Declining Sales
I wonder if any of you have experienced a decline in sales in the past 3 or 4 months. I don't know if buyers are afraid of all the recession talk or if money is just getting tighter. My sales are down by at least 50% since January or February. I'm retired and this is more of a hobby than a needed source of income, so it's not that important income-wise. I deal primarily in sports memorabilia, books, music etc., mostly low-cost, low-profit items. My prices are competitive and I offer free shipping on many items. Just wondering.....
37 comments
liawri-75
·1 year ago0 Sales in Apr on EB. 1 Sale in May.
I am however, getting sales on other platforms: M** and P** and AM**. Like you, "hobby" business, but I file taxes and had to pay $800 this year.
It's the economy. It's after Tax season, some folks had to pay or took their refund & paid bills. High credit card balances. Student loans have to be paid. Plus, if you look at economic indicators, retail is doing poorly, esp. Target. I'm waiting to see what happens to AMZ with the tariffs.
Oh yeh, the tariffs. Across the internet, I see TT videos and Buzzfeed articles about small businesses being slammed with high import fees. It's all circular.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoDoesn't ANYONE realise that this is inevitable? eBay has a smaller and smaller share of online real estate due to competition, and far more sellers than it ever needs. Duh.
meme6253
·1 year agoIf you think that it's bad now, The tariffs are about to start kicking in & everyone will be paying more for just about everything, People will be spending less & less on non essentials.
gamersbaystore
·1 year agoThe reality is that ebay's public image is in the dumps and the majority of Americans hate this platform. The sales will never come back either unless ebay's leadership is dissolved and the platform stops treating its sellers like trash, and we all know that will never happen.
Go on youtube and there is video after video from mega influencers bashing this platform's incessant greed and its hideous treatment of sellers.
Millions upon millions see those scathing reviews and decline to shop here. The Auction Professor recently went on a scathing rant about how awful and unfair ebay's policies towards sellers are.
People vote with their dollars! Consumers are tired of the morally bankrupt dump we call ebay, and they don't have to spend their money here.
A horribly corrupt and greedy platform run by the most depraved humans imaginable. I absolutely despise this platform for the way it treated both myself and others, and can only hope it completely fails.
jonathanbrightlight
·1 year ago"The majority of Americans hate this platform"? I'd like to see a source for that... People have been claiming doom and gloom for eBay for decades, but they continue to see a high volume of sales. We're happy with our experience on eBay, overall.
gamersbaystore
·1 year agoHow about the endless negative articles and videos on youtube, coupled with hundreds of millions of comments from people stating they hate it. Youtube is publicly viewable. The public has not been shy in expressing their distaste for ebay.
jonathanbrightlight
·1 year agoI honestly don't care. I don't read any of those articles or watch any of those videos, or look at any of those comments. "Endless" is obviously overstating it, and I doubt very much that a "majority" of the buying public cares one bit about any of those things.
inhawaii
·1 year agoShould I buy a Ford or a Chevy?
Gee, I read on the internet that they BOTH suck.
Thousands and thousands of posts talking about how bad they are and all the problems they have ... kinda like ebay.
movieman630
·1 year agoI was told not to buy any Ford or GM product built after 2020 models. The electrical systems are apparently put together with bubble gum and tin foil.
inhawaii
·1 year agoSee what I mean.
There's lots of negative stuff online about EVERYTHING.
I'm sure somewhere out there is something that says brussel sprouts cause cancer.
powell-collectibles
·1 year agoWow - that’s a lot of negativity. So, your stuff didn’t sell well. That’s life! Not sure why you would wish ill on those that run eBay - and those that rely on eBay income to make ends meet.
And of course you can find negative posts about eBay on YouTube. Plenty of negative people in society, and they are drawn to negativity. It would not be interesting for them to hear that eBay is challenging, but work hard, take accountability for your success, and stretch your brain on how to make it work, and you’ll make the most of it.
chapeau-noir
·1 year agoSorry you're in the dumps about eBay, but I can think of humans a lot more depraved than those running this place.
jonathanbrightlight
·1 year agoDoesn't even take much thought to think of far more depraved people, yep (I'll refrain from stating who, as I stay clear of any discussions like that on these forums for the most part).
herway
·1 year agoThat’s not helpful. Some sellers have accounts that have been around since the inception of eBay. They have rolled with all the changes through the years, gone through every hoop requested of them by eBay. THEN, watch their sales decline by 50-60% over the last 3 months. It’s gut wrenching.
jonathanbrightlight
·1 year agoWhat's not helpful about that comment? It didn't even have anything to do with what you're saying now.
And nothing that would affect your sales has changed in the last 3 months on eBay. If you're having poor sales, there are plenty of possible reasons, but moping and claiming it's all eBay's fault doesn't help you or anyone else.
adamcartwright
·1 year ago@gamersbaystore
But why would the general buying public care that the Auction Professor and mega influencers (whoever these characters are) think eBay is unfair to sellers?
fbusoni
·1 year agoThe majority of Americans? YouTube “mega influencersâ€?
eBay did $75 billion in GMV in 2024. That’s not too shabby.
Feelings tend to cloud or otherwise interfere with a sound evaluation of objective reality.
gamersbaystore
·1 year agoNo, ebay did not do $75 billion, its a ruse. ebay counts every return and refund as a sale in their figures, artificially inflating their numbers for investors. This is easily provable given the fact ebay reports all returns and refunds sellers make to the IRS as if they were sales, despite knowing very well they are not.
ebay is lying to the IRS and their investors and its only a matter of time before the SEC catches wind of what they're doing.
All one has to do is look at their 1099's from ebay to see that ebay is falsely reporting income that was never earned.
powell-collectibles
·1 year agoI think that you are confusing eBay’s financial filings with your personal 1099. eBay is very clear about what GMV is and what it includes. A 1099 issued to you is a very different thing. And nowhere on eBay‘s income statement will you find GMV.
gamersbaystore
·1 year agoSit in denial if it makes you feel better. ebay should not be reporting income that was never earned to the IRS, yet they are doing so anyway and my own 1099's from this crooked company prove it.
Contrary to your ignorance, reporting returns and refunds as if they were income is absolutely fraud!
powell-collectibles
·1 year agoI don’t get it – eBay puts in their financial filings what goes into their net revenue. They aren’t reporting gross revenue. No, you will not see a returns line item. that’s because eBay doesn’t have returns. Sellers do. What you will see is an allowance - in their net revenue calculation for fee reductions.
hey, I can see that you might be better at analyzing financial documents than I am. I think I get around fairly well – but, absolutely, there are plenty that know the ins and outs better than I do. Maybe you can help me by pointing out where these returns are going in their income statement. And, if this is against SEC rules, it should be fairly simple for you to package this up and provided to the SEC.
paleadhead
·1 year agoYes, and finally someone else sees their manipulation. They consistently promote a false market. When I sell a item with a minimum best offer or a minimum acceptance offer, Ebay then shows my original buy it now price as the completed selling price, even though I have accepted 100 less. At some point on my records, that I receive monthly this is adjusted but who knows. I just sold a fruit jar box for 500 and it shows on my page, and the completed listing page as 225 for the selling price another glitch perhaps. I wish they would have only deducted fees for 225. LOL. The only way to see the correct selling price is through a buyers feedback on a P.C. and not on a phone. Anyhow my point has been taken incorrectly by most people. I luv Ebay or I wouldn't still be here since 1998. They just need some semblance of order and less continued unnecessary changes, and also to get their feces together. I'm a antique and collectible seller in my own little world and I freely admit I don't understand selling new and used items in bulk. It's not the technology I don't understand it's the business model. I'm sorry if I offend the die hard Ebay lovers, no offense meant, but in my opinion I just want it to be better for everyone , so we can make more money instead of making Ebay, the insurance companies and the shipping carriers richer. From reading replies to my posts to get better sales, I'm am supposed to pick up my game but what about the above and their declining services.
powell-collectibles
·1 year agoThe video from the Auction Professor was interesting. That guy is unhinged. Went on and on about how he might sue eBay for not removing way he called slanderous feedback - which it wasn’t. Not even libelous 🙂
Regardless, Prof said it best - eBay is the best place for what he sells. And 2 negs out of ~2,000 doesn’t seem like the end of the world.
And don’t be so quick to buy the negativity that these guys spew. He might make just as much on YouTube than he does on eBay. Given his subscribers count, it isn’t a stretch. Negativity sells to some - he’s just telling some what they want to hear.
natoman777
·1 year agoOne other thing on this topic, summer is a great time to do yard sales and flea markets to unload unwanted eBay stock. We do it every year. Some things we all list will NEVER sell, some might take 2 to 3 years. It is up to you how long you want to have a museum of "cool" items no one wants to buy
adamcartwright
·1 year agoMy sales are way up this month, but I attribute that to a greatly increased effort on my part, plus this month may just be my turn to shine. I need to keep the energy level up, because I know this can be a rollercoaster.
paleadhead
·1 year agoBeen here since 1998 and it seems everyone is missing the point. Ebay is the problem in my humble old school dinosaur view. For example searches are more difficult then ever, have had issues with people who can't pay and the list goes on. Changes and glitches day in and day out. The phone app and the P.C. experiences are totally different. For example I searched for green encased lamp shades on my phone. There were 862 results and most weren't even relevant to a green glass lamp shade. Then I tried highest first option and a whopping 82 results were posted. Buyers will not scroll through 862 results for a green lamp shade. So when you go to highest first to search you just lost 700 plus listing. If my listing and offering are not seen now where's my fee rebate? This is not rocket science. There reach around tactics they employ for more fees turns buyers and sellers off. People spending money want ease, sellers want ease, old school principals that are no longer employed on this platform. Less is more. I see no bad economy at old school brick and mortar auctions the prices are higher than ever. They get more for items at auctions then the prices we procured here on Ebay. Just saying
inhawaii
·1 year agoEbay is not the problem.
If nobody wants to buy what you are selling, that's not ebay's fault
People like to blame the search.
Why is the search only broken for those with slow sales?
My sales are up.
Apparently people are able to find what I'm selling.
I also have slow sales on occasion, but I don't blame ebay.
When my sales are slow, it's because nobody wants to buy what I am selling.
yuzuha
·1 year agoI routinely have items start to accumulate views and watchers within hours of listing them, which is a pretty clear sign that search is working just fine. Heck, a couple of weeks ago I had something sell less than half an hour after I put it up. I wondered if I should have priced it higher!
fbusoni
·1 year ago@paleadhead
I too am an old school dinosaur, and in my experience over the last 26 years, I've learned that there is simply no relationship between the pre-internet shopping experience and that of the online world.
Put another way, there is no comparison between being able to hold an item in your hands and evaluate it, on the one hand, and looking at photos and reading a description of the item, on the other.
The seller is the one responsible for persuading the buyer that what they will receive in the mail is what they see on their computer monitor. Price, shipping times, seller feedback, quality of photos, and concise and accurate descriptions are all critical and self-reinforcing. eBay has nothing to do with that.
As for glitches... any platform like eBay -- which is managed almost completely by computer code and algorithms, and more recently, by artificial intelligence, and which is run by software engineers whose enhancements suggest that they might have only recently graduated from high-school -- is almost by definition going to present occasional snafus.
After reading these boards for the last year or so, it does seem that some sellers have much more of a problem on this score than others. I have no idea why that is, but if one reads between the lines of the complaints that are posted, there is almost always an element of operator error.
And keep in mind that phone app is a completely different environment than the desktop: no amount of html or fancy javascript will ever be able to compensate for the difference sufficiently to replicate the experiences on those two platforms.
If search is not bringing up your listings, then I'd humbly recommend that you read these forums to learn about techniques that sellers have employed successfully to remedy that particular issue. Remember that search results depend on factors -- buyer location (zip code), whether or not eBay is enhancing your listing visibility (and that is something that sellers do in fact have some control over if they choose to exercise it), and the buyer's search terms and parameters, for example -- other than the quality of your listing and your use of key words.
ed8108
·1 year agoIt was also predicted that inappropriate behavior by some sellers with the result of unhappy ebay buyer experiences would likely negatively impact sales.
reallynicestamps
·1 year agoMy collectibles sell strongest from Boxing Day to March.
Last year with a much stronger economy, that lasted until well into July. But that was an outlier.
Even when we had a B&M shop, our sales in Nov/Dec were pitiful. We used the respite to do inventory and to freshen the stock.
Look at your records.
How were your sales in April/May 2024? 2023?2022?
Is there an actual drop off from previous years?
Is it in number of sales or in value of sales?
The easiest way if you don't keep your own records might be to look at your weekly payouts .
But don't compare this month to last month or worse this week to last week. The time period is too short.
love2beselling
·1 year agoYou note that you have are priced competitively. First check your keywords. One juicy keyword added can pick up search results nicely. It might also be worth checking sold items in Product Research. Are similar items selling in the past 30 days? If so, for how much, and in what format? Auctions can still work nicely for some things.
And since your items are low-cost and low-profit, have you tried selling them in lots? If you have a store, consider running a promotion creating an order discount, such as "Buy $XX worth and get $XX off."
Best wishes for a fast sales boost!
Posting ID. On eBay since 2002 with over 15000 feedback.
tobaccocardyahoo
·1 year ago@theoldpro2003
You, like I, have a lot of items that nobody needs but a few people want.
I have seen an increase in watchers in these past few months, and high variability in the number of buyers.
I attribute this, in part, to people having to decide what the best value is for their discretionary purchases.
Lots of people are feeling economic pressures, some real, some potential. They are limiting their purchases of wants. I have had some poorer than usual months recently, and some signs of better days. My current 31 day order total is back to its normal level, which it hasn't been for months. My average order is also recovering.
I am doing nothing to try to stimulate more sales. Sending offers has been a waste of time, you cannot get blood from a stone. Views are in a normal range, so I see no reason to promote.
I have sold online a long time, and used to be more dependent on the profits. This looks familiar and as some people say "This Too Shall Pass".
natoman777
·1 year agoSo I have been on eBay since 1999. Our sales have been better this year than ever. Why? I don't know, but I do know that the key is having things people want to buy and then the sale happening. Simple to say, impossible to equate into a sale. The one thing that has helped dramatically is doing a coupon. I do this in 10 to 15 days window and usually do 10-15% off of all store under $50 (but then I exclude some items based on the sell ability of hotter items).
Sales are always a bit of a roller coaster. I see you mainly sell collectibles. That is the on area that totally see slow downs lately, although mine has not, why... I don't really know.
simba6
·1 year agoIt's an ebb and flow. Just have to wait for it to pickup.
pls-consignments
·1 year ago@theoldpro2003
Looks like a pretty serious hobby for you with 1100+ items. But if it keeps you busy, then that's great. What have you tried to boost sales?
theteamsetguy
·1 year ago@theoldpro2003 ,
I’ve been selling on eBay form many moons and usually Jan thru March are my best months. When the weather warms up people start doing things outside and leave their hobbies behind.