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eBay sales are non-existent!
eBay sales have been slow for a while, but now they have grinded to a screeching halt! With 600-700 items listed, I've maybe sold 5 or 6 items per week over the last few weeks, and those sales were for low dollar items! Has eBay changed something while trying to push people into Promoted Listings? Considering just getting a job, because eBay isn't even paying what a convenience store job would pay these days! I'm just tired of trying to jump through the eBay hoops all of the time!
35 comments
kh-shakhib
·2 years 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.
an-57470
·2 years agoYes I agree, it's never going to get any better! if you're getting two sales a month you're lucky. It's a complete waste of time and I've gone bankrupt trying to keep up. I could have had a pretty big bank account right now with all the money I put into eBay and have gotten maybe 10% back on what I have invested. Total waste of time! It's sad because at one time you could have made a pretty good living off of selling on eBay. But it was a matter of time, keeping up is another story. Everybody can give advice on what to do what not to do but the fact is nobody's getting any sales and for those people that are, it comes in spurts and not enough for the entire month to even waste your time doing listings. I worked five times harder to earn 90% less than what I used to make in construction. I thought I would invest 3 years salary into getting a pretty decent business going. Unfortunately I made a Bad Business decision thinking that eBay had a chance of making me a good living. My advice go back to work get a job and stay far away from eBay as possible and that includes buying crap that you don't need Which is most stuff on eBay
carolynscollectiblesnmore
·2 years agoThe economy sucks right now. I made $120 in 90 days on eBay. I gave up. I started getting rid of all my inventory. I do deliveries now for DoorDash and Uber eats. And that pay so much more. I was at the point where I was making income of $3000 every 90 days for Ebay. I just don’t care anymore. People are not buying stuff anymore right now. Unless things change things are going to continue to go south with this economy.
mordecai8614
·2 years ago"I do deliveries now for DoorDash and Uber eats. And that pay so much more"
That's great, but it doesn't sound like "the economy sucks right now" if people are willing to pay a fee to have overpriced take-out delivered to their front door (plus tip)
chapeau-noir
·2 years agoSounds like it must be doing pretty well if people are getting DoorDash and UberEats - but that's good that you're making more $$$ that way.
I sound like a broken record - people are buying 'stuff' but spending habits have changed and people are spending more money on experiences and events rather than 'stuff'. Plus there is intense competition for online sales now on many platforms with large amounts (something like a 25% increase) of online sellers during the pandemic - probably more than a few of those have stuck it out. Times change. I don't buy much 'stuff' anymore, either.
regeni71
·2 years agoHas anyone else noticed a decline in eBay's prominence with google search? There are several big players that sell items similar to mine and they seem to be dominating the top results. Admittedly, I'm not savvy with regards to all of the factors involved in search positions but I am nearly certain that eBay listings do not have the same prominence in search results as they have had these last 3 years that I have been selling. That may be unique to the type of product I sell and the level of competition but I kind of doubt it. Check your own listings. Just copy a particular listing and paste it to search. I'd like to know if this is just my imagination.
nilis13
·2 years agoYes, i have noticed this. My sales have been plummeting. Worst ever.
jahe149822
·3 years agoI have no idea what the cause of all the pain is, but it’s nice to know we’re all on the struggle bus together.
Just got to stay motivated and work twice as hard during times like this! That’s how you survive.
Earnings this quarter should be interesting. I have a hard time believing that what we’re all experiencing won’t affect the company’s bottom line.
It’s easy to get frustrated at eBay during times like this as they push promoted listings, but I’m sure they want us to sell more stuff. That’s where they make their money!
frankenhobbit
·3 years agoI would never even consider trying to make a full time living on eBay. Selling off my old stuff, yes. A little sideline to supplement retirement when it happens, sure.
A lot of items that (people who have noticed depressed) sales appear to be selling seems to be sourced from places that everyone has become aware of over the last couple years. A huge wave of YouTube videos about thrifting, garage sales, estate sales and the 'Goodwill Bins' (I consider that more of a feeding frenzy now than thrifting!) means that compared to a year or so ago, a lot more people are trying to flip.
Can you make a couple hundred bucks a month? Sure. Give up your day job? Not so much. Not unless you are sourcing new items from dedicated suppliers. My personal opinion is that the 'flip what you thrift' pond is now all fished out.
Not a pro, but just my thoughts.
duffy4444
·3 years agoThe overall drop affecting most online sellers can be best explained by what I heard on Fox Business recently (paraphrased): "The bulk of consumers are paralyzed by uncertainty". This is the most comprehensive and simple explanation I've heard so far. It says it all.
The best thing we can do is Accept > Adjust > Adapt. Accept the situation and the need to be patient, Adjust our expectations and be wise about adjusting our listings and business models where we can, and Adapt to the new reality by riding it out until it blows over, which it eventually will (fingers crossed).
There are rich periods and there are lean periods. That's the nature of online commerce that I've experienced in the 25+ years I've been selling here and on other online venues.
Chill...
Cheers, Duffy
baantiques
·3 years agoIt's not the economy. Even in a horrible depression there are still plenty of people with money to spend.
I had a slow period in the end of September beginning of October. I've gotten out of it by doing the same stuff I did to increase my sales initially back in June
1. List every day. 10 new items seems to be the magic number
2. Get rid of old stuff that hasn't sold - drop the price, have a sale, throw it away, whatever. You want to avoid things that don't sell because they hurt you in search and also cause your store to bloat which reduces your sell through rate.
3. Good customer service. Respond to messages requests and questions, etc.
It's really not that difficult, you just have to be consistent. I've more than doubled my sales and I still work maybe 4 hours a day.
ulfesharpe
·3 years agoYou have to pay a good deal to be able to sell here — you need to spend almost what you earn for each sale!
Strangely, people pop along here saying they like it like that.
pmtime1
·3 years ago"Search" is broken (in my opinion but not apparently not in ebay's opinion) such that buyers may not be seeing your items listed. "Search" doesn't list every item in the search (why not?). For example, when I searched for "Beatles" in all categories and sorted by lowest price first, I got a list of only 160 items with the first (lowest priced) item being a book for around $30. Cleary not correct. I refined my search to "Beatles Help" and got a list again of only 160 items but with the first (lowest priced) item being a record for around $15. I narrowed my search and got lower cost items?????? So, I refined my search further to "Beatles Help mono" and the list grew to 220 items with the first (lowest priced) item being a record for around $8. Then I limited this latest search to items under $5 and got several items not listed any of the previous searches. How effed up is that?????
If buyers can't find your listed items, they can't bid on them.
baantiques
·3 years agoI've been doing pretty well the last few months although sales the last week went into the tank, probably because of the seller update. It happens every single time.
What I've been doing the last three months is listing regularly (10 items every day), removing old inventory regularly, and trying to keep on top of answering messages. I've had a few slowdowns where I've gone back and removed a bunch of dead weight from inventory and that's improved things drastically. You have to be active in your store. Sitting around waiting for sales means a lot of sitting and waiting for no sales.
bendel23
·3 years agoSame here, I’m a new store owner. Started in July. But have been on eBay selling here and there since 2016. July I listed tons of my old vintage toys from the 90s and sales were awesome.
Now in sept-oct very meager traffic and sales one a day; to zero.
I list 10-20 items daily. Running vintage sports memorabilia, postcards, 1920-60s ephemera. Lego sets everything. I have a 75 feedback and all positive no strikes.
now literally no offers, traffic or sales week after week!
wifetrained
·3 years agoThat old saying, 'IT'S THE ECONOMY STUPID", is 100% on point. No question that Ebay has its issues which are mostly self-inflicted but far too many people are living paycheck to paycheck and credit card debt is at an all-time high. That CC use reportedly is to bridge the gap but there are limits and once they are hit, then what??
Where's the money going to come from to buy on this platform? Or any platform for that matter. We are witnessing a unique situation unfolding in this country and I fear it'll get much worse long before anything gets any better. As an example, yesterday I went to our local Foodland and purchased 1 bag of Hershey Kisses and a bottle of ST Joseph's low dose aspirin, total cost was $24 and some change. Then over to the gas station and a top off, less than 8 gallons, and that was near $27 and change, then over to the post office for a roll of stamps that cost well over $50. There's a hundred bucks gone and not one iota of food.
It's not rocket science, pretty simple math really. I suspect the local Dollar stores are doing brisk business.
aldelbertmatthew
·3 years agoThe odd thing I've noticed ever since I've started selling on Poshmark is interactions with my account despite having half of the listings on eBay are drastically higher. My listings are being shared, liked, offers are being given, bundles are being made, messages are being sent. My sales are now higher on Poshmark than they are on eBay thanks to multiple no sales days on eBay. I normally sold 3-5+ items a day.
On eBay with double the listings of Poshmark? Ghost town. Handful of interactions at best. A few messages with extreme lowball offers. No watchers for hours.
At what point is it just gross negligence on eBay's part to run the company like this? How do you cause the entire site to implode within 4 months? This isn't normal.
isaiah53-57
·3 years ago"Considering just getting a job, because eBay isn't even paying what a convenience store job would pay these days! I'm just tired of trying to jump through the eBay hoops all of the time!"
@digginforgoldtradingpost215
OK, so I would ask WHEN did it ever? - In looking at your stats, if you think you came anywhere close to making what you WOULD have made at an average paying job with average benefits, then you desperately need an accountant to show you how far out reality your thinking is - If you account for ALL the hours you spend sourcing, driving, cleaning, testing, sorting, storing, picture-taking, listing, question-answering, packing, shipping, more question answering, dealing with returns, accounting, taxes, etc, etc. I guarantee you, you only made a fraction of what you could have made in those same hours at a normal job - Plus you would likely have HEALTH INSURANCE(cant see how that is even possible for you based on sales), 401K, paid vacation, etc.
Plus, for 9 out of 10 small sellers selling here, your life would be more simplified, your happiness level would increase dramatically, you would feel a greater sense of accomplishment, have higher self esteem, be able to plan for things in your life with a steady income, have less stress in "jumping through the hoops" and wondering when the house of cards is gonna come tumbling down, have more REAL human interaction... plus a additional lengthy list of life changing benefits...
It just amazes me when I see people make this comment and I see it often...
lawnmowerpartsstore2
·3 years agoI have to say you do have a few good points there 🤔
kensgiftshop
·3 years agoWhen I'm looking at items and see, no returns, sold as shown, sold as is and there is no description, I hit the back button.
If you want people to buy your stuff, tell them what they are buying.
tobaccocardyahoo
·3 years agoEbay is not broken.
Although the past three months have not been my best months, they are not bad enough to indicate other than market demand problems.
I have been selling online long enough to have seen economic hard times before, and it looks exactly like past hard times.
seconhandrosie
·3 years agoThe Great Recession was not nearly this slow.
bryo_3145
·3 years agoGoogle Marginal Utility. New poll 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.
chapeau-noir
·3 years agoThat's hardly new - Americans have been over-spending for decades.
bryo_3145
·3 years agoWho's been spending more us or our government?
an-57470
·3 years agoand your point is?
beautifulbeauty2012
·3 years agoI am in the same boat. Once again, you got to have right things for sale to make sales. I am not getting any new inventory, and ebay likes when you list brand new items, not relisting/selling similar. Then right prices.
Ebay has many competitors nowadays, some platforms offer better shipping rates for buyers (for example, Posh charges $7.97 flat fee for up to 5lb because they negotiated that rate with USPS); if ebay did the same, it would had brought more buyers IMHO.
fashunu4eeuh
·3 years agoHi, @digginforgoldtradingpost215 I took a look at your listings and see 79 items for sale. With that number, more information could be added without too much trouble in some of the Item Specifics and Descriptions that might spur some sales. I can't speak to what eBay may be doing, but there usually are a few things a seller can do to improve sagging sales.
Take listing #325250127931 for example. Entitled "Dell D10U Optiplex 7040 Micro i7-6700T 128GB SSD 8GB RAM **READ**" None of the Item Specifics are filled in. For everything "N/A" has been inserted. Anyone looking for that item using the usual keywords will likely not see your listing in their Search results. And you are even more hamstrung because selling anything on eBay as Used signifies full operational status, yet you have a disclaimer in that listing noting that the item is untested and may be locked. Who's going to buy that? You'd do better to list it as For Parts/ Not Working, like you have on some other listings. At least then it is less a SNAD waiting to happen.
And listing medical devices/goods is risky without following policy which can require a medical disclaimer and/or expiration dates. (See policy below.) I am referencing the dental items, like #325788237043 (the impression material). And perhaps the centrifuge, #325738085574.
https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/medicine-medical-devices-healthcare-products-policy?id=4322
Noticed that most of your listings state "As Is". As a protective measure, this offers virtually no security to sellers because the Money Back Guarantee trumps all seller disclaimers. But, having a more buyer-friendly return policy, on the other hand, might afford some help against those who would improperly use the MBG to get free return shipping. Just a thought.
beautifulbeauty2012
·3 years ago@fashunu4eeuh I like your analysis, spot on! Can you look at my listings and tell me what you think?
john_wade
·3 years agoI did fine last October and made a couple of big sales. I have my fingers crossed that going back to school and going to all kinds of outdoor events has something to do with it. Everybody I know is having trouble selling on eBay right now. You're not alone!
caseypl
·3 years agoSales were slow in August and then they went high in September. I sell auto parts, so it kind of makes sense... cooler weather in September, more people may work on cars. I would just look at overall averages. And yes, lower sales lately, lower dollar value items, but hard to find items continue to sell fast. Always remember there is another seller who may not value their time as much, may not realize they have to pay taxes, and does not factor in all costs. Just give it more time and it'll all balance out.
lakefor94
·3 years ago"but hard to find items continue to sell fast."
I see the same. We all know what our good stuff is. Buyers don't have a problem finding it and it goes fast. Pricing is the key on alot of it.
During the pandemic I went to retail price on a LOT of items.
Worked well for about 2 years. Not so much anymore.
As I continue to check pricing on ebay and elsewhere, my items sell better at a discounted price at this time. I have to be competitive. Pricing is a continual process to exist.
frugalmarketplace
·3 years agoI will not disagree. Everything is at an all time low. It isn’t the economy, eBay is broken.
inhawaii
·3 years agoEbay is only broken for those who are experiencing non-existent sales. It's working fine for those experiencing average or above average sales.
12345jamesstamps
·3 years agoSellers and buyers will say it is the economy.
However, most of my sales for a week now are International Buyers where there is a charge for shipping. My domestic shipping is free. I do have my "repeat buyers" who are in the USA thankfully. I kinda feel my items are pushed Internationally and not domestically...eBay does make more from an International Sale than a Domestic Sale from me. I did promote a week ago...6 sold out of 300 at highest rate fees....some at 15%.
Not much left to do except to keep listings more it's.
And if you have only domestic shipping that could be rough.
However, gas for my motorcycle went up again...$6.57 a gallon where I live. LOL