Does the feeling that it is all going to fall apart ever go away?

[onefootflipper]

So, I am at about the two year point of selling full time and I am actually doing just fine. But I can't shake the feeling that it is somehow going to all fall apart, that people are going to stop buying, that I am going to stop being able to find merchandise, etc.

This isn't an "All my sales died" sort of thing. I can nearly universally look at those people's stores and tell exactly why no one is buying anything. 

I have been doing everything I can to improve my processes, and then not change processes that work well. 

I don't know if it is because I started full time after having a leg amputated and have no hope other than ebay of making a good living, or if it is my personality or what. 

I guess I am just wondering if anyone else wakes up every day, thinking that today is going to be the day that people stop buying things and start trying to return things. 

[samanthasb0utique]

I have been thinking this way for quite some time now... In the past I have also felt this way at certain times but not like I do now. I feel like people will stop buying my stuff in the near future and I feel like my end on selling on ebay is near. The reason I feel this way is because business has slowed to a screeching halt so I know worry that I can't pay my bills if this continues. I also know that I suffer from anxiety. I always have and definitely more so lately with everything going on in the world, the big changes on ebay, hence effecting my business in negative ways. It is terrible to think and live this way, and you have to remind yourself that this is not reality.

[donsdetour]

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@onefootflipper wrote:

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@donsdetour wrote:

Hmm after thinking about this and what you have wrote: seek medical advice on this..

Depression is real and treatable.

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I am actually not depressed at all, I am the happiest I have ever been. I just can't shake that nagging feeling that today is going to be the day that people stop buying. 

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Ahh its going to well thing: Yep it can be a problem:

Such is I would advise not keeping all your eggs in one basket per say.

I am lucky and have a brick and morter: others sell in a lot of diferent locations on the net..

Best to diversify: such is a hedge agaist the posibility or what you feeling...

I do see problems due to the ecomomic mess : and some stuff with ebay I have no clue as to what they messed up;

Yep branch out a bit.. its just good advice.

With gas prices, everything prices;  just going up and up: well folks will still be lookiing at online sytems to purchase from for sure: that is if they have any money left....and when they search on ebay for a thing they can find it...

[katzrul15]

@onefootflipper 

My daughter has a prosthetic and has much of her life.

It is amazing what one can do, especially when others intimate you cannot.

My daughter's disability does not "define" her choices.  In fact, we never considered it a disability.  She just has mobility issues, as do we all at some point.

A Seller cannot control many variables on this site or any other.

See if you can diversify into other categories or sites.  We have a neighbor who collects items thru freecycle and rehabs them, cleans them up, repairs them and then sells them on e-Bay.  He is 87 years young.

I used to tell my Daughter daily that if all she saw were obstacles, she needed to look closer at what opportunities awaited.  

Good luck to you.  Better sales await!

[tks-appliances]

We have some months that we explode in sales for multiple months in a row with no returns and are capping $4-$6k / week. Then we have a month like May this year where we dropped 45% in sales overnight without warning for seemingly no rhyme or reason. That feeling of worry is normal. Lets you know that you are human and alive.

Do not dwell on your physical limitations and circumstances. They change for everyone. Like eBay, your life will have ups and downs. Use these to your advantage and sharpen you mind and skills. You are experiencing something many of us will not. You will be stronger than the rest of us for it. Only you can change your way of thinking. Be the Rockstar you know you are and step up! You got this!

[caseypl]

I have similar feelings. Left a career to sell on Ebay. Could put alot more into it, but now the thought of a nice W2 income is kind of appealing. I have found you kind of have to have such a tempered manner to selling and control emotions when occasional buyer issues arise. Every decision is a business decision, such as giving a small refund if you felt you took a bit longer to ship something to a buyer. The work can be a bit isolating and you continually have to refine processes such as using double walled boxes on some items after the first "alleged" shipment damage claim arises. You're not alone. 

[printpeople]

I know someone that works for a hospital.  When covid started, he worked from home, as his job is inputting and moving data.  They’ve now permanently moved his job to working from home.  It’s a good paying job too…. Though extremely boring to me.  He has the option of working ten hours for 4 days, so, he chooses that… takes scheduled breaks, moves quickly some days, slowly others…

There are all sorts of jobs out there right now if you really look for them…. Baby Boomers have mostly retired and the tide has turned……..but I know that sometimes it depends on where you live, and what’s available. 

I was at the end of the baby boomers, and even graduating at the top of my college degree didn’t get me a job…. Most of my classmates also couldn’t get jobs unless they had an “in” through relatives.  I spent most of my days applying for  any jobs, and was a lot of times considered overqualified…which apparently made me not a good choice.  I finally decided I had to think of a way to work for myself.  I was broke….I ended up doing craft shows… which was grueling with all the traveling and work to always have enough product….There was no rest, ever…. Then I did many painting jobs, and others,  Then landed here long ago… along with a few part time jobs here and there.

Hopefully, your eBay sales will do fine.  Life is definitely too short for doom and gloom.  People are made to adapt changes as they happen… No need to worry in advance.  

[mandisattictoyz]

Well, first of all congratulations on making this successful!  My biggest advice to you is diversify.  Get on every selling platform you can handle so your business gets in front of billions of eyes everyday.  eBay is the garage sale prices but sometimes your items aren’t garage sale worth.  Places like Etsy, your own shop, may make you more for your items compared to eBay.  Of course amazon and Walmart are for the big boys.

[donsdetour]

Adding to what I have written:

Ebay has a long history.

A great many changes have gone on: each and every one of them was the gloom and doom of eBay: users whet out and started their own sites (some still going), and yet bay is still here.

 They have weathers economic problems before as well.

As for the boards and what is seen on them: we get the worst stuff. If it was excessively wide spreed, eBay would not exist.

From eBay's history they will keep a going and sellers will still be able to sell, as long as buyer have stuff to buy.

Now even with this I advise diversification....

As for the buyer is always right thing: well if there are no buyers on eBay: there would be no sellers.

Just saying.

[chapeau-noir]

@onefootflipper  "Things are going too well - this is creeping me out" is kind of a human reaction.  Just keep going.  Hustle instead of worry.

After your amputation, you may have found a new skill and strength - merchandising - and are now developing it.  Don't think of it being the 'only thing you can do' - that just disrespects the process and your undoubted (and perhaps new-found) talent for it, and is an attitude that just drags a person down and limits them.  Keep developing that skill (and YouTube may feed into it) - don't limit yourself to one site or one channel.   

[simply-the-best-for-you]

I've been on Ebay since 1997 & sold even back then, though not as a business, but it gives me perspective to the downturns & people complaining about 'sales suddenly came to a halt'.   People have been complaining about this for as long as the message boards have been around (they had several incarnations prior to this current one).  

Whenever a couple of days go by without a sale, we always joke in my home that "I will never sell anything else again, as long as I live" LOL, but it's just that, a joke.  It's a little unsettling, but I don't ever seriously worry that people will just stop buying my items.   I have the benefit of 20+ years of history & patterns that I've observed & so I know that the sales always start again.   However, I am not dependent on the income from this, so that takes some of the pressure off, for me. 

[donsdetour]

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@simply-the-best-for-you wrote:

I've been on Ebay since 1997 & sold even back then, though not as a business, but it gives me perspective to the downturns & people complaining about 'sales suddenly came to a halt'.   People have been complaining about this for as long as the message boards have been around (they had several incarnations prior to this current one).  

Whenever a couple of days go by without a sale, we always joke in my home that "I will never sell anything else again, as long as I live" LOL, but it's just that, a joke.  It's a little unsettling, but I don't ever seriously worry that people will just stop buying my items.   I have the benefit of 20+ years of history & patterns that I've observed & so I know that the sales always start again.   However, I am not dependent on the income from this, so that takes some of the pressure off, for me. 

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Careful:  I new a store called When Pigs Fly: due to they ain't going to sell again......

They did finally quit.....maybe......

[5594shelleys]

But I can't shake the feeling that it is somehow going to all fall apart,

USING ONLY EBAY TO PAY THE BILLS ANXIETY 

that people are going to stop buying,

THEY WILL/THEY WON’T 

YOU CAN’T KNOW THE FUTURE 

that I am going to stop being able to find merchandise, etc

YOU WILL/YOU WON’T

YOU CAN’T KNOW THE FUTURE

[sakic92710]

It has been happening to me for over 3 months now.  eBay = 1-3 sales a week.  Relying on a busy flea market on Sundays just to survive until the next week.  However, the last 2 weeks - $211 in sales / $200 in rent.  There is always a way to get by, though.  Just take it day by day.  Best of luck to you!