 Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of your thoughts and comments So we're just going to spend a little bit of time going back over your comments on the content we've been sharing over the last week or two and just seeing what your take on these things are and just interacting about How we feel about your comments and how your comments relate to the current climate and situation So let's get into it. Okay, so we'll start with the first comment on our list which is From North Florida Flipper Okay, so let's have a look at this so North Florida's flippers comment was around the RE Bay manipulating the impressions yet again content and this was Comment force in relation to the point made about around the time within a day or so of the ebay ads being rolled out the impressions that we were receiving from our promoted listings started tanking and He met or he or she had mentioned that it was interesting I was wondering why mine dropped at the same time period as well So yes, so interesting one now. I don't know if anyone else has Experienced the same situation. I think it's quite probable now there's a bit of two ways of looking at this one because It's being made more aware that ebay had actually stopped using Google ads Or Google shopping Google platform for promotion off-site promotion Back in April, which would make a lot of sense as to why everybody sales started dropping off because There is a much much larger market of buyers That do their searching and shopping from Google So obviously if we're not getting that traffic Then the knock-on effect is your sales are going to be going down So there was a lot of things happening over the last six months and it's been very difficult to try and gauge What's affecting in what way? but this definitely would make sense that Not only had back in April they had stopped the off-site advertising or reduced or started filtering off from the off-site advertising But around the time that they introduced the off-site ads I Feel they may well have probably throttled down even further the power of your impressions to Basically get you to come to the own decision of panicking. Oh my gosh, I'm not getting sales and I'm not getting impressions excuse me To I need to get more traffic and how do I get more traffic? Oh, there's this new shiny object on the site to bring in off-site traffic Engage you into there now that that could well be the case Again, it is my own thought Open to interpretation open to discussion But yes, thank you North Florida Flipper very good comeback of Confirmation that there's not just myself that's suffering this situation moving along Excuse me. I mean you just take a quick drink our next comment is from panzers I says I've been tinkering around with how I sell on eBay for November in October I delisted my small store items in November I've only released a few listings at a time and they have sold within one to two days I wonder if algorithms are treating me like a new store with fresh items. They use They are used Legos during fourth quarter, which explains a little bit, but there are 920,000 Lego listings on eBay. How did I make the sales? Well, my response back was hey there panzers welcome to the channel and thanks for the comment and input Congratulations on the consistent quick selling of your items You're absolutely right the question why they are selling but not in a negative way Figuring out the reasons for the positive results are key to them being able to emulate them through your own Through your other item listings Yes, Legos is a big selling item around this seasonal time of year and probably holds a partial factor to the results but with that said Maybe think of if there was any other factors that changed when you were listing these Did you change specifics titles images description? Box information Description box information to if you did maybe try that with a few other listings to see if it repeats your success Please share your results with the community so we can as individuals can implement similar actions on their accounts and listings too I definitely think there is a Point to be made for new listings getting the bigger boost I definitely think the timing and seasonal seasonality of the listings is going to bring more buyers Depending on what your item is within the Lego range, which there is always a demand for Legos But depending on what it is within the range it may have a higher demand rate throughout the platform With buyers at this time But with that said It is curious. It is curious for sure for sure So moving along Oh arena vision. Yeah, a great to have your arena vision and yes It's just subscribed and just want to say great content my friend Welcome aboard. So it's great to have him on here. I know he's going through a bit of a tough time at the moment Our thoughts and our prayers are with you Through these struggling times There are many of us that suffer or go through a Life situation where we are in similar Standing that you're having to go through so we can feel for you Obviously, we all feel in our own ways But it's struggling times and it can take a real toll So please please as I've mentioned in your recent video Make sure you get the support you need because you need to be there for you Feel of ones just as much as they need the support from you In order to do that you're going to need to be strong and have that support system that can guide and help you along your way So all our prayers to you at this time So moving along we also have Let's have a look we've got user HQ 1x B6 LR7D Whoever you may be Good though. Do you have a discord? No, I do not have a discord. I Everything I put on is free information to share I will never do a monetized discord for Sharing and learning it is all free on the platform and I'm learning just as much and most information I've learned along the way is from other people as well as research So I would never do that sort of thing. Everything is for everyone straight away Moving along space Lord we have on here Biggest challenge for me. This was sorry. This was around the how eBay are affecting sellers rights right now and this was the eBay podcast episode 2 and Space Lord saying biggest challenge for me at the moment is sourcing in this ultra competitive environment Too many resellers competing over the same junk Response was basically totally agree with your sentiment here. It has It has for how to mass it has had sorry it has had a massive impact on the marketplace Competitiveness is huge at the moment, which seems to be a combined beast due to the financial environment Platform evolving and pushing a burden of traffic sourcing onto the seller Forcing them to consider more seriously the need to market their products in order to get sales Which in turn starts to push out the lower overall profit achievers So many sellers are becoming more aggressive with their sourcing and leaving less on the bone for everyone So, yes sourcing is definitely a big thing at the moment as sellers are feeling the pressure from not getting as many sales as They were getting because they were getting traffic move towards them They are now sourcing more to try and get more products on Psychologically feeling if there's more there better products there then we will get more sales starting to come through Which technically is true, but it's definitely making the sourcing much much more difficult to get that Not unicorn item unicorn selling item, but getting a consistent level of high profitable items on to your store So let's move along again So we have heavy metal picker the eBay partner network. Oh, sorry. This one again was around the eBay live podcast too and it was in questioning the point of Where are these off-site ads going what what what platforms what's going on? Where are they doing it because they're not sharing that information? They're very very vague with what they do and His response was the eBay partner network is literally any website that signs up with eBay and wants to advertise eBay items on their website for a kickback The list would be thousands long and change daily It's similar to having an Amazon affiliate account. You could do this if you had your own website Shopping ads are part of Google ads It's been a long time since I've used Google ads But eBay could choose Particular sites to advertise on but they could allow Google to choose sites as well I don't think they are being deceptive here, but they are certainly not a hundred percent clear I'll make a separate post on why I think this change is mostly a good thing or at least not a completely bad thing My response quite simply was thank you for the comprehensive explanation of this aspect of the external channels With this said if they were clear, it would gain trust and understanding for sure if they are actually using Google ads Then that would make sense But again, it's been worded in such a way that it isn't clear whether they do or do not use Google ads But the more points of view we can gain the better view points of a general vague understanding of it at least Now since this comment has been out I have seen from a couple of other youtubers comments and content That within their content is actually stated and they communicated with eBay's customer services, etc And from the conversation it was confirmed that they do use Google ads But they have zero control over where Google ads promotes So they have no control where it's being promoted. They don't know where it's being promoted It's just literally through the Google's Algorithm side and they will then filter through to their platforms and they will decide Through their own algorithm where they're being promoted So they have zero control of where your products are being promoted with the off-site ads from eBay side Whether or not Google has control Physically as a person, you know as people I don't know but I'll have to wait and see I'll have to wait and see Excuse me Okay, so moving down the line Let's have a look here. We go now be I'm gonna probably get this wrong, but be Nessian or Be an Eschen however you want to word it I do apologize if that's wrong and this was around my episode 10 live Which is don't be a blind sheep debunking the misconception of low priced items Here's their comment was awesome content. Thank you for giving me positive encouragement To focus on the quality of my reselling activities Shut off the negative reseller content and keep on going Basically my response back was glad I could be of some encouragement. It's easy to get sucked up in the sea of confusion Good luck and keep asking formed as to how things are going for you now with with this part. It was basically around Many content creators coming up with comments around things like low-value items and eBay don't want low-value items, etc. And many content creators were making the the Assumption and It's just there that they viewpoint and that's fine everyone's entitled to a viewpoint But it was their assumption and they were making that assumption of low price means low value, which is absolutely incorrect absolutely incorrect eBay are not trying to get rid of low-priced items. That is not their intention What they are doing is expanding and investing in the higher-priced Quicker-selling categories. That's where they're investing But that's totally separate To what they want on the platform totally separate and they are happy for the low-priced items if those low-priced items are Quick sell-through then it has value if there is a demand for a product. It has value It's the products that are sat on the site for Six months 12 months 18 months, and they just never move. Nobody really looks at them. Those are low value As long as you're getting views and as long as you're getting sell-through it is a valued item so just be clear with that so there are many companies that sell masses and masses of low-priced items and Those are of value Don't just think it's got out if it's got a high ticket price. It has a high value on top of that It's also your perception of value Something could be cheap priced, but you get it at such a low price the profit margin because it sells through is Phenomenal and that's a high-valued item to you because that is a quick sell-through It's giving you a big profit margin overall. Therefore, it's a value So the perception of low value and low cost are totally separate Polish Pete's made a comment on the same video Saying that's an interesting approach to value. There may be something in it As we know Polish Pete's a great guy got a lot of content to share a lot of details He likes to share a lot of data and analytical information like myself so it's nice to see him on here and backing up the the point made there Okay, next on was under why are eBay off-site ads and what are eBay off-site ads and how do they work that content? and by the bird chick their comments was Feeling like you frustrated. We see it. We sell it all as we buy it all We promote everything listed at 2% and see more sales outside of clicked on Promoted listings then clicked on ones. I am not going to be buying into off-site ads as I see this as another money grab That is BS like Google ads was a huge red flag Thanks for pointing that out and solidifying my decision another frustration is watching other eBay ebos make sales on the same item We have had we have and ours is nicer cheaper and less shipping. What the F? Excuse me, but again just to back up what I've mentioned earlier there the bird chick is This is the trust issue, isn't it the fact that they've stated like a Google ads and that pulled up red flags for me as well that basically made me lose trust more trust in eBay for having our backs and giving us good information and they're losing Potential investors and investors of that particular package because they're not being clear what they're offering even though We now know it is Google ads that they're using but by wording it with terminology like Google ads this has caused a divide between Those that blindly follow and those that question the information they're being given if they'd have just said We are using Google ads and we're using other sites that are also like Google ads Then yes We would have been understanding of what's going on and we'd have been much clearer and much more confident in our Decision as to whether we should or shouldn't go into the off-site ads promotion option next one on is Jamie Holmes on this was on the exposed eBay's manipulation tactics and the cross-listing dilemma She says can you please talk about how they manipulate the lower seller scores into being permanently lower So that they can change us charge us 36 percent more in fees I am paying over 60 percent in seller fees alone He they has become a greedy giant. Well, I Will go into this in another another video. I'm gonna keep it short on this one, but There are when you look at your seller metrics if you look you've got your iron ads and your iron ours, etc and At least from that side, there are percentage markers from like yellow green red, etc And on those like high very high normal When you click go over that amount obviously it becomes triggered and you're paying a higher fee now The impact of the amount of sales you need to make Which then calculates against the amounts that INR or INAD depending on which one you're looking at to affect it Takes a while Many people try different aspects obviously like on your seller dashboard if you start getting a high Delivery late delivery rates or case closed without seller resolution, etc, etc, etc All these things the only way to get that percentage down is to sell more so That the key Quick fix is sell more correctly not saying you're not selling correctly, but sell more successfully With no repercussions and it will dilute Those percentages which will then in turn drop your percentage from the metrics down into a Level that doesn't charge you that extra amount That's a simple analogy for the situation, but that that that would be my answer for that In its quickest term for you FR Freya made a comment on the off-site ads promotion How do off-site ads and free promotion offer work? This was a very recent one where we started getting the hundred pounds or hundred dollars depending which platform you're on to use against off-site ads and Working out What you get for your money basically so if you promote off-site ads campaign Does that mean you won't get any promoted listing? Impressions because you've got the campaign running that is not the case you will get all The benefits of a promoted listing Standard campaign the only part that's not included is the off-site advertising The off-site advertising is separate so you can get both on all your products at the same time There is more to cover on that in future videos. There's been several motorcycle Dork and My boring rate reseller life James has mentioned that there could be a double dip going on my Motorcycle Dork did ask me in the video if that was happening Since that video he has confirmed for himself that it is they are double dipping How and what their explanation for that? I do not know I have got The free hundred pound off-site ad campaign started. I've not seen any impression yet It's only been a couple of days Once I see some sales I will be comparing to see if it triggers the promoted listing double dips scenario at which point I will call eBay to confirm why this is happening because I'm sure that in their Facts it states very clearly and I will check on it for that content that they would not double dip So if they are they are actually lying to us. I don't know if they are yet myself I will have to look into it for my own Information Okay, so on the next one obviously around the same content because I was asking eBay what it was all about and Hazel Cowie has come on which one of our long-term Community members now if eBay listened to this I hope they are properly embarrassed the amount of time you spend waiting to be told incorrect information is Little less than shocking not the star's fault, but the company it seems Said yes, I have to agree and part of the point of the video to be honest How will you are supposed to have any idea what we are doing if we are if we believed customer services? When they clearly either don't understand the system or just outright fake the information to get through the call You would have you would have thought that eBay would have invested in training their staff correctly For to promote the platforms new money grab. I Mean so I mean sales generation system, you know, but you get the point you get the point Moving along. Yes. Motor subtle doors comment is here. There we go So it says I've spent a hundred pounds so far on off-site ads this resulted in two off-site sales One of these sales was also charged for the promoted listing standard fee as well If I'm understanding correctly I paid for off-site ad clicks to bring a buyer onto eBay to buy my item But then also was charged for the item being promoted on eBay So it cost me the final valuation fee of eleven point three five percent plus the cost of clicks it to to market it and To an off-site buyer, sorry plus twenty percent put twenty point eight percent promoted listing standard Suggested am I missing something I? Did say yes, this does not sound right to me either I'm sure that from the information the fact give give you shouldn't have been charged a promoted listing fee to you may want to contact eBay about this whether he has a house and I don't know but obviously great to know what the outcome of that was The remainder of my comment was with this said the only way around this that I can see is if the off-site I brought them to your page and when browsing your items They clicked on a promoted impression from one of your other items and then went to buy that second item Then it would make sense unfair, but it would make sense Okay BMX Bandits comment was Some interesting points was covered However, I don't think it's best idea to put a private telephone conversation between you and eBay on the internet Which effectively is private confidential especially with a complex data protection and GDPR regulations just out of interest Did you tell them you were recording the call? Okay, so I'm gonna keep this very very short I don't really want to go into this the conversation basically went to myself and BMX bandit that yes, okay I may have been wrong and in the future. I will just put the content in text form of the response verbiage from the customer services as opposed to the actual Conversation from the customer service advisor Yeah, that that's all I've got to say on that one We live and learn and the mistake won't be made again just to make sure that I don't put myself in any Danger of Copywriting or infringement etc. So learning curve for all of us Around the off-site ads the eBay ad hacks boost second-store traffic and impressions Hit post Pete's come back with another comment made why everybody have an approach of switching off Promoted listings all in one go. It looks like people are running their business on day-to-day basis I've started weaning myself from promoted listings, but the plan is to do it in six months time I'm reducing percentage for now slowly, then I'll be removing listings from promoted listings slowly I've just put an interesting approach peak. I like the sound of the weaning off especially as suggested is Only a metric created by eBay to get you to feel like you need to increase the percentage when it's Already starts at twice the average moment promoted listed rate that the top 10% of the category actually promote it and When you increase it within a couple of days, it suggested a few percent higher and so on and so on so total manipulation on the eBay's behalf I Think I will look into the idea of gradual reduction myself in the new year Poach Pete's response was the eBay suggested rate is there for one reason only for people to follow an increase Will that bring better results highly doubtful or they end up? With is paying more for the same I'll just put I agree if you're finding any of this interesting or helpful or Beneficial to yourself certainly hit the like button subscribe for more content along the way and Share if you like as well certainly get that out to the community and everyone can benefit from it as well And if you have any thoughts or comments on this by all means pop them in below and we'll get to them on the next Your thoughts and comments Okay, so moving on. Let's have a look where we're up to now so The next one is around the cancelled second store video, which I popped out yesterday Hazel cowie When I am sent an offer car. I always look at the feedback left for others Before accepting I am sure it saved me from some bandit buyers My response was very good advice hazel unfortunately these two were not offers but people that just straight bought my items This was around in that comment that content I had in the morning two buyers that Separate buyers that purchased items and within 60 seconds they requested to cancel the order My thought process around this was they purchase the ice in the item they want they purchased it and then with eBay's Impressions they thrown out some other suggested items, which as we will know they put same items Not necessarily different items and they've seen it some cheaper and gone. Oh, I want that so cancel So that was my thought around that and I think you may need to be more Accountable for what they're actually putting in front of people Once they've made a purchase Space Lords comment around the cancelled second store says you got to do what makes sense I downgraded my eBay store a few months ago not enough sales to justify the fees Space my response to space Lord was this is exactly right space Lord Got to trim the fat to survive the slaughter. I'm keeping the account activated Just can't use it financially for now when I get out the other side of this storm I can revisit the store again in the future and obviously go ahead and check that content out if you want the full story around that one and The final comment for the day is from Holly P Have you considered taking your second store that you are not paying for using the casual seller way of getting 250 items a month free no free no fee insertion listings I ran that way for three years never promoted and sold items They would always send me extra no fee insertion items each month, too My response to this was because I don't know where Holly's based But on the UK websites that is not an option so basically I'll put thanks for the idea Holly I don't think we get anything free in the UK without subscription But I will check it out and get back to you as you only get 250 free insertion listings for the free for the basic store you get nothing without a store Which costs approximately 29 pounds a month? Excluding VAT so you can do the calculations as dollars, but you're talking a lot more. We do we only have three Subscription levels on the UK whereas you have I think four or five on the US and you do get free allowances in the US I know much much greater than we do in the UK So there we go. That's another episode of your comments and thoughts Please like I say share Comment like subscribe all that fun jazz and at the end of the day keep you real take care. Bye. Bye