Will the person on the phone be able to log a ticket properly or will I just be spinning my tires like last time.

Thanks!

ypdc_dennis · ‎08-08-2020

Searching on ebay.CA or searching on ebay.COM ?

What words you are using when searching?

Searching with a browser or searching with an app?

Are you in Managed Payments?

...

I just checked and see 39 listings for you when using a Firefox based browser.

-..-

pjcdn2005 · ‎08-08-2020

Which specific listing(s) are you having problems with and which keywords are you using?

It’s unlikely that customer service will know what the problem is.

femmefan1946 · ‎08-08-2020

I had my item priced at the lowest price I saw when I listed it. Competitor items were selling frequently for more than my item's price.

Lowest Price may be a factor in the Search logarithm. There is even a specific Search for lowest price plus shipping.

But there are other factors.

Seller's negative metrics like unresolved Disputes, missing shipping dates
TRS and Powerseller status are positive metrics
Free Shipping - which means putting the cost of shipping into the asking price, even though that means a higher asking price
Promoted Listings get higher placement
High feedback is not used by eBay to measure your account, but is used by some buyers. Some only look at percentage, some at the numbers, very few at what the FB actually says.

I've been using the Promoted Listings and am quite happy with it.

You choose your fee (I use one percent) and only pay that if the listing sells.

It's been my experience so far that while the PL item may not move itself, I get a LOT more Views, up one or two hundred percent, on all my listings and my sales seem to have risen too.

Note that I have Stores and that I started in November. My strongest months are normally January to May and of course we all saw that surge in sales from March to June as people cocooned away from COVID-19. So we are still in "anecdote is not data" territory.

Still it's worth trying. If it fails it costs nothing. If PL succeeds , yay!

ricarmic · ‎08-08-2020

Tell us which item you are not seeing, we can see how it looks to us.....

wecango88 · ‎09-12-2020

Hello,

Sorry for the month late reply. I am still having issues with my (now) 7 "Marvel Legends" listings. I listed some new items since my last post.

I called eBay again and they were close to logging a ticket for me until they got sidetracked (tried to get me to join GSP which I cannot even do!). Ugh.

I search in Incognito browser on ebay.ca for:
Marvel Legends Black Widow Gray

I get 46 results. Mine is not there. No quotes, just those 5 words.

If I add the next word in my title, I DO see my listing, so I type: Marvel Legends Black Widow Gray Grey

There are 48 listings in results now. I realize no one would search for that way because US and Canadian spellings of GRAY/GREY is different. Why would it not appear in the first search?

I look through sold listings and a couple of this item sells per day at amounts near or higher than my price.

I have offers open but I have had 0 offers, low views and zero watchers on any of these 7 items since I listed them. I bet if I put the BIN price down to a loss level, it would still not sell.

I realize incognito is not how most or any users use the site, but that is the only way I can see this problem happening because when I am logged-in, I of course see all of my listings.

The direct link is:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Marvel-Legends-Black-Widow-Gray-Grey-Suit-Walmart-Exclusive-6-inch-2020-New/...

reallynicestamps · ‎09-12-2020

Looking only at your feedback, you actual sales don't appear to be off-- around 10-12 a month over the past 12 months. Is that true?

I do notice that your shipping on those Marvel items, which you have priced between $29 and $45, have a shipping price of $45. That could be a consideration, but would not explain not finding them in Best Match. When you say "Search in incognito mode" which Search are you using? BM? Lowest Price? Newly Listed?

Different strokes for different folks. While Best Match is probably the most used, the others are also popular.

I'm not criticizing your shipping price, just mentioning it because it will show in Search and because it also affects Searches on Lowest/Highest Price plus Shipping.

Has anyone mentioned chitchatexpress yet?

Adding alternate spellings was a Good Idea. One that is often forgotten. I make deliberate mistakes in some book titles (Heinlein/ Heinlien, Tolkein/Tolkien) where the misspelling is common

Some actually Search spelling errors, as I was reminded the other day when I listed a USA postage lot as UAS postage. That sold fast.

until they got sidetracked (tried to get me to join GSP

Yeah, that's a good point to ask for a supervisor who can tell you where Canada is.

eburtonlab · ‎09-12-2020

A search of ebay.ca for Marvel Legends Black Widow Gray is steered into the following category:

Toys & Hobbies > Action Figures > Comic Book Heroes

Your item is listed here:

Toys & Hobbies > Action Figures > TV, Movie & Video Games

If you want your item to appear in that particular search, you need to list it in the former category rather than the latter category.

If most of the sales for a given search keyword or keyword combination occur in one category, eBay will often steer a search into a particular category based on those keywords. As a seller you should try searching the way you expect your potential sellers might to see what categories they are directed to, and list your item there. Although buyers can override eBay's directed searches to see listings in other categories, most do not bother.

wecango88 · ‎09-13-2020

Hi,

Thanks @reallynicestamps Based on item weight and location, I rarely sell to Canada. I start at C$28 because that at least barely covers my cost to ship to the East Coast from here. If someone does buy closer to me in Canada, it may drop to around C$15. I always refund the shipping difference.

I realize that the shipping rate tables are supposed to handle things, but I found them to be lacking (as well as their calculated postage!) and decided not to use them in favor of a flat rate.

wecango88 · ‎09-13-2020

Thanks @eburtonlab.

That seems so unbelievable about the categories that I will definitely need to try it. If I am searching for 5 words as a buyer and a listing has those exact 5 words... but eBay decides to drop it because of the sub-category under Action Figures, I am just not sure what to say. LOL

The thing with the categories is that I rarely, if ever even choose them. I will click sell and that is almost always one of the first pre-filled items.

Thanks again, so I will switch my category on this item and see what happens.

femmefan1946 · ‎09-13-2020

You're not using Calculated Shipping?

Flat Rate within Canada, or actually for anything that must ship parcel, is a mug's game.

With Calculated Shipping you enter the METRIC dimensions and weight of your item, choose your Canada Post shipping service, and the program tells the customer how much he will pay you to ship to his doorstep.

Calculated is looking at the customers postal code (or zip code if you want to use Calculated Shipping to the USA).

Never never use Flat Rate when your shipment's dimensions and destination will change the price.

And depending on where you are, a freight forwarder like chitchatexpress will take your shipments across the border for a small fee and give them to USPS. They don't yet service Vancouver Island, so I can only dream of using them.

teenytrinkets · ‎09-13-2020

I strongly disagree about using calculated shipping. It's a PITA to set up for anyone with large volumes. I would spend days listing, instead of hours.

Most of my items are pretty small, but I still have some that go over the 1kg volumetric equivalent. I used to deal with the shipping location discrepancies by listing with free shipping and best offer, but found I had too many lowballers, and as of late, people who don't pay. So, I changed all listings to immediate payment, and for some listings added a flat shipping rate for everyone in Canada. Since most of my sales are in ON, I tend to charge on the higher end, or just eat the $ loss on shipping. Visually, Canadians have a hard time dealing with $17 for shipping, but for those items, I tend to prefer shipping to US buyers - because I can use ChitChats - and it's truly awesome for US Shipping!