Our changing economy

[fairydust_factory]

So I'd like to see who weighs in on this conversation.

In the past year, more like the last six months, things have doubled, gas is insane, and my rent is jacked up here in Florida. I have to be really careful to buy luxury items that I don't absolutely have to have.

Even though I have some complaints, my store was doing really well until this happened. Views aren't there, the watchers aren't really there and I'm only selling a handful of things a month, which basically covers my monthly store fee. I've lowered my prices accordingly, which truly means a loss.

Other than that life is good, lol..

[stainlessenginecovers]

@bandofgentlemen 

@jscar59 

Promoted listings help when you have direct competition. 

Not sure where you're seeing that, but I just searched using keywords 'Mens Red Shirt' and got 1,900,000. 

Without promotions, who's on the top? Who's on the 1st page? 

I'm not even sure how it can be said that 'zero views' is highly unlikely with 'clothing' when there are almost 2,000,000 listings for just a Men's Red Shirt??

Plus, there is a line of other sellers 'promoted items' well before you scroll down to the description, showing 'other sellers' things if you DON'T do at least 1%. 

[allstar-comics]

I'm sure the economy has reduced shipping however it really got bad after the latest update hit last month  .  My brick and mortar sales didnt drop 50% last month they actually ticked up slightly  My ebay declined over 50% with 27,000 unique items in many many categories this past month   Long term I see pain w the inflation issues .  those are not going anyway  No changes being done to fix supply chain problems and were paying for the green deal   Near term ebay can certainly tweek whatever the update did  They are aware I saw bucks offers few weeks for the first time in a very long time

My other thought is people were cooped up for almost two years and its summer vacation time  Maybe folks are going to break the bank to travel give their family an experience and with rising costs that has hit even harder. 

[allstar-comics]

i meant reduce "shopping" not shipping  lol  That is not helping either

[varebelrose]

As the saying goes, elections have consequences.

[atomicgirl2022]

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@varebelrose wrote:

As the saying goes, elections have consequences.

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It's a saying invented and spread by those who don't understand how the economy works. The economy has been impacted by everything from extreme weather overseas and a pandemic that wiped out millions to trade wars and Big Tech driving mom and pops out of business. 

[b86fiero]

Many people are having to rely on their credit cards to help pay for gasoline, medicines and groceries right now.  A pay check only goes so far and when you have to have gas to get to work and medical appointments, pay rent or the mortgage, insurance and feed the family ..........

And with the Feds raising interest rates, it's a double whammy for those who have to use credit cards to help cover daily necessities.

There are a lot of things not selling on eBay, other sites, in stores, flea markets and garage sales.  I feel badly for sellers who desperately need eBay income right now.  Not only are there more sellers listing more items but many of them are undercutting prices and offering buyer incentives.  (Volume discounts, buy 2 get 1 50% off, buy 2 get 1 free, etc.).

[umoraski]

People don't realize that the price of gas for our cars is having an impact on every  part of our lives.  People are being more frugal about everything they buy.   And adding shipping with an extra tax doesn't help.  Even though we sell something at a great reduced price - when I look at what the buyer actually pays and what we pay for fees,  it's a tough gig.  

[chapeau-noir]

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@atomicgirl2022 wrote:

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@varebelrose wrote:

As the saying goes, elections have consequences.

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It's a saying invented and spread by those who don't understand how the economy works. The economy has been impacted by everything from extreme weather overseas and a pandemic that wiped out millions to trade wars and Big Tech driving mom and pops out of business. 

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Yes - it pretty much doesn't matter who is in office at this time - POTUS does NOT set the gas prices (this one is even trying to get them fought down but has opposition - guess some people like the oil companies to be still making bank on this).

FWIW, container freight is dropping - it had ballooned to 10x normal but has dropped - still high, but the supply chains are slooooowlly returning to normal.

This is a worldwide problem so we're definitely not alone in our frustrations.

[12345jamesstamps]

I think it depends what one is selling on eBay. Certain stuff is not selling well on EBay as "buy it now"

Those who sell stuff like Amazon, Target or Walmart probably aren't doing very well.

eBay wasn't meant to be like these stores I thought. I thought eBay to be like people selling stuff at garage and yard sales.

I do auctions and not much has changed. I have more  International Buyers than domestic. The free shipping works for me. Having repeat buyers works also. One has to innovative these days on eBay.

By the way, gas is $6.99 yesterday in my city...I have a motorcycle...2003 Honda that works great.

My rent for my 2 bedroom in Pacific Heights with garage went up $14.00 this year...I moved into a rent control building years ago. Bought my membership club gym membership package years ago before gym opened and I will forever pay only $20.00 a year for life at all 24 hour gyms in the USA. Honestly, its all about preparing for the unexpected.

[willingdealer]

I think its because we understand economic decline, but with this one, most people can point to specific date of steep decline.

[oldwestgold]

It always matters who is in office.  This one is just in denial.

[simply-the-best-for-you]

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@bandofgentlemen wrote:

I've been selling on here for 20 years, I understand how bad the economy is (insert blame here) - but my items aren't even getting views. I deleted everything two weeks ago and took a break, relisted last week and half my items have zero views after a week, the others have less than 10. That's highly unusual for clothing, at least from my experience. I know they fixed something with bot views recently but I feel like my items aren't even coming up in search results, anyone else with that same issue? 

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@bandofgentlemen 

Are you aware of the changes that Ebay implemented a couple of weeks ago?  You have no views b/c of them.  View counts have been changed to a rolling 30 day count, as opposed to a lifetime of the listing count.   Along with that, bot views have been removed, which Ebay says were about 30% of views.  So everyone's views have gone down to nearly zilch.   It's important to note that the views have NOT changed.  Only the way they are counted has changed. 

[deltilogical]

We should probably expect a large increase in shipping costs later this year, or fuel surcharges on shipping. 

[714ricki]

Everything depends on what you're trying to sell during these times. Adjusting your price to the basement will not necessarily solve everything. There are buyers out there. You just need to be patient & try not to compare selling condition as during the good ol' times. 

Hang in there!!!

[ltcsells]

Energy is life -- we need it for transport, for industry, for farming, for heating, and on and on -- the cost of energy is in everything we need to survive. Between ESG and our anti-energy government,  there is no sign of relief on the horizon.  Until they look at their policies and stop blaming everyone for their poor decisions, the consumer will continue to suffer. 

Look at what happened with baby formula.  The government ignored this situation until mothers could no longer find food for their babies.  The same will happen with energy -- they will continue to blame others until the consumer is in such trouble that they have no choice but to act.