New eBay motors package-Issues

[sellect2 19]

Firstly let me apologise for the length of this post!

The post is aimed at those who use or intend to use the new eBay motors package, and who care about how their adverts look!

Ebay  (now with Gumtree) are my only advertising platforms. I stock on average 10 cars and sell 13 per month on average. (Not this month!!!!!).

Here is a note of my issues with the new advertising platform, which appears to have been poorly though through.

(This is an extract from the letter I have just sent to eBay).

 

1.      As an advertiser it is important, I know where my leads come from. Leads from this platform are not distinguished between. So, I am paying extra for, let’s say, Motors, but I won’t know if I get any enquiries from them! (I sent myself an enquiry from Motors).

2.      Watchers on eBay are an excellent indicator, of desirability, and advert quality. I now have no access to this information. I use watcher information to make decisions on price, and to amend my adverts. 

3.      On Motors, there are icons at the bottom of the main advert picture. One of these relates to HPI. I have an advert where this icon says “HPI warning”. This will put potential customers off, as they will assume the car is CAT d or alike. In fact, in this case the car has merely had a plate change. “HPI advisory” would perhaps be better wording for things like plate changes, and HPI warning for CAT d etc??

4.      On Motors, specification for the vehicle appears to self-populate. Is it possible to alter or add to this section? For example, I have a Honda civic type R with 19” wheels, my advert says 18” wheels. It appears from the advert that I don’t know my job, and this will put buyers off, particularly those who buy this type of car. Also, the car has Sat Nav which is an optional extra-can I add this?

5.      On Motors, some dealers have added information about themselves, this displays on the description section below the line that says, “read the motors.co.uk review about this car”. Can I add this, and how will it appear on Gumtree and eBay?

6.      My adverts say, “visit dealer website”, I don’t have a website, can it be removed, or can it link to my eBay showroom?

7.      When creating titles and subtitles (attention grabbers), the text is not limited, making it very difficult to judge the sentence size. This was previously limited on Motorspro, making it very easy to create attention grabbers. (These are an essential part of a good advert).

I have added a car today13/02/2020, to try and determine where the information displays on each platform. Once created I then added a few lines of specification.

1.      When I added the additional specification, it displays twice on both eBay and Gumtree adverts-duplicating all specification. (YC61PLX-BMW 118d M SPORT).(search BMW 1 series £10000-£10000, there are no photos, and that's not the price!!!!, its just a test).

2.      On eBay the description box populates with specification. This box is better used (in my opinion) for Reasons to Buy this car, e.g.  One owner, service history, £30 tax, condition, etc plus, reasons to buy from Me, HPI clear, test drives, debit card payment etc, plus information about my business-how long I’ve trading etc.

3.      On eBay, the Description box, which I feel should be used as above, becomes a jumbled mess and one very long paragraph, which customers will not read! (see link below).

Furthermore, I have noticed the following points

1.      The invoice does not work correctly on the new system. It automatically deducts VAT from the sale, while this is correct for a vat qualifying car, it is not correct for a margin car. I can’t see where to denote this.

This is my only shop window and it really has to be right; I feel the advert should be roughly as follows

 

1.      Basic Description of the car (e.g. 2009 Honda Civic Type R GT,….) with attention grabber

2.      Secondary attention grabber

3.      Photos

4.      Basic specification and info on the car-spec listed clearly, with space to make the text inviting and easy to read

5.      Reasons to buy-e.g. One owner, service history etc

6.      What we offer- e.g. HPI clear, test drives available, debit

cards etc

7.      Business info e.g. been established 35 years, buy from main dealer etc

It is impossible to split 5,6,7 on the new platform so that they are easily read and are distinctive points. Furthermore, to get specification onto the advert, this would add to the description text (duplicated) and make the description a jumble of too much information- presented in one paragraph.

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

This for me is a major issue-the text presents as one paragraph, including spec and anything else you want to put in. It is not possible to space the text to make presentable and something customers would read.

I have spoken to the eBay team in some length about these issues, they are listening but nothing has happened yet.

I have asked to revert back to the old platform while they sort (and even pay the new price)-they flatly refuse and say "you are in a contract" and we will enforce it!

The reason for the post- to help you guys before you change over, so you know what you will get, and , hopefully, to gain support in my plight for those who have already switched and are not aware of these issues, Or to get help to overcome the issues, if any of you have found a way to present the adverts well.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2009-Honda-Civic-2-0-i-VTEC-Type-R-GT-100000-MILES-SAT-NAV-FULL-SERVICE-HISTORY/153828023650?hash=item23d0dd5d62:g:oPgAAOSwZexeRCLk

 

[Rory RSC 596]

24 minutes ago, sellect2 said:

Firstly let me apologise for the length of this post!

The post is aimed at those who use or intend to use the new eBay motors package, and who care about how their adverts look!

Ebay  (now with Gumtree) are my only advertising platforms. I stock on average 10 cars and sell 13 per month on average. (Not this month!!!!!).

Here is a note of my issues with the new advertising platform, which appears to have been poorly though through.

(This is an extract from the letter I have just sent to eBay).

 

1.      As an advertiser it is important, I know where my leads come from. Leads from this platform are not distinguished between. So, I am paying extra for, let’s say, Motors, but I won’t know if I get any enquiries from them! (I sent myself an enquiry from Motors).

2.      Watchers on eBay are an excellent indicator, of desirability, and advert quality. I now have no access to this information. I use watcher information to make decisions on price, and to amend my adverts. 

3.      On Motors, there are icons at the bottom of the main advert picture. One of these relates to HPI. I have an advert where this icon says “HPI warning”. This will put potential customers off, as they will assume the car is CAT d or alike. In fact, in this case the car has merely had a plate change. “HPI advisory” would perhaps be better wording for things like plate changes, and HPI warning for CAT d etc??

4.      On Motors, specification for the vehicle appears to self-populate. Is it possible to alter or add to this section? For example, I have a Honda civic type R with 19” wheels, my advert says 18” wheels. It appears from the advert that I don’t know my job, and this will put buyers off, particularly those who buy this type of car. Also, the car has Sat Nav which is an optional extra-can I add this?

5.      On Motors, some dealers have added information about themselves, this displays on the description section below the line that says, “read the motors.co.uk review about this car”. Can I add this, and how will it appear on Gumtree and eBay?

6.      My adverts say, “visit dealer website”, I don’t have a website, can it be removed, or can it link to my eBay showroom?

7.      When creating titles and subtitles (attention grabbers), the text is not limited, making it very difficult to judge the sentence size. This was previously limited on Motorspro, making it very easy to create attention grabbers. (These are an essential part of a good advert).

I have added a car today13/02/2020, to try and determine where the information displays on each platform. Once created I then added a few lines of specification.

1.      When I added the additional specification, it displays twice on both eBay and Gumtree adverts-duplicating all specification. (YC61PLX-BMW 118d M SPORT).(search BMW 1 series £10000-£10000, there are no photos, and that's not the price!!!!, its just a test).

2.      On eBay the description box populates with specification. This box is better used (in my opinion) for Reasons to Buy this car, e.g.  One owner, service history, £30 tax, condition, etc plus, reasons to buy from Me, HPI clear, test drives, debit card payment etc, plus information about my business-how long I’ve trading etc.

3.      On eBay, the Description box, which I feel should be used as above, becomes a jumbled mess and one very long paragraph, which customers will not read! (see link below).

Furthermore, I have noticed the following points

1.      The invoice does not work correctly on the new system. It automatically deducts VAT from the sale, while this is correct for a vat qualifying car, it is not correct for a margin car. I can’t see where to denote this.

This is my only shop window and it really has to be right; I feel the advert should be roughly as follows

 

1.      Basic Description of the car (e.g. 2009 Honda Civic Type R GT,….) with attention grabber

2.      Secondary attention grabber

3.      Photos

4.      Basic specification and info on the car-spec listed clearly, with space to make the text inviting and easy to read

5.      Reasons to buy-e.g. One owner, service history etc

6.      What we offer- e.g. HPI clear, test drives available, debit

cards etc

7.      Business info e.g. been established 35 years, buy from main dealer etc

It is impossible to split 5,6,7 on the new platform so that they are easily read and are distinctive points. Furthermore, to get specification onto the advert, this would add to the description text (duplicated) and make the description a jumble of too much information- presented in one paragraph.

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

This for me is a major issue-the text presents as one paragraph, including spec and anything else you want to put in. It is not possible to space the text to make presentable and something customers would read.

I have spoken to the eBay team in some length about these issues, they are listening but nothing has happened yet.

I have asked to revert back to the old platform while they sort (and even pay the new price)-they flatly refuse and say "you are in a contract" and we will enforce it!

The reason for the post- to help you guys before you change over, so you know what you will get, and , hopefully, to gain support in my plight for those who have already switched and are not aware of these issues, Or to get help to overcome the issues, if any of you have found a way to present the adverts well.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2009-Honda-Civic-2-0-i-VTEC-Type-R-GT-100000-MILES-SAT-NAV-FULL-SERVICE-HISTORY/153828023650?hash=item23d0dd5d62:g:oPgAAOSwZexeRCLk

 

In the time it took you to write that could have actually set up your own website. Its 2020 no excuses. 

[sellect2 19]

Don't need a web site, plus the adverts on eBay etc would still not be right.

This is an attempt to help fellow members, and to hopefully, gain some support in my dealings with eBay. It was not intended to start a discussion on whether I , or anyone else needs or has a website- that would be a separate post. 

I think you miss the point Rory  RSC???

Edited February 14, 2020 by sellect2
further explaination

[Mark101 536]

I have switched and have too noticed that all the information is now contained in one paragraph. Do I care? Not one bit; Autotrader do exactly the same but charge me 3 times as much for 50% of the stock. No one reads the adverts properly anyway in my opinion and if I was looking for a Civic Type R, there is nothing in your advert that would put me off.

Re: seeing how many people are watching/saving their cars. You can still do this through your Ebay account, click on Selling and a list of your stock is there with the information to the side.

I know you said Rory has missed the point but the website is such a great asset, especially with repeat customers who now go directly to my website instead of any other platform (captive audience). My top package with CD5 costs me less (much) per year than AT does per month. 

[NOACROSS 414]

3 hours ago, sellect2 said:

Don't need a web site, plus the adverts on eBay etc would still not be right.

This is an attempt to help fellow members, and to hopefully, gain some support in my dealings with eBay. It was not intended to start a discussion on whether I , or anyone else needs or has a website- that would be a separate post. 

I think you miss the point Rory  RSC???

You can use your ebay or even Facebook showroom as your website if you didn't want to take the plunge.  I used to do this many years ago.  Just chose a domain name, buy it and then set it up so it forwards to the Showroom's full web address that you copy and paste from the address bar.

Getting people to your website is a different matter, but at least it's somewhat more useful than not having one.

[Arfur Dealy 823]

8 hours ago, sellect2 said:

Firstly let me apologise for the length of this post!

The post is aimed at those who use or intend to use the new eBay motors package, and who care about how their adverts look!

Ebay  (now with Gumtree) are my only advertising platforms. I stock on average 10 cars and sell 13 per month on average. (Not this month!!!!!).

Here is a note of my issues with the new advertising platform, which appears to have been poorly though through.

(This is an extract from the letter I have just sent to eBay).

 

1.      As an advertiser it is important, I know where my leads come from. Leads from this platform are not distinguished between. So, I am paying extra for, let’s say, Motors, but I won’t know if I get any enquiries from them! (I sent myself an enquiry from Motors).

2.      Watchers on eBay are an excellent indicator, of desirability, and advert quality. I now have no access to this information. I use watcher information to make decisions on price, and to amend my adverts. 

3.      On Motors, there are icons at the bottom of the main advert picture. One of these relates to HPI. I have an advert where this icon says “HPI warning”. This will put potential customers off, as they will assume the car is CAT d or alike. In fact, in this case the car has merely had a plate change. “HPI advisory” would perhaps be better wording for things like plate changes, and HPI warning for CAT d etc??

4.      On Motors, specification for the vehicle appears to self-populate. Is it possible to alter or add to this section? For example, I have a Honda civic type R with 19” wheels, my advert says 18” wheels. It appears from the advert that I don’t know my job, and this will put buyers off, particularly those who buy this type of car. Also, the car has Sat Nav which is an optional extra-can I add this?

5.      On Motors, some dealers have added information about themselves, this displays on the description section below the line that says, “read the motors.co.uk review about this car”. Can I add this, and how will it appear on Gumtree and eBay?

6.      My adverts say, “visit dealer website”, I don’t have a website, can it be removed, or can it link to my eBay showroom?

7.      When creating titles and subtitles (attention grabbers), the text is not limited, making it very difficult to judge the sentence size. This was previously limited on Motorspro, making it very easy to create attention grabbers. (These are an essential part of a good advert).

I have added a car today13/02/2020, to try and determine where the information displays on each platform. Once created I then added a few lines of specification.

1.      When I added the additional specification, it displays twice on both eBay and Gumtree adverts-duplicating all specification. (YC61PLX-BMW 118d M SPORT).(search BMW 1 series £10000-£10000, there are no photos, and that's not the price!!!!, its just a test).

2.      On eBay the description box populates with specification. This box is better used (in my opinion) for Reasons to Buy this car, e.g.  One owner, service history, £30 tax, condition, etc plus, reasons to buy from Me, HPI clear, test drives, debit card payment etc, plus information about my business-how long I’ve trading etc.

3.      On eBay, the Description box, which I feel should be used as above, becomes a jumbled mess and one very long paragraph, which customers will not read! (see link below).

Furthermore, I have noticed the following points

1.      The invoice does not work correctly on the new system. It automatically deducts VAT from the sale, while this is correct for a vat qualifying car, it is not correct for a margin car. I can’t see where to denote this.

This is my only shop window and it really has to be right; I feel the advert should be roughly as follows

 

1.      Basic Description of the car (e.g. 2009 Honda Civic Type R GT,….) with attention grabber

2.      Secondary attention grabber

3.      Photos

4.      Basic specification and info on the car-spec listed clearly, with space to make the text inviting and easy to read

5.      Reasons to buy-e.g. One owner, service history etc

6.      What we offer- e.g. HPI clear, test drives available, debit

cards etc

7.      Business info e.g. been established 35 years, buy from main dealer etc

It is impossible to split 5,6,7 on the new platform so that they are easily read and are distinctive points. Furthermore, to get specification onto the advert, this would add to the description text (duplicated) and make the description a jumble of too much information- presented in one paragraph.

................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

This for me is a major issue-the text presents as one paragraph, including spec and anything else you want to put in. It is not possible to space the text to make presentable and something customers would read.

I have spoken to the eBay team in some length about these issues, they are listening but nothing has happened yet.

I have asked to revert back to the old platform while they sort (and even pay the new price)-they flatly refuse and say "you are in a contract" and we will enforce it!

The reason for the post- to help you guys before you change over, so you know what you will get, and , hopefully, to gain support in my plight for those who have already switched and are not aware of these issues, Or to get help to overcome the issues, if any of you have found a way to present the adverts well.

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2009-Honda-Civic-2-0-i-VTEC-Type-R-GT-100000-MILES-SAT-NAV-FULL-SERVICE-HISTORY/153828023650?hash=item23d0dd5d62:g:oPgAAOSwZexeRCLk

 

If you are averaging 13 from 10, that's a great result ROI with ebay, stop moaning and well done !! I would also suggest you don't use CAPS, stop SHOUTING.... Also, a lot of your photos are taken with direct sunlight behind them... 

Rory is right, you need a website for legitimacy .... 

[sellect2 19]

19 minutes ago, Arfur Dealy said:

If you are averaging 13 from 10, that's a great result ROI with ebay, stop moaning and well done !! I would also suggest you don't use CAPS, stop SHOUTING.... Also, a lot of your photos are taken with direct sunlight behind them... 

Rory is right, you need a website for legitimacy .... 

Thank-you. The reason I do well is because of the quality of adverts- which I am now unable to achieve- that’s the point. 
 

Nothing to with having a web site or not. 

[Arfur Dealy 823]

Wrong, you use advertising mediums to direct your customers to your website.

Your website is your platform to sell YOU and YOUR business. 

[sellect2 19]

Going to have to just disagree. I don’t have a web site and I do ok. 
Would be interested to see how many of your customers actually go on the web site before buying. Obviously in my case it’s none! 
 

Let’s return to the point of the post though- it was to point out issues with the new platform, so anyone going on it knows what they are getting. Which in my opinion is inadequate. 

[NOACROSS 414]

It's inadequate, but OK for the money (just) but as Mark says, dig around and you can find the info you need.  Could be a better customer experience but we’ll survive. Bit like your customers experience with the lack of (even a free, like I suggested) website for your business ;op. 

[Rory RSC 596]

Get a website. Its 2020. Not having one is harming you a lot and you can't see it. You could even suggest customers visit your website to see even more of your high quality adverts you mention in your own format because you are in control of them. 

A lot of people when they see you on Autotrader / Ebay / Facebook etc google search your business to find your website to get an impression of you as a business, see what google has to say about you etc.