Ebay is 100% Predictable And NOT For the Better

[memorymarielane]

So in my previous post I stated that I've had no sales in 10 days and that is a new record for me personally on Ebay. Like clockwork I log into my store to check things out and what do you know 1 SALE! It never fails that if I come here and complain, sales pick back up. Don't ask me why but every single time it happens. Here are my Top 3 Ways of Making Sales:

1. Abandon my store and do not list new items

2. Abandon my store and do not end listings to sell similar

3. If all else fails, come to the boards and complain about no sales

Also my Ebay Seller Page is completely different which can also explain why no sales. Ebay has once again changed the layout of everything. Now I do like the new design as it is more organized, but could this be just one more thing that affected my no sales. I really don't appreciate Ebay playing with our incomes to "test" new website designs. Ugh, give it a break.

[inhawaii]

Say what you will but my past history shows differently also.

I came on here the other day to complain about slow sales and wouldn't you know, I had two sales that day!

How do you explain that? It must work!

I'm going to continue coming here to complain about sales.

[memorymarielane]

"Many of the items I end up having to crosslist over on Poshmark end up selling at full original asking price after a few days while on eBay for those same items, prices are slashed repeatedly to thin margins.

If what you    are saying is accurate, you are going to have a problem.

Once the crosslisted item sells on one venue, it is vital to remove it immediately from all the others.

If you mean an item which had been listed on one site for a long time and become stale, was taken down from that site and posted as a new item to another, that's safe enough. But you are also looking at the difference between a new item and a stale one."

I never posted that; it was a response from another poster. And I DO NOT SUPPORT PROMOTED LISTINGS. I'm not going to pay to have my items seen when there is no promise of a sale from doing so. Plus it is a vicious cycle as well.

[memorymarielane]

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@house*of*paws wrote:

Hi @memorymarielane 

Have you considered the possibility that posting in the Community about low sales might have caused sympathetic members to check out your listings … and make a purchase if they see something they like?

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Yes I have considered that but that isn't why I come here to tell others what is going on. IF someone from the boards has visited my site and purchased an item I am very thankful for them although I never asked for them to do so. All customers are appreciated no matter where they come from. I however do not believe that is what's going on here.

[shar_27]

Exactly, You simply could never wake up people who are faking sleep.

[frodobagginskennedy]

@house*of*paws  I have done that many times.  Buy from a seller that seems down.  hoping it lifts their spirits

[house*of*paws]

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@memorymarielane wrote:

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@house*of*paws wrote:

Hi @memorymarielane 

Have you considered the possibility that posting in the Community about low sales might have caused sympathetic members to check out your listings … and make a purchase if they see something they like?

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Yes I have considered that but that isn't why I come here to tell others what is going on. IF someone from the boards has visited my site and purchased an item I am very thankful for them although I never asked for them to do so. All customers are appreciated no matter where they come from. I however do not believe that is what's going on here.

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@memorymarielane

I didn’t mean to imply that you posted for that reason … but rather that it seems to be a more likely reason for the correlation (between posts and sales) than eBay reacting to posts.  

[I know that I’ve occasionally checked out listings of seller-posters for that reason.]

[memorymarielane]

I know you didn't and was just asking a possible what if situation. I just think it is important for "others" to know my intentions as well since they love attacking me on every post I make saying what I have in this and my prior post about no sales. Ive found some great sellers through their post on these boards too!

[gloryglorygifts]

No, it is not ebay's responsibility to solely promote your listings. They have millions of sellers on here and have to get all of them in front of people so you DO have to be more proactive in this day and age to get your products seen.

Ebay doesn't "demand" promoted listings on ebay. I do not promote my listings and do well in sales on here. I use the other tools they have like sending offers to watchers, which can help get a sale, but that's about it. I do my own promotions through social media. I'm not looking to my personal friends and family to support my business. That is never a good business plan and will fail.  I want customers, both domestic and international and repeat ones at that. Yes, I will support my friends in their small businesses and buy from them, I guess you don't, but my ads, promotions and videos are for my customers that follow my facebook business page (1,000 followers) and Twitter (1,400+ followers). Social media is a must in this day and age for any business that is trying to grow. 

You have beautiful items. Get them in front of people. 

[laststopgeneralstore]

4.) Sell better items that have a high sell thru rate that people want. Easier than the other 3. eBay isn't causing YOU to not get sales. It's up to you to fix the situation you're in and the best way to do that is to list better items. Aim for a 80+ percent sell thru for at least 30$-$50 + shipping. You list items like that and you will have sales. The stuff you have listed isn't going to cut it and clearly, according to this post, nobody is buying it. What your selling is the issue, not eBay.

[sakic92710]

Works for me.  I've had ***5*** sales since Feb. 1.   LOL!

[replacementradios]

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@aldelbertmatthew wrote:

 I sell on eBay, Poshmark and Amazon. How sales used to be last year was eBay was by far number one in business for me followed by Amazon then Poshmark.

Fast forward today it's Amazon, Poshmark and eBay dead last.  Many of the items I end up having to crosslist over on Poshmark end up selling at full original asking price after a few days while on eBay for those same items, prices are slashed repeatedly to thin margins.

eBay 100% needs to stop toying with the **bleep** site. I've gone with 3 days straight of zero sales on this platform while Amazon and Poshmark are doing fine. Maybe they should bring back the people they laid off because the condition of the site is getting worse without them.

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@aldelbertmatthew 

100% agree. This is getting out of hand. While the economy might be concerning, that's NOT what's going on here. Why do I say that? Because our sales on other platforms are steady or HIGHER. (Including our own website, which has seen a significant increase in sales during the same time-span.) If the economy was to blame for the poor eBay sales, 1) It wouldn't be a precipitous drop unless there was some major event (market, financial, etc). It would be more gradual and continual... and 2) Sales would be down on ALL venues by approximately the same percentage. 

eBay keeps monkeying with things (categories, sorts, results, specifics, etc) to the detriment of everyone involved. If buyers can't find what they want, sellers don't make a sale, and (last I checked) eBay gets no commission on a sale that doesn't occur. And, to top it off, the shopper is less likely to come back... because the shopping site they went to isn't yielding good results. Just ads... How is that a win for eBay?? If they want to see ads, they'll go to a social media site, like FB...

Try searching for an item you want on Google. Frustrating as all get-out... Because there are simply too many results that aren't relevant. Partially because of the paid ads at the top, which they're obligated to display, that dilute the results even more... This is what happens when you implement a paid advertising model. You abandon what's best for the customer in favor of higher profits for your platform. Why does eBay want to go down this path?? What happened to the days when 'crazy' things (like ad content, good descriptions, item specifics, price, feedback, location, pictures, shipping cost, etc) determined what made a good ad? By choosing to focus on profit, they're creating a bad user experience, in my opinion. Hopefully they realize the error of their ways and don't 'double-down' instead...

eBay (and some cheerleaders) refuse to admit there is a problem, but it's clear from our experience eBay has created one. To those sellers who have not experienced it, thank your lucky stars!! Because it's real. Don't tell me it doesn't exist simply because it isn't happening to you. You don't know our business. You don't know our numbers... I think it's safe to say eBay history is ripe with examples of situations that were affecting some, but not others... 

And, while I'm venting, if I choose to sort items by Price: Lowest to Highest, that's what I should see, for Pete's sake!! Instead, the sort options for eBay results now appear to be:

Profit to eBay (Highest to Lowest) - *(default)*

Price (Highest to Lowest)

Price (Lowest to Highest)

Time: Ending soonest

Time: Newly listed

Distance: Nearest first

I need that SARCASO-METER gif...