Postcards as a Main Category

[deanosaur1972]

I also wouldn't want to see postcards in a category with stamps.

Not sure I will be popular for saying this, but I don't really see much benefit from moving the postcard category from where it is. Every single postcard buyer on eBid will also have a bay account and therefore they know exactly where the postcard category is located. 99% of the time a new postcard buyer comes to eBid it will be via a listing on Google Organic or they pick up an eBid adword on google, I would think the amount of postcard buyers who manage to stumble upon eBid and then start to search for the postcard category is negligible.

If it is ever moved then, as per Bunsock's previous comment, there would certainly have to have a ghost cat in the present position under collectables.

[Posbear]

Madelaine, not necessarily.
Main category with 2 main sub-cats of stamps and postcards..
I fear the alternative will be status-quo, at least this option will have the word postcards in the top level.

[madelaine]

But Postcards are more like Collectables than they are like stamps

The number of sub cats will be totally horrendous! (and there are not enough under stamps yet)

[tony41]

Madelaine, not necessarily.
Main category with 2 main sub-cats of stamps and postcards..
I fear the alternative will be status-quo, at least this option will have the word postcards in the top level.

I agree with Madelaine in two ways. Putting Stamps and Postcards together would create too complex a listing situation also agree that there need to be more stamp sub-categories.
Why should stamp sellers (and buyers) have their listings cluttered up with postcards. The status quo is better than lumping stamps and postcards together. The stamp listings already have covers included unlike most other sites.

[bunsock]

I also wouldn't want to see postcards in a category with stamps.

Not sure I will be popular for saying this, but I don't really see much benefit from moving the postcard category from where it is. Every single postcard buyer on eBid will also have a bay account and therefore they know exactly where the postcard category is located. 99% of the time a new postcard buyer comes to eBid it will be via a listing on Google Organic or they pick up an eBid adword on google, I would think the amount of postcard buyers who manage to stumble upon eBid and then start to search for the postcard category is negligible.

If it is ever moved then, as per Bunsock's previous comment, there would certainly have to have a ghost cat in the present position under collectables.

Whilst I fully agree and endorse this view from the Postcard buyer and seller's viewpoint I do feel that Postcards, being 50% of the current Collectables category, tend to swamp out other Collectables.

Collectables (and stamps) are a strong point on eBid and are probably the biggest growth area on the site. eBid sensibly want to limit the number of Main Categories and I actually believe that the current number of Main Categories of 32 is excessive. Looking at the UK site Postcards are a sub-category with 244,473 listings. Whereas there are various Main Categories with less than 10,000 listings and one with just 216 listings - that is nonsense!

I would suggest scrapping some of the existing Main Categories, as follows:

Put Antiques (4988) under Collectables and rename this Main Category "Collectables & Antiques"
Put Baby Stuff (2515) under Home & Garden (renamed "Home & Leisure")
Put Tickets & Travel (216) under Home & Garden (renamed "Home & Leisure")
Rename Video & Computer Gaming (5739) to just "Gaming" & put under Home & Garden (renamed "Home & Leisure")
Delete Wholesale & Large Lots and put these as sub-categories under the relevant Main Categories

[tony41]

Whilst I fully agree and endorse this view from the Postcard buyer and seller's viewpoint I do feel that Postcards, being 50% of the current Collectables category, tend to swamp out other Collectables.

Collectables (and stamps) are a strong point on eBid and are probably the biggest growth area on the site. eBid sensibly want to limit the number of Main Categories and I actually believe that the current number of Main Categories of 32 is excessive. Looking at the UK site Postcards are a sub-category with 244,473 listings. Whereas there are various Main Categories with less than 10,000 listings and one with just 216 listings - that is nonsense!

I would suggest scrapping some of the existing Main Categories, as follows:

Put Antiques (4988) under Collectables and rename this Main Category "Collectables & Antiques"
Put Baby Stuff (2515) under Home & Garden (renamed "Home & Leisure")
Put Tickets & Travel (216) under Home & Garden (renamed "Home & Leisure")
Rename Video & Computer Gaming (5739) to just "Gaming" & put under Home & Garden (renamed "Home & Leisure")
Delete Wholesale & Large Lots and put these as sub-categories under the relevant Main Categories

A less disruptive change would be to make Postcards a main category and move Sports Memorabilia and Cards into Collectibles.
Another possible merger is Dolls and Bears with Toys and Hobbies.

[madelaine]

My merging suggestion was still the best - Tickets & Travel into whatever's left moves under 300 listings!

[deanosaur1972]

Whilst I fully agree and endorse this view from the Postcard buyer and seller's viewpoint I do feel that Postcards, being 50% of the current Collectables category, tend to swamp out other Collectables.

On a main category there is no swamping - swamping only applies to sub cats. I would be extremely doubtful there would be any browsers who are going to go through (page by page) the whole category of collectables. It would be largely keyword searchers and sub cat browsers therefore swamping a main category is not an issue. I would ask that the powers that be put it through the analytics and they will see that very clearly.

All I can see with postcards being moved is:

Less postcard sales
Less collectable sales (because of the cross over sales and a couple of other reasons)
Less postcard seller+ sign ups, because I can see them coming in via the eBid adword 'auction site' - going straight to collectables and seeing no category.

So a lot of work for zero gain - I don't see anybody benefiting in moving the postcard category.

[FirstGreenIsGold]

I've purchased quite a few postcards over the years for my family history research and I always search by keyword.

The place and the word Postcard. Then I browse from there. I also look for farming cards, so might search for something like homestead life postcard or threshing postcard, etc.

I also look for postcards that were sent and received by my kinfolk and will do an advanced search in the description looking for surnames. So I really appreciate it when a seller has detailed keywords in the title and the description.

But that's the way I do it. Maybe other buyers search for things in a different way.

[madelaine]

If postcards are not to be moved and, in truth, even if they are, we need an improvement on the current drop down for selecting categories!