Holiday season is here. Where are the sales?

[vintagemelrose2009]

Hello -  Based on first half of November, I don't think we are even going to do what we did last year sales wise.  How are you guys faring?   We had a slight old normal sales days for four days in middle of October and then a bit last weekend but otherwise same as August -- barely surviving.  Not to complain too much but I can't seem to explain why those two normal sales pattern can't be every day.  Like today, 

so far we had zero sales.  Of course it is week day but aren't everyone shopping for holidays already?

The seller I work for invested over $2000 in new items for holidays so I am hoping he have better second half of November and a decent December.  It is hard to see all the hard work and effort to go un rewarded.  Love to hear how you guys are doing.   Thanks.

[rolenboy01]

I don't usually notice my sales boost until after thanksgiving but I have been moving some older inventory that I all but gave up on so it's not all bad, eBay claims I am up 4.7% in the past 31 days.

[tunicaslot]

We keep hearing this falacy about google and search results. I look for most of what I want to buy on google. The items sold on Ebay are at the top of the search most everytime.

[timerovertreasures]

Absolutely dismal sales so far this season. Looking at alternative meaning of advertising. I've said this before but I really think this is my last month on Ebay. Too expensive. No traffic. Terrible customer service. 

[papyruspapillo]

The only way I'm moving any merchandise at all is by having a series of 50%-off sales. That hurts, but whatever ebay income I can get, I need. I'm very eager to dump ebay, but I still have a few thousand pieces in yet-unlisted inventory.

[tunicaslot]

Shall I post once more for everyone about the sellers complaining about low sales on all the other sites?  Sales are down everywhere for most items - except tech and the hot toys this year. 

You have people who are more careful with their money and older people like myself that need nothing and after all these years - find gift cards or cash easier to give than gifts when your family doesn't need anything.

I'll buy one or two small items - books or a collectible for each of the guys and then give gift cards and cash. I know many families now - giving small things to the kids and grand kids and then taking the whole family on a trip to Disney or the beach later on in the year.

[yuzuha]

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@tunicaslot wrote:

We keep hearing this falacy about google and search results. I look for most of what I want to buy on google. The items sold on Ebay are at the top of the search most everytime.

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I just did a search for two of my items (my Illume candles) and they're right there at the top in the "Sponsored" box.

[nawlinsron2]

You can send out invitations to a party all day....some people come late, some people don't show at all.
If you don't have silly expectations, you're seldom disappointed.

[tunicaslot]

Well that made no sense - but OK

[nawlinsron2]

Invitation to a party=a listing

[whatmorefabric]

Since the guarantee shipping program introduction and the new search engine results,  my sales are off by about 30 percent. 

I dropped my anchor store and have been listing in other venues.

While Ebay is down,  the other sites are up and that includes the  River.

I was looking for some red gingham fabric,   and  the search results came back with everything from red gingham puffy bows to picnic tableclothes.....

[tunicaslot]

Google search for illume - 4th item - ebay - unfortunately - Bing doesn't show the Ebay candles on the first page

[sharingtheland]

Good article today about Walmart increasing its online presence dramatically.  And 1 out of 4 people said they expected to do all holiday shopping on Amazon.

[emerald40]

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@papyruspapillo wrote:
The only way I'm moving any merchandise at all is by having a series of 50%-off sales. That hurts, but whatever ebay income I can get, I need. I'm very eager to dump ebay, but I still have a few thousand pieces in yet-unlisted inventory.

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It is the same in B&M stores.  People no longer flow into stores and buy no matter what the price.  They look and they wait until the stores have their sales.

I never buy at full price even on Black Friday.  I just make a note of what is where and wait for it to go on sale.

[yuzuha]

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@tunicaslot wrote:

Google search for illume - 4th item - ebay - unfortunately - Bing doesn't show the Ebay candles on the first page

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Yep.  The only times I see eBay not really coming up that high in search results is when it's in a case of items that are sold in a LOT of different places.

For instance, if you search for Star Wars Funko Pop, you get loads and loads of actual stores that are selling them first, and eBay isn't until the third page.  Which isn't that big of a surprise-- there's a ton of competition out there for those.

[emerald40]

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@tunicaslot wrote:

Shall I post once more for everyone about the sellers complaining about low sales on all the other sites?  Sales are down everywhere for most items - except tech and the hot toys this year. 

You have people who are more careful with their money and older people like myself that need nothing and after all these years - find gift cards or cash easier to give than gifts when your family doesn't need anything.

I'll buy one or two small items - books or a collectible for each of the guys and then give gift cards and cash. I know many families now - giving small things to the kids and grand kids and then taking the whole family on a trip to Disney or the beach later on in the year.

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Same here.   When they were little and the gandparents were all alive, it seemed like a contest every year on how high we could pile up the gifts under the tree.

Now 3 of them have passed, one is in a nursing home, and my kids are all young adults. Now,we only buy for the grandkids.  My husband and I exchange a small gift each and we buy a couple for the kids.

But mostly they want money to buy for themselves.

The rest is so we can take a nice family vacation together on the week between Christmas and New Years, when we can all sync up our time off from work.