eBay Duplicate Listing Policy Question

[martyjump]

First off, everytime I've done this (and I've done this on several accounts) it hasn't been intentional. Inkfrog catches these most of the times, but every now and then one gets through and I get a duplicate listing e-mail from eBay.

If I or eBay remove these listings so there aren't any duplicates are there any ramifications or consequences to my account and/or search result ranking as a result of these duplicate listings?

My sales the past month when I had a lot of these duplicate listings problems have seemed to go down a bit and was wondering if this had anything to do with it.

[mmartin9999]

Ebay expects you to comply with their policies.

Whatever you do that requires them to have to remove a listing will affect you somehow.

[martyjump]

How does it affect an account specifically? Seems like I read somewhere that it affects your search results ranking/relevance but can't find anything on it now. And how long does it last? Is it permanent or temporary?

A lot of these accounts were some of my best so it's disheartening but if it's taken this big of a toll I guess I'll have to put those accounts on the bench and move some listings around.

Any input is appreciated.

[mmartin9999]

Originally Posted by martyjump

How does it affect an account specifically? Seems like I read somewhere that it affects your search results ranking/relevance but can't find anything on it now. And how long does it last? Is it permanent or temporary?

A lot of these accounts were some of my best so it's disheartening but if it's taken this big of a toll I guess I'll have to put those accounts on the bench and move some listings around.

Any input is appreciated.

No one can tell you that. Ebay has it's own algorithms that only Ebay knows.

[martyjump]

Originally Posted by mmartin9999

No one can tell you that. Ebay has it's own algorithms that only Ebay knows.

Then how can you be certain that it has any affect on an account? Unless you're referring to potential suspension/temporary bans that are a result of multiple infractions of this policy. What were you referring to when you said it would affect an account?

From my experience, eBay has been pretty transparent about their policies and the consequences relating to violating them. This policy is the only one I've ever been unclear about.

Maybe you're referring to the search result algorithms? If you are, I would agree with that.

[martyjump]

I might just be paranoid but would sure appreciate some input on this with a little bit more specific information concerning how this affects an account.

And just so nobody else runs into this potential issue- I experienced these duplicate listings 100% because of InkFrog. I have no desire to list duplicate items as there's no benefit in it for me even if it were allowed. I was backing up my items to the Inkfrog "library" because every so often listings would mysteriously disappear and I'd have to go back in and create a new listing. Every so often if I saw that my Live listing # didn't match up with my Library listing # I would go to library and re-list everything, assuming Inkfrog would catch the duplicate listings and only list the items that had gone missing. But nope. Inkfrog is a lovely service, and I do recommend it... but it has it's limitations and certainly has it's bugs (gallery images go mysteriously missing as well... leaving a blank gallery image that's sure to attract buyers lol)

[computerfx]

There will never be specific information answers as ebay will always with hold some info. They may be clear about their policies but they will never tell you what your secret reputation score is. And for sure it affects your "ebay SEO" so to speak. I know when I am a top rated seller my items sell 4x as quickly. If I drop down a fraction of a percent below by items sell slower till I get it back up.

[martyjump]

Originally Posted by computerfx

There will never be specific information answers as ebay will always with hold some info. They may be clear about their policies but they will never tell you what your secret reputation score is. And for sure it affects your "ebay SEO" so to speak. I know when I am a top rated seller my items sell 4x as quickly. If I drop down a fraction of a percent below by items sell slower till I get it back up.

Does the SEO score reset every so often? I know that eBay keeps track of late shipments for a year period. Just wondering how long these duplicate listing infractions will affect these accounts for.

[Sunspot144]

You probably get a ding on the account but to punish you by decreasing your sales doesn't really fit together. They want you to make money so they make money.

[SaiJin]

So usually when there's a duplicate, they nick you on the search standing.

You don't get suspended unless you keep doing it for a long time

[martyjump]

Originally Posted by SaiJin

So usually when there's a duplicate, they nick you on the search standing.

You don't get suspended unless you keep doing it for a long time

Even after the duplicate has been taken down? How long does this search nicking last?

[Pandoras_box]

Yes, Cassini will bury your listings if it detects duplicate contents.

I don't suppose anyone knows how long the penalty will remain after sorting out the duplicate content. eBay would rightly keep this a secret.

Try forcing Cassini to re-index your affected listings by making significant changes.
Do note that there might be an initial drop in search position.

Changing keywords, prices, etc. can affect the search position depending on what they are changed to. Reducing product quantity to a low amount can force Cassini to give to boost as it would think you're running out.

[SaiJin]

If you fixed it and not do anything, I've seen it go from 24h to a week.

Other factors also have play in it such as trend and season of course.

[walkingupwards]

Duplicate listings will make your sales go down and this is done automatically by eBay algorithms.

[Sunspot144]

The moon is also made of cheese.