Do you "BUMP" your eBay Auction and Store Listings?

Ten years ago we launched our internet ecommerce mail order business on eBay. These last ten years have been a combination of excitement and frustration. We have experienced many ups and downs. We have seen many changes. We have adapted and continued moving forward with the flow.

These last two years we have seen so many changes on eBay and most have not been positive toward our business. It all started with us when eBay removed our store listings out of their main search. We started seeing a reduction of traffic and sales. It has continued to steadily decline and this year we were getting approximately 20% of the traffic we were getting in 2006 to our eBay listings and stores.

This year when eBay again announced their many changes, we saw a greater reduction in traffic and sales. This has been felt by many sellers and I know that we are not alone in this opinion. If you happen to read any of the eBay community message boards right now they are rife with negativity about the changes, sales and traffic. Day after day, month after month of reading these negative posts have started to take its toll on our business. eBay was no longer fun. Everything we tried to increase sales and traffic to our eBay listings was not working. In the past, when we would list auctions or fixed price listings, it would bring buyers to our store. Instead, our sales just died. We felt like we were throwing money at eBay and taking a loss again and again.

Recently, I was invited to join a group of people that are still excited about eBay. At first I was hesitant. I was still reeling from the sting of low sales and low traffic. I had just come from groups and message boards filled with unhappy people since February. How could this collective group of my new friends be so happy with eBay?

I should note that I also have my own website, sell on Amazon and UBid, and, a couple of stores on eCrater and BluJay. All of these websites are making sales...minimal sales...but, they are making steady weekly sales. So, when someone says that my low sales on eBay are because of Summer, or, my listings need to be rewritten, or, no one is interested in my products, I know this is simply not true.

Several years ago eBay's community groups were going full swing. Groups were active, people were posting and networking, threads to share their wares were strong and eBay sponsored a themed Share Your Wares event in The Park every month. These posts were picked up by search engines and people searching the internet found our listings from these posts. I really do believe that being active in these groups back then was a benefit to our business and created strong sales. eBay has since changed the company that hosts their community groups, many groups are now private membership and the participation in many groups resemble a ghost town.

So how can these people in my newly joined group be so positive? Slowly, I converse with other members. Everyone is busy working their eBay business. It is starting to feel refreshing. Some of that negativity is slowly being chiseled away into positive energy. How can that be?

I started asking questions..."What else can I do to adjust to all of these eBay changes?" "How can I increase sales?" Many members in the group suggested that I add my listings to their "Bump your eBay Auction/Listing" sites for FREE Advertising.

I didn't know anything about these "Bump" sites. I was informed that Auction Bump sites are websites where you can show off three of your listings per day. Some also allow you to bump your store logo, MySpace, etc. Many of these bump sites sell banner advertising to cover their costs. Several allow you to put your store banner on it for free. These site owners are also paid from eBay a percentage if someone clicks on a listing and completes a purchase under the eBay Partner Network. "Okay," I said, "I would try it."

I am writing this lens after only ten days trying out the "Bump" sites. The traffic in my store has already increased 60 to 80 unique visitors per day. Is it because of these bump sites? My store traffic reports say that the traffic is coming from those sites.

I am starting to get excited about eBay again.