CHEAP-CHEAP CHEAPSTERS

[papyruspapillo]

The writing was on the wall years ago, when ebay added the phrase "at low prices" to its home page. My thought was, "well, it's downhill from now on." Still, it is astonishing to me just how prices have tumbled. Except for the very rarest collectibles (like 19th century ephemera), my prices were always reasonable. Today, however, in order to move anything, my prices have to be unreasonably low. And there are plenty of newer sellers who are content to cater to the cheapie crowd. Today, I found a piece identical to one that I list selling for 99 cents -- I can't even buy the item for 99 cents from my usual sources. (And I won't buy the current cheapie and encourage this seller to remain on ebay.) In order to squeeze a few more pennies out of a sale, this person is charging nearly double the shipping that would be appropriate.

Nobody owes me anything, including ebay management. But I do owe it to myself to change direction and replace my (now paltry) ebay income with another, more lucrative endeavor. I started on ebay 16.5 years ago, and it was enjoyable and profitable for a number of years. Now, the experience is largely negative and I no longer find my presence on the site tenable. When my store subscription expires in the spring, I expect to close up shop and move on (barring a miraculous turnaround of ebay). But I will have thousands of unsold items left; my colleagues/competitors are not in a position to buy my inventory since their sales have diminished, as well.

I shall not even address the issue of throttling, which is a major factor in reduced sales.

I am not bitter, but I am disappointed. Everything comes to an end, and I am grateful for the good years that I did have.

[muttlymob]

Face it, it's not always about price. It's also about demand.

Yup, this.

Trends change.  People aren't collecting the same things now that they did last year, or 5 years ago, or 20 years ago.

Anyone who doesn't keep up with the trends and what is selling now will have problems whether it is on eBay or anywhere else.

[moondogblues]

OP, you have wonderful items.

[papyruspapillo]

Thanks for your thoughts, Mistwoman. I have rethought and made the decision regarding future moves and have started my next career. I wouldn't do anything precipitous to endanger my livelihood! (Of course, ebay wasn't my sole career, but an adjunct to my life that I really enjoyed.)

[femmefan1946]

Another thought, I've noticed that many of those complaining about declining sales will not sell internationally.

Although the US economy is the largest in the world, the European Union is a rule-of law, first world group of nations with a strong currency.

And a larger population than the USA at nearly 512million.

A very large proportion of those read English as a second or third language.

If your US sales are declining, it could be worth enrolling in the Global Shipping Program and increasing your customer base.

As a Candian seller, I have shipped internationally, and world wide, since 1995, with no significant problems.

[d-k_treasures]

---

@sodelight wrote:
Face it, it's not always about price. It's also about demand. This place is flooded with redundant merchandise that no one wants anymore. The older are all downsizing which has created an oversaturated market of the same ole stuff that has now spiraled downward in price due to oversupply and little demand. If so many millions of sellers weren't all dumping the same stuff into the marketplace at the same time maybe they would actually be able to get something for it! But instead, they keep undercutting each other in price. On top of that these same sellers, don't buy anything for themself. The younger people also don't buy the type of items the older are trying to sell. All they want is tech. It's pretty pathetic when if your lucky enough to get a buyer, the majority of what they pay goes toward shipping and fees!

Here's example of how bloated this site is, and the difficulty of finding anything!! I conducted a search for Dept 56 Village, nearly 75,000 items came up!! That's insane!! No one can casually search through that glut, you'd need to know exactly what you want. I remember when I thought 1000 results of these items was alot, but 75,000 is unbelievable!! It's become nearly impossible to find items these days that don't have huge competition for buyers.

All I can say is if things continue the way they are, this economy is going to fall apart! When no one wants to buy anything besides absolute necessities, it means a huge drop in manufacturing and jobs.

Ebay is not the answer to a viable income anymore. It's clearly a buyers market.

---

But how many are really Dept 56? Did you filter out non-US sellers?

That's all part of the problem.

[gregthree]

That's another issue ebay has. Misleading titles.
I understand what you are all saying. Supply and demand. Survival of the fittest. My dad told many many moons ago, its not what you sell it for but what you buy it for. That is so true in every aspect of business and sales. What I am saying is that there are way too many people listing on ebay just to make a nickel because they never see the merchandise. This sort of thinking will sink not just the United States but potentially the entire world. They are doing with a computer and 2 stock people what it took 10 people from 5 separate real life stores.

[sodelight]

---

@d-k_treasures wrote:

---

---

But how many are really Dept 56? Did you filter out non-US sellers?

That's all part of the problem.

---

Eliminating non US sellers made no real difference. Dropped it by a mere 300, which of nearly 75,000 listings is a drop in the bucket. If I didn't use the word village it doubles the results!

[hawkwind5454]

As with many sellers (inclusive of you an I), that "bargain basement" mentality just cannot be applied. We sell difficult-to-find items.  If I may use an exageration, to make a point...  When it comes to a donor kidney, a 1931 Duesenberg SJ roadster, or a Renoir painting....One is only going to be able to purchase it, just so cheap.  One cannot apply that Wally World asterik line of thinking, to ALL items being sold.  Buyers are being told, by ebay, that they can.

[hillbillymedia]

---

@faithandbutterflies wrote:

I get what you are saying and I can relate. When I research how much to price an item I'm selling I'm often wondering how in the world can they afford to make a profit selling it at that price. After shipping and fees their profit would have to be something like $0.25 or less. But, I will say as a buyer if something seems too good to be true I usually look at it at that and buy from someone else.

Another thing that makes me as a buyer buy from someone else is the seller has actual photos of the item they are selling. Sellers who tend to sell very cheap almost always have stock photos. I want to see the actual product, not a stock photo. 

---

In a very short time from now I predict all gallery photos will be ebay stock photos unless the buyer is savy enough to click the ad and search within the ad. I have the same prediction for item description. The buyer will have to "search" for the seller`s pictures and info. or see a cookie cutter photo and pre-filled description. I predicted this about 5 years ago and it`s starting to happen now with the forcing of the catalog on many.

[thatsallfolks]

Necro thread from November.

[hitechworldtrading]

It is price dumping Think paypal takes 30 cent and the fees as well ebay fee A little more than 50 cent Item Pay staff Pay envelope (the plastic kinds are 20 cents) Pay international shipping This does not add up even for one of the 4 Their goal is clear, other sellers including domestic not to make sales, and closing down. They also check out sellers and copy off items. They copy off using stock photos from each other so you can find many of virtually the same item. check 2n2222 transistor check the lowest cost to have them shipped from USA! If the USA seller would sell 1000pcs for about 10, this costs 15 to ship at least. chinese ship it for free.

[futuretomorrow]

I unlisted all my shoes yesterday, permanently. Not even in 2003/04 were you able to get collabs and some models of shoes from sellers like Shoebacca for as cheap as I see shoes going for now. Don't get me started on the open sales of fakes. The only problem I think you should be aware of is this is not just eBay.

I use another site to sell shoes, they're actually much beter than eBay OR...I should say, were better than eBay.

You know what the Ivan Pavlov and his famous test right? Humans are just animals that believe they're smart because they can speak and kill each other. They to can be trained however and if I showed you the research I've mapped out, I will literally make your jaw drop. The consumer has actually been trained to behave and react a certain way to certains specials and prices.

If you study economics, you're beyond worried right now and know that the last thing left is a hard reset. Consumers know the markets have all made too much goods and now all they have to do is wait to pick through the bins of their losses. We've past the point of return.

[luckythewinner]

---

@papyruspapillo wrote:

 Still, it is astonishing to me just how prices have tumbled. Except for the very rarest collectibles (like 19th century ephemera), my prices were always reasonable. Today, however, in order to move anything, my prices have to be unreasonably low. And there are plenty of newer sellers who are content to cater to the cheapie crowd.

---

Economists refer to this as "the law of supply and demand".

[u_cant_take_it_with_u]

Sadly, this post stands even stronger today, thnn two years ago.  It's poignancy deserves rasuscitation.

[kh-stanley1]

Hello Everyone,

Due to the age of the 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.

Thanks for understanding!