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Dominate the eBay Algorithm: A Practical Guide to Maximize Your Sales — Transcript

by Justin Resells · 6,289 words · 932 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00There's a reason you're not selling as
0:01much as you'd like on eBay. It's because
0:03your listings are not as visible to
0:04buyers as they should be. I've spent the
0:06last 26 years selling stuff on eBay, and
0:08that's given me a lot of opportunities
0:10to reverse engineer just how the eBay
0:12algorithm works. You see, the vast
0:14majority of sales on eBay come from
0:15listings that appear in a very specific
0:17place, the first page of search results.
0:19And the eBay algorithm is the mysterious
0:21entity that decides whether your
0:23listings show up there or not. But what
0:25exactly is the eBay algorithm? The term
0:27has been twisted and stretched so much
0:29that its true meaning has been all but
0:31lost. Today, I'm going to tell you
0:32exactly what the eBay algorithm is and
0:34what it isn't. I'll unpack the not
0:36well-known and often misunderstood
0:38factors used by the eBay algorithm to
0:40influence search results and decide who
0:42makes sales and who doesn't. These are
0:44the exact same factors I've used to sell
0:46tens of thousands of items and generate
0:48over $80,000 in sales per year on eBay
0:51part-time. Then I'm going to show you
0:53how you can use those same factors to
0:55your advantage to repeat what I do and
0:57consistently get your listings to show
0:58on the first page of search results.
1:00Let's dig in. First, what even is an
1:02algorithm? In the most simple terms, an
1:05algorithm is a set of step-by-step
1:07instructions or rules designed to
1:08perform a specific task or solve a
1:10particular problem. You can think of it
1:12as a guide that tells you exactly what
1:14to do and in what order to achieve a
1:16desired outcome. So, if your desired
1:18outcome is a peanut butter and jelly
1:20sandwich for lunch, the recipe to make
1:22such a complex and exquisite dish is the
1:25algorithm. There are many types of
1:26algorithms out there, but when we talk
1:28about the eBay algorithm, we're talking
1:29about its search algorithm. And a search
1:32algorithm is a specific type of
1:34algorithm designed to find particular
1:36information within a large collection of
1:38data. It's like a set of step-by-step
1:40instructions that tells a computer how
1:42to locate specific information you're
1:44looking for quickly and efficiently. Now
1:46a very basic search algorithm might show
1:48you results based solely on the keywords
1:50you search for. So if you have a set of
1:52data called I don't know animals and you
1:55search for dog that very basic search
1:57algorithm is going to go through that
1:58list of animals and show you the dog.
2:00But most search algorithms are way more
2:03complex and eBay is no different. Search
2:05software is known internally as Cassini
2:07and best match is what eBay calls the
2:09algorithm that determines which listings
2:11are most relevant and in what order to
2:13show them. The purpose of Cassini is to
2:15help buyers find items relevant to their
2:18search and best match optimizes those
2:20results for successful purchases. In
2:22other words, eBay doesn't just show a
2:24buyer exactly what they search for based
2:26solely on the keywords they used with
2:28the help of the best match algorithm. It
2:30also considers factors that it thinks
2:31will increase the likelihood of a sale.
2:33So, if eBay's search algorithm doesn't
2:35just show a buyer exactly what they're
2:37looking for based on the keywords they
2:39use, but also considers other factors
2:41that it thinks will increase a
2:42likelihood of a sale, what are those
2:44other factors? Well, my friends, that is
2:46the secret sauce, the holy grail, the
2:48golden goose.
2:51You see, eBay keeps the details of how
2:53all of this works pretty closely under
2:55wraps. They are deliberately aloof when
2:57it comes to sharing exactly what those
2:59factors are or how they're used. Because
3:01if they shared every little detail of
3:03that secret recipe, sellers like you and
3:05me would do everything we could to try
3:07to use that information to our advantage
3:09to get our listings to show up in search
3:10first and increase our sales. Instead,
3:13eBay shares basically the bare minimum
3:15of information on how their algorithm
3:17works. They tell us there's no secret to
3:19improving your position in the best
3:21match search order. Sellers who follow
3:22best listing and selling practices will
3:25see their items appear higher in the
3:27search results. Well, duh. While that
3:29may be true, it's hardly helpful when
3:31trying to understand how you can stand
3:32out from the pack beyond just not being
3:34a terrible seller. While eBay's ciness
3:36here can be annoying, it's actually
3:38really important that they keep this
3:39information largely under wraps. It
3:41helps provide a level playing field for
3:43all sellers and not give advantages to
3:45those who have access to special
3:47knowledge, financial resources, or
3:49technical skills. The undisputed
3:51heavyweight champion of search, Google
3:53does the same thing. But no need to
3:54worry. Even though eBay does not
3:56explicitly share exactly what those
3:58factors are and how they influence
4:00search results, we have a pretty good
4:02idea of what some of them are. So, let's
4:03talk about what those factors are in
4:05detail and how you can use them to your
4:06advantage as a seller to consistently
4:08get your listings to show up on the
4:10first page of search results and
4:11maximize your sales. Real quick though,
4:13before we dig too deeply into those
4:15factors, let me share an important
4:16point. The single most important thing,
4:18even more important than the factors
4:20that the algorithm considers that we're
4:21about to talk through, is that you are
4:23selling items that are in demand. If
4:25what you're selling has very few
4:26interested buyers, no amount of futzing
4:28with your listings to please the
4:30algorithm will magically make it sell.
4:32If your item has no demand, it's not
4:33going to sell. Period. Additionally, the
4:35factors I'm going to talk through here
4:36are focused almost entirely on buy it
4:39now listings, not auctions. This is
4:41because for the vast majority of the
4:42items that you list, you should be using
4:44the buy it now format and not auctions.
4:46I'm not going to get into all the
4:48details on why because I have a separate
4:49video dedicated to that topic. I'll link
4:52it up top and in the description below
4:53if you're interested. But assuming
4:54you're using buy it now listings and
4:56there is at least some demand for what
4:58you're selling, let's move on.
5:02When a buyer goes to eBay and searches
5:04for an item, the eBay algorithm works
5:06its magic by considering these seven
5:08factors we're going to talk through and
5:10likely many more that we don't know
5:12about when determining what listings to
5:14show and in what order. Those factors
5:16are relevance to your search query,
5:18listing quality, pricing, shipping and
5:21return options, seller behavior and
5:23reputation, buyer behavior and
5:25personalization, and special offers.
5:28We're going to start with relevance to
5:29your search query because it's the most
5:31obvious and important of the bunch. When
5:33deciding what listings to show a
5:34potential buyer, the eBay algorithm is
5:36going to start with the keywords the
5:38buyer uses in their search query. So, if
5:40a buyer comes along and searches for
5:42Sony headphones, that's a pretty strong
5:44signal to the algorithm that the buyer
5:45is shopping for Sony headphones. Pretty
5:47obvious, isn't it? But the eBay
5:48algorithm doesn't always show buyers
5:51exactly what they searched for. and it
5:52may show that buyer similar headphones
5:54from other brands, for example, because
5:56it thinks variety might increase the
5:58likelihood of a sale. However, it does
6:00have its limits. It wouldn't make sense
6:01to also show that same buyer, I don't
6:04know, banana plants because a buyer
6:06who's interested in Sony headphones is
6:07unlikely to see a listing for a banana
6:10plant and buy it. Did you even know that
6:11you could buy banana plants on eBay? The
6:13eBay algorithm is also capable of
6:15understanding synonyms and related
6:17terms. So, even if a listing says
6:19Bluetooth earbuds, it knows they're
6:21related to wireless headphones, even if
6:23you don't specify those terms exactly.
6:25And this is why you see some sellers use
6:27abbreviations like VTG instead of
6:29vintage. eBay search is smart enough to
6:31know those mean the same thing, so you
6:33can use that tactic to save some
6:35characters in your title when necessary.
6:37As a seller, you don't have any control
6:38over the keywords your potential buyers
6:40use in their search query, but you do
6:42have control over much of the data that
6:44the eBay algorithm relies on to match
6:46your listings with a buyer's search.
6:48Which leads us to the next factor, the
6:50quality of your listings. When you
6:52create a new listing on eBay, you have
6:54to fill out a bunch of information. This
6:55is probably one of the most boring parts
6:57of the entire reselling process, and
6:59it's tempting to breeze through this
7:01step without taking it too seriously.
7:03You have to give your listings a title,
7:04take photos, select your categories,
7:06fill out your item specifics, condition,
7:08description, and more. As boring as it
7:10is, you should take the process
7:12seriously. Filling out this listing
7:13information accurately is important so
7:15that potential buyers know the details
7:17of what they're considering buying, but
7:19it plays a second and even more
7:21important role. This information helps
7:23the algorithm get your listing
7:24discovered by those buyers in the first
7:26place. Much of the data that the eBay
7:28algorithm relies on to match listings
7:30with a buyer's search term comes from
7:32the details you give your listings. If
7:33you skimp on the details or have the
7:35wrong information, it's going to
7:36negatively impact the algorithm's
7:38ability to find a buyer for your
7:40listing. The more information you
7:41provide, the better. It helps the
7:43algorithm understand exactly what's
7:45being sold. Importantly, the algorithm
7:46considers all of your listing details,
7:48not just the title, when serving up
7:50search results to a potential buyer. So,
7:52if you can't fit a specific term in your
7:54title due to character limits, make sure
7:56you include it somewhere else in the
7:57listing. I'm speculating here, but the
7:59algorithm is likely weighing the
8:00importance of different fields in the
8:02listing. By that, I mean it probably
8:04considers a keyword in the title more
8:06important than a keyword in the
8:07description, for example. So, consider
8:09the importance of your keywords and make
8:10sure the most important of the bunch are
8:12as visible as possible. My hunch is that
8:14the description is the least important
8:16consideration for the algorithm. By the
8:18way, you can click sell similar on other
8:20sellers active or sold listings and that
8:22will copy over their listing details so
8:24you don't have to fill out everything
8:25from scratch. This can save a bunch of
8:27time during the listing process. But be
8:29careful and make sure the details are
8:30accurate before you publish your
8:31listing. Now, your listing's age is
8:33another important factor to consider.
8:35While eBay's not confirmed this, I feel
8:37pretty confident saying that all other
8:39factors aside, the older a listing is,
8:41the less likely it is to rank higher in
8:43search. This is why it's such a common
8:45practice for sellers to end their older
8:47unsold listings and relist them because
8:48it appears eBay favors newer listings
8:51over older. You can see evidence of this
8:53occasionally when newer listings appear
8:55high in search with a new listing badge.
8:57It's even more telling when this new
8:58listing badge shows up when researching
9:00sold comps, indicating that a listing
9:02sold relatively quickly after being
9:04listed. This practice of manually ending
9:06and relisting is different from letting
9:07eBay automatically relist your items,
9:09which it does every 30 days. When eBay
9:11does this, the listing is not given a
9:13new item ID and it's not considered a
9:15new listing. But when you end and relist
9:17manually, it is given a new item ID and
9:19treated as an entirely new listing. And
9:21whether you click relist or sell similar
9:23to relist your items doesn't matter.
9:24They both produce an entirely new
9:26listing with a new listing ID. If you
9:28don't believe me, try it out for
9:29yourself. Anecdotally, I make it a
9:31regular habit to end and relist old
9:33listings, and I'm always surprised at
9:35how often this results in older listings
9:37quickly selling after being relisted.
9:39Give it a shot.
9:42How you price your items also plays an
9:44important role in how the algorithm
9:46decides what listings to show and when.
9:48Generally speaking, listings with fair
9:50and competitive prices are more likely
9:52to appear higher in search results
9:54because the more competitive something
9:55is priced, the higher the likelihood
9:57that it will generate a sale. But being
9:59the lowest priced option is not always
10:01best. Some buyers may perceive your item
10:03as being of inferior quality if you
10:05price it too low. But just know if your
10:07product is priced significantly higher
10:08than the comparable listings, it may
10:10rank lower in search for obvious
10:11reasons. Competitive pricing is
10:13especially important for multi-quantity
10:15listings because the algorithm almost
10:17certainly considers conversion rates
10:19when deciding what order to rank
10:21listings. The conversion rate is the
10:22metric that measures the frequency that
10:24a buyer clicks into multi-quantity
10:26listings and makes a purchase. Listings
10:28with a higher conversion rate are more
10:30favorable in the eyes of the algorithm
10:32because it believes they are more likely
10:33to produce a sale, which makes sense.
10:35Now, have you ever noticed it can feel
10:37very difficult to get your first sale on
10:39a multi-quantity listing? But once you
10:41do get that first order, the sales seem
10:43to come at a faster rate than the
10:44initial. This is likely due to the
10:46algorithm considering those conversion
10:47rates and raking multi-quantity listings
10:50with sales higher than those without a
10:51sale. Some sellers make it a habit of
10:53pricing their multi-quantity listings
10:55considerably undermarket value to
10:57generate that first sale before raising
10:58the price back up. But be careful. You
11:00don't want to get so low that another
11:02reseller buys up your entire lot.
11:04Turning best offers on is also something
11:06to consider when it comes to ranking
11:07favorably in the eBay algorithm. While
11:09eBay doesn't say specifically, it feels
11:10like a pretty safe assumption that
11:12having best offers turned on is a
11:14positive signal for the algorithm
11:15because listings with best offers turned
11:17on may have a higher likelihood of
11:18resulting in a sale than those without.
11:20Finally, generating coupons and running
11:22sales are another good way to entice
11:24buyers with lower prices, and this may
11:26make your listings appear higher up in
11:28search results.
11:31All right, now let's talk about shipping
11:32and return options. when determining
11:34what listings to show and in what order,
11:36the speed of delivery and cost plays an
11:38important role as well. Buyers want
11:40their items and they want them now. The
11:42faster you can get an item delivered to
11:43a buyer for the lowest amount of money,
11:45the more favorable the algorithm will
11:47consider your listings. Some of these
11:48shipping related factors are in your
11:50control while others are not. For
11:51example, you can't control where your
11:53potential buyers live in relation to
11:55you, and their distance from you
11:57influences the delivery speed and cost
11:59of ship. But other factors are more in
12:00your control. Your handling time is a
12:02good example. The longer your handling
12:04time, the longer it takes for an item to
12:06arrive to your buyer, and the less
12:08favorable the algorithm will view your
12:09listings. This is why eBay encourages
12:11sellers to offer same day or next day
12:13shipping. Those that offer quicker
12:15handling times get a top rated seller
12:17plus status, and offering this will help
12:20make your listings rank higher in search
12:21than those that don't. The cost a buyer
12:23pays to ship is also an important factor
12:25that you have some control over.
12:27Offering calculated shipping is the
12:29easiest way for sellers to ensure they
12:31don't lose any money by inadvertently
12:33undercharging their buyers for shipping.
12:35But it also has the potential to cause
12:36your listings to rank less favorably in
12:38search because the advertised cost to
12:40ship can be higher than its competitors.
12:42Sellers who choose to offer free
12:44shipping may rank more favorably in
12:45search because it pleases the buyer. You
12:47can see evidence of this by the free
12:49shipping badge that eBay shows next to
12:51listings that rank higher up in search.
12:53The general rule of thumb here is that
12:54to be as competitive as possible, you
12:56want to offer the quickest handling time
12:58you can manage and charge the buyer the
13:00lowest amount for shipping with free
13:02shipping being the best option. But keep
13:03in mind that offering free shipping does
13:05not mean you as the seller pays for the
13:07cost to ship. Instead, it means you bake
13:09the cost to ship into the total price of
13:11the item instead of breaking it out as a
13:13separate fee. So, don't make the mistake
13:15of paying the shipping cost for your
13:16buyers out of your own pocket. But
13:18offering free shipping doesn't make
13:20sense for every seller. So, do the math
13:21to figure out if you can make it work
13:23for your own store. Your return policy
13:25follows a similar pattern. These days,
13:26buyers are leerary of making purchases
13:28online if they feel they'll have a
13:30problem returning what they bought when
13:31there's an issue. And as a buyer myself,
13:33I don't blame them. eBay encourages
13:35sellers to offer returns, and they go as
13:36far as saying that offering returns can
13:38improve your sales by up to 25%. That's
13:41just another way of saying that the eBay
13:43algorithm is going to rank listings with
13:45returns enabled higher than those
13:46without. And if you go as far as
13:48offering free returns, which I
13:49recommend, eBay is also going to give
13:51those listings that same top rated
13:53seller plus status and rank them even
13:55higher. Again, when it comes to how the
13:57eBay algorithm ranks your listings, the
13:58general rule of thumb here is that you
14:00should offer the most liberal return
14:02policies you can afford, with free
14:0460-day returns being the gold standard.
14:08[Music]
14:09who you are as a seller and the actions
14:11you take on the platform plays a big
14:13role in determining the availability and
14:15ranking of your listings in search. If
14:17you're a terrible seller with below
14:18average ratings, it's safe to say that
14:20eBay is going to be careful when
14:22considering whether to show your
14:23listings to potential buyers or not. But
14:25if you're a trusted seller, the
14:26algorithm is going to feel comfortable
14:28recommending your listings to potential
14:29buyers. eBay has a robust seller
14:32performance platform that was designed
14:33to rank you as a seller against your
14:35peers. It's simple, really. If you want
14:37your listings to rank as high as
14:39possible, you want your seller level to
14:41be the highest it can be. So, you need
14:42to take the metrics eBay uses to
14:44evaluate your performance very
14:46seriously. Now, two of the biggest
14:48factors that impact seller performance
14:50and reputation is shipping on time and
14:52fulfilling your sales. Shipping late or
14:54cancelling sales entirely makes eBay
14:56pretty upset and doing this too often
14:58will cause your seller ranking to
15:00plummet. And this will have a negative
15:01impact on the visibility of your
15:03listings in search. Cancelelling an
15:04order because the buyer requested it or
15:06because there was an issue with the
15:08mailing address does not have a negative
15:09impact on your seller reputation. But
15:12cancelling for any other reason,
15:13including being out of stock, does. So,
15:15be careful. Your return rate is also
15:17important to keep in check. Too many
15:19returns, especially when the reason is
15:21that the item was not as described, will
15:23cause your seller reputation to falter,
15:25which will negatively impact your
15:26rankings and search results. And we
15:28can't forget seller feedback. Of course,
15:31it's impossible to make every buyer
15:32happy. And if you sell enough on eBay,
15:34you're bound to get some negative
15:35feedback here or there. A handful won't
15:37make a difference, but if you're
15:38regularly making mistakes and the
15:40negative feedback is stacking up, you
15:42can bet that it will hurt your seller
15:43reputation and the algorithm will be
15:45more cautious when deciding when and
15:47where to show your listings. There are
15:49other actions you can take as a seller
15:51that may cause the algorithm to view
15:53your listings more favorably. eBay won't
15:55confirm or deny this, but many seasoned
15:57sellers, myself included, find that
15:59listing frequently and consistently
16:01leads to better search placement for
16:02your entire store and thus more sales.
16:05This is difficult to prove because the
16:07more you list, the more you're likely to
16:08sell, but I am certainly in the camp of
16:10sellers who believe that listing
16:12frequently is a good way to keep your
16:14store awake and generating sales. If you
16:16go long periods of time without listing
16:18anything, it's almost like the algorithm
16:20views your entire store as dormant. and
16:22committing to a regular listing schedule
16:24will benefit you in more ways than one.
16:26Customer service responsiveness may also
16:28be a behavioral factor that the
16:29algorithm considers. Though again, eBay
16:31won't say for sure whether your
16:33propensity to respond to questions in a
16:35timely manner has a positive impact on
16:37your listings availability and search.
16:39But considering how important eBay takes
16:41your seller reputation, it's a pretty
16:43good bet that being generally responsive
16:45to buyer questions is a good thing. And
16:47speaking of buyers, as a buyer on eBay,
16:50every action you take, every search you
16:52make, every listing you view, everything
16:54you buy, every move you make, they're
16:56watching you. All of this is recorded
16:58and used to personalize your experience
17:00when using the platform. In other words,
17:02the algorithm remembers what you've
17:04searched for, viewed, or purchased in
17:06the past. It uses this information to
17:08personalize your experience and help
17:09decide which listings to show in search
17:11and in what order. Unfortunately, most
17:13of this is out of your control as a
17:14seller, but it's important to talk about
17:16anyway because these factors do have a
17:18significant impact on how the algorithm
17:20decides what listings to show and when.
17:22Buyer behaviors like filtering and
17:24sorting also have a big impact on what
17:26results the algorithm decides to show in
17:28search. For example, a buyer can go in
17:31and change the sort order after
17:32searching from the default to lowest
17:34price first, which wipes out almost all
17:37other factors the algorithm had
17:38previously considered and instead shows
17:40all results sorted by price with the
17:42lowest on top. There are a huge number
17:44of additional filtering and sorting
17:46options which will have a similar
17:47effect, so keep that in mind. The
17:48algorithm also likely considers other
17:51buying related engagement metrics when
17:52deciding what to show in search. For
17:54example, listings with a higher number
17:56of views or watchers may show higher in
17:58search results. Though, in my opinion, I
18:00have found that there is not a strong
18:02correlation between the number of views
18:03or watchers a listing has and its
18:05propensity to sell. So, take that one
18:06with a grain of salt. Receiving a best
18:08offer from a buyer may also be
18:10considered a positive engagement from
18:12the algorithm's perspective. It's not
18:13uncommon to get a best offer on an item
18:15only to have that item sell to a
18:17different buyer soon after at full
18:19price. And while eBay won't confirm or
18:21deny this, it certainly feels like the
18:23offer could be sending a positive signal
18:25to the algorithm, causing it to show
18:27higher in search results for some period
18:28of time.
18:32Of all the key factors we've discussed
18:34so far, there is only one that is
18:36powerful enough to outweigh all of the
18:38others. It's the one factor to rule them
18:40all. Paid promotions. Paying to promote
18:43your listings on eBay is like skipping
18:45the line at Disney World. you can pony
18:47up a bit of extra money to eBay and in
18:48exchange they'll whisk your listing away
18:50to the top of search results regardless
18:52of most of the other factors it
18:53considers when determining what order to
18:55show in search results. You often hear
18:57sellers ask the question, does paying to
18:59promote work? And there is no question
19:01that yes, it works. The whole idea of
19:03promotions is to pay a little extra
19:05money to get your listings to appear
19:07higher in search, and it definitely does
19:08that. But perhaps a more appropriate
19:10question might be, is it worth it to pay
19:13to promote your listings? And that is
19:15something only you can answer for
19:16yourself. When you promote a listing,
19:18you can decide how frequently it gets
19:19sent to the top of search. And the more
19:21frequently it gets promoted, the more
19:22you pay in additional fees. The minimum
19:24is 2%, but you can increase that
19:26percentage to whatever you want. The
19:28higher the percentage, the more
19:29frequently your listing will get shown
19:30at the top of search results. And what's
19:32cool about promoted listings on eBay is
19:34that you only pay a fee if the buyer
19:36found your listing when it was being
19:37promoted. If a buyer clicks on a listing
19:39from a non-promoted result in search,
19:41you don't have to pay the additional
19:43fee. But promoting your listings does
19:45not mean you can ignore all of these
19:47other factors. Because unless you pay to
19:49promote your listings 100% of the time,
19:51which also means you give 100% of the
19:53profit of sales back to eBay, your
19:54listings are going to rely on the other
19:56factors when they are not being
19:58promoted. Personally, I promote
19:59everything at the minimum, 2%. I do this
20:02because it's the cheapest way to promote
20:04and well, it works. Last year, I spent
20:06$859 in promoted listing fees, and those
20:09promotions generated an additional
20:11$46,396
20:13in sales. Some of those items would have
20:15sold without using promotions, but those
20:17numbers are hard to ignore.
20:22Are you still with me? Okay, let's take
20:25everything we've learned so far and lay
20:26out what a picture perfect listing and
20:28seller looks like in the eyes of the
20:30eBay algorithm. Number one, your listing
20:32is chalk full of detailed information
20:34without any errors. Number two, it's
20:36priced competitively. Number three, you
20:38offer a quick handling time, ideally
20:40same day, and a reasonable shipping
20:42cost, ideally free. Number four, you
20:44allow returns, ideally free as well, and
20:46for up to 60 days after purchase. Number
20:48five, you're a top-rated seller with a
20:50good feedback score and low return rate.
20:52Number six, you provide excellent
20:54customer service. Number seven, you list
20:56new items consistently and regularly and
20:59end and relist unsold listings. And
21:01finally, number eight, you promote your
21:03listings. Now, I am not saying you must
21:05do every single one of these. I sure
21:07don't. You may find, for example, that
21:09offering free shipping or 60-day returns
21:12or listing regularly is difficult for
21:14your business in particular, and that's
21:15okay. It doesn't mean you're destined to
21:17be ignored by the algorithm. But you
21:19should consider all of the factors we've
21:21talked about today and strive to meet as
21:23many as you can. And no single factor
21:25here is a magic bullet, except for maybe
21:27promoted listings. You can't look at one
21:29in particular and say it does or doesn't
21:31work. They all come together with many
21:33other factors only eBay knows about to
21:35effectively score your listings and rank
21:37you as a seller. And those scores are
21:39used to help determine which listings
21:40show up and in what order. But you can't
21:42forget about all of the buyer influenced
21:45factors, which you have no control over.
21:47So even if you do everything right,
21:48sometimes your listings just aren't
21:50going to show up high in search results
21:51all the time. That's just the way it
21:53goes sometimes. And even when you do
21:54everything right, you may find that your
21:56items might not be selling as quickly as
21:58you'd like. This doesn't necessarily
22:00mean that you're doing anything wrong.
22:02It probably just means what you're
22:03selling has a relatively low demand.
22:06Because remember, no amount of futzing
22:07with your listings or being the perfect
22:09seller will create buyers out of thin
22:11air for an item with little demand. So,
22:13be patient. At the end of the day, focus
22:15on the factors you have control over and
22:17keep eBay's best interests in mind. When
22:19I was doing the research for this video,
22:20I put a call out to my community to see
22:22if you had any questions about the
22:24algorithm specifically. Many of you sent
22:26along some pretty great questions. But
22:27before we jump in and answer those, I
22:29wanted to pause and thank you for taking
22:31time out of your busy day to watch this
22:33video. If you enjoyed it, an easy way to
22:34help support my channel is to share this
22:36video with someone else who might like
22:38it, too. Another way to support the
22:39channel is to check out Flipwise, the
22:41eBay automation platform that I built to
22:43help me manage my business without
22:45having to use annoying spreadsheets.
22:46Flipwise connects to your eBay account
22:48and automates the recordkeeping and
22:50inventory management process. It stays
22:52in sync with eBay at all times, adjusts
22:54all your selling costs automatically,
22:56and calculates important metrics so you
22:58can understand how your business is
22:59performing and be ready for tax time. If
23:01that sounds interesting to you, look for
23:03a link in the description below along
23:05with a promo code for 20% off your first
23:07month. All right, let's jump into some
23:08of those questions. Kristen Rose asks,
23:10"Why, all things being equal, listing
23:12frequency, good photos, fair prices,
23:14like items, do some sellers have slow to
23:16no sales, while other sellers having
23:18record sales." Christy, thanks for
23:19sending along that question. I really
23:20think that just comes down to demand. It
23:22really depends on what items you're
23:24selling. Some items have high demand,
23:26some have low demand. That demand, that
23:28sellrough rate is really going to
23:29determine how quickly it's going to
23:31sell. If you have every one of these
23:32factors checked off, uh, but you're
23:35selling two different items, that's
23:36going to be the difference. And most
23:38people are selling a huge variety of
23:39items in their store and has a mix of
23:42demand and so it's pretty hard to
23:43determine exactly why that may be, but
23:45it's almost always just a demand issue.
23:47So Woody asks, "I noticed my sales go
23:49down when I use a draft bank. It's
23:51almost like there is an algorithm that
23:53wants you to consistently work on the
23:54site application, making clicks, inputs
23:56instead of only making listings once a
23:58week to release them daily from a draft
24:00bank." I've always wondered this. Hey
24:02Woody, I can't say for sure one way or
24:04the other whether eBay is really
24:05tracking all the activity that you're
24:07making as a seller on the site and
24:08clicking around and doing all sorts of
24:10stuff. I would just go by what you're
24:12seeing though. If you find that loading
24:14up a bunch of drafts on one day only to
24:15let sprinkle them out over the course of
24:17the week is less effective than actually
24:20doing the listings once per day, I would
24:22just do some do some messing around with
24:23it, doing do some testing with it. But
24:26my guess is that's probably not an
24:27issue. Ultimately, eBay wants you to
24:29list as much as you possibly can. I
24:31don't think they care whether you're
24:32doing the work to list on one day or
24:34spreading that work out over multiple
24:35days. So, the important part is just get
24:37your listings up. Mitch Barker asks, "I
24:39always try to select multiple themes and
24:41occasions in the item details. When I
24:44check an item, is that word now a part
24:45of the search? If someone uses a
24:47specific word while searching?" Yeah,
24:48Mitch, that's definitely right. So, you
24:50know, eBay, the eBay algorithm is not
24:52just looking at the title, for example.
24:54It's looking at all the details. And
24:56like I said earlier, it's probably
24:57ranking the different areas of a listing
24:59uh for importance. And it's probably
25:01treating, you know, the title more
25:02important than it is treating the
25:04description, but it it definitely is
25:06searching all of that and it's utilizing
25:07all of that metadata in the listing
25:09itself to help power search. And so if
25:11you can't fit it in the title, yeah, use
25:13the theme, use the occasion, get it in
25:14there somewhere. Cam asks, I recently
25:16saw online that it is better to choose
25:17sell similar rather than relist when
25:19renewing listings. Any truth to this?
25:21Hey Cam, I can't be 100% certain. I
25:23don't work for eBay. I can tell you that
25:25hitting relist or hitting sell similar
25:26when relisting an ended item, they both
25:28do the exact same thing. They create a
25:30new listing. They come with a new
25:31listing ID, there's no difference
25:33between those two. Uh, so you can use
25:36either one interchangeably. Julie asks,
25:38"Promoted listings. So confused. 2% 5%
25:41suggested. I see no difference lately."
25:43Hey, Julie, there is a difference. You
25:44know, the more you the more you promote,
25:46uh, the more often your listing is going
25:48to get shot up to the top of search
25:50results. The less you promote, the less
25:51it is. the more you promote, the more
25:53expensive it is. The less you promote,
25:54the less expensive. So, you know, if
25:56you're not seeing a difference there,
25:58there is a difference. If you're only
25:59jumping one or two%, the difference is
26:01probably going to be hard to tell. Uh,
26:03but that's the way it works, you know.
26:04So, if you the more you promote, the
26:06more often eBay is going to put your
26:08listings uh up there in the top of
26:10search results. So, there's definitely a
26:11difference. Steph asks, "Is it true that
26:13if an item doesn't sell in 3 months, the
26:15algorithm considers it dead?" Hey,
26:17Steph. I don't know if it considers it
26:19dead necessarily, but I do think there
26:20is some truth to that. I do think that
26:22eBay favors new listings over older
26:24listings. That's why I make it a habit
26:26to end and relist older listings. So,
26:28give that a shot. I've never heard the
26:30three-month mark. I don't know if
26:31there's a specific cut off date or not,
26:33but if you have a high demand item,
26:35everything seems fine, but it's just not
26:36selling, try ending and relisting it if
26:38it's hasn't sold when you think it
26:39should. But, uh, so yeah, I definitely
26:41think there's some truth to that. Gary
26:42asks, "If Flipwise can detect a new
26:44listing versus a new item created by End
26:46and Sell similar, can eBay's algorithm
26:48pick up the same thing? Seems like EASS
26:51has been a lot less effective in
26:53generating new cell sales lately, like
26:55something has changed in eBay software."
26:57So, yeah, Flipwise can detect, you know,
26:58a new listing versus an end and a
27:00relist. Uh, that's because Flipwise
27:02relies on a parent child relationship
27:04created when from eBay. So, eBay creates
27:07this parent child relationship when you
27:09end and relist and Flip Wise uses that.
27:10So eBay definitely knows. If Flipwise
27:12knows, then eBay definitely knows for
27:14sure. So yeah, they can tell whether
27:15something is just being ended and
27:17relisted versus an entirely new listing
27:19from scratch. Whether that changes how
27:21they rank something in search, I don't
27:22know. I can't tell you. Only eBay could,
27:24and they don't really share that
27:25information. But but yeah, eBay
27:27definitely knows the difference between
27:28the two. Heather asks, "Do returns or
27:30contested refunds I was scammed affect
27:32my views? Does it matter what time of
27:33the day I post listings? What if I'm
27:35unable to list one day? How many
27:37subsequent days does that mess up my
27:39chances of being seen? So, Heather, you
27:42a couple questions here. Returns or
27:44contested refunds affect my views? Uh,
27:47pro not not one in isolation. You know,
27:49again, if you're racking up tons of
27:50returns and your seller ranking is going
27:52down, that probably is going to affect
27:54your rankings in search, but one or two
27:56is not going to make a big difference as
27:57long as you're maintaining good seller
27:59standards. Uh, does it matter what time
28:00of day I post listings? Nope, I don't
28:02think so. Not at all. What if I'm unable
28:04to list one day? How many subsequent
28:06days does that mess up my chances of
28:08being seen? I wouldn't think of it that
28:09way. One day is not going to hurt. You
28:11just want to be consistent with your
28:12listing. If you if you miss one day,
28:14it's not like the eBay algorithm is
28:16going to notice and get all mad and
28:17upset. It's not it doesn't really work
28:19that way. I would think at a a more
28:20macro level instead of a micro level. So
28:23that's why I set weekly listing goals
28:25instead of daily listing goals. I try to
28:27get 35 per day. I try to spread those
28:29out over every day, but even if I don't,
28:31I'll sometimes, you know, get more on
28:33the weekends, for example. So, just get
28:35your listings done, get them out there.
28:37Don't sweat it if you miss a day or two.
28:39Looking to extend your eBay education
28:41even further? Check out this next video
28:42where I show you how you can list almost
28:44anything on eBay in four minutes or
28:46less. As always, thank you for your
28:48support and see you next time.

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