Dropping Sales
Based on other comments in the EBay forums about drastic drops in sales, the consensus is that eBay is trying to force small US business off of eBay in favor of the large Chinese. Many comments are about how eBay modified their sales algorithm about 6 months ago and it killed sales. I'm a top rated seller with 100% positive feedback and my sales are down around 90% and repeated communication with eBay has not helped.
Adding higher fees to most categories certainly fits in that scenario.
46 comments
redlinear
·3 years agoThat's not correct. You must be seen in order to sell. And, you/we/me are just not being seen using the old tried and true business methods of years gone by.
If you had 10,000 items listed, same price as Chinese seller with 10k listings (same items/same prices/same titles/same specifics info/same promotion rate/same same same).
You would probably sell more because you are closer to US customers.
However, both of you would show up pretty much equally in a best match search.
The issue is, you have a few items. There's a lot of Chinese sellers with thousands of items. You have a grain of sand trying to be seen on a beach.
It's almost impossible to stand out in that crowd. Unless your buyer "sorts/refines" their search 20 times. And not many buyers are going to do that.
Although, if you promote yourself out of business, eBay will let you be seen.
gorgons-gallery
·3 years agoHi,
You sell a very small range of items, mostly knives and related items. You also have a tiny inventory of under 60 different items when I looked. Your feedback in about 200 per year, which is high for so small an inventory, but at most you sell 1000 items per year, (and I'm probably being too generous) so you're saying, with a 60 items inventory you once sold 10,000 items per year? I find that difficult to believe. But that's what a 90% drop would mean. In any case, I would diversify my wares into other areas and increase the number of items sold. The more you have to sell, the more you can sell. Will it roller-coaster up and down, of course it will. But I think you exaggerate just a bit.
inhawaii
·3 years agoI disagree with that.
bringbackthebasics
·3 years agoI tend to agree with this theory as I have been on Ebay since 2009. I have consistantly had good sales.
My sales have dropped by 90% on Ebay in the past few months. In fact, due to fees and subscription fees, I am in the negative more often than not! On that note, my identical listings on a competitive site has skyrocketed! In fact it bypasses my Ebay sales by a very large amount. It may be
that Ebay is just going by the wayside due to competition.
toysaver
·3 years ago"Based on other comments in the EBay forums about drastic drops in sales, the consensus is that eBay is trying to force small US business off of eBay in favor of the large Chinese."
If this were true eBay would not have altered listing forms so selling by cellphone can compete and eclipse the ease of listing by computer. Big business relies on computer use not cellphones.
gail5176
·3 years agoThey definitely favor sellers that list a lot of items and cheap, give them more views etc..
they do not make money on small sellers
fashunu4eeuh
·3 years ago“Based on other comments in the EBay forums about drastic drops in sales, the consensus is that eBay is trying to force small US business off of eBay in favor of the large Chinese…â€
The anecdotal information reported in the forums is too statistically small to base such a sweeping statement on. Is there any proof of general agreement among sellers that eBay is trying to rid itself of small US sellers? Is there quantifiable evidence that Chinese sellers are favored while US sellers are suppressed? We may have suspicions, but facts to back it up are hard to come by.
The latest info i could find is that US sellers make up the majority of sellers on the site. The breakdown is 31 percent of all eBay sellers are in the US. 29 percent are from the UK, Germany has 15 percent and just 12 percent are sellers from China (down from 17%) (Source: Statista)
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1019999/ebay-sellers-location-by-country/
If eBay wanted to push out small US sellers, they could. So why do many of us still exist on the platform? I am a small seller and i don’t sense that eBay doesn’t want me here. In fact, my experience has been just the opposite.
eBay actively attempts to attract as many users as possible. It’s true that in years past, eBay has reached out to Chinese sellers and helped further their success here. They were given some preferential attention and help. But it doesn't automatically follow that just because eBay courted them, that this means the small US-based sellers are unwanted or undervalued.
Not saying this is not possible. Anything is possible. But it does not seem probable that eBay would shun members of its largest group of sellers in order to install a much smaller sect to greater prominence. Why would they do that?
It seems to me there is enough room for us all. Admittedly, the playing field is not even, but i don’t expect it to be. I expect eBay is going to do what’s best for eBay. Then it’s up to me to ensure my own success within those parameters.
sapphire_studio
·3 years agoI like the way you think
retro_entertainment_collectibles
·3 years agoComplex subject matter sir, America to largest extent albeit it true in handfuls of similar economic and political nations want China to compete fairly. Counterfeiting and theft of intellectual properties aside it's extremely difficult to compete against China's production abilities, labor wages, lack of entitlements towards labor, towards parcel's a subsidized freighting system and more.
Americans in particular are distressed as the American lifestyle is rather unique in this world along with order of scale and resist change. Many in the land view China as competing very unfairly and are quick to vocalize that but you won't ever hear them say that we need compete on China's terms... No. Yet history of the world is exactly that and/or physical conflict attempting force change.
Having emerged late in mass global commerce and trade China avoided many pitfalls other nations learned. They've centralized enormous amounts of manufacturing thus avoiding the need to freight parts and assemblies across significant distances towards final products for example. The main reason the US Government tries key on human rights violations in China is not American citizens passion to see a globe full of human dignity and rights, we can't even solve our own equality issues. It's essentially an attempt to spur the citizens of China to demand better as we cannot simply demand China change it's ways because said "ways" are disingenuous to Americans money orientation lifestyles. We love the five dollar shirts and plethora's of affordable products yet not to put to fine a point upon it are dense to how and why that occurs. A sort of blindered hypocrisy which seems to be becoming a norm across considerably more areas of thinking sad as that is.
Atop all this is the last administration did considerable damage to America's global position. One of the largest trade deals in human history in Eastern Asia regions had us without even a seat at the table due to a President mockery. Significant amounts of free Europe struck deals with China due to loss of confidence in the direction of the United States Government and that of which how they saw American citizens functioning under said administration. Much of free Europe was more shocked by 1/6 than American's as that's something believed could never happen here, the leader of the free world. It opened a window to how dysfunctional and easily misled so many in America have become. Free Europe knows this all too well having had bounds of centuries of war based in wrongful propaganda and leadership whereby the monuments still stand and exist.
eBay is a global marketplace and there is no way any US seller can go head to head on same product with a vendor from China if price is the pivot factor. Purchasing nationalism has long since left the minds of US citizens in favor of more for their money and thus lifestyle. It was said already twenty years ago in think tanks that if Americans spent a mere 15% of disposable income on products wholly made in the USA the economy booms. No administration nor party has taken up the cause of "Buy American" towards Americans as a focal continual message, granted, they can be words of war and the USA is in no position to take on China in conventional conflict. That said, the ONLY President in recent times to go a bit out on that limb is Joe Biden who actually has said a handful times and at least once to a nation "Buy American" right after his inauguration. The fact he's now ushering in more US based manufacturing is long long since overdue in the land but will consumers pay presumably higher prices or listen to the call to buy American actionably.
eBay has faced domestic pressures for quite sometime and as I'd said in another thread in my humble opinion the company has navigated the past thirty years quite expertly given those pressures. Ever so many citizens rely on eBay for full income or help makes ends meet and it seems to me there are times when folks should say, "Ask not what eBay can do for you but what you can do for eBay!" LOL.
Ok... Ok... a spun JFKism. But in all seriousness if the environment flounders the proverbial passengers drown with the ship as really there are few life raft points of sale. Perhaps eBay would be open to concepts of closer partnerships with vendors, a collective. Concepts such as focal sales days and dates whereby members of said collective (best vendors) have site wide or categorical sales that eBay could promote and orient on site. There are many days in the year albeit Friday, Saturday, Sunday tend be in eCommerce the purchase days given peoples pay days. Once a month lets say there is the eBay Rummage Sale whereby sellers approved to be in the collective can commit product at significant discount trying rid dead inventories. Perhaps eBay lessen fee's in favor of volume as greenbacks are green. Point all being there is so much product here and so much diversity therein and great sellers eBay could work with the "collective" towards targeted sales as well. "Entertainment days", "Clothing Days", "Car Crazy Days" etc whereby really decent bargains can be had.
I would suggest they be parceled into an area of the site as the targeted sale zone vs consumers having to try locate vendors willy nilly. All vendors of the collective taking part have some sort of special imaging in listings displaying there are of the collective albeit other vendors may run sales in parallel. It's a highly promotable concept for eBay advertising, draw consumers back in hopefully in droves and help move product in significant fashion.
I've ideas flowing out my eyeballs towards putting eBay back in the leadership role of eCommerce but there seems be no interface to the powers that beBay.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·3 years ago@retro_entertainment_collectibles You say (and I'm only quoting part of it): " Perhaps eBay would be open to concepts of closer partnerships with vendors, a collective. Concepts such as focal sales days and dates whereby members of said collective (best vendors) have site wide or categorical sales that eBay could promote and orient on site. "
I've been suggesting similar things for years. ebay talks a lot about how valuable we sellers are, and ebay does work directly with a limited number of sellers for things like Daily Deals, Livestreams, and even to get certain merchandise onto the site. But ebay has never really leveraged its seller base as an asset. ebay has been doing a good job of "milking" the base.....fee increases, Promoted Listings etc...but has never figured out how to really work with sellers.
Your suggestion is a good one. And I've repeatedly asked ebay to at the very least give us advance notice if they are going to be running a specific marketing or ad campaign so that we can try to benefit from it. But getting ebay to actually work with the seller base is an uphill battle.
I'd love to hear some of your other suggestions....
retro_entertainment_collectibles
·3 years agoGreetings,
I've put forth some concepts such as a refined statistical system towards seller and consumer confidence and safety I assume you have saw. I've put forth concept of localized online malls which I also assume you may have read of.
There are vendors here at eBay that directly in their listings promote off site trading and purchasing inventories from consumers whereby eBay completely misses out on a single red cent. Sure they are not supposed to do that but they do and its not as if they link their websites, nope, all it takes is a google search and there ya are. eBay should have a mechanism by which consumers can offer up things directly to a vendor if they so choose, simply a private listing targeted at a given vendor whereby the "trade or sale" is literally "Held by the hand" via automation, a step by step process easy peasy.
eBay stores should be much more robust in features like any decent webstore application. They should allow for subdomain, "Cottagebooksandantiques.ebay.com" and the application afford proper indexing just as common eStore software does. So, you could submit to Bing, Google, other search engines. Many commerce apps allow for aggregate partners whereby say you find a collectibles forum and they agree to affiliate link products for a commission. We don't even have upsell ability in the storefronts, they are very basic which I find very surprising. IMHO should be capability of unique domain essentially meaning you're robust featured eBay store is quite transparently its own entity other than "Powered by eBay" on it. These can also be grouped into localized online malls whereby eBay also sell ad space, attract localized businesses and can be done many a way. Californiamall.eBay.com, SanAntoniomall.ebay.com, YorkshireMall.eBay.uk etc.
Taken another direction can do Petmall.eBay.com, CustomAuto.eBay.com and in order for sellers to be included in said malls (which can indeed have all sorts of scheduled promotions!) performance matters.
You can see levels of commonality that I am speaking of in not only refining eBay as a whole but extending it atop those refinements. Being a software (toot toot!) engineer w/ marketing the commonality towards changes and scaling remains logical and thus there are not buckets of fringe program code laying around that in time become spaghetti.
Ask yourself how many small and moderate sized businesses have tried operate their own online storefronts? Most of them fail miserably as key components towards knowledge and effort are not there. I can have the most lovely storefront on the net but if nobodys coming its moot. Online malls failed because just TOO MUCH, they sat in a globalized scope much like eBay itself. Just too much to reasonably view. Not a ONE OF THEM ever moved towards refinement into localized/regional commerce.
Nobody cares believe me but my ex is one of the key entities that resulted in Amazon's marketplace. They had auctions and zShops which were failing miserably. It was my ex being a political/marketing beastie who called Amazon, worked through the phone channels ending up talking to a Mr. Tsuzak (spelling aside). He was the CMO of Amazon and they'd talked and talked and talked time and again for hours about commerce, politics and this and that. Yeah, in 15+ years with her I learned a few things LOL. They implemented the marketplace did away with the existing venues and it exploded just as she predicted it would. Me well, I coded up a reprice engine that when submitted to Amazon for review they were blown away by but the repricer was so very aggressive in capability they "kindly" told me "uh no" as it in the hands of thousands of sellers it could devalue their entire marketplace in huge fashion as well as scant time. True... Dummy me never thought of that.
eBay is also missing out in huge fashion on the capability of mobile technology. There's lots of collectors of items out there including consumers and dealers not to mention other consumables. Show me a site whereby I can submit what I am seeking and notifies me when a seller has it up for sale. This is where detailed information in a database counts, UPC/EAN etc codes. Want sellers build that database sorta requires they've reason to and "because google wants it" doesn't exactly equate to sellers going, "Oh, does that put soup in my dish? I dont see it?"
I can go on...
richard1rst
·3 years ago*****
Interestingly they just did that. I got an email 20% coupon to redecorate your home.
Clicking the link brought up a page with 2544 home decor items on sale. Some at ridiculous discounts. A sofa listed as $7756 on sale for $1751.
https://www.ebay.com/e/home-garden/rw5-home-efc?mkevt=1&mkpid=2&emsid=e99011.m2.l1&mkcid=27&bu=43058489885&osub=f89fe04068c788377982fb9ef6785c2d%257E1674738828750MC_T_ALL_T&segname=1674738828750MC_1674738828750MC_T_ALL_T&crd=20230127065725&ch=osgood
I have seen other coupons in the past. So maybe they are listening.
retro_entertainment_collectibles
·3 years agoGreetings,
It's certainly not a new concept in sales and done smartly can scale up significantly. For example on slower days of the week is when one does "Entertainment Days" having videos, video games, music, books on and on in sales from said collective as those days are likely be most money stressed. Common collectibles another weekday, towards weekend key up the most expensive items and build upon it. Build upon it to the point consumers know when they're favorite days are coming be that weekly, bi-weekly or monthly and certainly the big businesses in the genre's are welcome to participate.
Why I'd even suggest that the layout format be similar to that of Amazon "offers" as consumers often like to browse sales vs performing searches across that collectives offerings.
Push advertising in targeted fashions across targeted venues as applicable and indeed yes use email to notify consumers perhaps even opt in cellphone texts. As I noted, once a month eBay Rummage Sale. I'd say items sellers in the collective want commit to any of these sales have to be committed a few weeks in advance under a price lock. Items may sell at regular price before said sale but once committed to the sale the items price cannot be manipulated and strict rules about price manipulations, aka: raise price $20 only to have discount come out around the price zone it originally lists at. Price manipulation result in suspensions from the collective on a two strikes rule.
Details and details will of course arise as some sellers try find ways around things to maximize profits but all should be able be dealt with in accordable fashions. It'd also encourage sellers be more performance oriented to maintain their status within the collective.
strugglinlikeyou
·3 years agoI sell mostly collectable glassware and I don't list many items. However, when I list a good item watchers are immediately attracted. Bids follow. I have no interest in selling low dollar items on eBay. I can do that locally. Just saying.
yuzuha
·3 years agoThis is honestly what it comes down to. Six of my sales last month happened within a week or two of me listing that particular item. Three more were within a week or so of me lowering the price on an item.
If you have things people want at prices they're willing to pay, they'll buy.
retro_entertainment_collectibles
·3 years agoFurther not to put too fine a point on it the US CDC was in huge part responsible for making sure SARS-1 and MERS did not go into a huge global pandemic. Yet mere months before Covid (Sars-2) reared up the CDC team at the Chinese Wuhan Lab was pulled out by the Trump administration and when the leader of that team asked why got no answers. When it was pressed they were told the 1 million dollar a year expense was the reason they were pulled out.
Yet, the US Government for the past 40 years has considered Pandemic the largest global threat facing mankind beyond rocks from outer space, global warming, war, economics or any other threat. An entire protocol for Pandemic was designed by the US Government and 110% completely ignored by that administration that actually told the people of the USA and thus being a President much of the world not to worry, its under control and was not under control in the least.
Reality class 101.
punkiesplayhousellc
·3 years agoIm interested in hearing more about how the new algorithms work lol. My items speak to kidult collectors who love designer items or toys from the 80's.
redlinear
·3 years ago@stainlessenginecovers hit the nail on the head. There are more nails, but that's a biggie.
anjofak
·3 years agoIt's the new MySpace.
bryo_3145
·3 years ago"Everything that we've been taught in life is all wrong." We're all doomed. I feel sorry for the next generation they have to clean up this mess. "If they can"
stainlessenginecovers
·3 years agoeBay doesn't give 2 cents as to whether a seller is BIG or SMALL- all the dollars add up and if you, as a SMALL, or BIG, seller- sells things creating $$ for eBay- that is
ALL THAT MATTERS!!
movieman630
·3 years agoI don't buy that either though because if that were true they'd do a lot of things differently. Like mirco managing what people sell and such.
Honestly. What difference does it make if someone wants to sell a "rebel flag" or an item that contains the "rebel flag"? It's a part of history. American History! A BIG part. Civil War Re-enactors use them. States use them. TV shows use them. Movies use them. My point is if you don't want one, don't buy one. Don't search for it and you don't need to see it.
If it isn't illegal it shouldn't be regulated. Period.
Point being, if all ebay cared about was money they'd do a lot of things differently. There's more to it then just money. We just don't know what.
sapphire_studio
·3 years agoMy guess is 90% of the problem (reason in serious sales drop) is the economy.
This is a targeted takedown of the middle class. It was not a coincidence that the rental moratorium ended at the exact same time as the Pandemic Unemployment Benefits. They spoiled people for a set amount of time to get them used to spending more (bad habits like doordash etc) and then they pulled the rug out from under everyone. It is going to get worse in the next month or two as they take away giving everyone the max benefits they could get for Food stamps. Many people will go from making like $450 in a two person household to less than $100 because of income deductions (like SSI and SSDI).
Higher postage costs and these new ebay fees are not going to help. They will bleed people dry (wiping out the middle class) until everyone is begging for a solution, and then they will bring in a "solution" like a central bank digital currency.
majdonh
OP3 years agoThis is not a forum for discussing your theories about politics and the destruction of America.
jewelsvintagetreasures
·3 years agoI am also a Top Rated seller with a 100% positive feedback. I definitely agree my sales have in the past few month's are in the ditch about the same 90%. There is a lot of chatter going on regarding many others having the same drop off in sales. No one including me knows why. Others like me are wondering is it something Ebay is doing or not doing? or that reselling has become the "In Thing" or is it the state of the Economy or a little bit of all. Guess time will tell.
dhbookds
·3 years agoI've never understood how griping about slow sales does any good to increase sales.
lawnmowerpartsstore2
·3 years agoWell this is the talk boards so a lot of sellers that are having a tough time are looking for ideas from the sellers that are doing ok. Does that answer your question ?
richard1rst
·3 years agoWell, I have often come on these boards with suggestions. Although lately I gave given up trying to help.
More often then not I run into Cognitive Dissonance. Or I am derided as an eBay shill. Which tells me they are not really looking for help. They just want a soap box to shout from.
Just look at the OP’s comment. EVERYTHING is pointed at eBay. No. The economy at large is down (and so by extension is eBay - but not through eBay’s doing.)
In many cases there are so many flaws in the seller’s listing that merely correcting the listings would improve the seller’s visibility. Learn how to implement useful html coding into your listings so as to get your listing to appear on Google. Half of my page views come from Google, not eBay searches.
In just the past week Amazon and Google collectively laid off 30,000 workers. Other businesses are being driven out of business (at a loss of jobs and income) due to violence and wholesale organized smash and grab robberies. Inflation is drying up what is commonly called disposable income. Many, myself included, have pulled back until the current administration stops destroying America. War appears to be imminent. Production is hamstrung because the government makes it more profitable to stay home and collect government handouts. With so many schools closed women, who would ordinarily be working and adding income to the house hold, now have to stay home to take care of the kids. And some do it voluntarily because they are appalled at what is being taught their kids in those schools which are open.
I could go on (ad on and on and on) but the point is that all of these things affect people’s spending choices and NONE of these things can be fixed by eBay.
lawnmowerpartsstore2
·3 years agoVery well said !!!!
homesaver2000
·3 years agoWhat schools are closed? How is the "current administration" "destroying America"? You sound like you are a bit out of your mind. Which you kind of are because you are trying to sell a $15.99 New Jersey Devils Mug for $29.99. That's not gonna work.
richard1rst
·3 years agoAh yes, the dreaded Cognitive Dissonance.
First, where are you getting that $14.99. I did an eBay search and the only NEW $14.99 I found simply had the words New Jersey Devils printed on it. No logo - because that would incur additional licensing fees raising the price. I found some in and around that price but they are all pre-owned. Mine are brand new. I found a bunch of new MINI mugs. And by the way I am not “trying†to sell them at $29.99. I am in fact SELLING them at that price.
And the link you drove me to is not the same mug and it appears to be a special event coupon pricing with a time limit. Not really apples to apples.
Secondly there are currently 1400 schools across 278 districts across 35 states that are closed due to government panics over COVID.
https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2021/covid-outbreaks-have-closed-1400-schools-in-35-states/
Destroying America? Haven’t you been paying attention? An open border allowing millions of illegals to cross seemingly at will (“A country that can not control its borders is not a countryâ€), Inflation, homelessness, anti-police actions resulting in crime and murder willy nilly in the streets in broad daylight, smash and grab robberies forcing business out of business, political corruption between Joe and Hunter, the ill founded “green new deal†shutting down the fossil fuel industry causing shortage of gas for cars and fuel for power station which in turn result in massive blackouts in the middle of the winter.
I could go on( and on and on and on) but that is just some of the problems that can be laid directly at Biden’s feet.
To those who understand no explanation is necessary.
To those who do not no explanation will suffice.
turnpiketreasures1
·3 years agoYou are absolutely right! But, as I'm sure you know, it doesn't do any good to try and point out the obvious. Read about the Great Reset, and you'll see it all. I'm an old gal and years ago a guy name of Bill Ayers lead an organization called the Weather Underground. They have a manifesto called Prairie Fire, it's a must read for those who don't believe that what's going on with the US society is a planned thing. Prairie Fire detailed exactly how to get us to where we are now. But, I'm not going to go into detail about it because the folks who think all is fine won't believe it, and those who know things are drastically changing need to read it for themselves.
eBay isn't at fault for falling sales, there are a ton of things in play, the economy being one of them. eBay does change algorithms from time to time, and one of those changes in the last couple of years is monitoring how often a shop puts up new listings. They've also messed with key word recognition, which is often not a good thing. A lot of the changes are made simply because there are so many fingers in the pie and each finger feels it has to make some kind of change in order to justify and keep their job. That happens in big corporations all the time. People get into positions where they can make change, and they make it just to show they are indeed working. In the long run, those type of changes are never a good thing, and usually just fall off over time.
Plus, people sometimes just won't take an inward look to see if maybe they're selling the wrong thing, or titling it wrong, or using the wrong keywords, or pricing too high...there are dozens of reasons for a shop not doing well, but right now it's the economy all the way around. People are just plain scared that things will get worse and although they might have gotten a good deal on that eBay item they've always wanted, they fear that later on it'll be the money that would have bought them a days worth of groceries, or a few gallons of gas, or helped pay a utility bill. My husband and I have a nice retirement and selling online is a way for me to downsize after more than 50 years worth of collecting so my kids don't have to deal with it, but even though we're doing fine, it still scares me that something will happen where we won't be doing fine. I've cut down on the buying big time. Instead of ordering endlessly on Amazon, I'm just saving things for later. And you are also right Richard...the middle class is taking the brunt of everything and are destined to disappear if something isn't done. The world is hurting and it isn't an accident. I'm not sure about Covid, but it's looking more and more like even it was a planned thing in order to hurt the economy more. Either that, or it was the greatest coincidence of all time. How do we bring this great economy to its knees? I know, we let one of those virus strains we've been experimenting with escape the Chinese bat cave and release it on the world. I'm not saying that's what happened, but it is worth thinking about. And then there's George Soros. Wow. What a time we live in.
retro_entertainment_collectibles
·3 years agoArticle is from September 2021, oops.
ncprog87
·3 years agoThat, and the map in that article seems to show the majority of closures at that time were in deep red states. But something something Hunter Biden is all that really matters. 🙄
chapeau-noir
·3 years agoDisagreeing with your stance is not 'cognitive dissonance'. I always thought you were a much more independent thinker than this - so sad, too bad.
majdonh
OP3 years agoThis is not a political forum or a forum for discussing all the things you think are wrong with America. That you think it is appropriate to state all your personal beliefs about how Biden is destroying America in this forum is one of the things wrong with America.
movieman630
·3 years agoOne good thing that may come about in the next decade or so is a return to American manufacturing. Which could bring about the end of "planned obsolescence". Since people will be forced to pay more for US made goods companies will have to go back to "long lasting quality made" goods to justify that higher price point. People won't stand for a Toaster that breaks in 6 months if they had to pay $30 for it. Things will start being made like they were "back in the day".
Prime example. I still have a tube TV from 1989 that still works! Never been repaired.
Remember when products, buildings, cars, etc were aesthetically pleasing? I do. Aesthetics were sacrificed in the name of "quick and cheap". We'll get back to that if things are made here in America again at a higher price point.
bauble-babes
·3 years ago@richard1rst "Learn how to implement useful html coding into your listings so as to get your listing to appear on Google. Half of my page views come from Google, not eBay searches."
I plead ignorance here, not tech savvy. Would you tell us how to do this (pretty please with sugar on top)?
richard1rst
·3 years agoI did a rather long write up on in back in November, The following link will open the discussion again. Look for my posts as numbers 8 (a demonstration of the results)) , 14 (the most information), and 25 (a follow up caution)
Hope this helps.
https://community.ebay.com/t5/Selling/Are-you-stuck-in-trying-to-get-sales-and-increase-your-brand/td-p/33348413
majdonh
OP3 years agoYou don't understand stand how discussing issues in a forum does any good yet here you are in a forum complaining? nd does your comment do anything to help shed light on the central question? Go troll somewhere else.
stainlessenginecovers
·3 years agoCommunicating with eBay has NEVER changed how people buy things and there has NEVER been a 'magic switch' or 'button' for an ebay rep to put peoples items in front of buyers (except Promotions, the more you pay, the more chance on being page 1).
Sellers have been coming into this forum complaining about Sales for 10+ years; yet there are always new sellers doing just fine.
You, for example- are selling First Aid Kits. There are 9300+ listed when I search using that terminology, which would be the most obvious common search words.
Not sure what you are comparing to, but after Covid, many MILLIONS figured out how to 'sell online' since they couldn't work etc. Now, anything for sale probably has 10 times more competition than was before.
majdonh
OP3 years agoBTW, if there is nothing that eBay is doing or can do to change their algorithm why do the customer service people mention that as the reason that my eBay sales have dropped? That is what they told me twice. Different reps.
an-57470
·3 years agoCouldn't work? There were millions of unfilled jobs that people chose not to take because they wanted to be on the government dole.
That is strange because many of my items are vintage one-of-kind.
eBay was built on small time sellers and companies, who invented all the innovations you now see on eBay, including pictures in listings, scheduled listings, eBay's own API, listing software, electronic payments and so on. eBay stole these ideas or bought the company that invented them. eBay was even found guilty of stealing early online auction patents - they didn't invent them.
As a big thanks to all those small time sellers eBay began their first transition to Big Box stores. eBay in turned dumped Big Box stores, the middleman, in favor of Chinese Communist sellers.
eBay latest transition is for these Chinese Communist sellers to take over the low value items, while their concentrating on higher value items in select categories such as sneakers, NFTs and other artificially created collectibles.
eBay CEOS have shown their total disdain for small time sellers by referring to them as so many garage sale operators and referred to buyers as low value customers.
Look at what eBay did for its Chinese Communist partners in 2010, when they negotiated a deal between eBay, USPS and China Post to exploit a 1969 Universal Postal Union program designed to help poor people. This cause USPS to lose billions of dollars, which USPS made up for by raising domestic rates, which in turn eBay more money. This destroy American manufacturing jobs as well as U.S. based eBay sellers by allowing Chinese goods to be dumped into the American market by our own post office. Thankfully Trump put an end to this, while Obama and Congress sat by and did noting at all.
farwaywow
·3 years agoThis is so true, why do we allow this to happen? the shipping cost is truly insanely different
A package from China to New York only cost them $1.50 ?
What a heck is going on ?
domin-tomas
·3 years agoI dropped Amazon a couple of days ago. Could Ebay be next, we shall see.
lawnmowerpartsstore2
·3 years agoThats not good 😞