Spikes in views / Sales

[pod]

I've noticed dramatic spikes in views and sales on eBay the last few months. With no real pattern.

Items are not in a high competitive market, but also not alone.

I know it sounds crazy, but I have actually seen an odd anomaly of spikes. Views will be steady and flat for about 10 days then they will spike. Huge. Like 6x or even more. And sales will spike. In 3 days I will make half the months sales. Then it winds down back to hunt and peck. 2 spikes over a month . Both with views and sales. Then again, big spike. Views and sales

I understand the wave with paydays and month end bills, ect. This is different. Same product as I have on my website and on my website I see a normal monthly pattern of visits/sales high/lows....

I've been watching this account for a couple months now and its undeniable. There are massive spikes. And they vanish as fast as they come.

I swear I'm convinced eBay has some kind of system that throws you in and out of the loop. What it is and why I have no idea. But it just doesn't look like any kind of fluke. Its drastic. Its almost like you are there one minute and gone the next. For 3 or 4 days a month, I will make almost all my sales on that account....

Am I just crazy [well. Given] or does anyone else notice dramatic spikes with no rhyme or reason?

[forummember]

I think a lot of its down to the 'best match' search results where you go up and down all the time.

[GreenBean]

grrrrrr Best match suxs

[slapped]

It is Also the Time of year/Economy,,,,As we get closer to The Holidays as soon as people find themselves with a Few Xtra Dollars they spend it on a Holiday gift,,Also as the General consensus about the Economy improves People are Becomming more and more confidant that they are secure and "Can Spend a Little" these type of things do tend to Hit "In Waves"

Just My Views

[Hercules]

Plus the summers over and they are inside allot more.

[bansheezone]

Rolling server black outs

[jeffweico]

I have also noticed this, primarily with my BIN listings. It also seems to be based on geography. If I have, say 10 listings, I'll have no sales for 3 or 4 days and then 5 or 6 sales on the same day, all from the same region... Like Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. Or Georgia and Florida. Or California, Oregon and Washington.

I'm just guessing, but I think it has to do with "best match".

I liked it much better when it defaulted to sort by time ending soonest. That way, every listing had a chance. Now, eBay can set it up to favor some listings over others. Of course, they will never tell you how they determine what the "best match" is based on.

I swear, if I tried, as an individual, to get away with some of the things they get away with as a large corporation, I would be in jail. But they can do whatever they please.

[pod]

Originally Posted by jeffweico

no sales for 3 or 4 days and then 5 or 6 sales on the same day

Thats the pattern I see as well. Go a week or so like I'm invisible then bang. They give big sellers all the feed even if items are not all that close to search. And every once in awhile they trow me a bone.

Originally Posted by GreenBean™

grrrrrr Best match suxs

It does. And I'm positive that's it. And it seems to pop in clusters so it has to be their doing. I have it spaced out so I always have something "ending soon" so its just not that. And its not the ending items that sell. I do all BIN. They seem to pepper the exposure.

And I've been watching it happen on this account for a couple months now. They are clearly manipulating the searches.

[jeffweico]

I started to notice this around the same time they changed the search from "ending soonest" to "best match".

[pod]

Originally Posted by jeffweico

I started to notice this around the same time they changed the search from "ending soonest" to "best match".

Kicker is, its not really "best match" at all. Its best customer. Or best fee maker or whatever they seem to work with

I've ran some tests on searching and even items with exact words in item tittle get bumped for some sellers. And seriously bumped too. Pages and pages in some cases

I've really never seen a search engine so manipulated. They really just have no love for the little guy at all. Its counter productive to them in the long run and very short term thinking. Some of these little guys could bring in some serious fees if the were fairly let out of the gate.

Daily I ask myself what business school these cats went to. There has to be some serious nepotism or something in the top ranks. Just impossible to have so many people in the top spots with such silly business ideas.... Otherwise you would be bound to get a few that realize how goofy some of the ideas are....