Interestingly, this is one of the more down to earth posts/explanations I have seen about declining sales. The increase in gas, food, rent, etc severely cuts into “disposable income” for all but the very well off. And, I suspect, even those who have the cash are holding off non-essentials to preserve what they have because they don’t know how long this will last.
I am amazed at how many posters adamantly want to blame (only?) eBay and, in turn, expect eBay to “fix” it. Completely forgetting that eBay does not exist in a vacuum.
As for myself I have pretty much stopped most inventory buying for the past year. There are a few exceptions but you have to watch for them. One of my suppliers, in recognition of all the unshipped backorders due to the supply chain issue last year, had a limited promo earlier this year 20% discount AND free freight. Since freight can sometimes be a 20% add on to the item cost that amounted to a 40% discount.
That lets me offer a reduced (more appealing?) price without killing my profit margin.
