Keyword spamming then and now
Summary: In a discussion about eBay's evolution, pillarboxred reflects on the platform's shift from combating 'keyword spamming' to prioritizing promotional fees, suggesting it now favors less relevant item visibility. wheretheloveb shares frustration with eBay's complex listing process and increased bureaucracy, implying the site's focus has moved away from accommodating sellers of unique items. theelench adds that eBay's revenue is more reliant on promotion fees than sales, leading to less concern about listing relevance and accuracy, as addressing these issues could reduce advertising space.
Remember how, twenty-five years ago, eBay stamped down on what sellers thought was the innocent trick of "keyword spamming"? Add more words to your listing and get more views and maybe more sales was what sellers hoped. However, eBay wanted shoppers looking for your specific item using your Title keywords to only see quite close matches. Fair enough, but now, with Promotion , we pay eBay to show our items to those who have not looked for them and don't want them.
As I've noticed when listing, eBay shows me "similar" items and the prices they have made. THESE THINGS ARE NEVER SIMILAR IN ANY WAY A COLLECTOR WOULD CONSIDER SIMILAR and the price suggestions are meaningless. In the collecting world, "similar" means "almost identical".
EBay earns more money if sales are successful and should put more effort into that.
theelench
·3 weeks agoYou're assuming that ebay makes more on the listing / sale than it does on the Promotion fees. From what I've seen the only real growth area on ebay's revenue is the promotion fees. So to ebay the important area is now the promotion rather than the sale.
It follows that ebay doesn't care about any of the listings it shows or even how relevant or accurate they are. All they are now is a convenient peg to hang rows and rows of "Similar" promoted items on and are sliced-up by them making it hard to read them.
Is that why when sellers Report illegal/ inaccurate/fake/misleading listings they are always told that , in ebays judgement, they're all OK? Removing them would cut down on EBAY'S advertising space.
wheretheloveb
·3 weeks ago · EditedIt feels to me like ebay is becoming less and less a viable place to sell used / collectable / antique type items.
Ai is taking over the place and it's trying to enforce a 'one size fits all' approach.
Filling out a listing form is a blimin nightmare with all the questions and tick boxes that just dont apply to used vintage goods.
And then all the European red tape stuff with GPSR and responsible packaging.
The whole business makes you feel like you're not wanted or welcome anymore