SALES SLOW DOWN, DEAD ZONE, LAST WEEK?

[casl-patr]

Has anyone else seen a horrid drop in sales the last week? 1/10/23 to01/16/23?
Could it be that it's just that I am doomed? or are we all doomed? LOL

I've been pretty consistent this last year, but wow, it's fallen off the map on my end. 

Logic would tell me that it should be kind of happening across the board with raising interest rates, post Christmas and the fact that stimulus funds are now evaporating, everybody getting smacked with high heating bills, and rising prices. 

I just thought I was put some feelers out there to see what everybody else is doing. 

[stainlessenginecovers]

I've had 4 zero sales days in row Jan 1-4 for the first time in 2 years; and another 'zero day' this past Friday.

It's raining

It's flooding

it's snowing

Economy is in the toilet 

oh, and you only have 106 items listed- used old auto parts so it will take that 'special person' that needs 'that thing' and you have a very limited supply of 'things'. The more 'things' you have, the better chance your item will find a home. 

[shag182]

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@casl-patr wrote:

Has anyone else seen a horrid drop in sales the last week? 1/10/23 to01/16/23?
Could it be that it's just that I am doomed? or are we all doomed? LOL

I've been pretty consistent this last year, but wow, it's fallen off the map on my end. 

Logic would tell me that it should be kind of happening across the board with raising interest rates, post Christmas and the fact that stimulus funds are now evaporating, everybody getting smacked with high heating bills, and rising prices. 

I just thought I was put some feelers out there to see what everybody else is doing. 

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YEP! Probably the NEW and NOT improved "seller's page" for the buyers to see the listings, feedbacks, followers, etc.  Notice the ending times (hours, days left) are gone from the listings, so there's NO urgency for a buyer to buy an item.  That's why dept stores have the 12, 15, etc hours sales.   Plus the new pages navigation and redundant information is mind boggling and numbing.  If you notice there's slight changes made every other day, probably TURNING OFF potential buyers.  That's my take.🤔

[casl-patr]

How about return requests? Have you seen more of those? I've been seeing that happen, and I normally never have return requests. 

[kingdiamond91]

I have been having anywhere from one sale a day to no sales for 3 days at a time January has been terrible  hope next month isn't like this

[m60driver · Accepted solution]

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@casl-patr wrote:

Has anyone else seen a horrid drop in sales the last week? 1/10/23 to01/16/23?
Could it be that it's just that I am doomed? or are we all doomed? LOL

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We are all doomed by the class war taking place that is studiously ignored by all sides of the media spectrum.  But yea, I have noticed a slight downturn in sales this January when January is usually a very good month for me as people tended to spend some of that holiday bonus money on themselves and buy some collectibles and vintage items.  Not as much this year.  The collective economic sphincter is still tight.

[casl-patr]

If this is a trend going forward for the next two or three months, then I suppose increased volume and cutting margins is the only answer, unless you can sit on your pile of cash until things get better. 

[pcthurman]

I have not noticed a slowdown; however, I have noticed that people are buying items that are lower in price. Very few of my big-ticket items have sold.

[goldrushfinds]

The short answer, YES

[richmva]

Same here.  These are the trends I am seeing (selling on eBay since 1997, btw):

1. Inflation - let's face it, antiques and collectibles are NOT necessary.

2. Demographics - the "Hummel Collectors" are dying (less demand), their inventory is for sale (more supply) and new buyers are not to be found. High-end antiques are suffering too as tastes are changing.

3. Shipping costs - I have a lot of $10 or less items and it seems that shipping is now more than the item price.

4. Inventory - With most auctions on-line, and estate sales picked over by the family before available to the public, it is harder to find those "home run" items that are fresh to the market and used to drive sales.

So, now what?  I plan to group similar smaller items into lots so the per item postage cost is more reasonable; use the markdown tool to try to move old (dead) listings, evaluate my biggest ticket items to make sure the current price is reasonable and maybe upgrade/add photos, make sure I am maximizing my free listing allowance, and make sure I don't have un-listed inventory sitting around in storage boxes so I can cut down on new inventory purchases.

Hope this helps!

[the-hook-and-the-loop]

Could be a result of everyone that came here and said they were leaving. (Everyday, multiple times) As well as the people that didn't come here and say it.

I used to get orders everyday for $40-$200. Now it's like they find the least expensive item in the store. The least expensive item sold 3 times in 2 days when it rarely ever sold. Orders are now $10-$30.

I used to go 3 to 6 months without a return, now it's 1 per week. I had one almost everyday in December.

Buyers messaging more often and when all answers are what they wanted to hear, no sale.

Another platform I sell on, my sales have doubled consistently for 2 months. Just got my first sale on another. Sold 2 cars in 3 months on FBM. I guess eBay didn't want my money anymore. Except for their "AD FEE STANDARD" SOLD VIA PROMOTED LISTINGS. Cringe, Cringe, Cringebay.

[fallgold4031]

For what it's worth, sales in general seem to be going down.  Not Ebay's fault, but consider: there are probably 10 sellers out there for every buyer.  Some categories have a million items listed!  Also, in the collectables area, people just don't collect things like they did just a few years ago.  Too many other things to do, especially for younger people.  I also think the high cost of postage is a definite turnoff.  It seems like the Post Office just doesn't like processing packages anymore.  When it cost more to mail a small item than the item itself costs, it does become a factor.  

[nilis13]

Me also..pretty much the same as you

[threads4ever]

Almost 1200 items listed and there is no activity and sales are dead.  January was always a good month but this year its very sparse and not going to pay the bills. What is going on? Ebay, did my sell button get turned off again?

[nilis13]

Yours and mine. I can't even get a response from the ebay business page and that's never happened before