Open cases = reduced visibility

mrs_sparrow · 22 October 2014 at 11:09PM

As I have been saying, here is some info on Cassini: http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abu/y214/m01/abu0350/s02

Someone said they doubted that it was true, that eBay had the capability to hide underperforming sellers - it seems it was. I have hardly sold anything for 3 weeks. Yesterday I escalated that damn open case that I had for 3 weeks. Finally, sometimes today, the seller responds saying she has the parcel and closes the case. I decided to check on the case - no email from eBay, nothing to say the case was closed, it just got closed. Wonderful. For 3 weeks I have had very few sales.

Since the case closed my sales today have been more today than any other, started at around 5pm tonight and people have also bought more than one item. Hopefully I can move to getting back to some sort of normality.

I thought someone might be interested in Cassini though. Scary stuff.

RFW · 23 October 2014 at 12:01AM

mrs_sparrow wrote: »

As I have been saying, here is some info on Cassini: http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abu/y214/m01/abu0350/s02

Someone said they doubted that it was true, that eBay had the capability to hide underperforming sellers - it seems it was. I have hardly sold anything for 3 weeks. Yesterday I escalated that damn open case that I had for 3 weeks. Finally, sometimes today, the seller responds saying she has the parcel and closes the case. I decided to check on the case - no email from eBay, nothing to say the case was closed, it just got closed. Wonderful. For 3 weeks I have had very few sales.

Since the case closed my sales today have been more today than any other, started at around 5pm tonight and people have also bought more than one item. Hopefully I can move to getting back to some sort of normality.

I thought someone might be interested in Cassini though. Scary stuff.

I was given some info about Cassini about a year ago. They did pay fortunes for it and it has changed a lot. I don't quite get the suppression thing as I've had a couple of problems that would suggest some things were being suppressed yet my best selling item remains top of search in its category.
Cassini was supposed to suppress the Far East sellers, so UK sellers took preference. That never materialised. There was some other stuff, that I can't remember right now(!), that also never happened.
Rewarding activity is interesting though, I do tend to do better when I bother to list new stuff. It's just finding the energy to bother when I can do better on Amazon.

The biggest problem I have is that Ebay seem to have moved the goalposts. Where we were once happily selling items and doing what was required we now no longer know what is required. The goalposts haven't moved a yard or two, they've been dismantled and put in a shed in a car park in a different stadium.

forgotmyname · 23 October 2014 at 1:14AM

I wish they had a button to block sellers from the search results.

Looking for a specific 501 LED bulb. One seller had 1800 identical bulbs listed.
This is for a Ford Fiesta interior light, Footwell light etc etc etc....

Having to trawl through 1800 extra listings when that bulb is not the one i want.

Limit the search to UK only and i get 3 results for stupid money.

The search was playing silly beggers on Monday also. Looking for a switch and nothing found for less than £7. Thats odd i spotted a few when i looked at the weekend.
Then suddenly Tuesday night the cheaper ones popped back up in the search.

They need to stop manipulating the search and give buyers the options.

Let me omit certain sellers from a search. Either because i dont like the way they list products or a % of negative comments etc etc.

mgdavid · 23 October 2014 at 1:43AM

forgotmyname wrote: »

I wish they had a button to block sellers from the search results..........
Let me omit certain sellers from a search. ........

One can, I do it all the time.
If you need it spelt out:
Advanced search
Sellers, only show items from:
Specific
change dropdown from Include to Exclude
enter seller username
:j

Brooker_Dave · 23 October 2014 at 8:51AM

mrs_sparrow wrote: »

Someone said they doubted that it was true, that eBay had the capability to hide underperforming sellers - it seems it was. I have hardly sold anything for 3 weeks. Yesterday I escalated that damn open case that I had for 3 weeks. Finally, sometimes today, the seller responds saying she has the parcel and closes the case. I decided to check on the case - no email from eBay, nothing to say the case was closed, it just got closed. Wonderful. For 3 weeks I have had very few sales.

But if this could be proved, surely legal action against ebay would be in order, given people have paid to have their adverts appear on the website, but ebay has hidden them?

Brooker_Dave · 23 October 2014 at 8:55AM

It's in the T&C:

"eBay updated its User Agreement with a number of changes that are proving worrisome to sellers. The one most sellers are keying in on is eBay's provision that allows it to hide listings in search results for any reason.

"To further create a marketplace where buyers find what they want and drive positive user experience, we updated the provision regarding listing conditions to recognize that the appearance and placement of listings in search and browse results will depend on a variety of factors. So, in some situations a listing may not appear in some search and browse results regardless of sort order."

Sellers pay eBay fees to have their listings appear on the site, so were not happy at the prospect of potentially paying fees for zero exposure. eBay has muddied the water by granting sellers a certain number of free listings each month in addition to running certain free-listing promotions, many of which apply only to one subset of sellers at a time.

eBay spokesperson Ryan Moore said eBay would not be refunding any listing fees for sellers impacted as a result of the policy."

http://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Business-Seller-Board/EBay-are-hiding-listings-with-Cassini-so-your-listing-might-get/td-p/2026388

So you pay to list, and get nothing in return?

celestius · 23 October 2014 at 10:22AM

I have just had 2 INR cases in 2 days - nothing much I can do as I don't send anything tracked so I have just closed them both.

Did not notice any difference in sales while they were open to be honest but it was only 24 hours.

mrs_sparrow · 24 October 2014 at 9:36AM

Well, since the closed INR I have started selling 'proper' items again.

I have taken the time pro-actively that I have not had sales, registered with Amazon and started on getting some info together for hitting on a local selling campaign too, it is crap not having enough money to pay the bills and resulting to the credit card.

I bought in loads of key stock which should have shifted well before now but I still have it and it's quite scary to be honest and I so wish I had not bothered, but, it is what it is an I am in the situation I am, I cannot change that I just have to be pro-active and find a different outlet to sell them.

soolin · 24 October 2014 at 9:50AM

Mine is still all over the place- the algorithm is certainly in play.

I got some new stock about 2 weeks ago, it is likely to be a short lived thing- and I can barely list them fast enough and am selling at more than I ever have before. However, my usual bread and butter tiems, the things I rely on to sell daily and just turn over a small living profit have stopped selling entirely.

I've checked my competitors, they are still selling, it's just my items in this particular category that are not. It is as though the new line is all I am allowed to sell- the old line has been put on the back burner. I am a TRS showing premium listings with several hundred sales on these items- yet on Best Match I am below sellers with poor feedback and stars, including a couple of un registered businesses- some of whom are dearer than me- and many have post and package showing separately.

Something is going on.

ballisticbrian · 24 October 2014 at 3:48PM

I think any largish seller is going to have numerous cases open at any one time, so this thing would have to work on percentages and not just the fact a case is open.

soolin · 24 October 2014 at 4:35PM

ballisticbrian wrote: »

I think any largish seller is going to have numerous cases open at any one time, so this thing would have to work on percentages and not just the fact a case is open.

I'm a small seller so your comment doesn't apply to me really- but apart from a request- that doesn't appear anywhere other than in ebay messages, I have no cases open. Yet my bread and butter items are still not selling.

Open cases = reduced visibility

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free