I Can't Sell a Thing on Ebay Anymore, What's Going On?

[lrdave35]

I've been a casual seller on Ebay for many years and my experience is 2023 is extremely discouraging.  I now feel like it's almost impossible for me to get any bids even if I start my items off at $0.01.  I'm listing stuff that used to sell out within hours a few hours ago.  Maybe it's because of the inflation but I'm seeing buyers pay a lot more for the same item from other sellers.   I sold a three steelbook movie set for a lousy $60.  The same item sold a week before for $200.   It's never been this hard to get a decent sale price much less any kind of bids.

What changed?  I get less than 10 views a listing now.  And the few items I do sell, 50% of the time, the buyer flakes out and doesn't pay me.  I just sold a very popular video game for a decent price and the buyer told me that he was backing out because he found it cheaper.   Infuriating.  Maybe it's time to pack it up and find some other venue.  

[12345jamesstamps]

Some sellers list a lot of items.

I sell stamps and some sellers have 100,000+ items listed. Some to list a lot to get notice.

And list something every week or every day. The item you list today will appear at the near top of those same items for sale for one day. Then item gets buried.

[toysaver]

"What changed?"

 Streaming services.

[inhawaii]

---

@lrdave35 wrote:

What changed?  

---

Great question.

Let's ask Blockbuster Video.

[lrdave35]

Well that's been true for the past few years.  There's still a market for steelbooks though.  Last year wasn't nearly as bad.  Something changed to cause my listings to get zero views.

[laserpartshq2]

Greed

[cardsforauction]

The pandemic is over from what I heard, so I suspect that's probably the reason prices have dipped.  They were probably at a all time high during the pandemic and now back to "normal" or lower than normal prices.  Sorry, hope prices rise again.  If the demand is there, the price will be higher I'm sure. If the item sold for $200 last week, why did you accept the $60 offer?  You could of waited it out and left the price around $200 and try to get a better offer and outcome. 

[ci1000]

@cardsforauction  This is not normal.... normal for me pre-pandemic was at least 3 to 4 sales per day.  During the pandemic it was pretty much the same.  Now I get maybe.... maybe 1 sale every 2 to 3 days.  Yes, the economy sucks but that is not the only thing that is affecting sales.  I just finished up my accounting for 2022 and the comparisons to what is going on now is really scary for me.  I am barely able to pay my eBay store fees.  The month of April was the worst month I have ever had in 15 years of selling here.

I'm not a big time seller so I hope you understand what it means to me to go from $1,800 to $400 per month.  I'm personally freaking out right now.  eBay used to consistently provide me with enough money to help with the rent, food and gas.  At $400 per month I'm barely paying for eBay final value fees and my store fee.

[gabe101907]

Yeah, same thing nothing sells, ebay sucks, and there  seller protection is "it sucks to be you" r.i.p.

[d.amber]

As mentioned, it's streaming services which have hit DVD sales.  I used to sell a ton of books, but then tablets came along, and the sales and my sourcing dried up.

Even the stores are selling DVDs for dirt cheap, and the buyer doesn't have to deal with shipping.

Keep a look out for games though especially out of print games that are popular.  Those could go up in price as there is still a demand for them.

Good luck

[cardsforauction]

Yes, I think you're right that sales were easier pre-pandemic.  Back then, I think consumers did not compare every item to every site.   During the pandemic and after, people have time to look everywhere for the best deal.    Now, there are several online marketplaces to choose from, and I think eBay use to be the "go to place" for items.  Now, consumers can go to several online places that offer the same item for possibly less, so this maybe one reason sales are slow or less frequent in my opinion.   Another reason, the economy is slow and people may not spend money on non-essentials. 

[annadryl]

What's changed?

Online auctions are no longer a novelty. And unless they're collectable, many items are simply outdated. And there's a ton of 'em out there.

I used to sell DVD's and CD's full time. That was a decade ago. Now I don't even have anything to play them on.

*edit* sorry James, not meant to you

[marnotom!]

Were you shipping internationally in the past?  I notice you don't right now.  Perhaps increasing your buyer pool would help?

[mam98031]

My personal opinion regarding  DVDs and CDs, is that most of the world is using all kinds of streaming services now.  Newer cars don't even have a CD player in them.  

I have quite a DVD collection that is just collecting dust as I can see it on my TV with just a few clicks to get to Netflix or something else.  

Books are coming back a bit.  Young people are starting to prefer having that book in their hand to read instead of a screen.  Or at least that is what I'm seeing with the people my kids hang out with in their mid 20's.

Just some of my observations.

[wheredidiputthatremote]

Things tend to ebb and flow. It'll come back around.