New ebay scam?

cyberdan

Silver Member
Dec 12, 2006
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Very Northern Left Coast
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Just checked my ebay sales page. Something is new. Something called promoted listings. It is supposed to boost visibility by up to 30%.

So if I do not join does that mean they will push back my views already more than they do? Sounds like mafia protection.

Their web page says: Our guidance tools help take the guesswork out and suggest which items to promote and at what cost.
On my sales page every single auction is "suggested" to promote from a $3 coin to a $599 coin. So all this tells me is every single auction going on right now is getting the same suggestion. So a lot of sellers will fall for this and flood the pages with promoted items pushing back mine and yours even further down on the "views"

and you even get to set the percentage of the sale you will pay feeBay, so theoretically if I agree to pay 100% my listing will be number one on the page?
 

They have been pushing promoted listings for several months. It doesn't apply to me because I sell unique items that don't have a lot of competition. I do occasionally sell jewelry & noticed yesterday when I listed some that the average promoted listing costs 32% in the jewelry category. I haven't noticed a drop in sales.
 

When I buy on Ebay I do not take the suggestions. They are usually not the best buy. Ebay is trying to boost sales of power sellers it seems. But I quit Ebay many years ago after fees started taking too much of my effort.
 

My thoughts are this. If everyone used their little gimmick then everyone is still the same. They just make more money.
 

Ebay is simply too big. I started looking there probably in the mid 90's. It was small enough that it was fun and no stores.
The stores took away the feeling that you were dealing with a person. Of course things go smoother now. Dealing with professionals.
Back when I started, about 20% of things I bought had problems. Mostly test instruments.
Advice from a long time pro seller (not me) was don't list anything that you can't hold straight out from your body. Keep sales light weight or the shipping can kill the sale. Even though the buyer pays shipping.
 

Facebook, letgo all do it also now. It was just a matter of time before ebay picked up on it. I never take the suggested sellers since those prices usually are higher. Soon ebay will just be a online drop shipping site like amazon has become.
 

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