The question was raised in my Etsy Greetings Group, what the views are like in our shops ever since Etsy implemented "batch listing." I wasn't sure about this, and was glad that Katherine Adams had a good explaination (below.) What do you think of this new way of listing? I can't imagine this does any good for the sellers!
"The new listing procedure on etsy is a batch system now. It used to be a constant cycle of listing...you list and in the order that your item hit the etsy system along with everyone else that is listing, your item went to the front page and moved along gradually getting pushed back through the pages. This way, everyone in a category got a chance on the front page in the order they listed their item. Now, the way it works is that when you list, your item goes in a "cyber pile" until they have a certain number of items in a category in that "pile" and then they all get listed at the same time. The only way you will get on the front page is if you are the last 21 in the "cyber pile."
For example, you list right after etsy posts a batch of listings so your item sits until they have x number of paper goods listings ready. When that number is reached, say it is 210, your item pops up for the first time on page 10 of the papergoods category. This means you never got seen by anyone unless they went through a minimum of the first 10 pages. I know from listing at busy as well as slow times that etsy has anywhere from 150 to 500 listings every 5-10 mins so your item then goes back even more pages at a time as everyone else lists.
For those that mentioned not being here last Christmas, business was much better and so was the economy. However, I was still plugging along this season with plenty of sales to keep me busy if I worked the system (ie...forums, sales, relisting and listing new items often). Now, I am lucky to sell one item every 2 weeks and many of those have been return customers who knew how to find me. I saw a definite drop off all of a sudden and just in the last few weeks. Etsy won't say exactly when the system was implemented.
There is also a new way they are counting views but I don't know the details of that system. Some have tried to attribute the drop off in exposure to the new view counting but really how often do we ever list an item that has been previously popular and have it sit for days with 1 or zero views? Never for me! I could always drum up some sales with a few of my unique items and even those tank with no interest now."
