eBay Sellers Fight the Algorithm and They Aren't Alone

by: CT Bay

The stock is tanking. Active buyers continue to decline. It clearly doesn’t increase revenue or grow their business. Why do they continue to think this is a good idea? Just show people what they searched for!!

by: toolguy

eBay search has always worked for me, I use this search at least 50 times a day!

And it's paid off with great buys. . .

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=leatherman&_sa
cat=0&_sop=10

by: Rexford

1) You have sites (particularly eBay) that can't get basic programming or search right using algorithms. How many ways can you say that they are out of their league?
2) Algorithms are the modern day rigged carnival trick. Pure evil.

Show buyers what buyers want to see, not what YOU want them
to see or only for those who are padding your pockets.

by: ebayout

eBay is like going to the grocery and not seeing any canned corn...and somedays frozen corn.  

by: Snapped

“… I use this search at least 50 times a day! ”

That’s the problem.  It should work right the first time.  

by: pace306

Its called "being to smart for your own good"

Greedy people (AHEM eBay) always think they know better when they dont.

They think that if you tighten the screws they will get more sales, when the exact opposite happens.

When you let sellers be their best and do their best, the company will grow.

I just went through (3 hrs) with the worlds dumbest company - I have a customer with a sales tax issue - he is being charged the wrong tax rate (hes right the state rate where I am is less then what eBay is charging him) and after 6 calls, 2 online chats and 1 specialist AMERICAN guy in FL (probably in his den watching VELMA) - HE couldnt answer the issue either.

Yes - eBay searched worked 50 , 100, 1000000000 times correctly - but just and ONLY for you.

by: Shanna

Just because you have never been in a plane crash does not mean they never happen.

by: Justwantebaytolisten

The search is ebay's number 1 issue.  It's just plain awful. Irrelevant and forced to show everything but accurate results. If they would just show a page full of what you actually search for the site would grow again. They sacrifice actually sales and butter growth for advertising dollars. They take the easy quick buck but it's hurting the platform long term. It's just such a shame to have to use Google to search on eBay since eBay search never shows the actual active listings...... I honestly don't know how anyone finds anything on eBay

by: smallstuff

eBay search usually works well for me - both as a seller and as a buyer.  If only some other companies had such good search engines.  I used to buy a lot of shipping supplies at Staples, but their search engine usually does not show what I have always bought from them.

by: Paul W

At the top of search results (disregarding sponsored listings) are the items eBay thinks are most likely to sell.  What their algorithm is and whether it is effective I do not know.  But I do know that starting titles with the best keywords (among some other factors) gives a seller the best shot at a sale, especially in crowded categories.  

by: Sierra

I sold on Amazon Handmade for 5 years. I stopped in October 2020 when I finally had enough of not being able to find my items in search. I could go to the Handmade "department" and my things surfaced easily, usually at the top of the 1st page ... but they were NOWHERE to be found when searching on what many Handmade sellers called "regular Amazon" (meaning not going to Handmade first). Even after Amazon Handmade had been around for 5 years, most shoppers didn't know that Amazon even had a "handmade" section, so it was imperative for handmade items to appear in search results on "regular Amazon." (there were only about 7 pages of search results for my main search term on "regular Amazon" so it was easy for me to go thru all of the results trying to find my items).

In early October 2020, just before I called it quits on Amazon, I was able to speak with an Amazon employee (based in Seattle), not a regular seller support rep but someone who seemed to really know how things worked. He admitted that Amazon was showing shoppers things they "thought" they'd want to see based on their behavior (i.e., searches, purchases, etc.). The random things mixed in with my searches were rarely things I'd searched for OR bought on Amazon (or ANYWHERE!). Within a year, I started seeing the same thing happen on Etsy. I've only been noticing this strategy on eBay in the last few 6 months or so.

These tactics aren't helping sellers and I'm willing to bet they're chasing shoppers away.  

by: Marie

For me I hate Amazon's search, I actually find it worse than Ebay's and I'm not that fond of Ebay's either.

by: Actual Seller

eBay multi-variant listings are a disaster.
For example, search for 100 6x6x6 boxes and sort by lowest, and you get people spamming single box low, but in the listing, the 6x6x6 is way higher.

by: Tahiti_Tom

Wow, I loved the article. A few months ago we started doing this exact same thing because we felt that declining offers, even the really horrible ones, was hurting the number of offers we got. It could just be in our head, but it seems like it works.

by: ADJackson

I don't find eBay's search results that bad. In fact, it is easy to manipulate with their Advanced Search option. for example, I can search for cheapest item and that is exactly what I get. Amazon, on the other hand, is a nightmare. Their search for the cheapest gets me items that are totally unrelated to what I am looking for. In fact, I am forced to choose from what they decide. So, buyers end up buying the item that is promoted on their page; it is pushed in your face.

Yes, eBay could improve on their search algorithm but Amazon's is the pits.  

by: AddyUp

When I lay out a new ad on eBay it looks clean and clear. But when it's live on the site it's a jumbled mess.

Rows and rows of ads for other peoples items. I counted fifty. Mine was in there somewhere. Sometimes I wonder if the buyer knows what they are really buying.

by: Calling You Out

CT BAY posted "The stock is tanking"

uh no as a matter of fact ebay stock is up (‎+5,754.21%)

Had you bought $100 worth of Ebay stock you would now have $575,421.00

by: Frank Abagnale

You have to put yourself in ebay's shoes. In 2019 (pre-pandemic) their GMV was about $90 billion. This year, it will be about $75 billion. So, how does ebay replace that lost GMV? Simple. Handle payments yourself. Raise current fees. Eliminate or reduce perks. Cut costs. Charge extra or increase the minimum amount for features such as promoted listings (they will probably increase the minimum percentage in the future). Increase ads on the site. Manipulation of the search results for a higher sale is probably on that list.

And I agree with pace306 "They think that if you tighten the screws they will get more sales, when the exact opposite happens." This is not 2006 when ebay sellers had less choices. Today, sellers have way more options and even the life long ebay regulars are using cross listing software to spread their eggs in other baskets.

     

by: Frank Abagnale

I checked Amazon stock and they are up 108,922%. So multiply that by $100 and......

by: ebayout

@CT...I looked for time machines on eBay. If there were any, they were hidden.