A Promoted-Listings aspect few seem to talk about. Those who buy items which are significantly promoted - the search thrusts them in front of Ebayers over & above items which are likely better value - tend to be people who *perhaps* are time-poor, or attention-deficit, autopilot/impulse buyers who are then likely to do buyers' remorse in 1 way or another.
In an effort to restart sales on my other a/c, I've gone for 10% Promoted Standard (after VAT charge) & "sales" rolled in. A customer "bought" 3 similar items, all in the space of 24 hours.
I messaged to say thanks, delivery by xyz. (S)he responded saying along the lines of "...hope they are good for Uni students, bought them for my children in [Mediterranean country]."
They're sub-£70 older 2nd-user laptops, & your average student would likely consider very uncool. I mentioned I would have no problem using them (true) & they're very sensible. robust etc but decidedly not like a new one, & if (s)he wanted, (s)he can cancel 2nd & 3rd one (I was hoping to save deliv. & send them all in one box) but this had to be ASAP.
Buyer then said (s)he'd wait to see the 1st one - [thanks 😞 ] - & decide whether to cancel the rest based on that. Bearing in mind Ebay's despatch-timing requirements etc etc ...
Guess I'll take that as an implicit request to cancel - they have to be despatched Thursday 15th, before delivery of the 1st one. The customer can re-purchase if needed. I could send all 3 but what's the point if some are returned with some phony "SNAD" excuse like they do these days.
All due to -
- people buying using mobile phones, meaning inadequate choices presented
- the distortion of viewable items based on "Promoted" fees making selling impossible without the extra spend. I guess my ads should clearly state "These are *NOT* new items & don't expect shiny new stuff at these prices" (I more or less do that anyway). But however much I put in, many people viewing on a mobile won't read it.
AND it gets worse.
Back in the old days, I used to have buyers receive their working laptops, who would whinge about Windows doing X,Y, and Z but how do they do A,B, C etc, in other words, the computer-illiterate. Now I'm finding that those more "susceptible" to highly-promoted listings are less computer-savvy and the "it doesn't work" [yes it does, you just need to learn how to use the software] is coming back Of course you end up offering s/w support to avoid a return.
"price, performance, quality. Choose any two you like"
