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Hey all: was having a discussion today with one of our helpers. She brought up two topics centered around us being able to move on along a little faster with our listings.
FYI… We are a SixBit user. So, we use 3rd party listing software for about everything we do.
When it comes to listing, we have several templates we use which have some items pre-filled in which also included many custom created fields of Item Specifics. What is now slowing us down somewhat is the addition of Ebay adding all the “recommended” new fields, many of which are now duplicating some of the older custom fields we created some time back. This is causing us to take longer to have to scan through all those IS fields and make decisions about which ones to fill in and which ones not too.
So, I am thinking I may possibly just bulk delete all our older custom fields because many are duplicates. But some are not and do contain some data about the item. But guess we can live without that data. So, we were thinking if any item has a few certain details we felt necessary that we would just enter it into the description area.
If this is the case, then the description will be a little longer, but our helper says she can type in a sentence faster than having to look through all those IS data fields to find where to put certain key points about the item.
To make things a little worse Ebay is moving around by adding to [showing] and not showing certain IS fields depending on what category we select. So almost every time there are more or less IS fields to fill in and, in some cases, important ones are not showing.
Case in point on some categories Ebay has a “Color” field, in other categories, there is not, so rather than use a custom “color field” that we created we would just put that into the description area.
Now Jay is going to jump, but short descriptions are on their way out and longer “narrative” descriptions are on their way in. Especially with last month’s Google BERT update.
If you didn’t know… “Google BERT Update: Background and analysis. It’s the biggest change to Google’s algorithm for five years, affecting one in ten search queries. With the Google BERT Update, Google aims to improve the interpretation of complex long-tail search queries and display more relevant search results.”. In short the “Keyword based” search is being slowly replaced by “Content Analysis” and the reading and interpreting what a buyer is searching for and then matching with the “Intended Content of a short Narrative Type Description.
Great for us because we never did go with the short description fad from a few years back. We always stuck with a few sentences about our items. And, now the new algorithms have gotten sophisticated enough to look for, scan and interpret the short narrative description and with the aid of AI is able to read and interpret what you are describing [what you are selling] and matching it with what they are “interpreting” that the customer is actually looking for when they use long tail searches.
Isn’t technology beautiful! 🙂
So, it seems the “keyword” based phrases are being used more for “structured” data, i.e. cataloging and for “side bar” search filtering. On top of this new technology to scan, interpret and present method being used by the Search Engines, and possibly Cassini, what say you guys on less CUSTOM IS Data Fields and going back to slightly more information in the description area, especially if our helpers can type a short sentence or two FASTER than looking all over the place for IS Data fields, which keep changing and shifting and whose new role is to be used more for data filtering.
Example in the Description area: Women’s Blouse, XL is just not going to be enough for the coming new technology, in our personal opinion.
Looking forward to hearing some thoughts on the topic. And check out the new Google update, which is presenting for what many believe the new tomorrow on searching and presenting data to “the searchers”.
Mike at MDC Galleries in Atlanta
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Do you trust your helpers to write long descriptions of weird, vintage items?
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One.. Absolutely. Mid-aged, been with us for 3 or 4 years,beens with us to estate sales, auctions and garage sales. She even does some buying with us at times. Also she is very good at using WorthPoint, TerraPeak, Marmalead and E-Rank. Watches many videos I feed to her, she has read our Kovels books on American Pottery, Roseville, Hull, etc. Knows most trade marks, can spot Art Glass with Pontil Marks, and knows about as many brands as we do and can price just good as us from her research as well as my custom made pricing grid. She is also good on using Marmelead for keyword ranking and creating fairly good 2 and 3 word long tail tags for Etsy [which will be helpful on all the social media]. BTW.. IS data fields will not be of much use on any social media but the “descriptive narrative approach” can be either a cut and past or a direct link to the information. Also will help populate the Shopify store.
Now on the art stuff, she leaves a lot for me to review. I have created various folders in SixBit whereby they can put listing on hold in their “Ready for Review” folders of which I look over these drafts before I publish them live.
In the one older helper, I usually don’t change much of or add anything except ocassionally I will tighten up on the SEO a bit. Those first 125 characters are critical in both the title and description.
Now the newer one, no she is learning. That is what brought up the questions today after she had done her homework assignment I gave her to research about the Google BERT Update. She is learning though. But as you are hinting at, doing good, accurate short narrative descriptions takes experience.
But if i can quote you from a few years back… Photograph like there are no descriptions, BUT Describe as if there are no Photos. So I will have to train her to use her eyes and fingers to explore and item.
It is either get the new one to a higher level or do it all myself. And with Susan still sick and going through a second operation and even more cancer treatments, I don’t see her helping me much for the coming year.
So probably using the draft folder and me reviewing the new helper will what I stick with for the time being. But if she doesn’t know how to recognize what “Moriage” is on an Asian piece, then she can’t fill it into Item Specifics either nor will she describe it in the “Description Area”. She leaves all items out for me to be able to lay my eye balls on it and feel the surface before she stores them away.
You are right, it is going to be a challange but time provides some knowledge.
In depth art descriptions will probably always be left for me.
If I loose both of them and with susan out then I will be stuck and will just have to go very slow and do what I can when I can. But I do still put in well over 40 hours, close to 50 to 60 hours still even at 70+ years old.
But who knows if I can’t get the new helper accurate, fast and trained, I will have to cut bait and go back and trim out and make things simple again.
mike at MDCGFA
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Understood. Longer descriptions are probably very helpful and can’t hurt anything. Maybe Google even now likes them more now.
For us, its just a cost-benefit analysis. Short or even almost no descriptions fit our strategy and so far seems okay.
Im glad to hear Susan is hanging in there.
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Yep. Agree we just don’t know. The same old question is less more or more better? Only way to know is run a Test but none of us have that kind of spare time to do a full test properly.
Susan has her follow up appt. Friday to see have she is doing after her second surgery two weeks ago. Then this doctor says 6 to 8 weeks recovery before any more radiation can be done. But the big question Friday will be are they then going to go ahead and proceed with the second rounds of 3 months of Chemo during this 2 month recovery period? We’ll see Friday.
She is doing some admin. stuff on a hospital roll up bed tray we have. Making Inventory tags, which we put on each item as we acquire it. But no climbing up the stairs to the office to do photography or office work. She is so drained from the side effects of the treatments that she stays in bed mostly. Just no energy, always feeling fatigued and of course the nausea part. But she has a ton of meds to supposedly minimize the effects.
I’ll tell her you asked about her.
Quick / short Bubble wrap question. We have a cheap source for both large and small bubble wrap but sometimes cheap price isn’t always the best product. Ours is very static prone, and blocks together and drags other objects it touches AND the perfs are not cut all the way through, so it won’t tear off very well and we have to scissor cut. Ours I suspect is factory rejected material which the guys buys and resells. Only $17.50 for 12″x250’x3/16 [small bubble] but is just crap to work with.
Do you now have a specific source where you get yours or anybody else? That tears off clean and is not stiff and sticks together [non-static type I guess]? Home Depot and Staples is twice if not more than the cost. I think $30 for only 125 lin. feet.
Thanks…
Mike at MDCG
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Mike – The bubblewrap I buy is not the best stuff, but I’m not having the problems that you are. They used to sell on eBay, but they moved to Facebook in order to save on fees.
700 ft for $28, shipping included.
https://www.facebook.com/commerce/products/3052033351536081/
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Sharyn: Got my first thin bubble wrap from your source and link you provided.
Bingo! It is the soft feel, non-static cling type and the perfs are all the way across the roll and tears off just fine. This is like what we used to get but that vendor disappeared.
Now the 4 rolls of the large 1/2″ bubble is due in a few days and if it is like this 3/16″ small bubble it will also be perfect and at a very good price.
Again, thanks so much for the tip and source.
Mike at MDC Galleries.
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Thank you mike at MDCGFA!!!!
Great news about google BERT!
I have never been able to give up writing pretty detailed descriptions – one of a kind items deserve some thorough explanation, and it’s so easy to do by dictating into the phone. I’d even say buyers like complete information!
So this change would bring me “back into fashion!”
Fingers crossed !
( now, if I could sell some of my super wide ties, NOT in fashion!?!) -
My tip for bubble wrap is to google a local Blind/Window treatment installer in your area.
My Guy”Bubble John” is swimming in clean large and small bubble and foam sheets.
He texts me when his garage is full and ethier i or my compadre go by with a 10$ gift card for Subway and it’s a win/win.
The only issue is he has so much we have started pawning off our excess to other picker buds so we never say we are flush and he takes us off the rolodex.
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