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drop in ebay sales recently-any reason why?
Sales have dropped dramatically in March. Just wondering if other sellers are facing the same situation. Thank you for your time.
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Sales have dropped dramatically in March. Just wondering if other sellers are facing the same situation. Thank you for your time.
kh-light
·9 months agoHi everyone,
Due to the age of this thread, it has been closed to further replies. Please feel free to start a new thread if you wish to continue to discuss this topic.
Thank you for understanding.
animal-house-8
·9 months agoThe Expectations Index—based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions—declined by 2.9 points to 71.5. Expectations have been below the threshold of 80 that typically signals a recession ahead since February 2025. The cutoff date for preliminary results was October 19, 2025.
Ebay issued a softer-than-expected profit forecast for Q4 after a strong Q3.
chapeau-noir
·9 months agoAs long as I keep listing I do OK.
Stop listing and I sink like a rock.
But no matter what, sales are up and down - probably because I never have a lot of listings so not much 'cushion' so to speak.
Disclaimer: I do not work for eBay.
mkra1122
·9 months agoI believe there are a few different reasons for the slow down. One reason is people are holding tight to their money second reason is the old saying over educated college idiots running ebay and messing up the hole thing for all of us,like not being able to get a person on the phone. Who wants to buy from a company that wants to automate everything? If they would put real down to earth people in charge then this might not be happening,at least not so much. It's my guess that this could destroy ebay soon.
nh_sales_lv
·1 year agoI've been on Ebay for decades and never experienced any regularness. If someone has an Ebay Detox pill for sale well than I'm a Buyer lol.
Maybe i'm not big enough, Maybe i don't want to be any bigger.
Sales come and go and are Gone with the wind again and that's just fine with me.
sutedevices
·1 year agoRelatively a new seller on eBay, started in 2022 but I'm also in the same boat. -36% this year compared to 2024. Still better than when I first started luckily. All we can do is ride the wave while ALWAYS looking at new revenue streams
selsa84
·1 year agoYou are in a very over saturated category. Try running a sale and send out some coupons.
rwstei
·1 year agoeBay sales have dropped to 0 on my site. People are just too afraid to spend any money.
I have even resorted to offering 15% off offers and still no buyers.
I have gone from 15-20 sales a month to 0 in the past 2 months and maybe 10 sales in the first part of this year.
I restore old hand tools and put them back to work just breaking even. It gives me something to do since I've retired.
SO IMO hand tool sales for me indicate how our economy is going with buyers who work with their hands.
My prices are comparable or better than new made somewhere else hand tools and better quality...
That said, again people are too afraid to spend any money, people are making do with what they have or they are people who are retiring/dying off that knew how to use hand tools.
dupbooks70u8
·1 year agoLikewise. I was selling regularly, multiple sales a week, but for 2025, week by week, sales have dropped to almost zero. I sell everything with the "best offer" option and don't even get offers.
inhawaii
·1 year agoNot everyone is experiencing a drop in sales.
Some people's sales are up.
It depends what you're selling.
nortvent50
·1 year agoAbsolutely, my items used to fly off the shelf, so to speak, now they just sit there for weeks and sometimes months. Agreed, I do sell items mainly in the hundreds and quite often in the thousands of dollars. Been a member since 2005, and hell yeah, have I seen a big decline in that time.
rwybooks
·1 year agoOur Museum is having one of its best months. Model trains are going to be hit hard by tariffs so people seem to be buying used to get what they want now. As an aside, we are looking at trying to raise $895,000 over the next three years to secure a matching $860,000 grant. Anyone needs some trains? LOL
stephenmorgan
·1 year agoI would not mind a drop in sales because a drop in sales would mean I had some sales and that is better than no sales.
sportsaleswest
·1 year agoSales are in the crapper for months now .. Sports Merch and Gifts not moving at all
natoman777
·1 year agoEach post like this i keep responding with the same thing. Sales ebb and flow. Our sales are best in years. It is all about having items people want, which doesn't always make sense. Some items are fast sales, others slow, others never
kensgiftshop
·1 year agoIt's not just having items people want, it's finding what you're looking for here.
ranzerocks
·1 year agoNothing selling no views on multiple accounts!
I think the government controls EBay to limit sales due to loss in tax revenue! They want you back in the work force so they can take taxes out of your salary every week so they block or limit your online sales and raise postal fees so you can’t sell small stuff killing the little seller!
I read EBay makes about 90% of its money from upfront fees and big businesses advertising, not you selling anything! Do the math!
inhawaii
·1 year agoBingo!
That must be the reason for slow sales.
pabu-4255
·1 year agoSame for me. Interestingly, the view counters seem to fluctuate and go back to 0 quite frequently. How can anyone "un-see" an item? It's like eBay wants to drive sellers to use the Promote feature for more $$ to eBay, whether you sell something or not. Considering the seller fees and need to drop prices, it's a recipe for decline in consumer interest.
doubleupdiecast
·1 year agoYes sales are way down well over 50%. I feel like I’m just giving stuff away. At least i have all my receipts from original purchases. Think I’m just gonna start taking itens back. It’s the volatile market created by these tariffs and the uncertainty of whats to come. I sell collectibles. Unless you have something at least 50 people cant live without, it wont sell or sells for pennies on the dollar. Time to find another career.
tyrberg-0
·1 year agoI think alot of people the last 2 years had to pay in for taxes i know alot so they have rolled back on spending around this time. Biden changed the taxe code and screwed alot of people. My parents had never paid in once in there life. Now they had to pay thousands ladt year and this year.
doubleupdiecast
·1 year agoWe have been on Trumps tax plan all through Bidens administration. It’s easy to Google. Sales are down due to the volatile nature of Trumps administration. No certainty leads to people only buying the essentials.
femmefan1946
·1 year agoThe first complaint about slow sales was on October 3, 1995.
mommaknows
·1 year agoAfter reading these type of posts by different people, I was wondering if taxes coming up deters buyers as well as all of the obvious issues?
Those of you that have years of experience here must have a sense of the ebb and flow.
tarotfindsandmore
·1 year agoIt really depends on what you sell. The best months for me are July to January. Summer marks the beginning of the serious comic conventions (there are a few in Spring so I have little flurries around those too), then back to school (lots of Loungefly goes around that time), and on to the holidays when I usually see an increase of about 50-70% over my slowest months. February and March are usually my slowest months, but this year has been decent.
Clothing and electronics sellers will probably tell you a different story. I don't sell in either of those categories so I have no idea what the ebbs and flows are for them.
I know even less about automotive stuff.
mommaknows
·1 year ago@tarotfindsandmore
Thank you. I appreciate the information.
inhawaii
·1 year agoSome are experiencing no sales.
Some are experiencing slow sales.
Some are experiencing no change in sales.
Some are experiencing excellent sales.
Some are experiencing record sales.
reallynicestamps
·1 year agoWhile many aware consumers are concerned that their costs are going to rise substantially with the tariffs that may or may not ever be instituted
(Is it Thursday? no tariff. Is it Sunday? 200% tariff. Did the Canadians muse about cutting off the electricity? no tariff . Is it a statutory holiday ? 25% tariff.)
mostly it is probably just March.
I keep records and have since I started selling here in 1998.
My strong months are January to March, and that has been true this year as usual, although I am starting to see the expected drop off.
Last year when the US economy was strong and stable, those profitable months stretched into July.
How were your sales last March? In 2023? In 2022?
Have your sales dropped in number or in value? Or both?
How does that compare with previous years.
BTW- I noticed today that our local schools are on March break, which may make some difference in online shopping in the short run.
scubadiver00
OP1 year agoWhen ebay was contacted I was told that if you Promote your listings there is a good chance that sales will increase. But promoting your listings only adds to the fees you have to pay. Is it worth it?
tarotfindsandmore
·1 year agoIt can be. You can always promote at the lowest possible rate (2%) to see if it makes a difference. If you're honestly not making any sales, what can it hurt? If you promote your listings, rather than your store or a coupon, you only get charged a fee if someone purchases your item(s) via the promotion.
If you're worried about losing the 2%, add it to your prices (it's all of 20 cents per ten dollars so it may not be worth your time to go in and adjust all of your prices). I have no idea what you're selling but it can be beneficial if you have a lot of competition in your categories.
movieman630
·1 year agoIt works for a little while, then it doesn't. There's no LT reward for using PL's in my experience. Last year I made $10K more than in 2023... HOWEVER... My fees went up by $10K because of PL's. So was it worth it?
inhawaii
·1 year agoI had a 0 sales day yesterday.
Ebay sucks!
hartungcards
·1 year agoThis is due to an annual increase in system activity experienced during this period, which has caused processing delays.
movieman630
·1 year agoIt is funny how this exact same "slump" hit me at the exact same time last year.
mrgoodlite
·1 year agoway back in 1993, presidential political strategist James Carville said "It's the economy, stupid". as relevant today as it was 30+ years ago.
afrench11
·1 year agoYes. It's awful for me. Just awful.
redlinear
·1 year agoIt's just not your turn.
We have not looked at EVERY scenario or possible cause.
But, have looked at everything we can think of.
From economy to conspiracy theories to listing practices to...the list is quite long.
Scanning through SOLD items tells the tale. Wondering why others are getting sales of the same items we have, yet theirs are inferior quality and/or more expensive.
With all of the various methods of Search Manipulation going on?
The best we can tell? Low sales means it's "just not your turn" to sell.
worldwide_ship
·1 year agoWhile it does always come back eventually I will say I haven't seen it this bad in a long time.
tarotfindsandmore
·1 year agoI think this is probably the sanest response.
jerseyboymusic
·1 year ago@scubadiver00
I click on "view listings" by your name and you don't have any.
animal-house-8
·1 year agoWell been here since ebay started and I can tell you for fact overall ebay sales reflect the economy just like cars, homes ect., it will go up and it will go down. Ebay has told it's stockholders to expect less revenue which is created mostly by us sellers so I would expect a sales drop in a lot of categories. This too shall pass with time.
magnoliajewels777
·1 year agoI m selling on E-bay for 20 years. 2 last years fine jewelry. I have 350 items listed. Normally I sell 2 -3 items per week. But last 2 weeks did not sell any at all!!! I guess people are very careful to spend money with today economic strategy. A little scary.
fashunu4eeuh
·1 year agoIt’s tax time and that could give some shoppers a pause in spending.
mommaknows
·1 year ago@fashunu4eeuh I guess I should of read all the replies to this post. You answered my question. Thank you.
hisherhobbies
·1 year agoI have 2 different seller accounts (different types of business') and both have seen a 40% decline in sales beginning summer of 24. Most of the stuff sold on ebay are non-essential items...and thats what people stop buying first...so yeah...pretty much everyone selling on ebay have seen a decline ..its called Bidenomics
meme6253
·1 year agoAnd Trump is leading us right into a possible recession & will blame it on Biden.
addworkshop
·1 year agoEven though trump is marching us into a recession?
campanaelia
·1 year agoIn only 2.5 mos., since Jan. 20th all my retirement funds are down around 20%.
We're most likely headed into a recession shortly. Luckily I don't need to touch it , so it's only on paper for now. But I'm not feeling very good about the end result with this unstable genius!
BlackRock's Fink says most CEOs tell him 'we are probably in a recession right now'
JPMorgan becomes the first Wall Street bank to forecast a US recession following Trump's tariffs
meme6253
·1 year agoThere are numerous reasons, just listen to or read the news.
worldwide_ship
·1 year agoI sell on ebay full time. I normally sell items every day. Yesterday was the first day that I can remember that I didn't receive any sales. None yet today either. Not even any questions on my listed items. I think it's the economy. It's pretty scary.
geargroy
·1 year agoIf you are selling essential items you will be okay, but collectible etailers are tanking.
johnrj1226
·1 year agoToo much New Years celebration "Down Under"
Watch this every year at 8:00 AM ET in Georgia (US) on New Years Eve (US Time) with a Virgin Screwdriver or Virgin Bloody Mary - RE: Harbor Bridge Sydney
janet9988
·1 year agoSellers complain everyday on the boards about no sales.
Your complaint is nothing different or dramatic.
marcsrandomcoolstuff12827
·1 year agoWrong of course. There is a dramatic change to sales on eBay and it is very clear it has been caused by something eBay itself has done. Everyone is stating sales are way down and even zero on eBay but not on other sites. EBay has killed itself.
jonathanbrightlight
·1 year agoNot everyone. Our sales are up, and many other sellers are. Blanket statements are almost always wrong.
dupbooks70u8
·1 year agoLike you, I sell books, as well as ephemera, since 1990. Sales have tanked. In June, I sold only one item, a one-of-a kind 1800's political document. I keep my prices as low and even lower than others who are offering the same item and my items don't even get a "look".
mkra1122
·9 months agoSales are down for almost every one except for this cat of course. He probably works for ebay.lol
jonathanbrightlight
·9 months agoNo, it’s just that people tend to comment when they’re having problems. Sales are not down for “almost every oneâ€. The ones who are having poor sales are just the ones who care to comment.
I suspect if I worked for eBay my paycheck would be a lot better, but they wouldn’t waste money paying me to post here.
meryla2909
·1 year agoMine are pitifyul! I used to sell one and sometimes 4 items a day. Now, 2 a week! So, I am not sourcing anymore since I have no more space. I have not idea why my sales are so so bad.
Maria
inhawaii
·1 year agoYout items are very desirable and in demand. I can't understand your drop in sales. It makes no sense. I'm sure it's somehow ebay's fault.
chapeau-noir
·1 year ago@scubadiver00 Someone has posted about this pretty much every day (sometimes more than one person) for the 20 years I've used this board, including this month. It's pretty safe to say that it's a common problem.
stainlessenginecovers
·1 year agoSales have 'tanked' for many the past month.
See 'the news'
See 'the stock market'
redtagcomputers
·1 year agohave had all sale plummet in the last few months. called for help no views no sales and no help