Over 80 millions buyer eBay??? Where are they??? NOT ONE sale for a month now and counting.

[timemachine777]

Hey eBay...How many of the over 80 million eBay buyers are actually buyers in the USA? It's been a month and I have not sold even one antique or collectible. Over the past couple of weeks I added a bunch of great additions, but only added hundreds of more views and loads of added watchers, but no sales. I use to have a sell through rate of over 40% on avg. Now it didn't even register at all. Not even a 1% level.

One item I just listed has over 200 views and 13 watchers in a few days time in a high buying sub category. What's up with that eBay? Do you have my listings disabled? I have had to stop buying on eBay myself due to the numerous listings that I have tried to purchase, yet the BIN, checkout, etc...buttons would be either greyed out or not functioning correctly.

Could this also be the reason why over the last two months the eBay phone lines have gone from a 1 min hold time to about 1 hour. I find that odd in itself since eBay just opened a number of call centers along the east coast, Mich, and Mo, to name a few. 

I couldn't even maintain my TRSP status, because I recently dropped below the 100 items per year mark and in the past month that number has dropped too 71. Next month it will drop even more at this rate. All I can say about that is that "Where not in Kansas anymore Toto". Something really bad is going on with my accounts and many other sellers. 

I am so glad that I don't rely on eBay for my income, or I would be on the street due to the lack of any sales this year with 4 active accounts and over 1000 listings. In the past eBay has always been mad money for me, but now it isn't even producing enough for me to buy a movie ticket to the show.

Word of mouth is the best advertising they say. Will eBay...every year you give use small sellers less an less to brag about when it comes to our success at eBay. You just give us more gasoline to throw on a bad fire. Hopefully the board of directors will one day see this as a major problem and get past being complacent, and right the ship. Us bilge rats just may make your competition the new eBay in less time than you think if we all start jumping ship in droves. BTW...Your most hated competitor is now expanding in the antique and collectibles market.

This slow squeeze that your putting on us with your seller unfriendly algorithms and policies, is going to leave you with nothing left in your hands when you finally open them up. Many of us know that you don't want us selling here as we are not large sellers, that sell new product only, but that was what eBay was founded on. You forget eBay roots and it's first sale of a BROKEN laser pointer. NOT a new one. Think about that as you count the multi-million dollar paychecks that WE made for you. Because without us there is no eBay, and no PAYCHECK. 

[d-k_treasures]

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@timemachine777 wrote:

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@goodluckselling wrote:

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j@timemachine777 wrote:

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@goodluckselling wrote:

Just a thought  Maybe consider putting your smoothing plane up for auction?

They are actually doing well at auction right now.  -  https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=vintage+stanley+smoothing+planes&_sacat=0&LH_Auction=...

Good Luck Selling!

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I can no longer sell anything in an auction format on eBay, and if I'm lucky to do so, I get just one bid and end up selling the item for way less than everyone else did. A while back I listed a rare Charles Sawyer print Moonrise Cottage in near mint cond, and kept getting no bids. After a few tries, I changed it to BIN an doubled the price. Still no action, so instead of relisting it on another venue, I just let it ride.

I kept checking the active listings every week to see if anybody else put one up for sale. Plus I'm always a buyer if I can get a deal on this specific print. Finally mine sells for 125.00 plus shipping. Nice. I also checked the active and sold like I always do out of habit. Shocked and somewhat PO'd.

There was one that just sold in an auction format with 1 bid for 25.00 plus 15.00 S&H, and it was in Mint cond. I would have bid on that one in a heart beat. But it never showed up in any of my search results. So much for eBay showing everything. I would have went as high as 50.00 plus S&H to resell it.

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I am not sure why you can not follow that facts!  I gave you link to a search result showing the same item you are selling and your items appears to be in better shape than the other vintage smoothing plane and they have more than 10 bids on them and approaching your asking price and yet you are still making up excuses why yours will not sell!

No one could make up this better.

Good Luck! (not selling)! 

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I checked out that listing and it had me scratching my head at first, since the plane has a lot of rust all over it. I also checked the bid history and its just 2 people in a bidding war an one has 2 FB. Out of all the #2's listed, it is only 1 of 2 in the auction format that came up active. The other one is in nicer cond and is restored but still has a lower price than the rusted one. 

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Vintage/antique tool buyers love auctions. You'll probably end up doing better listing them that way. 

As far as the restored one, no one likes those, unless they are bought by a user and not a collector.

[d-k_treasures]

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@mg152 wrote:
You have some great items. I just love the magazine stand/holder and if I can figure out where to put it in my house, I’ll be back for it.
Is that hen really worth $60? I ask because I have one just like it. I’m not a hen on nest person. I like vintage drinking glasses and dishes. You know stuff I can use.

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I hate them. If I see them at yard sales for 5 bucks or under, I buy them just for targets so they can never see the light of day. It wouldn't bother me to never see another one at an auction. Half of them out there are new now anyway.

[ersatz_sobriquet]

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@d-k_treasures wrote:

I hate them. If I see them at yard sales for 5 bucks or under, I buy them just for targets so they can never see the light of day. It wouldn't bother me to never see another one at an auction. Half of them out there are new now anyway.

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Hahaha! 

If there's something out there I wish I could buy them all and kill them off it would be precious moments. There's just something off with "children" getting married and all the other precious moments figurines. 

[thatsallfolks]

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@mademelle wrote:
This is eBay--ANYBODY should be able to open an account and sell something if they want. NOBODY should have to take a marketing course. That's the way it started out, and that's the way it grew into a GLOBAL marketplace. eBay should have KISS.

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And there's the problem: everyone did. That's why the site is massively overcrowded with junk that should never have been listed. That's why sellers of used clothing and collectibles have been cannibalizing each other to the point that even the ones who make sales aren't making money.

eBay started out as a place to sell stuff you had lying around. It grew into something vastly different, and if you want to succeed here, you'd better know quite a bit about marketing.

[michael_atw]

I'd guess, one... many are not active.  And two, most dabble in electronics categories and no where else. 

[timemachine777]

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@mg152 wrote:
You have some great items. I just love the magazine stand/holder and if I can figure out where to put it in my house, I’ll be back for it.
Is that hen really worth $60? I ask because I have one just like it. I’m not a hen on nest person. I like vintage drinking glasses and dishes. You know stuff I can use.

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Since ebay has everybody in a race for the bottom, it is probably selling for less as I would expect. The split tails sell for more and then the older ones also effect price. 

[timemachine777]

Yeah, I stay away from most restored stuff due to that. I don't even clean brass. I let the buyer decide for themselves if they want to clean something. I just remove the dust.

[timemachine777]

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@michael_atw wrote:

I'd guess, one... many are not active.  And two, most dabble in electronics categories and no where else. 

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I can see it now. The electronics sellers are going to get hammered by the new 14% FVF policy on SNAD's. They get the most SNAD returns besides clothing sellers.

[keziak]

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@timemachine777 wrote:

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@coolections wrote:

Have you ever thought of maybe taking a marketing or sales course to help you with your problem of lack of sales. Since you refuse to listen to the advice posters here have given you over the years maybe a course or two could help you out.

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I have over 30 years exp buying and selling. I buy entire house contents. I do just fine overall. My sales are only having an issue on eBay. That's why I raise my issues with eBay. Back before Donahue began ruining eBay, I paid eBay over 3,000.00 a month in fees. Now eBay is getting about 30.00 a month from me and the other venues make all the fees off me now. 

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You seem to be saying that your business is strong due to healthy sales elsewhere but not so great sales right now on Ebay. 

Just curious, what would it take for you to just stop selling on ebay and confine your business to these other sites? 

My main business is on Amazon and these days I do ask myself why I stay on ebay.  I suspect the day is coming when I close up shop here and just sell on Amazon (though that site aggravates me to no end).  My income would go down but I'd also be working less.

[countryroseshoppe88]

Agree! Haven't seen anything like this. I have used Ebay for part of my income for a long time. Figured it had something to do with China.

[rixstuff]

@njrtsr He has heard all this a hundred times before.  He starts these threads about every week about not getting any sales, never takes any of the advice, and always has about a thousand reasons why he knows better and it must be some kind of Ebay conspiracy against him.  Meanwhile many many many others are selling just fine.  It is hard to hear that people dont want what you are selling or dont want to pay the price you are asking and most of the time they dont BOTHER to tell you, they just hit the back button and you never know why.

[rixstuff]

Could you for just ONE WEEK try doing some of the things we recommend and just get stuff sold - whether it means different listing options (auction vs. FP), lowering prices, lotting things up, pricing not in the middle but at the bottom?  Just TRY!

[rixstuff]

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@bubbleman2010 wrote:

I think we covering pricing and condition bases about 90 days ago.....

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And 90 days before that and several weeks in between.  This is an almost weekly occurance.  Meanwhile many folks are buying and selling just fine.  There is no conspiracy.

ALTHOUGH...all this faux outrage COULD just be a "Ha-ha made you look!" ploy to get folks to look at his listings and maybe break down and overpay for something.

[ersatz_sobriquet]

He doesn't price in the middle. He prices at usually above everybody else. 

[rktoyandhobby]

Over in toys, people watch for these flash sales and keep stuff in their cart or on their watch list in between.  Back before flash sales were a thing, I used to do a steady $300-$500 per month every month.  Now it's more like a good month, dead month, good month, dead month sort of deal.  Although the last flash sale didn't do anything at all for me...