IMPORTANT EBAY CHANGES - no more "Pre-1990" MLP category

[banditpony]

You can filter out things with keywords too

my little pony -g3 -g4 -blind -friendship -funko

and you can filter a time period (1980)

Good point, I may have to just hope they put the appropriate time period.

Maybe, maybe not
But i just wanted yo throw it out as a hopeful possible option

[KarentheUnicorn]

Generally most people are going to put plastic toy horses under my little pony. Even people that should know a little about ponies still have no clue. My father has been around MLP since..well 1983, but he still wouldn't have a clue on telling someone the difference in a plastic fakie and a real MLP.

So generally I think most people that were selling on ebay who didn't know MLP just put plastic toy ponies under MLP if they were aware of what MLP was...they might not automatically know it's hasbro, but they've more than likely heard of My Little Pony.

I'm not sure we need a category for My Little Pony Dolls, because ya know what is going to happen, some people call the actual ponies, dolls.

I do happen to remember a doll seller complaining that ebay wasn't allowing them to put Tonner clothing under the Tonner dolls section, they were being made to move it to modern doll clothing or something. Sorry, I have no clue why that would happen, I just remember someone complaining on a facebook forum.

It's completely stupid if something like that happens.

If you want to understand why some people might be upset about this, as a seller it was easier to have it the way it was, and simpler is generally better for buyer and sellers. Constantly changing and moving things makes it more difficult to understand.

Why they want to try and fix something that isn't broken is one reason why people are getting frustrated with them and no longer want to use them anymore and are turning to other sites.

It's fine for those who searched a different way, we get that for some it doesn't matter, I'm just thinking as a long time seller it can be frustrating to have to go figure out what the heck category we're supposed to use now, and as a long time buy ending up with a bunch of garbage in your search is going to turn you off to the site.

So I'm thinking maybe a little understanding on why people are annoyed and why some people would have bigger problems with this change than others. Plus some people like me need to rant about crap like this to get it out of my system.

[Taffeta]

The comparison is I guess when a supermarket completely rearranges its shelves and it takes 3x as long to do the same shopping trip...

[Baby Sugarberry]

The comparison is I guess when a supermarket completely rearranges its shelves and it takes 3x as long to do the same shopping trip...

Supermarkets do that for a reason though.
Your grocery shopping experience is carefully curated and arranged so that necessities are around the outside of the store perimeter, ensuring maximum viewing of the middle shelves, end caps and promotions.  Stores are not arranged for our convenience, but for maximizing sales.  Even each individual shelf is focus-group tested and placements are highly competitive - many brands pay chain stores for the premium shelf spots while smaller brands get crowded out to the top or bottom. And reorganizing a grocery store makes customers re-learn all the aisles, so they end up viewing more products, which translates to more sales.  Same reason why all the candy and incidentals get bunched up at the checkout aisles; captive audience.

This though?  This is not sensible.  It makes it harder for buyers to view items they want to purchase and harder for sellers to get views from people who want what they have.  It's like throwing in lingerie and plumbing and industrial fertilizer into the bakery section.  Sure you might get a few sales but most people are looking for bread or sweets!

[Taffeta]

Yeah, I know that's the rationale behind supermarkets, although in my experience (bearing in mind I can't navigate) it basically makes the whole thing a bigger nusiance and nightmare. And the website is the same situation. Can't find anything in its normal place - give up and go elsewhere.

I don't actually know anyone who has ever fallen for the marketing trick, either. But I have heard a lot of people complain about the time they waste trying to find things they need - and these are people who can navigate, so it isn't just me.

It takes me a really long time to learn a route to find anything anywhere, if I even manage to - it's really dispiriting when all that hard work is rendered void by idiocy.

[Baby Sugarberry]

Yeah, I know that's the rationale behind supermarkets, although in my experience (bearing in mind I can't navigate) it basically makes the whole thing a bigger nusiance and nightmare. And the website is the same situation. Can't find anything in its normal place - give up and go elsewhere.

I don't actually know anyone who has ever fallen for the marketing trick, either. But I have heard a lot of people complain about the time they waste trying to find things they need - and these are people who can navigate, so it isn't just me.

It takes me a really long time to learn a route to find anything anywhere, if I even manage to - it's really dispiriting when all that hard work is rendered void by idiocy.

People don't realize that product placement affects them, but it absolutely, 100% does.  Scientifically proven.   Even if they don't buy more things (or more prominently placed brands), impressions count. Stores are one big advertisement.  But you need not take my word for it, there's plenty of really cool articles and videos on the subject:

Sneaky Psychology of Supermarkets
Secrets of Supermarkets
or videos for those who prefer them over articles

Knowing is half the battle!

[Taffeta]

Not wanting to take it off topic, but the whole psychology of things like this is really interesting. There's also some research suggesting that autistic folk aren't susceptible to that same psychology because we miss the cues that other people pick up or use (I guess it's the same as not picking up social cues or sometimes body language correctly) and so aren't influenced by the 'meme' as such. I don't really know how true that is overall, but it's so interesting.

I mean, for me, the store having things in the same place is what makes me buy things. I buy things because I know where they are. If they aren't where they should be, I leave and go somewhere else, or I don't buy the item I can't find. So I sometimes wonder.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/the-fallible-mind/201708/why-advertising-falls-flat-in-individuals-autism

So going back on topic so as not to be derailing the thread, I think it is like supermarkets really. I mean, it's just as idiotic but there's also the possibility of widening people's product viewing by making them search harder or deal with broader categories to find the specific item they want. Bigger sales increases ebay's yield.

But for someone like me, I'm only going to buy ponies if I can find the ponies in the place the ponies should be. And if the ponies aren't there, then I'm not going to buy them. I get really irritated going through pages of irrelevant stuff, and that's when I usually turn off ebay.

So I think it's the same psychology...and it has the exact same effect on me as when a store changes its shelves...

[heftysmurf76]

Generally most people are going to put plastic toy horses under my little pony. Even people that should know a little about ponies still have no clue. My father has been around MLP since..well 1983, but he still wouldn't have a clue on telling someone the difference in a plastic fakie and a real MLP.

So generally I think most people that were selling on ebay who didn't know MLP just put plastic toy ponies under MLP if they were aware of what MLP was...they might not automatically know it's hasbro, but they've more than likely heard of My Little Pony.

I'm not sure we need a category for My Little Pony Dolls, because ya know what is going to happen, some people call the actual ponies, dolls.

I do happen to remember a doll seller complaining that ebay wasn't allowing them to put Tonner clothing under the Tonner dolls section, they were being made to move it to modern doll clothing or something. Sorry, I have no clue why that would happen, I just remember someone complaining on a facebook forum.

It's completely stupid if something like that happens.

If you want to understand why some people might be upset about this, as a seller it was easier to have it the way it was, and simpler is generally better for buyer and sellers. Constantly changing and moving things makes it more difficult to understand.

Why they want to try and fix something that isn't broken is one reason why people are getting frustrated with them and no longer want to use them anymore and are turning to other sites.

It's fine for those who searched a different way, we get that for some it doesn't matter, I'm just thinking as a long time seller it can be frustrating to have to go figure out what the heck category we're supposed to use now, and as a long time buy ending up with a bunch of garbage in your search is going to turn you off to the site.

So I'm thinking maybe a little understanding on why people are annoyed and why some people would have bigger problems with this change than others. Plus some people like me need to rant about crap like this to get it out of my system.

WELL Said!!!!

[Baby Sugarberry]

Another thing we don't think about as much is that collectors may not be the primary demographic.  I really don't know, but most of the G4 toys are probably going to kids more than adults?  Adults may not care as much about which specific brightly coloured plastic equine they get, they just want something to give their kid(s).  I find this a bit dubious especially in the G1-G2 range simply because of the prices, but it could be true for more modern items.  And Ebay certainly seems to be trending towards more new crap and less garage sale. :c

[Shadoweon]

Ugh that sucks, I only collect G4 and have trouble finding some specific items as it is- now if other gens are mixed in it's just going to be even more to look through. -.-

[banditpony]

If you want to understand why some people might be upset about this, as a seller it was easier to have it the way it was, and simpler is generally better for buyer and sellers. Constantly changing and moving things makes it more difficult to understand.

I'm a seller. So I still don't understand what was easier. When I list it's exactly the same, with a little bit more custom tagging like the shoes category.

I put in my listing-- it suggests the category.
I tag it with the appropriate tags, so that people can sort accordingly. Fill or don't fill as needed.

Really what it seems like people are upset about is -- the path to the ponies changed (and right now there ISN'T a path to ponies)-- because they browse to search. That I understand. change can be annoying when you are used to the same thing for the past 10 years.

Or people who put in tricky searches to find things that might be listed wrong, but they can have a broad net to snatch deals.

But as a buyer AND seller since like pre-1999 days-- I'm the only one in this thread thinking THANK GOODNESS they are updating the sorting system to (what I hope is current. )

I mean -- I guess the way that I work is at first I was like OMG this is terrible -- I was ready to complain. Then my reflexes kick in to try to understand WHY...

[ashlyne]

 If ebay would require these two things, I think the search issue would be 99% better. Maybe those that would like to complain, could add this to their message. (Complaints are better heard if a reasonable solution is made with it )

1. Require sellers to select a Character Family (ie My Little Pony). If they have a lot with more than one character family, they should be allowed to select multiple choices.

2. Require sellers to select a decade. Again, in mixed lots, they could make multiple choices. I would prefer they set it up by generations since there is overlap, but it's probably too technical for ebay to care about.   But here's what I'd like to see for choices instead of decades:
~~1st Generation - 1982-1992 (or 1995 to include Dutch ponies and international merchandise?)
~~2nd Generation - 1997-2003
~~3rd Generation - 2003-2011
~~Friendship Is Magic (& Equestria Girls?) - 2010-present

I realize there will be a lot of people who don't know what decade they have, but most things have a stamp on them.  It's not a fool-proof solution, but I think it would go a long way to fix the current issues.

[banditpony]

I totally agree with you Ashlyne. That's a good thing to ask for.

[katrine2309]

@banditpony: yes, when you put it like that - of course I agree with you. I am mostly frustrated because even though I deal with change quite well- we all have a threshold for that too. Timing wise I just really didn’t need Ebay to change something I have to try to understand and re-learn. It wasn’t necessarily better before, but I understood it Now, it might be better- but I still need to understand it to use it in a good way.

@Ashlyne: I agree with that too! Although, definitely do the G1 from 1982-1995. There are both international sellers and buyers on eBay.com, and the G1 line was after all running through 1995

[KarentheUnicorn]

But as a buyer AND seller since like pre-1999 days-- I'm the only one in this thread thinking THANK GOODNESS they are updating the sorting system to (what I hope is current. )

I mean -- I guess the way that I work is at first I was like OMG this is terrible -- I was ready to complain. Then my reflexes kick in to try to understand WHY...

And I'm a buyer and seller since whenever the heck I started on ebay, sorry I have no clue right now unless I go to ebay and maybe see when I aquired my first feedback. I know when I got online and that would have been back in 1996 or 7, if we're going for the  comparison or it's more like you've been here that long Karen and you're still just as dumb as you ever were because you can't use ebay correctly.

Meh, I'm just an idiot and was satisfied with how it was, happy with how it was and am simply voicing my dissatisfaction but having someone constantly tell me to either do it their way or their way is better or they don't understand why I'm not appreciating a change is kind of annoying.