End of eBay? Sales and traffics are down significantly

[watangems]

Hi, 

This year is pretty bad on eBay. Sales, traffics and views are down by a lot. I was wondering if our eBay stores are getting impacted by other apps and sites? I never seen like this slow for years. 

I have stadards ads, advanced ads, and display ads, but nothing is helping. selling cost have gone up, but profits and sales down significantly. 

Is there any app that can help drive traffic to a eBay store? eBay was my income. Now, crazy slow. I really don't know what is going on? 

Any advice would be appreciated. 

[dbfolks166mt]

     Diversify across multiple platforms and venues. One of the effects of the COVID pandemic was the dramatic increase in ecommerce sites. EBay is no longer the only game in town and is slowly loosing market share to other venues/platforms. Ten years ago eBay accounted for about 80-90% of my sales but since I diversified long ago that percentage has degreased to where it is now less than 20% and I expect it to continue to decline. 

[dbfolks166mt]

     I also could not help but notice you have sold 989 items in the last 90 days, more than a lot of sellers even have listed. Not sure what your past sales looked like or what your expectations are but there are options/alternatives. 

[allthings-collectible]

I believe eBay is in the process of changing its colors. It is retooling itself in order to gain a foothold in the new AI-era marketplace. In the midst of many new platforms competing for market share, eBay can no longer sustain itself with its original identity as a platform for selling used vintage items. I believe they are rebuilding a marketplace for bigger, faster money. The target?  Current and future generations of younger buyers who are expected to fuel the economy. This approach is common for large corporations trying to rebrand themselves during unstable economic times. I doubt all the site issues were the result of primitive efforts by unskilled tech. When a company become this big and public, there is ALWAYS a purpose behind it. I feel that, like many companies, eBay is trying to appeal to a younger demographic who are more interested in modern trends than collecting vintage collectibles. Ironically, one of the current trends for younger buyers is vintage clothing. But, like any trend, it changes. Therefore, don't be afraid to let go of dead inventory and look for what the buying generation wants. I'm in the process of doing just that 😉

[mam98031]

Because things are slow for you doesn't mean it is slow for everyone, nor does it mean that it is the "end of ebay".

I get what you are saying, but realize that there are millions and millions of sellers.  We don't all have the same experiences and the next seller does.  There are some sellers that are reporting the best year ever, others are doing fine and then others not so much.  

According to your sold items you run about 325+ sold transaction per month, in the last 90 days.  For many that is quite a few sales.  What is the normal amount you get on an average year?

This is merely a suggestion.  But start your Titles off with the most important words.  I see on some you have the size of the item first, it is more likely that the keywords would do better upfront for those buyers that scan titles with their eyes on their search return pages.  The first thing they should see are words to describe what you are selling, IMHO.

[dbfolks166mt]

Because things are slow for you doesn't mean it is slow for everyone, nor does it mean that it is the "end of ebay".

I get what you are saying, but realize that there are millions and millions of sellers.  We don't all have the same experiences and the next seller does.  There are some sellers that are reporting the best year ever, others are doing fine and then others not so much.  

According to your sold items you run about 325+ sold transaction per month, in the last 90 days.  For many that is quite a few sales.  What is the normal amount you get on an average year?

     I had the same thoughts and was wondering what the OP considered to be slow or "down significantly". 😀

This is merely a suggestion.  But start your Titles off with the most important words.  I see on some you have the size of the item first, it is more likely that the keywords would do better upfront for those buyers that scan titles with their eyes on their search return pages.  The first thing they should see are words to describe what you are selling, IMHO.

[luckythewinner]

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@watangems wrote:

This year is pretty bad on eBay. Sales, traffics and views are down by a lot. I was wondering if our eBay stores are getting impacted by other apps and sites?  

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Sales on eBay could be impacted by a vast array of factors:

• other apps
• other sites
• other retailers
• other sellers
• other listings
• the economy
• supply
• demand
• taste
• eBay search changes
• Google search changes
• promoted listings
• competition
• social media
• politics
• celebrities
• influencers

Any combination of these factors could have affected you.

But eBay turned over $18.2 billion in GMV in Q2, and I just can't see that evaporating and the end of eBay coming in the space of three months.

[meme6253]

You have made a lot of sales, But I noticed you have very low priced items for the most part,Very difficult to make a great profit after all the fees, & depending on your cost of acquiring your product, If you are looking for better profit, you might consider adding some higher value products as well!

[thesuperstarbikecollection]

As of December 14 2023 my eBay store is in peril, nothing sold in last month and I am on,y attracting bad actors that try to scheme their way into free stuff by opening item not as described claims, of course eBay takes their side 100% of the time and this has made many food sellers leave, when good items leave, buyers leave. I sell very specialized vintage BMX bikes and parts, these are not drop shipped or widgets that you all sell from common places like goodwill or Salvation Army. My stuff is rare and valuable. The people with the cash aren’t coming here anymore, only the bottom feeders and scammers. eBay has forgotten it’s sellers and left us all out in the cold, they made a huge mistake and it won’t be their last, their platform doesn’t have the trust of the sellers who have been here since the start like me and we’re going to other platforms to sell for free, forget their 15 FVF it was once 3% and they have gotten very greedy. That 15% isn’t a duck walk and it’s all the profit sometimes, their new shipping price structure was another stupid move, they are too controlling and destroyed this marketplace with fascist ideas and overreaching policies that hurt sellers. 

[thesuperstarbikecollection]

Another thing that I forgot to mention is it Ebay now charges you additional money on top of the 15% final value fee to place your ad at a higher ranking, it’s called a promotional ad placement so now they want 25% or more of your total sale amount, not sure adjusted gross income, the total sale amount which could be 80% of your adjusted gross income or more just to get you good ad placement. They are so greedy and so money hungry that’s a 15% FVF doesn’t get you top placement, you still have to pay to get additional placement for people to even see your ads. Somebody really needs to come out with a new platform because this thing is an obsolete, archaic broken marketplace.

[mightymouse]

All I worry about is sales, could care less about traffic. I sell many items with little traffic. November was my 3rd best November in 26 years. I'm on track for my 3rd best year. (best 2 were the lock down years)

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Among the most common slow sales sufferers who post on this forum are jewelry sellers.

I think an analysis of the state of the jewelry market on Ebay, the Internet, and in the real world might be in order.

I am sure if someone has about $50k to spare, some market research form would spend a week for a quick look.

IMO the problem is not EBAY. But EBAY certainly reflects the problem.

I think Ebay does need to look for a new business to be in, but like other marketplaces including Amazon, it needs to be run as a "cash cow" which funds new businesses. I see plenty of evidence that it can give milk for years to come. But that does not mean that all EBAY sellers can count on dairy products.

[inhawaii]

I'm a long time seller.

I'm not experiencing any of the things you are talking about.

"That 15% isn’t a duck walk and it’s all the profit sometimes"

I adjust my pricing so that after paying all fees and all other expenses, I make exactly the profit I wanted to make.

"their new shipping price structure was another stupid move"

As far as I know, ebay does not set shipping prices, the individual carriers do.

[mam98031]

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@thesuperstarbikecollection wrote:

Another thing that I forgot to mention is it Ebay now charges you additional money on top of the 15% final value fee to place your ad at a higher ranking, it’s called a promotional ad placement so now they want 25% or more of your total sale amount, not sure adjusted gross income, the total sale amount which could be 80% of your adjusted gross income or more just to get you good ad placement. They are so greedy and so money hungry that’s a 15% FVF doesn’t get you top placement, you still have to pay to get additional placement for people to even see your ads. Somebody really needs to come out with a new platform because this thing is an obsolete, archaic broken marketplace.

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That is called Promoted Listings and it is up to the seller to use the tool or not.  You do not have to use it, it is an option and you set the additional FVF you are willing to pay to get the sale.  You do NOT have to pay 25% unless you CHOOSE to pay that much.

You would likely be better off adding more inventory.  Giving your buyers more variety to shop through.

I sincerely hope things pick up for you very soon.

[mam98031]

Posters have sang this cry every so often every year since the beginning.  Reasons may change, but Ebay is always on the verge to going down according to some.  

There are always sellers that do OK with sales, do great with sales, or do very little with sales.  It moves back and forth year after year.  

I too have noticed sales are down on Ebay just like many others, but I absolutely am not going to say Ebay is in financial trouble because they aren't.  If you haven't had the opportunity, you should go and review some of Ebay's recent financial statements.

Now that isn't to say things don't have room for improvement because that simply would not be the truth.

I'm unsure as to why you are upset since it appears you get about 400 sales per month.  I realize you have a lot of listings but for many sellers they would be very happy with that.

I enter my hottest selling time after Christmas through about mid February or more.  So for me, I'm stocking up right now.

I hope the new year brings great things for all of us.