No sales, now what?

[bluegreen333_3]

Sales weren’t great to begin with, now almost nothing. 

I hade one sale right before fees were deducted. Since I didn’t had enough to cover fees, my pay pal account is at $0.00. My bank account is now overdrawn too. So now I don’t have any money to ship the sold item. Great. Also meanwhile, some jerk bid on 2 items totaling around $35 and hasn’t paid. Usually I’d have a sale or two per day so if money was taken out like that, I could still cover shipping. Still waiting on something to sell.

Meanwhile, my phone has been cut off, internet will be off soon, and my house payment is due tomorrow. I can’t work a “regular” job because of my health. Oh well, maybe homelessness won’t be too bad. 

[b86fiero]

Sorry to read of your financial chaos.  Hope things turn around for you quickly.

It appears you received about 190 feedback's from buyers in the past month so you have sold some items.  The small number I looked at were $1.99 items with buyer paying $3.99 for shipping.  Not much profit there after acquisition cost and fees are deducted.  Competing with offshore penny item sellers is a tough road.  Are you buying from some of them for resale here?

Have you tried listing buy it now with immediate payment required to ensure you get paid?  Auctions can get your item before more buyer eyes but BIN has its own benefits.

Please look into assistance available in your area.  

Best wishes,

BJ

[dqdnvwe0]

---

@bluegreen333_3 wrote:

Sales weren’t great to begin with, now almost nothing. 

I hade one sale right before fees were deducted. Since I didn’t had enough to cover fees, my pay pal account is at $0.00. My bank account is now overdrawn too. So now I don’t have any money to ship the sold item. Great. Also meanwhile, some jerk bid on 2 items totaling around $35 and hasn’t paid. Usually I’d have a sale or two per day so if money was taken out like that, I could still cover shipping. Still waiting on something to sell.

Meanwhile, my phone has been cut off, internet will be off soon, and my house payment is due tomorrow. I can’t work a “regular” job because of my health. Oh well, maybe homelessness won’t be too bad. 

---

It's not, you'll want to head downtown in a big city and then start asking around (preferably other hobos) where the facilities (such as free meals) are. Don't forget to put your ebay account on vacation and stop all sales and maybe even close your store before you lose access or you'll end up losing the account as well.

[ed8108]

Hang in & don't quit 

[upgradedendmills]

One step at a time. How much would it be right now to get your sold items shipped? 

[popeye3165]

---

@bluegreen333_3 wrote:

Sales weren’t great to begin with, now almost nothing. 

I hade one sale right before fees were deducted. Since I didn’t had enough to cover fees, my pay pal account is at $0.00. My bank account is now overdrawn too. So now I don’t have any money to ship the sold item. Great. Also meanwhile, some jerk bid on 2 items totaling around $35 and hasn’t paid.  

---

Sorry to hear you are cannon fodder like so MANY other small sellers here on eBay who have had the "rug pulled out from under them!" I just had 9 auctions end with 6 having bids, right away 2 cancelled and I'm still waiting for payment on one of them just PATHETIC.

All I can say is GOOD LUCK try a yard sale or flea market or if your into FB or CL posting there.

[tunicaslot]

I don't know what your situation is but I always keep money in my Paypal account to make sure I have money for shipping and in the case of a SNAD return where I have to pay for the return label and refund the buyer. Despite many months needing the money - I will never clear out my Paypal acct and leave a zero balance. That just creates more problems than it's worth if situations like this arise.

[popeye3165]

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

I don't know what your situation is but I always keep money in my Paypal account to make sure I have money for shipping and in the case of a SNAD return where I have to pay for the return label and refund the buyer. Despite many months needing the money - I will never clear out my Paypal acct and leave a zero balance. That just creates more problems than it's worth if situations like this arise.

---

Just wondering did you even read the OC tunicaslot? bluegreen333_3 said "my pay pal account is at $0.00. My bank account is now overdrawn too"

[fashunu4eeuh]

---

@bluegreen333_3 wrote:

Sales weren’t great to begin with, now almost nothing. 

I had one sale right before fees were deducted. Since I didn’t had enough to cover fees, my pay pal account is at $0.00. My bank account is now overdrawn too. So now I don’t have any money to ship the sold item. Great. Also meanwhile, some jerk bid on 2 items totaling around $35 and hasn’t paid. Usually I’d have a sale or two per day so if money was taken out like that, I could still cover shipping. Still waiting on something to sell.

Meanwhile, my phone has been cut off, internet will be off soon, and my house payment is due tomorrow. I can’t work a “regular” job because of my health. Oh well, maybe homelessness won’t be too bad. 

---

You are an established Top Rated Seller. Took a look at your sales and see you sold about $150 worth of items in the last four days. To some, that would be a fair amount so i am assuming you normally do much better? 

To generate a little more revenue, I would rethink the 99 cent auctions. Sometimes when prices are that low, buyers wonder if there is something off about the item. (The days of bidding wars are long gone, although eBay continues to suggest starting one's auctions at $0.99.) I agree with the other poster, try listing them at a fair amount in a fixed price format with immediate payment required. Or if you don't wish to do that, list them with a higher starting price so that you don't get burned when something sells for the opening bid of 99 cents.

Since many of your items are under $10, have you looked into PayPal's micropayment program? It might save you some in fees. Below is a link to more info:

https://www.thebalancesmb.com/increase-profits-with-paypal-micropayments-1140571

Very sorry for your troubles. I hope things get better soon. 

[twnpopcards]

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

I don't know what your situation is but I always keep money in my Paypal account to make sure I have money for shipping and in the case of a SNAD return where I have to pay for the return label and refund the buyer. Despite many months needing the money - I will never clear out my Paypal acct and leave a zero balance. That just creates more problems than it's worth if situations like this arise.

---

Obviously you did not read and comprehend the entire post by the OP.  They usually do keep a balance in Paypal but their sales have just not been good enough to support themselves recently so when Ebay took their monthly fees it not only wiped out their Paypal Account but also their Bank Account is now overdrawn.  So its not like this is something the OP had happen by lack of planning, its just how things are beginning to be for more and more sellers on Ebay as Sales decline and fees continue to increase if you want your items to have exposure.  

I feel for the OP and am so lucky that I do not have to depend on my sales online to support myself or my family.  

[tunicaslot]

---

@popeye3165 wrote:

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

I don't know what your situation is but I always keep money in my Paypal account to make sure I have money for shipping and in the case of a SNAD return where I have to pay for the return label and refund the buyer. Despite many months needing the money - I will never clear out my Paypal acct and leave a zero balance. That just creates more problems than it's worth if situations like this arise.

---

Just wondering did you even read the OC tunicaslot? bluegreen333_3 said "my pay pal account is at $0.00. My bank account is now overdrawn too"

---

Yep read every word - and why I advised to not empty out your Paypal acct as things like this do happen. I've talked to many new sellers who withdraw the money as soon as they ship the item and then end up with a return and they have no money in their acct as they already spent it.

People have to think ahead - the OP has no one to blame but themself. This is not a garage sale or Craigslist where most times - it's known that items are not returnable - this is Ebay - which has a MBG and most any item is able to be returned.

[tunicaslot]

---

@twnpopcards wrote:

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

I don't know what your situation is but I always keep money in my Paypal account to make sure I have money for shipping and in the case of a SNAD return where I have to pay for the return label and refund the buyer. Despite many months needing the money - I will never clear out my Paypal acct and leave a zero balance. That just creates more problems than it's worth if situations like this arise.

---

Obviously you did not read and comprehend the entire post by the OP.  They usually do keep a balance in Paypal but their sales have just not been good enough to support themselves recently so when Ebay took their monthly fees it not only wiped out their Paypal Account but also their Bank Account is now overdrawn.  So its not like this is something the OP had happen by lack of planning, its just how things are beginning to be for more and more sellers on Ebay as Sales decline and fees continue to increase if you want your items to have exposure.  

I feel for the OP and am so lucky that I do not have to depend on my sales online to support myself or my family.  

---

I disagree - many of our sales are low lately - but knowing that invoices have to be paid - returns are possible - I person is not being responsible not leaving a balance in Paypal. It was lack of planning. I know it's tough and have quite a few bills that I didn't expect - but I'll make arrangements to pay them and not deplete my Paypal acct as I know I risk the chance of losing more money in the event of an overdraft.

[twnpopcards]

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

---

@popeye3165 wrote:

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

I don't know what your situation is but I always keep money in my Paypal account to make sure I have money for shipping and in the case of a SNAD return where I have to pay for the return label and refund the buyer. Despite many months needing the money - I will never clear out my Paypal acct and leave a zero balance. That just creates more problems than it's worth if situations like this arise.

---

Just wondering did you even read the OC tunicaslot? bluegreen333_3 said "my pay pal account is at $0.00. My bank account is now overdrawn too"

---

Yep read every word - and why I advised to not empty out your Paypal acct as things like this do happen. I've talked to many new sellers who withdraw the money as soon as they ship the item and then end up with a return and they have no money in their acct as they already spent it.

People have to think ahead - the OP has no one to blame but themself. This is not a garage sale or Craigslist where most times - it's known that items are not returnable - this is Ebay - which has a MBG and most any item is able to be returned.

---

Where did the OP say anything about a return being involved in their problems?   The money was taken from Paypal for Ebay fees and they just did not have enough to cover the fees even from their bank account.  Wow is all I can say to this one.

[bigoljim47]

I dont read that his problem of 0.00 was caused by ebay fees. The fees are taken out at the ends of the month. I think he used the money made from sales for personal use. Years ago when we struggled to make ends meet, I wrote checks knowing there was no money in the bank but we needed food on the table.

I think Op was hoping for sales to cover other expenses and it snowballed into an disaster. With todays ebay, you can not count on making money when you need it.

[tunicaslot]

---

@twnpopcards wrote:

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

---

@popeye3165 wrote:

---

@tunicaslot wrote:

I don't know what your situation is but I always keep money in my Paypal account to make sure I have money for shipping and in the case of a SNAD return where I have to pay for the return label and refund the buyer. Despite many months needing the money - I will never clear out my Paypal acct and leave a zero balance. That just creates more problems than it's worth if situations like this arise.

---

Just wondering did you even read the OC tunicaslot? bluegreen333_3 said "my pay pal account is at $0.00. My bank account is now overdrawn too"

---

Yep read every word - and why I advised to not empty out your Paypal acct as things like this do happen. I've talked to many new sellers who withdraw the money as soon as they ship the item and then end up with a return and they have no money in their acct as they already spent it.

People have to think ahead - the OP has no one to blame but themself. This is not a garage sale or Craigslist where most times - it's known that items are not returnable - this is Ebay - which has a MBG and most any item is able to be returned.

---

Where did the OP say anything about a return being involved in their problems?   The money was taken from Paypal for Ebay fees and they just did not have enough to cover the fees even from their bank account.  Wow is all I can say to this one.

---

I was  addressing the fact that a balance in Paypal at all times is recommended - whether it be due to a return or your Ebay fees for the month being due. I know when I'm going to receive my invoice each and every month. Just because I had 1/2 the sales this month - than I did last - doesn't negate the fact that I have to pay the invoice for all those FVFs I accumulated last month. People have to plan ahead.

No one can count on steady sales on this or any other venue. No regular 9-5 person can count on having their job next week as they may be laid off. I feel bad for the OP - I'm struggling myself due to the drop in sales - but I'm not going to blame Ebay for expecting payment for the items I was able to sell. It's horrible living paycheck to paycheck - we've done it for 30 yrs as DH gets paid 2x a month - the 15th and 30th - but I've always made sure the bills are paid even if I have to rob from Peter to pay Paul. 

People have given the OP constructive advice on how to increase his profit and I hope he's able to do that so it will make it a bit easier on him.