I decided today that I would suck it up and just work within the parameters of the convoluted rigamorole also known as eBay’s Best Match. If you sell on eBay (or anywhere else really) you know that getting seen at the top of a search is what it’s all about. Best Match is eBay’s way of matching the potential buyer’s search query with the desired product from the best seller at the right price. Free shipping is now pushed to the top of the search. Repeat sales of the same listing is also favored.
Lately I’ve had trouble with my Google Base feed (I won’t go into that fiasco right now) so my page views have been down which of course translates into fewer sales. That is now fixed after I did a lot of research and also got some help from a few generous sellers. In the process, I learned a lot more about the importance of search and as a result started to delve into researching which of my products were being seen the most on eBay and what type of listing was performing for me.
So today I started putting up listings with this combination: 30 day Fixed Price, Free Shipping, Best Offer. In less than a day these new listings are all on page 1 of Best Match. These brand new listings have already surpassed the “old” listings for the same products that have been on Fixed Price or perpetual auction for weeks, have some sales, but have shipping charges attached. Free ship does seem to make a big difference. I will also state that my DSR’s (Detailed Seller Ratings) are very good which helps to further push me up to the top of the search over other sellers with lesser DSR’s. I used the same titles for my new Free Ship listings that were previously keyword optimized on my old listings using eBay tools.
There are really no differences between my old listings and my new listings other than Free Ship. Since the old listings actually have had many sales they technically should be moved up the ladder for that reason according to eBay. Free Ship seems to have trumped multiple sales. EBay is weighting free shipping much heavier than repeat relists.
Is Fixed Price with Free Ship the answer? I guess it’s no secret that eBay has been pushing sellers to free shipping. This seller has dug her heels in resisting this ‘suggestion’ because I personally feel that nothing is free. My reasoning in the past has been the following:
- The Post Office charges me so it’s not free. There’s no such thing as free shipping at the Post Office.
- Why should eBay get more Final Value Fee? This is just one more way for eBay to grab a bigger piece of the pie.
- The asking price seems to inflate the price of the item and therefore wouldn’t be competitive.
I can see from my research today that Free Shipping deserves a closer look. If eBay is going to push my item to the top of the search when I offer FS then that’s what I’ll offer if I get more sales that way. If my brand new listing can kick my old one’s butt in less than a day then I need to change my views. Fast.
The best example I saw today:
Old listing – fixed rate shipping on a new product – very competitively priced and with Best Offer – I gave up trying to find it after page 8.
New listing I created today for same product, same title, description, Best Offer, everything the same except – Free Shipping. Yep, Page ONE with 897 items. About halfway down on Page ONE of Best Match after a half day in existence.
Ok eBay, I get it. For now. Until you change the formula again.
Needless to say, I’ll be listing more using Free Shipping. Never thought I’d say that.
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