EBAY Sales

[laserpartshq]

Is it just me or is EBAY Sales Dead ?

[emerald40]

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@keziak wrote:

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@gopetersen wrote:

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@keziak wrote:

...As a parent of two college students, any bit of savings does help.  Some might say why don't you throw these books in the trash? But I expect the college student who doesn't have to buy the books new for $25 are happy to get them for $8.

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$25????!!! These days many college textbooks cost between $80 and $180! Even when I was in college (many years ago) they averaged about $60 each.

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Yes, but I meant course-related books (not the big textbooks) which come from one of my sources in quantity. I think they are for supplemental reading.  They might be a sociology study, or literary criticism, or even just a novel.  But often they are heavily highlighted or underlined, not nice copies but I can sell them cheap and still clear several dollars.  I've even heard the theory that some students LIKE books already highlighted. I guess they think the good parts have already been flagged. Or, something.

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Yes, my daughter went to a college that was heavy on liberal arts for the first two year.

Alot of reading, which meant a lot of supplemental books.

Highlighted and underlined books are tough because each student decides what they think is important and what they want to highlight.  Mine avoid those types of books.

[newview]

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@laserpartshq wrote:

Is it just me or is EBAY Sales Dead ?

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Horrible sales ... down over 70% from the same month last year. My sales graph looks like it dove off a cliff.

I think eBay has hidden my listings because I refused to do Free Returns.

[laserpartshq]

My post was censored by EBAY. No more free speech. America now belongs to the non-americans and big tech companies.

[greatpartsgooddeals]

It's rough and when you do make a sale you have to lower the price 50 bucks for all noobs that just wanna clear out their basments instead of actually make a living....

[greatpartsgooddeals]

YUP!! They have censored and WARNED me as well......OOOOHHHHHH

[dilo-8873]

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@laserpartshq wrote:

My post was censored by EBAY. No more free speech. America now belongs to the non-americans and big tech companies.

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Yep I’m in the sin bin on a regular basis just for posting the truth!

[mod-designs4u]

August, 2018 has been my worst month in a long time. I sell used vintage items and art so August isn't typically very good anyway...but this is bad. I just do this part time and use my 50 free listings per month. I was getting an extra free 100 or 200 listings per month and I sold a few more items but it's not worth paying .35 for each and every item when there's hardly any buyers. Besides, eBay doesn't even promote selling used vintage items anymore. eBay used to be a unique place to buy cool stuff and now they have many of the same sellers peddling the same new junk that anyone can purchase at their local megastore. I see a lot of junk being sold from China for under a $1.00 with free shipping. These sellers aren't making any money so why are they doing it? eBay isn't making any revenue from these mass amounts of sales, either. Every once in awhile I stumble across junk which sold for .10-.25 cents with free shipping from China and I can't stop from laughing! Sometimes I look at the bid history and see bidding increments of a few cents each and I'm trying to envision the type of people who get excited from participationg in these auctions (this entertainment is better than watching television!). I'm thinking of opening a store but I've read several comments on this forum by others who have closed their store. I keep getting these absurd "recommendation" emails from eBay telling me how my sales will "improve" if I offer free shipping and 30 day returns. After doing the math and researching other like-kind sellers this is not the case. I've came across sellers who have stores, offer free shipping and 30 day returns and they don't sell any more than I already do (based on the sales to amount-of-listings ratio). I've came across many sellers who have 200-500 listings and they sell about the same volume as me listing 50-100 items. Most of my items are scarce and I don't need to offer free shipping and 30 day returns to make the sale. eBay has been putting a "No Returns" statement right below the Buy-It-Now button on some of my items priced over $100 for the last few months...how stupid it is to put this dissuasion device right below the Buy-It-Now button! Indeed, none of my $100+ items have sold which have this "No Returns" statement. I've seen some sellers who offer 30 day returns, who have their nifty Top Rated Plus badge, but their description states that returns are only allowed if the description isn't accurate which is what I do anyway (my descriptions and photos are spot-on so this has never been an issue). If a buyer wants to return an item because they changed their mind (buyer's remorse) how does that work with sellers who offer 30 day returns with this caveat? I did see a few like-kind sellers who have 200-500 items, who offer free shipping and 30 day returns and they have more sales but they seem comfortable operating with a thin profit margin. Unless you're selling light-weight items free shipping needs to be carefully analyzed so it doesn't eat into your profit....this is why we're all here...to earn a profit...right? I find it odd that eBay assumes that all sellers, as individual and distinctive as we are, should all subscribe to the same business model. I'm beginning to think that eBay is running their business like a wasteful government entity instead of a profitable corporation. They just layed off 300 people and Wall Street analysts have downgraded eBay's stock even though the economy is booming and other e-commerce websites are doing good.      

[laserpartshq]

They don't think............................................................

[laserpartshq]

We can only dream what EBAY could be, if they spend as much time driving away sellers and buyers, as promoting good business ..................................

[affordabletshirtsforyou]

Its extremely dead, it has me nervous. Not sure what do, i hope september will be better. 

[keziak]

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@gopetersen wrote:

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@keziak wrote:

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Yes, but I meant course-related books (not the big textbooks) which come from one of my sources in quantity. I think they are for supplemental reading.

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Ah! Got it.   🙂

I couldn't afford the supplemental texts. I couldn't afford most of the regular texts either (I left home when I was 18). I thought I could use library books but then I discovered that professors are rotters. They can afford the text, but instead they borrowed the library copy and, at the universities I attended, professors could sign out books indefinitely. So... library copies were not available to cash-strapped students and since it was a pretty competitive atmosphere, my fellow classmates wouldn't lend me theirs either. So... for students like me, access to used books was very helpful.

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Another smooth move by professors is assigning a new edition of a book every year and since they differ somewhat it's hard for students to use last year's text which they might get from another student or used online. Or, they won't give out the assignment until class starts so then the student is without the book for days if they buy online - to be ready for class they need to use the college bookstore. All this puts a burden on students who may really need affordable books because they are on financial aid.

[keziak]

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@emerald40 wrote:

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@keziak wrote:

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@gopetersen wrote:

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@keziak wrote:

...As a parent of two college students, any bit of savings does help.  Some might say why don't you throw these books in the trash? But I expect the college student who doesn't have to buy the books new for $25 are happy to get them for $8.

---

$25????!!! These days many college textbooks cost between $80 and $180! Even when I was in college (many years ago) they averaged about $60 each.

---

Yes, but I meant course-related books (not the big textbooks) which come from one of my sources in quantity. I think they are for supplemental reading.  They might be a sociology study, or literary criticism, or even just a novel.  But often they are heavily highlighted or underlined, not nice copies but I can sell them cheap and still clear several dollars.  I've even heard the theory that some students LIKE books already highlighted. I guess they think the good parts have already been flagged. Or, something.

---

Yes, my daughter went to a college that was heavy on liberal arts for the first two year.

Alot of reading, which meant a lot of supplemental books.

Highlighted and underlined books are tough because each student decides what they think is important and what they want to highlight.  Mine avoid those types of books.

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I also think marked-up books would be tough to read but at steep discounts they sell readily. I am sure that for many students on financial aid any break on price is welcome.

[irinahat]

Sales are FANTASTIC from my end.

Keep positive guys. 

Hope things get better for everyone.

[tweetystwades]

I'm down 55% in the last month, only sold 12 things this month. Don't know what else to do, not giving my stuff away. 

[n2knowledge]

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@dilo-8873 wrote:

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@laserpartshq wrote:

My post was censored by EBAY. No more free speech. America now belongs to the non-americans and big tech companies.

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Yep I’m in the sin bin on a regular basis just for posting the truth!

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Ditto - Am I now in your official club?