Severe Drop in 500+ Item Listings OVERNIGHT!

[simradtonno7]

Hello all,

I have had a significant issue affect my store to the point where it has literally turned to **bleep** overnight! I have been a TRS for 2 years running and have always had all of my listings at the very top (or near) of every search result. I do standard checks every day to see how my listings compare to others, to see whats hot and obviously to confirm that i still hold pole position.

On the 31/08 all was still good when searching BEST MATCH. By the 02/09, all of my listings had plummeted to the bottom of every search result. Literally EVERY LISTING fell to the VERY BOTTOM! You will see them stacked one on top of each other at the very bottom of the search results. Nothing has changed from my end, nothing at all.

Take a BEST MATCH example. Search 'softplastic shrimp' in the search bar. 18 results should come up with 3 of mine stacked up at the bottom. Check out the 1st listing (a competitor) and then check out the 15th listing (my first listing). My compeitor has sold 6 total and hasnt sold an item since July. My listing ticks all the premium seller boxes, has over 500 watchers, has sold over 1800pcs and over 100pcs in August alone. It's always been at the top.

In the month of September, since the drop, i have sold 3 in total!! This particular item has always held pole position in the 'fishing lure' BEST MATCH search which has over 44,000 search results. Now, i cannot find this listing or any of my 500+ listings in the top 10,000 search results. Again, ALL OF MY LISTINGS HAVE DROPPED TO THE VERY BOTTOM OF ALL SEARCH RESULTS OVERNIGHT.

I have contacted ebay several times over since this happened, but nothing. CS came back with "a list of how i can improve my listings", which is a load of BS, they have always been at the top. This is being investigated, but so far, nothing has been resolved and technical support have not been able to detect what has sent all my listings plummeting to the bottom!

Has this happened to anyone? Is there a solution? Can you pass on any contacts of someone who i can contact that will genuinely assist. If not, did you tie the noose or did you get someone else to 😛

[yeoldecoinco]

Here is a post by ebaysllr on a USA site, which may be of help.

• Never cancel an order for out of stock. Do anything you can to avoid it. Example: I bought something at retail price and sent it to a guy when I accidentally ran out of stock on an item.
• Opt out of managed returns, and tell people in your listings to contact you via message for an easy hassle free return. With managed returns turned off you cannot get defects returns for NAD. If you don't say anything about returns, some buyers jump to the conclusion that you will drag your feet if they don't open a case.
• Take shipping seriously. Don't ever miss your handling deadline. Don't use parcel post where you can avoid it. Offer one day shipping, and ship most of your items same day. Buyers are are sometimes willing to forgive other problems if their item arrives earlier then expected.
• If a case is opened in clear error, call eBay and have them remove the defect. I was able to get a defect for INR case when a dude opened it and received the item on its due date. I was able to get another removed when I guy opened a NAD and said in the message center he really just wanted a different size. American CSRs seem way more willing to do this then others, try again if they refuse you.
• Ban or Block anyone who even looks like they may be trouble. If you are in a niche, ban all of your competitors. This one is something you should have been doing for awhile.
• Be super professional to people in messages. Always give the impression you willing to do anything that you can for your customer even if you hate them. Apologize profusely and take a loss if something goes wrong even if it is not your direct fault. Don't let the fear of a scammer prevent you from giving a possibly legit customer with a legit problem poor customer service.
• Quit bugging people to leave you feedback. Positive feedback is great, but all the requirements are based off of total transactions. If they don't leave you feedback you cannot get dinged for DSRs, but you still get the transaction count. Don't remind the people you may have potentially upset about the importance of good feedback.
• Under-describe your used items. List every noticeable defect and explain that there maybe other small signs of wear as well. Take clear photos, etc. People who are pleasantly surprised with the quality are more willing to forgive any other possible problem, as well are more likely to buy from you again.

[i-love-my-sheep]

A lot of people want to be top of best match (it doesn't really bother me as a lot don't use that search function), which means that a lot of people comply with all the hoop jumping to achieve it. Maybe eBay sees that you've had your turn up top and now it's someone else's go.

I don't think your poor feedback has helped either.

[simradtonno7]

Hi Clary its very scary indeed that my whole store, or anyone elses for that matter, can plummet to the bottom without any input from me. Nothing has changed. I ran a search one night everything was at or near the top and then the very next night i ran the same search and all my listings were at the very bottom of every search. All my items were out of the top 10,000 items, when several items have been in the top 10 for 2 years running.

Sales are down by 80%

In reply to the other comments by others -

As for the things like #negatives and other elements that others have brought to my attention, you need to understand that its all relative to the number of sales. I didn't receive all those negatives overnight for that to have an effect on my all of my listings plummeting to the bottom.

I'm not whinging about have sales at the bottom or asking how i can improve my listings. I've been a TRS for 2 years, some of my items have sales exceeding that of any other item in the category for 2 years running.

Its been a tough ride..Here's hoping eBay sorts this out.

[bosswild]

You caught my eye with that

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Sales are down by 80%

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I've just started up selling again in the last few months, took a couple years off. I just went bronze and it was only a week or so before that I went from standard to above standard.So, nothing going in a negative direction for me.

My sales in the last two weeks are down about 75%. I wasn't at the top of any lists before, pretty sure nothing has changed with my listings. No negs, no issues. I'm actually looking around to see if it's a global issue, rather than personal.

[i-love-my-sheep]

I only do auctions. Had no bids and very few page views all week. Today, even with freaky Friday, my page views have increased and I've had 4 bids tonight on 4 different items. My watch count has increased a fair bit today too.