Diminishing Sales

[atlanticbritish]

Over the past couple months we have seen our sales slowly diminish. Call after call with eBay Support, they continuously tell me the same thing: check your seller performance, check your images, optimize your titles, etc. I have done literally everything they have suggested, and to no prevail. I am fed up at this point.

We have been selling on eBay since 2003, offer free shipping, and our seller metrics are more than fine. I have good reason to believe that it is eBay's algorithm that seems to be issue, and of course no one has any sort of insight into that. Because of that, sellers have to figure it out for themselves with basic input from support. eBay has also been struggling in recent years just to stay relevant so I assume they are making a lot of changes internally. I have read a lot of threads of similar unhappy sellers, so I know I am not the only one.

All that said, is anyone, or has anyone, experienced a similar frustrating situation? If so, do you have any recommendations or tips to get our sales back on track?

Thank you

[southern*sweet*tea]

You sell a lot of car parts and accessories. People are driving less, using their vehicles less in part due to the pandemic and now the miserable weather.   That's the first thing I thought of when I looked at what you sell.

[atlanticbritish]

I appreciate your reply, but more specifically we sell Land Rover parts and accessories. And while the initial assumption is that people are driving less, that doesn't fall in line with our total sales. Land Rover is a luxury brand today, but most of their older vehicles are seen as novelties. People constantly build them up to maintain them and keep them running like new even if it's not their primary vehicle. 

The pandemic and weather doesn't help, that's for sure, but this is a new low for us on eBay right now.

[m_pthisandthat]

You seem to be implying that ebay is somehow hiding or recucing your sales. Consider this why ebay profits the most when you sell an item. Consider the factores mentioned by southern*sweet*tea I believe that is the real answer to your slow sales.

[silverstatetreasureboxes]

@atlanticbritish 

     You are just going to have to wait out the storm. It's winter and most of the country is in a deep freeze and not worried about their range rovers.

     Do you have some business cards with your ebay link on them? Drop them off to new and used dealerships. Get your store name and specialty out there.

     Patience is key right now with ebay but you can get pro active and get your name and store to the public via B&M. Good luck to you.

[atlanticbritish]

What you're saying makes sense. I'd be foolish to think eBay is purposely preventing us from getting sales. Like mentioned, there are a lot of factors we have no control over right now. Most of my frustration comes from the fact that all our metrics are good and nothing significant has changed with our store. This is the worst our sales have been throughout the whole pandemic. 

I guess it becomes a waiting game for things to get back to normal.

[worldwide_ship]

eBay isn't purposely preventing anyone from getting sales. What they're doing is updating some things behind the scenes and it's causing errors on the website which is currently inhibiting sales. Once they finish sales will pick back up a bit. But I do predict this will be a down year for online sales, especially as the pandemic subsides and it starts getting warm out. I used to call eBay too worried about my sales, it does nothing. Only thing you can do is spend the down time updating things with your business or updating other aspects of your life and wait for sales to come back. 

I do wish eBay would be more transparent about site maintenance so sellers wouldn't be so worried about it. 

[farmalljr]

There are, from time to time, "glitches" or hiccups in how things work. However, there ARE things sellers should be doing to work best with the algorithm. Many sellers are not, and it's key. 

What that "thing" is, everyone needs to figure it out. Other sellers (like me) aren't going to reveal it 

My sales are doing fine. Everyone complaining about sales being "slow" are either listing undesirable stuff, over pricing their listings, doing a poor job of listing, OR just don't know how to drive their sales. If you are getting the first three right, then you don't know how the algorithm works. 

Long gone are the days of uploading a few photos and waiting on a money order/check/cash. The old eBay has long since died. If you want sales, you have to work for it. 

[atlanticbritish]

I'm glad your sales are fine, but not everyone is selling what're selling. Also, what may work for you may not necessarily work for others, especially across different categories.

Some categories are much more competitive than others too. At the end of the day there are too many factors at play to pinpoint the exact issue.

[drusalina]

Reasons for slow sales:

1.  Gas prices going up.

2. Food prices going up because gas prices going up.

3.  Cable/satellite providers raised prices (every January)

4.  Postage prices went up.

5.  People out of work, because of:

      a.  C-19,

       b.  Employers cutting hours because of lost business.

6.  Severe storms in USA right now.

      a.  3 million people without power because of frozen turbines not working in                  Texas.

7.  No Stimulus

8.  People are buying what the need not what they want because money is tight and getting tighter. 

9.  Taxes coming due. 

Feel free to add to the list.

[atlanticbritish]

I will add that while eBay is unlikely purposely hurting sales for sellers, there is no doubt that they are doing something that impacts it. To answer why eBay would hurt sellers if that's how they make their money is simple. They want us to spend more on advertising. The more you spend, the more money in their pockets, but less profit for the seller.

In the end, it's all a guessing game. eBay won't reward you if it's not exactly what they want or looking for. They are looking to make money in the easiest and fastest way possible. What's easier than making someone spend 5x more in advertising for "x" number in more sales? 

[goldrushfinds]

atlanticbritish -

My sales and virtually all the other sellers I follow (selling a wide range of items) are in the toilet. While I too don't believe Ebay is purposely sabotaging sales, I do think something behind the scenes at Ebay is to blame. Most likely they are once again fooling around with the workings of the site and creating chaos. I for one am tired of the suggestions of how to manipulate the site to increase sales. It is a never ending pursuit, which is frustrating and just wasting all our time. Another thing, when was the last time you saw or heard an Ebay commercial. I see ETSY commercials on TV nearly daily. Don't give me the line about selling clothing and how that is the reason for poor sales. I have been diversifying and follow many others who sell a wide range of products, with similar poor results. I always check the sell thru rate before I buy and list anything, so I know they are in demand items. To make it on Ebay at present you have to be a contortionist. 

[flyingmvp]

Sorry to read about the sales decline,

There is a very experienced and  knowledgeable seller on this message board, zamo-zuan, he is selling in the same category as you do, try and connect with him.

Good Luck.

[gwzcomps]

Last year was my worst 4th quarter ever.  This year will be my worst 1st quarter ever.  All I can say is I am glad I will be working my business away from eBay.

[farmalljr]

I don't sell any trending items, nor do I sell much anything new.

My sales are good because I understand how to be seen, and how to remain relevant to buyers looking for what I sell. 

I could do the same thing for your store, were I to own it or run it. My bet is I could pinpoint what the issue you may be having, in less than 20 minutes. 

But again, there are "secrets" to running a store that makes sales. It's not all about spending boatloads of money advertising either. Again, these were hard lessons I had to learn as a seller, and that's the reason why no good seller just tells people how to do it. You have to learn on your own. 

Good luck.