Selling limits (throttling) NOT LISTING LIMITS

justjohn

anyone think they experience SALES throttling ?

http://www.ecommercebytes.com/C/letters/blog.pl?/pl/2013/12/1386721872.html


We have our main account that has same monetary turn over on sales and hardly ever fluctuates more than 10%. (1000+ items)


We have a couple off other accounts and again they more or less have the same monetary turnover month after month.


now if this was the same stock listed each month I could kind off understand. However 100+ new previously unlisted different items are listed each month(on top of relists). So you would expect peaks.

TKPeters

Yes it been going on for years & eBay CS will not deal with it, even when the data is provided & we've been selling on eBay for 12 years

Gleeful

Yes, this is definitely happening.

I used to turn over 2.5k per month from 85 listings

Now I am lucky if I turn over 1k

justjohn

We have doubled our individual items listed. new different stock is added every month.
We just cannot get the sales up. Always stays the same.


The only other thing, We could try is yet more inventory.


Its really doing my head in.

[Deleted User]

Just read the article, which I found very interesting, but I don't understand what's in it for eBay? The throttling, I mean. Surely the more sales, the more money eBay makes? Why would they restrict sales?

Sorry if I'm being stupid, but I'm genuinely interested, if somebody would care to enlighten me, please?

justjohn

Many reasons....


entice sellers to list more
throttle sales depending on feedback left for actual items, could be seen as to improve buyer experience.
Even distribution of sales/money, keeping things ticking over so everyone gets a slice of the pie. (thus no big deal if seller leaves)
Throttling depending on dispatch / awaiting dispatch status , again could be seen as better experience for buyer.




There are loads of other reasons.
Sales are not restricted just controlled distribution. ebay will always make the same money. just different sellers get the sale.


there are a lot of benefits to ebay in controlling the market place to this extent. they already do it depending on DSR's, so why not in other ways?.

mrs_sparrow

Interesting article, I have sold 5 items yesterday compared to 16 the day before. I put this down to kids going back to school and people having less money but it does make me wonder why people will suddenly buy.

Something else I find weird. I will have something in stock for a year (sometimes longer), someone will buy one and then the next 3 sales will be of the same item. How does that work??

I actually did think that if I listed or changed prices it would lead to me showing higher up in best matches. Ironically I have had some items in stock for 8 months, they are 70% off the RRP, on Sunday I dropped the price by another few £ and I sell 4 in a day. That is weird too.

Pierre_De_Grenoble

mrs_sparrow wrote: »

Something else I find weird. I will have something in stock for a year (sometimes longer), someone will buy one and then the next 3 sales will be of the same item. How does that work??

I Suspect this is down to "best match"

justjohn

Pierre_De_Grenoble wrote: »

I Suspect this is down to "best match"

Yes but can be checked using Listing Analytics

http://cgi6.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewEApp&appId=app.listinganalytics.com


for search standing but you would have to check before the sale and after the sales.

Best match search factors feature high on sell through.
page views alone with no sales are actually bad. (you can test that out using web based anon surfing) page count goes up if you just keep refreshing lol

justjohn

mrs_sparrow wrote: »

I actually did think that if I listed or changed prices it would lead to me showing higher up in best matches. Ironically I have had some items in stock for 8 months, they are 70% off the RRP, on Sunday I dropped the price by another few £ and I sell 4 in a day. That is weird too.

Newly listed gives you a small lift in best match. price and sell through will also lift it in search.

the new marketing tools buy one get one free etc don't seem to have much effect unless you are an outlet (outlets get it featured in search's)

aeb_2

This is interesting. Is it just business seller or private too? Before the 20 items a month limit I used to list everything to end on Sunday evening (new and relists). My son is 10 and really into spreadsheets. It became a standing joke here that every week I would sell 20% of my listings. If I listed 60 I'd sell 12 and if 100 I'd sell 20. Maybe one less or more each way but never more. Also, every month my sales were always the same total within 5% of the average.

I've often noticed when searching it will say 'we found 112 items' but it only shows about 26. Is that what they are meaning by this restricting?

I'm selling my late husbands collections and I'm increasingly glad that I'm 90% done. It's seen me through being a stay at home mum but when I go back to work next month I'll not bother too much, it's getting too stressful worrying about DRS. Tomorrow my rating changes from 0.32% to 1.56% overnight putting me too close for comfort.