I have returned to find that selling here is rare as hen's teeth.

[FortesMentum]

Having found Fleabay devoid of buyers this past few years, I returned to Ebid to see what would happen if I listed with a 25% discount on my usual Fleabay prices. My findings are as follows:

• Relief that things are so simple to list here
• Not wasting money on Fleabay
• Dismay that I am getting so many views are recorded (apparently) - yet not one watcher, question, or dare I say - purchase
• Forums are so quiet
• I am close to just binning everything I have for sale
• Help!

[FrogBearCreations]

I moved here to escape the tyrannical rules on the bonz site - so far love how this site is so easy and affordable - had two nice sales right away and now things are quiet - I think it is due to time of year and vacations - fingers crossed it picks back up in the fall

[FortesMentum]

Thank you for your response FrogBear. I think that the Ebid market in the USA is much bigger than the UK - and here in the UK the economy is the worst it's been in nearly a 100 years. We need a way of marketing ourselves - Google shopping is not very good any longer, I fear.

[Mandart]

Are you self promoting? Passing traffic is low on here, you need to promote your listings - there's various eBid Facebook groups you can promote your listings on.

[theElench]

Thank you for your response FrogBear. I think that the Ebid market in the USA is much bigger than the UK - and here in the UK the economy is the worst it's been in nearly a 100 years. We need a way of marketing ourselves - Google shopping is not very good any longer, I fear.

@FortisMentum.

Hi, we've spoken on the other site in the past. Yes things are slower here, to be expected IMO because the site is much smaller and traffic slower, but since Lock-down I've been selling more here than on obay and selling reasonably regularly. Check my FB Left For Others, which I use as a Sales Counter. It's not because I put flyers in obay sales parcels (which I do, but they are so few now it doesn't account for the number of sales I have here). Neither do I use Facebook or other SM to self-promote. I used some of my spare time during lock-down to look into Google Shopping and tried to make use of it.

There is a thread on the "Website Suggestions" board titled "Google Shopping" with what I've found (or think I've found) to be helpful in increasing my sales. They have to come from somewhere and I can think of no other source. I would be hugely grateful if you would spend 10 minutes searching GS for "Art Deco Glass" or "Bagley Glass" and confirming (or not) what I see when I do my regular searches and view a couple of my items.

That you can (or can't) see Ebid - theElench on their "Sites Searched" side-bar. By doing the above regular searches and views, I've been able to see ebid and my username on the side-bar continuously since October '22. That ticking that box GS then shows 20-30 of my items + a few other 'Related' items from other ebid sellers. And a handful of my ads. are scattered over the first three pages of GS search results. At least I would know if others see the same as I do, or if I'm mis-informing everyone by saying that doing it will improve visibility for ebid and sellers on GS.

You voice your fears that "GS is not very good any longer" but from what I've seen most ebid sellers ignore it beyond looking in from time to time to see if they can find any of their ads.. There wasn't much interest in my thread. No-one seems to have tried any of my tips and returned to say they worked, or even that they found they made no difference. It was like pulling teeth just to get a couple of sellers to confirm what I was seeing.

GS likes to used, it's there to make money, by people using it as a search tool. It's counting how many ebid ads. are clicked on and what else those who click are also doing on the site. I think that ebid isn't as visible as it should be because ebid sellers don't use it enough. I now make it my first port of call for price research before listing and on-line shopping in general. I search specifically for "ebid - CO2 detector" etc.

If my tips are any good at all there are plenty of other ebid sellers who can increase their sales from single figures a year to consistently selling 20+ items a year using the same simple methods. I'm no genius when it comes to techie. stuff and if I can do it there's no reason that others can't do the same and probably do it even better.

[FortesMentum]

I don't use Facebook (life, at my age, is too short). What I don't understand is:

On Fleabay, my items had very few if any viewers, and yet I still managed about 2 or 3 items sold a month.

On Ebid - my items have up to 100 views within a week, but no activity like watchers, enquiries, let alone anyone considering buying. My stuff is 25% lower priced than on Fleabay.

[FortesMentum]

Good morning Elench - yes, I have enjoyed reading your posts of the Fleabay forum. I think that I have got Google shopping working for some of my items now - it's a bit hit & miss. I have started up a Googleblog, but found that that is equally devoid of traffic. I don't use Facebook - always get locked out of my accounts.

I think Ebid could make the site easier to navigate for potential buyers - it's a bit like looking at Windows v3.1, compared, for instance to Etsy, that has the appearance of Windows XP. Liekwise - the Android app is useless - as if you search for something specific - the results are displayed in an ever more disparate flow of tributaries without actually showing any one item. Small wonder that potential buyers are put off.

[theElench]

Well that's a good start and something to build on, as I said above and in the "GS" thread, if you want GS to work for you, you have to do some work to get it to do so. If you ignore it and never look at it, it will often ignore you in favour of others who make themselves visible to it.

[theElench]

@FortesMentum.

To add to the previous post. If you think you've got GS working for some of your listings, how did you do that?

Did you try anything from the "GS" thread?
Anything that you'd care to share by adding it the thread?

You mentioned that despite getting "views" you don't get Watchers here. I wasn't aware that a seller could see if they had any Watchers, perhaps I've never had any either?

I re-read the whole "GS" thread last night after another seller who had read it had missed one of the basic points. I'm thinking it's become too unwieldy and needs condensing and the original thread deleted.

Before I do that, would someone / anyone please check Googgle Shopping.uk. Search for "Art Deco Glass" and let me know if they still see "Ebid - theElench" on the Sites Searched side-bar please.

[pastime]

Before I do that, would someone / anyone please check Googgle Shopping.uk. Search for "Art Deco Glass" and let me know if they still see "Ebid - theElench" on the Sites Searched side-bar please.

Hi Elench,
Just took a quick look on Google: Art Deco Glass
Was incog because my blocker hides sponsored. Clicking on Products bring up a row of AD and expanding photos with right arrow extender - none of those photos showed eBid - only Etsy and eBay.
This continues all the way down the page. It is only when clicking all the way across the row, at the end, on the right, a list comes up starting with Google and a few others (not eBid) - then clicking on Google it produces the old pages and elench shows to the left-hand side listing for selection. When selected your listings show in all your glory - didn't count all your photos, but it would seem to be all your listings.
Looking at the rest of the page many, many of your listing are showing. So, from my search you are not showing until Side Google is selected , so needing 2 clicks before being seen.

Checking images - no eBid showing, but what is showing is out-of-this-world Art Deco photos (which is a very rich field of images so may be different in a smaller area of interest).
Checking on 'All' - no eBid showing. But, again clicking on Products - the rows appear as before and clicking on right-side Google in the list also shows the old page with sellers on the left-side with you listed as above.
Hope this helps - you are an established seller WHEN on this page, but Google having changed from 'Shopping' to 'Products' seems to be not showing items the way they did, they now seem fewer and more limited than before.
Marie.