posted on April 18, 2004 11:28:07 AM new
I'd like to know how people feel about the Ebay category changes. I sell used books, mostly cookbooks and now there is no such category. Business has gone to hell and I'm looking at other options even though Ebay is the "king". Their messages boards are full of complaints but it appears as though its falling on deaf ears. Am I whining without cause or are others having problems?
posted on April 18, 2004 11:59:31 AM new
I hate the changes! I, too, sell books. Almost all of them are now dumped under "Books > Nonfiction books". Gee, thanks, eBay.
Most buyers are not going to want to jump through the hoops they now have to in order to view the specific categories they want. So we are losing the sales to people that used to browse categories. Only people who arelooking for a specific thing will be able tofind our listings with any ease.
If anyone finds or knows of a site that is better for listing books, let us all know!!
Yahoo is pathetic, and Amazon was never a place I had many sales on in the past.
******
Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
posted on April 18, 2004 12:33:32 PM new
I agree, I sell books of different crafts, I refuse to pay double listing fees for 2 categories, but I don't want them to just go in "non fiction books" I think we should all complain to eBay.
posted on April 18, 2004 12:47:00 PM new
The changes totally stink. I sell jewelry and there is no longer a category for the type of jewelry I sell. I am getting an invalid category message when I create my auctions but I can't manually enter the new EBay category for some reason. So tonight I have to manually revise all my auctions after they post to make sure all the information is correct. It burns me up because I pay a bloody fortune to them every month. Also, I can't access my About Me page and EBay has been giving me the run around for two weeks now. What other option is there though after spending almost four years building up my business on Ebay? This stinks!!
posted on April 18, 2004 08:53:23 PM new
I must side with ebay on this one. The problem that ebay was having is the catagories were getting too specific. I tend to sell many items that could fall in the same general catagory, but would get split up with the extreme specific catagory. General catagories are far more benifical for a seller as a buyer might be looking for item A using the catagory search, they may run across item B, which they didn't realize they were looking for, but when they came across it, made a bid. If these were put in extreme specific catagories, this buyer would have never even seen the auction. Change is going to happen. In this case, the change was positive for a change.
posted on April 18, 2004 09:05:15 PM new
Stone...There were just too damn many categories and good items were being hidden from the bidders. Anyone who has sold on Ebay knows many buyers are not patient when it comes to shipping their items. They want it NOW! There's no reason to believe they will be patient when it comes to searching through a thousand sub-categories. This may not be the best solution for the problem, but it's the best they could come up with at the time. Anything is better than the direction they were heading with subcategory expansion. I'm willing to give it a try.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on April 18, 2004 09:23:41 PM new
I agree with Stone and Sparkz. It was getting to be almost impossible to find the right category unless the item was extremely specific. Most of my things aren't and I would end up picking the lesser of the many evils.
Sometimes I had to list in more than one category because of the overlap created by so many sub-categories.
It's still not easy to find a good spot. I listed an item tonight. It's a tapa cloth which I *believe* is Tongan but I'm not absolutely sure. So I put it under Collectibles > Cultures, Ethnicities > Pacific Islands.
It's entirely possible it's Hawaiian but "Hawaiiana" (whatever that is, says my sister who has a gallery in Kailua-Kona... ) has it's own spot.
A good example of two sub-categories that could be combined.
posted on April 18, 2004 11:12:54 PM new
I agree to a certain extent with you wise people. But there are some categories, like cookbooks, which really wouldn't fit easily in a lot of other subcategories. And mysteries. Science fiction. I could name several which, when I used to sell one of those books, I would only have to list in one category. Now, we're depending on the sellers' patience to wade.
posted on April 18, 2004 11:23:23 PM newAnnouncing Changes to Item Specifics in Pottery & Glass
We are making several changes to the organization of Item Specifics to make item specifics and the Product Finder more user-friendly, reduce confusion about overlapping makers, as well as to make it easier for buyers to browse what they are looking for without knowing all the specifics.
Art Pottery and China, Dinnerware will be combined into one group of items called Pottery & China. We believe combining all Pottery & China items into one category will make it easier for buyers to find your items, will reduce confusion about overlapping makers and how the two differ, as well as make it easier for buyers to browse popular, decorative Pottery & China styles.
posted on April 18, 2004 11:37:27 PM new
Kiara: I just read the whole message board they created for "changes in the category." There is much consternation in the ranks.
Well, ebay, when in doubt, fiddle with it, even if things are working well.
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posted on April 19, 2004 12:05:42 AM new
Roadsmith, I just read it too and there is much consternation in the ranks.
I don't think that the ones deciding the category changes have the knowledge to really understand what they're doing at times. For years now I've wondered if any of them even sell pottery or jewelry, etc when they make these decisions.
But eBay always claims based on Community input from experienced buyers and sellers in these categories.
So...... I just go along with the program and adapt to it because that's the way it is.
posted on April 19, 2004 04:15:09 AM new
I still say that many of the category problems would be solved it ebay would split out all Antiques and Collectible as it did ebay motors. I believe that Antique & Collectible sellers where the backbone of the old ebay and now you can't even find us for the most part. I think they could even break it down to Antiques - Vintage (at least 25 years old) and Collectibles. Then add another for Collectibles (new) I don't think this would hurt ebay and would help the us all.
Old cookbook is a great example. Bidder probably know from the start if they want a old / vintage cookbook as opposed to a new one.
posted on April 19, 2004 09:58:57 AM new
ladyjewels2000, many of us have suggested that over the last few years and a split would be one of the best things ebay could do I think. It would benefit both buyers and sellers.
Hopefully they will give it serious consideration some time soon.
posted on April 20, 2004 03:53:51 PM new
Kiara
Maybe we can start an Vendio petition or something to have ebay split them. I think it would be wonderful for everyone.
As it is now I don't even want to list vintage jewelry anymore?? It's just lost in the maze.
posted on April 21, 2004 04:55:58 PM new
Since I'm so new, I'm sure I don't understand all the ramifications around the categories going to a "general" mode, but I've had a thought - perhaps someone can either correct me or expound on it...
If one used to list let's say a ring under Jewelry/rings/silver/citrine for instance and now, the only option is Jewelry/rings/other (diamond or gemstone) then it seems to me that ALL those different types of rings that were spread out throughout the subcategories are all now shoved in under rings or other. Which means that one is competing with MANY MANY others. AND it seems to mean that at the minute intervals that eBay lists there could be PAGES and PAGES of rings - meaning that you never work your way to the top as your auction is going off, but rather are lost in the BUNCH that are all going off at the same time.
I have listed since the change in jewelry and for an item that I had at least 25 hits on within a 12 hour period, I've now had 2 hits. Seems sadly defeating to me to list now.... I don't really enjoy paying eBay for auctions that never get seen because no buyer wants to scroll through 8 pages of items all going off within a second of each other.
posted on April 21, 2004 08:29:24 PM new
Lorelei: I don't sell jewelry, but others here do, and they've complained about the changes, too. It is extremely frustrating.
And, in books, the fact that they don't have a category for cookbooks is just too awful. How could they ignore that huge category??? I'm stuck with a big inventory of cookbooks and don't know where to list them now.
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posted on April 21, 2004 09:41:16 PM new
Same here, Roadsmith. Guess we'll just have to be sure to put "cookbook" in the title field.
Hey--we could get creative, I guess, and list them under Home & Garden > Kitchen, Dining & Bar > Other or Everything Else> Dietary Supplements, Nutrition> Other
******
Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
posted on April 21, 2004 10:29:03 PM new
I'm afraid Ebay shot themselves in the foot when they started integrating Half.com into the Ebay main site. They should have done just the opposite and restructured Half and put the Ebay name in it and made it a division much like Ebay motors. They could have easily moved all books, cd's, dvd's, software, music and essentially anything considered media onto the new site. It would have relieved the main site of a lot of congestion and categories and would have given the media sellers a site that could be customized to suit their particular needs.
Bunni...I once had a book by Rockwell Kent that I listed in the pottery and china category under Vernon Kilns. Got a great price for it there. Seemed a more appropriate spot than the book category.
A $75.00 solid state device will always blow first to protect a 25 cent fuse ~ Murphy's Law
posted on April 21, 2004 10:37:00 PM new
Yes, I've often listed books in other categories where I thought they'd get more exposure. It can work out well. But what eBay has done is to gut the entire category, leaving many, many, things without a home, so to speak. For instance, people interested in poetry don't want to wade through every listed under "Fiction & Literature."
It's a major PITA
******
Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but unlike charity, it should end there --Clare Booth Luce
posted on April 22, 2004 12:21:13 AM new
My best book sales have been when I've integrated them into non-book categories.
So I am not so sure it's help or hindrance to migrate it off like ebay motors. When I do pure book search, I first go to amazon.
Hunting for stuff in sub, sub, supersub catagory can be challenging, but with all the keyword spammers and "it looks like a ___(pick your spammage)__" it just muddies the waters. (sorry for that!)
posted on April 22, 2004 03:39:25 AM new
One thing you might all find interesting. I signed up for the free 30 days of Sellathon, and it tells you how people found your auction. 82% of word searches on my hits were from title only, which shows the importance of the title. Very few were under category, a lot were under "search other buyers auctions".
) has it's own spot.
