Coronavirus - Are your sales up, down, or no change?

[andrew547]

I'd like to understand how this virus situation is affecting ebay sales generally. I want to see what's happening, figure out what to expect, and survive this thing as a seller. Generally, are people buying on ebay more, less, or no change?

So, are your sales up, down, no change? To what do you attribute it to, if anything?

I'll start. My sales are up significantly the past week or so. I sell things that are not at all related to health or the coronavirus. However, there could be other reasons for the uptick. I got sick a year ago and didn't ship a bunch of orders, and that blew my top seller status and ebay handicapped my listings for a year. I just got top rated seller status back, and that could explain the sales increase.

[turquoisetulips]

Do you just love to drag (or try) people down? Does it float your boat? Reminds me of someone who shall remain nameless. No way out? Of what pray tell? I am happy with myself, and you obviously are too. Why, are you picking on me? I really want to know, because others here have the same sort of reaction to your 'he who shall remain nameless' adulation. Why me  - moondogblues 

You mean by responding to the posts you send to me ?  If  you feel they are dragging you down  perhaps  it's because I've given you some reasonable food for thought  but  they  don't  match up to  your preconceived notions ? Tulips 

[turquoisetulips]

Do you just love to drag (or try) people down? Does it float your boat? Reminds me of someone who shall remain nameless. No way out? Of what pray tell? I am happy with myself, and you obviously are too. Why, are you picking on me? I really want to know, because others here have the same sort of reaction to your 'he who shall remain nameless' adulation. Why me  - moondogblues 

[turquoisetulips]

You mean by responding to the posts you send to me ?  If  you feel they are dragging you down  perhaps  it's because I've given you some reasonable food for thought  but  they  don't  match up to  your preconceived notions ? Tulips 

[turquoisetulips]

My sales are way up as well . The trick is to offer items that  people are currently more drawn to .  Tulips 

[b4b4b4b]

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@turquoisetulips wrote:

My sales are way up as well . The trick is to offer items that  people are currently more drawn to .  Tulips 

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Yes, Tulips. THAT IS THE TRICK.  Sell things people need.

I have purchased more on Ebay in the last week or so than I think I have purchased in at least a few months.  Things that are not on Amazon.  And after I purchase one thing, rather than browse on other sites, I find myself browsing on the site I just purchased from and currently on - Ebay.  

When I purchase something on Ebay, I have always written a a quick "thank you" in the payment section where you can write a quick message to the seller.  I have lately added a few words about taking care during these difficult times, and getting nice quick notes from the sellers.  A reminder that sellers are PEOPLE, not corporate Ebay.

What you sellers put up with here, on Ebay, is beyond ridiculous, and I feel for you all.    I was never a big seller here but I said "enough is enough" around 2007.

Also, Tulips, I enjoy reading your posts.  🙂   You are a nice lady.  🙂

Tammy

New Hampshire

[turquoisetulips]

Thank you  very much !!   and so are you !  

[mav210div]

Sells really do seem to be down.  I just opened up a new account to sell some personal Items I just have laying around at home.  Have had them listed for almost a month now with no takers.  Reducing the price does not work.  People are just being finicky about what they purchase right now. 

I pulled three of the items off my new account with no feedback and placed them for sale in my eBay store, which Ive had for years.  Still no takers.  Sales for my primary items have been very slow as well.  It really does suck because right now Im having to ship 1 or 2 items at a time and that is just a waste of my time and gas.  Im thinking about just stopping all of my sales until may.  I typically sell items that are anywhere from 5 bucks to 25 bucks.  At those prices it is a waste of time and money for me to ship 1 or 2 items at a time. 

I guess Im lucky in the fact that my ebay store is not my primary source of income.  So it wont hurt me to much to stop selling for a month.  But I wont keep running and shipping 1 or 2 items at a time.  That is hurting me.  I loose money doing that.  So Im just going to go ahead and halt all of my sales in my store for now.  Mayb

[brahmparsh]

I know. I was here to check on how other sellers are doing with their sales but all I see political discussions:(

[lajac2547]

Here the gas is 1.50/gal and the Saudi oil is getting released. 30./barrel. Why is you all's gas so high?

[aurora-sports]

Good question. My sales are down 70% & since end of Feb. beginning of March plummeted. I bought $230K worth of inventory in Jan. in hopes of a few good years to come & it wasn't cheep. Schools have closed so parents aren't looking for cleats anything to do with sports. Beaches are closed so people aren't looking for bathing suits or beach apparel & ski resorts are closed so no one is spending money on that. Everything I am selling is for social gatherings. I am being hit hard. This is my only source of income & I have been selling for 10 years. I get a 1099K each year from paypal & now from ebay because I switched to managed payments. To get a 1099K you have to sell over $20K. Are we eligible for the $600 through PUA? I know Esty & Uber wrote to congress & that is why they included self employed because self employed workers make up 56% of the working population. I wish ebay would have written as well. I am selling non essentials unfortunately & was not about to hoard toilet paper , masks & hand sanitizer  from people that need it. All those items are now banned anyway. I know my sales are down drastically & I am hurting over here. In Jan. & Feb. alone I made close to $17K & and we know after free shipping & ebay fees that brings it down to about $14K (my fees with free shipping, managed payment fees, final value fees & promotional fees are about 20%) I also had some returns because once the restrictions started people didn't need the item. Then I just paid my bills & started to chip away at the $44K loan I took out for my inventory. I was depending on the month of March to still sell winter stuff (because each year I do) & move into spring/summer selling my other items. Not working that way. I hope 1099K is eligible. It would certainly help with my sales down so low. And will just have to hope that the months ahead we beat this virus. I am now depending on my next winter season come Oct. to make up for lost sales to pay off this loan sooner than later 😞 We are luckier than most that we do not have to be in the front lines. I pray for and greatly appreciate all the essential workers. They worry each day they leave the house. Having to sacrifice & maybe not go home to see family because they do not want to risk spreading  it to their family or loved ones. 

[*madison]

Some sellers are listing stuff, but can't ship.

The sellers need to end their listings if they can't ship and stop wasting my time..

[mvls1]

I am not sure that it is only things that people need that are selling. We had better sales on all of our account this March than we did last March and we sold many non-essential items. With people spending more time inside, I believe that contributed to our overall good sales. We sell a very eclectic mix of items including antiques, collectables, books, games, Christmas items, crystal/glassware, dinnerware, flatware, puzzles, electronics, etc, etc. When one account is not selling it seems that another one will.

With this Covid-19 virus situation, I believe a certain portion of the population is or has become depressed/scared as their daily routine has become disrupted. Life as we knew it has temporarily changed and for some of us shopping is a release and gives the individual back a sense control over their life. With that in mind, here are some thoughts on our pandemic situation that I posted on the soap box.

Here are my critical thoughts on these numbers. While NO ONE knows what the actual final numbers will be, here are the flu season numbers from the CDC for 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. Most people have no idea how many deaths occur each year from the flu virus.

2017-2018 flu season had 48.8 million cases of which 959,000 needed hospitalization and 79,400 died (1.6%).

2018-2019 flu season had 42.9 million cases of which 647,000 needed hospitalization and 61,200 died (1.4%).

With those numbers in mind, as of today 4,100 of 189,886 Covid-19 cases have died (2.1%). These numbers bear out the fact that minimizing the cases by controlling exposure is the key to getting through this with the least number of deaths and damage to the economy. This is a massive undertaking. The government is doing their

part, we the people must do our part.

One final comment. As the testing increases, additional cases should be added to the total cases faster than additional deaths which should dilute the death rate. The next 2-3 weeks will likely tell us how good a job we the people did at slowing the spread and death rate of this virus.

JUST REMEMBER - CHINA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS! THEY LIED ABOUT THE OUTBREAK AND THEY CONTINUE TO LIE ABOUT EVERYTHING RELATED TO THIS DAY.  IF ANYONE THINKS THAT A COUNTRY THE SIZE OF CHINA WITH 1.386 BILLION PEOPLE ONLY HAD 3,312 DEATHS, THEN THEY NEED A REALITY CHECK!!!

[mvls1]

Here are my critical thoughts on these numbers. While NO ONE knows what the actual final numbers will be, here are the flu season numbers from the CDC for 2017-2018 and 2018-2019. Most people have no idea how many deaths occur each year from the flu virus.

2017-2018 flu season had 48.8 million cases of which 959,000 needed hospitalization and 79,400 died (1.6%).

2018-2019 flu season had 42.9 million cases of which 647,000 needed hospitalization and 61,200 died (1.4%).

With those numbers in mind, as of today 4,100 of 189,886 Covid-19 cases have died (2.1%). These numbers bear out the fact that minimizing the cases by controlling exposure is the key to getting through this with the least number of deaths and damage to the economy. This is a massive undertaking. The government is doing their

part, we the people must do our part.

One final comment. As the testing increases, additional cases should be added to the total cases faster than additional deaths which should dilute the death rate. The next 2-3 weeks will likely tell us how good a job we the people did at slowing the spread and death rate of this virus.

JUST REMEMBER - CHINA IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS! THEY LIED ABOUT THE OUTBREAK AND THEY CONTINUE TO LIE ABOUT EVERYTHING RELATED TO THIS DAY.  IF ANYONE THINKS THAT A COUNTRY THE SIZE OF CHINA WITH 1.386 BILLION PEOPLE ONLY HAD 3,312 DEATHS, THEN THEY NEED A REALITY CHECK!!!

[little.font.lord.leroy]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

Re: Coronavirus - Are your sales up, down, or no change?

No one seems to be buying any Coronavirus from me at all.

I even dropped the price and promoted it!

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Apparently people are giving it away for free.

[stockwood]

SALES CANCELLED....Tomorrow in Georgia there is a Shelter in Place till mid April, so I have cancelled all my Auctions because I cant ship.

[chapeau-noir]

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@stockwood wrote:

SALES CANCELLED....Tomorrow in Georgia there is a Shelter in Place till mid April, so I have cancelled all my Auctions because I cant ship.

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You can still ship.  We've been shelter in place for weeks and essential services are still allowed.  I make my living at this so I need to ship, I just ship less than I was (i.e. twice a week instead of every day) and my handling reflects this.  Post office and grocery store.

[turquoisetulips]

Sells really do seem to be down.  I just opened up a new account to sell some personal Items I just have laying around at home.  Have had them listed for almost a month now with no takers.  Reducing the price does not work.  People are just being finicky about what they purchase right now.  yqdk6718 

I'm sorry to hear that . However I don't think the slow sales  right now have everything to do with the COVID  pandemic ,, some perhaps  .  The reason I think  this is because  if it were possible  to go back  and read all the posts  from 3 , 4 , 5 years  back  in this forum we'd be seeing a lot  the same complaints about slow sales . As a matter of fact we  had a chorus line  of  sellers  complaining about slow sales  just  a few months before  anyone even heard of this new virus and  I was doing a few solos myself. .  So  in  with agreement with Mr Lincoln   I too believe  the slow down  is only temporary .  They always have been  anyway  . The new COVID  virus relief aid   that the president signed  a few days ago  should indeed help  the people suffering  financial  losses  due to this crisis . I believe the first checks  should be going out  soon ,, sometime  this month  in fact . We may see an upswing in sales   by then. Also  the promising new treatments  for  the virus  that the FDA have just  recently approved  should help calm down the  fear and the panic  people have felt.  In regards to shipping your items and wasting gasoline . Check and see if your post office offers  free pick ups  at your door . Usually when you print out your shipping labels  there's an option  to request a carrier pick up.  Stay healthy !  Tulips 

[turquoisetulips]

I know. I was here to check on how other sellers are doing with their sales but all I see political discussions:( brahmparsh 

Politics can be too complicated for some people   and then they get bored  with it ,, understandable .  However while  not ALL of the posts  here are about   that topic   the ones that are should be pretty easy to skip over .  Tulips 

[turquoisetulips]

I know. I was here to check on how other sellers are doing with their sales but all I see political discussions:( brahmparsh 

Politics can be too complicated for some people   and then they get bored  with it ,, understandable .  However while  not ALL of the posts  here are about   that topic   the ones that are should be pretty easy to skip over .  Tulips