DEAD SALES

[indyglassman]

I have had consistent sales for years. I have averaged $75 a day for the last two years. I have not had a question, offer, response to offer sent, or a sale since November 1st.  It is like my account ceased to exist on the 1st day off November.  Can someone please help me make sense of this.   

[mam98031]

Just search the Seller threads.  There are lots of these threads.  I'm sorry your sales are not what you are use to, but it happens.  It happens to us all.  You will likely be fine, but it is just the nature of selling on the internet.  

[ed8108]

Have patience

[kenneth686321]

1. Check your number of impressions vs clicks. -  Are buyers scrolling past you items without clicking on them? OR are they clicking on your items but not making a purchase?  

2. Check sold comps for your items. Are other sellers making sales of the same/similar things you are selling or is it just you? 

[johnrj1226]

The 1950's  sales boom/fade of the Wham-O Hula-Hoop didn't  last  forever in the either  - only 3  years) due to increased lower priced competition.   Wham-O  had to switch gears to survive and couldn't survive on just the  sales of their staple sling shot sales.  Sales activity goes up and down like the movement of a Duncan Yo-Yo.  There is only 120,000+  listings under Collectable pottery and glass.  Ya just might  want to consider offering something else.  Every estate/yard sale, flea market sale I've every gone to has stuff like that.  The newer  generations, like the Z folks,  just ain't  interested in stuff from the past.  Our  38 y.o. son and his family is one of them  and neither is our older daughter (never give out a ladies age for safety sake) plus the  population  of Boomers is getting  smaller every day as they  have found a  new social network - the wait  line at their  local pharmacy or hospitals.  The Boomers were behind ever economic boom in the United States - family size  is getting smaller, younger generations don't  want to go back to the farm or  mow their own  yard or  paint their house.

Found  on a Google search  The average household size in the United States in 1950 was 3.51 people. This was larger than the average of 2.61 people in 2019.  

Yeah  there are more folks in the US but  other consuming  nations like Japan are encouraging   families to only have 1 child/house hold via economic  incentives - they  have about 2.23 /house hold

 Am a pre Boomer 44 model  - household 2 - the 4 kidos  all have their house holds with  3 each

[dbfolks166mt]

     The lack of responses and/or questions may have something to do with the new messaging system that was recently implemented. I am still working on getting used to it and navigating through the mess it created. 

[nuclearomen]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

     The lack of responses and/or questions may have something to do with the new messaging system that was recently implemented. I am still working on getting used to it and navigating through the mess it created. 

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@dbfolks166mt it's a cruddy change I agree, no one likes it. There is a link on my account to change back to the old, but I didn't, eventually they will make the new format only option anyways. 

[dbfolks166mt]

@dbfolks166mt wrote:

     The lack of responses and/or questions may have something to do with the new messaging system that was recently implemented. I am still working on getting used to it and navigating through the mess it created. 

@dbfolks166mt it's a cruddy change I agree, no one likes it. There is a link on my account to change back to the old, but I didn't, eventually they will make the new format only option anyways. 

     You must have been one of the chosen ones I never had the option to change back either that or I didn't see it in the jumbled mess of the new format. Not only is it a cruddy change but why do they seem to always do this headed into the 4th quarter. Totally idiotic move. 

[toysaver]

From my experience sales of dishes and tableware items are better than usual before major holidays such as Thanksgiving.  You even have items on sale which would be my first recommendation for no sales.   You'll likely have a few packages by Tuesday but not what you traditionally sell this time of year.   

My gut feeling is a combination of factors are at play.  The biggest being eBay's shift in selling tactics to manipulate search with promoted listings.  Buyers aren't stupid and look elsewhere if they ask for red shoes and are purposely directed to pink sandals.  Google search is a millisecond click away.  Politics and momentary uncertainty about the economy may also deter some from spending now along with seasonal shipping costs.

[nuclearomen]

@dbfolks166mt there was, the link has since gone away for me idk, about a week now i guess  haven't seen it. 

[pickapaper]

I think a lot of the problem is what you sell.    I'm sure you are aware that the demand for these items has diminished tremendously over the years.   I have seen very expensive sets of china, crystal, and pottery practically given away at estate sales because they are no longer in demand.   Individual pieces are only needed by someone who is trying to replace pieces to their sets.   Another thread on here a couple of weeks ago was from a seller who sold some replacement plates to a woman who wanted them to complete her set so she could give it to her son (who may or may not have wanted it).   I once talked to a woman who said her mother firmly insisted that she take some of these "family heirlooms" and she didn't want them.  She was basically forced to take them anyway and said she would put them in her basement and get rid of them later, meaning after her mother was gone.

People don't do fancy sit-down dinners like they used to.  Even at Christmas and Thanksgiving, a lot of people use disposable plates and utensils and paper or plastic cups.  Women (mostly) used to spend hours cleaning up and washing fine china and crystal by hand because you can't put these in a dishwasher, but they don't want to do that anymore.   That in itself kind of relegates these items to display only.  

Don't get me wrong.  I love these old things and am so sad to see many of them no longer used and enjoyed.  But time moves on, tastes change, and priorities change.

[cambriachick]

Unfortunately, pickapaper is right, these things just don't sell anymore.  As a seller of vintage, I know what you're going through.  I suggest you branch out and try selling different things.  I was selling linens, dishes, and old copper when the market dried up.  Not the copper, but I couldn't find it anymore.  So I branched out and have done pretty well.  I bought a huge lot of old tools and did really well with it.   Now I just have the last dregs left, so I put them on half price and will end them on Tuesday and sell them at a yard sale in spring.  That's just one example.  I've done it with old  Vegas Hotel keys, select magazines, etc. 

Don't give up! Good luck

[pickapaper]

@cambriachick You are correct about branching out.  I have always been a "generalist", selling a variety of things.  When I met my husband many years ago, he was a seller of one kind of glass and did extremely well with it, but that market started going down and he saw he was going to have to adapt so he started doing like me, selling different kinds of things and that has worked well for us for a lot of years now.  

@indyglassman  Try branching out to other things.  When you go to estate sales or garage sales or where ever you go, look for a few interesting things that are not what you normally sell.  Give it a try and see what happens.  

[mam98031]

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@dbfolks166mt wrote:

     The lack of responses and/or questions may have something to do with the new messaging system that was recently implemented. I am still working on getting used to it and navigating through the mess it created. 

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I'm not sure how many buyer go into the email system to create an email.  In my experience if I'm going to get an email from a buyer they are either responding to one I've sent them or they are sending me a message from one of my listings.