Summer Slowdown Arriving Early?
Not sure about the rest of you, but for me, summer slowdown has begun about 3-weeks early. Although traffic is up and my numbers are OK due to higher end items, the number of sales is down to 25%.
Anyone else seeing similar trends?
32 comments
gurlcat
·4 months agoOne thing that cracks me up is the suggestion to switch to whatever inventory that people are buying in a rough economy. Even if a seller can figure out what they should switch to (which is a tall order in its own right), if they've been suffering poor sales because of the rough economy, how likely are they to have any capital for buying what's hot in desperate times???
It would be like saying to a gym or movie theater during the pandemic, "Why don't you be a restaurant instead -they're finding ways to flex with the social distancing requirements." 🤣
chapeau-noir
·4 months agoWell, FINDING the items to sell can be a challenge - not like everything is always available everywhere to sell, though I agree that the effort needs to be made to keep up. I've changed my lineup of goods a number of times since I started doing this. But I don't think people get that.
gurlcat
·4 months agoI've changed main categories a few times too. But my main point was that one might not have any money to go buy new inventory, especially if they've already been struggling lately.
tarotfindsandmore
·4 months agoI think this might be a scenario where one has to start looking at low ticket items that seem to be doing well and then run low opener auctions, sales with deep discounts, or just steeply mark down what they currently have listed to bring in enough money to start picking up those low ticket items. Yes, that does oversimplify things quite a bit, but it is doable with some effort. You just have to be able to accept you may lose some money on your current inventory and you'll have to do some serious work in the research area.
An example of one way a seller might do this would be to take their "vintage" decor items (which really are pretty dead in the water for the most part right now), run a big sale, and then take the proceeds to pick up sealed new trading cards*. Then open up the packs (DON'T buy them from another ebay seller until you know what you're doing...stick with Walmart, Target, Best Buy to make sure you're getting sealed packs), see what you have, price the individual cards accordingly and start making money again. It will be time consuming and your returns are likely to be bad to terrible for a little while, but eventually you will get a few cards that are worth something and make enough money to buy/list more. Meanwhile, you keep unloading that dead weight in your current category. Eventually, you'll figure out which items in your new inventory are money makers and you'll be able to pick up more and then, eventually, higher ticket merch and related items.
*Find a friend/relative/forum who can help you figure out what is not only "hot" but getting "hotter" (for example, my middle son, 30, gave me the scoop on One Piece about 4-5 years ago) so you don't saddle yourself with a fresh batch of crap you won't be able to sell. Generally, this is someone between the ages of 15 and 35.
chapeau-noir
·4 months agoI notice that people tend to reply to the question of sales fluctuations from the confines of their own narrow circumstances. I'd rather look at the larger picture - how is a market looking in general?
gurlcat
·4 months ago@chapeau-noir I agree, and @my-cottage-books-and-antiques I agree with more of what you're saying than it may appear. I don't think "Is anybody else seeing this?" can give much more than emotional triage, but if that's all someone wants, they're not likely listen to suggestions.
Also the economy absolutely can have a widespread effect on a large portion of sellers who were doing everything right and making good money. I don't get how anyone can even try to deny that. But like the "some sellers vs. some sellers" generalizing, we can't even tell from eBay's revenue reports, because they're only quarterly and not detailed enough.
pls-consignments
OP4 months agoDidn't think I would need to clarify, but it appears that I need to after listening to "some" of the comments.
First, the OP (me) is not complaining about sales. As I said in the original post, my numbers are OK.
However, I am noticing a considerable decrease in the number of sales or transactions. As one mentioned, I too have been working hard to counteract the decrease in sales by listing higher priced items, many of which I sell via auctions. Yet, because I sell a broad array of items, (especially in the vintage collectibles categories), any change in buyer behavior is more noticeable, especially when comparing seasonal and yearly numbers.
I do like to see what others are experiencing in order to identify and stay ahead of trends.
chubbycatcollectibles
·4 months agoI am selling Fair. But year by year sales are going south. I know I have good stuff but people are being picky and offers are low balled. But I am still breathing so my spirits are high. Hopefully something breaks soon for the better.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·4 months agoAt the risk of boring everyone to tears , I'll go with my usual response.
"My sales are down? Anyone else?" is the wrong question to ask. The answer is ALWAYS:
Some sellers are seeing a decrease.
Some an increase.
Some about the same.
The question to ask---if the poster is genuinely concerned about low sales , is:
"My sales are not satisfactory. Any thoughts on how I could improve them?"
tarotfindsandmore
·4 months agoIt's not boring, it's true. Maybe if it's repeated enough times, the boohoo-ing will diminish and the sellers doing it will take it to heart.
Lord knows we see the same complaints, and the same useless excuses, over and over. Once a seller has addressed all of the possible ebay-related reasons (bad pics, bad titles, bad feedback) that their items are not selling, it's time to put those big girl/boy pants on and take a hard look at their items/prices/effort.
lawnmowerpartsstore2
·4 months agoTell us how you really feel. Please don't hold back 🤣 Lol
tarotfindsandmore
·4 months ago😁
gurlcat
·4 months agoThis isn't wrong, but since any number greater than one counts as "some" then it can't be wrong, but doesn't mean there can't BE anything wrong.
If we could see all sellers' before/after sales and it turns out that:
60% of sellers are seeing a decrease
10% are seeing an increase
30% are about the same
that would absolutely indicate that something bad is going on that trumps sellers' abilities and willingness to sell as well as they did 'before.'
Is there any way for us to see such numbers? Will there ever be? No. So it will always be possible to dismiss sellers' fears this way, but it will never make it a meaningful dismissal. It's a logical fallacy and a cruel one, in my opinion.
my-cottage-books-and-antiques
·4 months ago@gurlcat You are correct about one thing...with millions of sellers, and no access to ebay data, we cannot know if 60% are seeing a decrease or 60% are seeing an increase.
But... what is it you think we can gain from asking such a question on a Board populated by a tiny fraction of all ebay sellers?
We can NEVER hope to know whether a majority of sellers are seeing a decline from such an infinitesimally tiny sample, so what's the point in asking the question? Even if 10 people say "Yes, I'm seeing a decline" and five say average, and five say increase....well, that is also nowhere close to an accurate accounting of millions of sellers , is it? We have no idea whether those percentages accurately reflect overall sales (and, in fact, no reason to think they do).
And you say I'm being dismissive and cruel. No, I'm not. You are dismissing the most important part of my post, which is:
The question to ask---if the poster is genuinely concerned about low sales , is:
"My sales are not satisfactory. Any thoughts on how I could improve them?"
So, you are right that we cannot get an accurate measure of the percentages. So what? My point is, it is simply the wrong question to ask, regardless of the answer, because , whatever the state of ebay, whatever the state of ecommerce, whatever the state of the economy, how ever many sellers are seeing a decline or an increase, what matters is THIS seller is seeing a decline , and if he sincerely wants to improve his sales he has to do it within the framework of the existing ebay and the existing economy, good, bad, or indifferent. And asking about whether other sellers are in a slump is a pointless question that ultimately just turns into the same thread over and over again about how Seller A is doing terrible and Seller B is doing great and Seller C.....tell me, how does THAT help a seller improve his sales?
Saying here's what I sell, here's my store, here's my basic business model, here's my strategy, here's what I sell, here's how I use (or don't use) promoted listings, etc and then asking: does anyone have any suggestions to improve me sales?
THAT is a question that can be worth asking. And hopefully some of the answers might actually help the seller improve his sales, which does not seem dismissive or cruel to me, but instead helpful. Much more helpful than people telling him their sales are good or bad or average.
gurlcat
·4 months ago@my-cottage-books-and-antiques I don't know, when someone asks "Anybody else seeing this too?" I take it at face value. They're just reading the room, seeking anecdotes and maybe some comradery. Not metadata or even a guesstimate of metadata.
If you worked at a big company and one of your coworkers says the new _______ policy seems to have made things worse, and asks if you agree, imagine answering:
"Some think it is better than the old policy
Some think it is worse
Some think it makes no difference."
chapeau-noir
·4 months agoComputer items are good. Clothing pretty bad - the latter because I'm out of fresh inventory and am mostly recycling what I have left from last year.
inhawaii
·4 months agoI'm just squeaking by.
simba6
·4 months agoLast week I got a number of sales. Could be the high gas prices. But then there are buyers that shop during slowdown in hope of fewer other bidders and better prices.
tarotfindsandmore
·4 months agoYou saw sales because of high gas prices?? Doesn't that pretty much contradict every single other post stating that high gas prices are causing sales to tank?
gurlcat
·4 months ago@tarotfindsandmore Unless you have a bunch of gas to sell! Local pickup only, of course. 🤣
fm2000
·4 months agoIf you sell necessities like brake pads, dental supplies or industrial workwear, you are almost completely recession/depression proof.
If you sell optional "fun stuff" to the average person, the economy absolutely can affect your sales. Gas prices skyrocketing, 6 years of nonstop relentless inflation, USPS rates that now increase every few weeks and increasing hopelessness will absolutely have an impact. Dialing back optional spending is not a choice for many people now, no matter how much they want to buy the latest hot/trendy item from a seller. People were not fighting for their lives when the Beanie Baby market collapsed.
lawnmowerpartsstore2
·4 months agoI really cant argue with you on that statement. But after looking around at drive thru restaurants (slowing down) and then looking a Stake Houses or really nice restaurants (being very busy) you can definitely see why they are saying its a K shaped economy right now.
tarotfindsandmore
·4 months agoI only sell "frivolous", unnecessary items. There is not one thing in my store that anyone needs. I think my friend, @shire123, would tell you the same. There are also a couple of jewelry and card sellers on this board who, likewise, are doing pretty well. So, respectfully, I'm going to have to disagree.
Also, you basically made my point. People were not fighting for their lives when the beanie baby market died, just as they are not now. Some of the greatest revenue ever seen seen on this site was in 2022, when inflation was over 9% (2.5 times what it is now).
mozartbach1971
·4 months agoI think I'm getting much fewer watchers on my auctions than usual.
stainlessenginecovers
·4 months agoNothing to do with what 'season' it is.
People want Health Insurance (no more help) and Gas to get to work so they can buy 60% of the food they used to buy just 6 months ago.
tarotfindsandmore
·4 months agoAll good here. Still up about significantly over last year and holding steady month over month this year, despite being down about 200 listings from Q4 of last year.
tsme35
·4 months agoYep, higher gas prices and increase USPS rates. I'm down 40% and its fishing season, I make 60% of my money from April to Sept
ryry-jj
·4 months agoYes it is more the sign of the times. I stopped selling for a bit for personal reasons, but when I do sell, my items are things no one really needs, so the economy has far more to do with slower sales then the calendar.
In general, sellers today need to hustle and work their listing much more aggressively just to stay even with prior years sales, which in reality is going backwards. Early on with eaby, 70% of what I listed sold, today if I do the same thing, I'm lucky to get 15% sales. Need to keep reinventing yourself...sometimes to the point of exhaustion!
shire123
·4 months agoNope. Sales continue steady for the last 4 months
kibble-net
·4 months agoYes----it's the economy.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoWouldn't this depend upon what your category is?
tarotfindsandmore
·4 months agoLooks more and more like that may be the real issue. It's always easier to blame some external factor than to consider that what you're selling may not be what consumers are looking for anymore. I wonder how many people were 100% certain it was ...the economy, gas, food, the president, a war, shipping, whatever personal bugaboo they could point to... when the beanie baby market dried up overnight?