My store's visibility suddenly dropped by 80%

[PersonalizedMy]

Hello etsy team,

My store's visibility rose to 990 this holiday season, but a day later it dropped below normal and dropped to 200 and even my bestseller products do not appear in searches, please correct this if it is a system error.

[WhiteBirchFarmhouse]

Something is definitely going on, I have experienced just the opposite but with no sales. My views and visits have gone through the roof at 800 to a 1,000 by 7:00 in the morning, with a 15% sale off in my shop and no sales. This is the worst time of the year this could happen. I don't know what is happening to my shop but I'm not happy because I'm not making any sales. November was the worst month I had this year and it should have been the best.?????

I contacted Etsy support several days ago and reported this. They tell me nothing is wrong. Everything is fine with my shop?? Then explain to me why I have thousands of views and visits and no sales with a 15% off in my shop. If they're doing testing or something, this is not the time to be doing this!!!!

[PersonalizedMy]

They told me they were testing me too, but I don't think this is the time to do testing. My daily average dropped from 20 orders to 5 orders.

[PaperButterflyForge]

Have you addressed some of the problems mentioned in the reviews?

Not everything is within our control once the product is shipped.  But think about some of the reviews so that you can focus on improving.

[FallenAngelBrass]

@PersonalizedMy 

Etsy did not say that they are testing a shop, the seller just surmised that was a possibility.  Etsy tests users, not shops.  From everything Etsy has ever told us, shops are not singled out for testing. 

[BuffaloGalVintage]

@FallenAngelBrass 

Etsy does test shops. Being here since 2009. Im positive they do. Two weeks ago my descriptions moved from the right side to the left under photos. The words "Learn more about this item"  changed to "Read more". My tags shifted from the bottom of the page to under the photos. 

Perhaps reading or following Cindylouwho will better keep you in the loop for seller testing. 

[PrairiePrimitives]

@WhiteBirchFarmhouse 

@PersonalizedMy

Back in the "old days," Etsy stopped testing during the holiday season (usually mid-November thru most of January). However, about 5? years ago, they realized what a treasure trove of DATA they were missing out on by not testing during the busiest shopping time of year ... so now they test year-round. 

[FallenAngelBrass]

@BuffaloGalVintage 

Etsy tests the view of the user.  What you're seeing is your view as a user, so all shops will show this same layout to you.  Some users see the test layout, other users see the control layout.   If Etsy makes site wide change, then all users see the same layout change.  

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

You would probably have seen more activity this past weekend as it was Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  

[WhiteBirchFarmhouse]

Yes, I did see an uptick in activity this past weekend, thats very normal, but the views and visits they say were off the charts, close to 1,000 on both and NO sales, that unheard of, I always get sales on a daily basis and double around now. This started in November and hasn't stopped and my sales have dropped considerably, not normal,  especially with a 15% sale on my shop. I always get tons of sales whenever I put a sale on. I got two sales all weekend so I know something is happening. It's not normal for me

[WhiteBirchFarmhouse]

Yes I have seen a lot of activity but the sales are zero. My shop always does well. I get at least one to two sales a day and it was fabulous in September and October with all the new items that I've added. I should be doing better than I'm doing now. I'm so sick of it. See what they're testing. Go pick on somebody else and to do this now 3 weeks before Christmas. This is ridiculous. I just checked and I have well over 700 views and visits right now and is only 7:00 a.m. In the morning with no sales 5 hours ago. This is not normal for me. I know what my normal is. I've been doing this for 15 plus years so I know this makes me so angry. I know there's something going on. I know there's testing or something. I know this is not right

[FallenAngelBrass · Accepted solution]

@WhiteBirchFarmhouse 

Etsy tests users, not shops.  Shops are not singled out for testing. 

[WhiteBirchFarmhouse]

@FallenAngelBrass, I disagree, Etsy does test shop, it has been noted by thousands of shops over the years. I have been on Etsy for close to 15 years, so much has changed since it was taken over by Josh from Chad, and went public. Things have changed and YES they do test shops, like BuffaloGalVintage said, YES they do test and change things in our shops. There was even a survey that went out to certain shops a few years back asking if we wanted to be included in a test that was coming up, I OPTED Out, so please stop saying they don't do testing on shop, so many things in my shop have changed and then changed back,

[Adorabilities]

@FallenAngelBrass 

Yes, accounts are in tests, not shops.

It may seem like a seller’s shop is in a test, because they’re looking at their own shop while signed in to their account. If they look at other shops, they’ll see the same thing.

But if they sign out, they may see something different, because they’re no longer in the account that’s being tested.

There was that one time where they asked sellers if they wanted to participate in the title-changing test. That’s not the norm.

[WhiteBirchFarmhouse]

That's probably what's happening. They're testing again and that's terrible that they would do this right now. I can tell the difference every time they test. This is what happens. That's why I know there's something wrong. They test all the time and I'm tired of being part of it. I've physically had conversations and told them I do Not want to be a part of the testing yet. They still continue to add my shop in there for whatever reason I don't know. This is absolutely terrible. I should be getting tons of sales and I'm getting nothing but tons of views that are bogus or bot

[SeasideRoseCreations]

You're not being singled out.

We are all at the mercy of Etsy's testing.

@WhiteBirchFarmhouse 

[WhiteBirchFarmhouse]

@SeasideRoseCreations, I understand that, Yes we are all at their mercy, did not mean to have it come across as "I" was the only one, I just stated what was happening to me, that's all and Im sick about it and now is not the time.

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

Whose thread is this?

[RubyRougeJewelleryCo]

I'm the same. For the last week, never had a December like it!

[PrairiePrimitives]

@WhiteBirchFarmhouse Do you sell anywhere else? If not, why not?

[PersonalizedMy]

The representative from live support told me that my store is being tested and told me to wait 24-48, but 48 is about to be filled, if it doesn't work tomorrow, I will try to reach etsy again.

[WhiteBirchFarmhouse]

@PersonalizedMY, please keep us posted, because I called this morning and the representative (who was from Guatemala) had no clue, told me they don't give him that information. Just to wait it out! ?

[WhiteBirchFarmhouse]

@JJewellerySuppliesUk, the thread was started by PersonalizedMy

[PrairiePrimitives]

@PersonalizedMy The Support chat is reportedly outsourced and many sellers have said they get unhelpful or irrelevant answers (presumably because these agents aren't Etsy employees and/or aren't well trained).

[WhiteBirchFarmhouse]

@PrairiePrimitives, WHY are you attacking me??? I'm just commenting on the thread what has happened to me. And if you need to know, yes I do. I have been on Etsy for nearly 15 years and have put in a lot of work to get my shop to where it is today, so Yes I think I have valid reason to be up set. I have worked very hard to get the over 8,000 sales I have and 100's of followers and admirers. You should be supporting other shops, not tearing them down. Your comment was not needed.... And yes they have outsourced customer support from other countries, that's part of the problem.