Extremely Slow sales

[rdemaree]

I know these sort of threads pop up every now and then, but I wanted to share my experience and get others opinions. 

This March 2023 so far has been my slowest month in my 3 1/2 years of selling professionally on ebay. Still 11 days left in the month and in the end I dont think it will be worse than my March 2020 but imo (unless something crazy happens) this month is shaping up to be in my top 3 worst selling months since I started selling seriously in summer 2019.

I am making this thread to see if anyone can relate and what people think the main reasons might be.

My theory is it must just be a terrible economy and people spending less on unnecessary items. I sell handmade oil paint and vintage art supplies mostly, so my crowd is kind of a niche audience. Definitely do not sell overly saturated or seasonal items.

Ive noticed a bit of a downturn slowly building since about spring of 2022 but it didnt really mean much until this past holiday season, which was absolute garbage in comparison with previous years. I sold more in summer months 2022 than I did nov/dec 2022 and that trend seems to be continuing into the new year. 

Im normally slow this time of year, but something else is going on. Slower than normal and christmas sales were a big letdown.

I figure it must be the economy, but another thing I noticed is my recommended promoted ad %'s are hovering around 10-13% rather than 7-9 % like they used to about a year or so ago. As I mentioned above- I sell handmade and vintage niche items, so youd think my market wouldnt be oversaturated. I always go with the lowest possible ad rate, to ensure my ads will show up on my own listings and maybe others. I didnt notice much of a difference before when I used the recommended ad rate in 2021 vs 2022 when I dropped the rate. I feel like its mostly just for saturated categories like watches, trading cards and clothes, but maybe im wrong?

Would love to hear everyone elses thoughts and opinions on everything. Thanks!

[compscrap]

do you know that with promo listings you are charged not just for the selling price but also the shipping cost and the associated taxes.   the percentage of your actual sales price may be much more than you realize. 

[jasoheat_0]

dont forget excluding one year of the pandemic ebay has been losing buyers every year since 2019. at this point ebay has lost right around 25% of its buyers with no sign of stopping the leak of customers ... sales are down and its ebays faulty CEO's the last 2 including Ian have been and are  horrible , ebay is a shell of a company , they have been losing market shares for years and know Ian wants to be posh mart , a card trading company and a shoe dealer .............. Oh well im lucky as i have 4 other platforms i sell on in a large city of well over 6 million .. starting last year i am selling more off of ebay then on ebay ... use to love ebay now its a headache 

[shaanster]

Sales are slow because eBay searches haven't been running properly for months for a high percentage of its users. People don't want to spend an hour watching the refresh go around in circles for their search. eBay is the only online website that I use that has this problem, and they aren't doing anything to address it.

[foxhill99]

I have almost stopped selling, due to the % eBay is taking, prices down, to much dicking around, Then add the new tax forms we will be required to use it just doesn't seem worth it. I sell on a couple other sites so multiple tax forms, but these other sites have no where near the **bleep** that eBay has. Being retired I don't need all the....

As a niche buyer I have noticed a big decline in the offerings. Used to be like treasure hunting, now it's boring seeing all the same unsold items listed over and over.

Def a slow grinding of the platform. IMHO

[vanpatrick2005]

Wow, you said it all vintagee! Its 6/15 today, and I haven't sold anything in a week. I see you are down to one listing... you have sold so much over the years,,, I just feel so sick and sad about what is happening on this platform!

[deaner55]

This has been a terrible year. I used to sell a lot of vinyl and Disney stuff and vintage items. I can rarely sell enough to cover my store fee. I have 514 listings and no one is even looking. 

[mr_lincoln]

After 9 months I am finally setting a new record, this one for June.  The sad part is that on the year I am still thousands of dollars behind THE LAST THREE YEARS Jan thru June!  This is the first record setting month in the last 9 and only the second in like the last 15 months ... p ... a ... t ... h ... e ... t ... i ... c

What that means is that eBay has stifled growth, period.  When Sellers don't change things but sales tank either in the short or long term then it's the venue and not the Seller ... sad but true.

[micwe-7188]

Its inflation, due to the Biden Administration. Period no buts about it they want to ruin the country and they are. There is a world economic(WEF) agenda to create a great reset and we are in beginning of it. It is going to be so bad it will stop.

[crazylikeafawkes]

That's the dumbest response I've heard yet, and there was some dumb ones! Are you also one of these idiots that thinks the sitting president controls gas prices too?

[dazzleabc]

I think the rising postal service fees are a problem too- people don't want to pay ridiculous prices on shipping and I can't blame them- it's hard to keep the shipping as cheap as possible.

[shopbags]

Well something funky is going on. Sales have really dried up for us these last 2 months.  If one is paying for a storefront one shouldn't need to pay extra for advertising or have their listings suppressed because they are not paying the almost pure profit advertising percentage eBay wants to skim. It's almost an extortion racket. We have to also recognize that after people pay the Mortgage / Rent, Food, Fuel, Taxes there is not much left for " extra stuff " sales. We may need another round of covid relief checks to pick up sales or allot of small businesses are gonna fold pretty quick which may be the plan of the NWO control freaks anyway.

[shopbags]

WoW I have been wondering what's up with that for some time now. How can a Chinese Company sell a $1 item with free shipping but if we ship the same item it is minimum $3.80 + the cost of the item. Something is not kosher with that game were our own government gives foreign sellers a huge advantage over domestic sellers. Seems very unpatriotic but I think the USA made a deal with Beijing to help offset trade imbalance by allowing such a horrendous deal.

[banknotes_1]

Would you agree with the statement that we as consumers and as collectors should continue spending even during an economic crisis, the hard times and the inflation if we want to avoid our own jobs and businesses affected in the long run?

This summer's sales drop is unprecedented and is caused by all of some of the following factors: COVID-19, East Slavic War of 2014-2023, inflation, sudden increase of grocery prices, cost of living crisis.

[cool.jewels.by.jeff]

These threads now pop up several times a day. There are a few here that carry the water for ebay however they post using a "Non seller" accounts. Dont let people blame the economy either. 

[buy-best]

eBay is no longer eBay which once it was. Now it has become a monopoly of some. This is the monopoly of those whom eBay wants to entitle. It is no longer a place where the concept of equality exists. All eBay likes to do is to charge sellers as much fee as possible, and slow down their sales until they agree to use their trap called promoted listing. When we pay you a fee already, then why is this another unjust money trap? Stop forcing sellers to use your money traps.  eBay steals from sellers in the name of promoted listings, and eBay's demise is coming. It will die itself under its very own burden. Their greed is at the next level. Why not have eBay of a decade of 2000-2010 where eBay was running based on just practices? eBay is on a power trip. eBay puts the listings of eBay preferred sellers on the front pages, and all the other sellers' listings on the back pages so nobody can see them.