Is anyone else experiencing a noticeable drop in sales?

[rookieoftheyear.com]

The last sale I made was seven days ago.  I contacted eBay and was informed there are no restrictions on my account.  I understand variance plays a role in this; however, it has been most unusual.  My store has over 1,800 items and I usually sell 5-10 (sometimes more) items each week.

Is anyone else experiencing a noticeable drop in sales?

I'm asking because my annual store subscription is set to renew Tuesday.  I'm gathering information in an effort to decide whether signing on for another year would make sense financially.

[714ricki · Accepted solution]

Sales have been average this week & overall very good in 2022. Its difficult the figure out the buying mood out in the market with so many outside factors. However, I would say keep plugging away & keep your store. There will be peaks & valleys when it comes to sales.  Regardless, it's your business decision.

Good luck!

[rabites-n-chocobos]

Interesting, I always listen to Chappy. I'll keep this in mind.

I wonder why, maybe tax season?

[coolections]

You will go nuts trying to figure out why something did not sell in a few days. Besides, since posting, you have already had more sales. Your overall sales are very consistent so nothing to worry about. You actually called ebay just because someone did not buy something from you ? OK

[femmefan1946]

Some version of this post has been uploaded every week since October 1995.

The people who are busy selling are not posting happy little notes.

Those having a harder time are here panicked or complaining.

That being said, compare your February 2022 sales to Feb 2019 (because 2020 and 2021 to a lesser extent were outliers with the pandemic surge in online sales). And to 2018 and 20 17.

Is Feb a slow month for you every year?

Was the entire month slow in sales? In value of goods sold?

How was January?

 Have you considered using the GSP to sell internationally ? Or USPS First Class International Package which allows tracked shipping to Canada?

BTW - just going by feedback  you average 26 sales (or FB) a month and this month you have received 22.   And left 34. 

[sakic92710]

The weekend was absolutely horrendous after a slow week.  3 sales in 3 days BUT 1 of those might be fake as the buyer has a fb score of 1 & that was from over a year ago.  Account just ight have been hacked & it is some clown using it.  If that is the case, my weekend was $5.   For the people saying this is a slow time of year, I just say LOL.  It as slow in Sept, Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.  All of those months considered in that description also?  The previous weekend, I had 9 sales between Fri/Sat.  The usual 'surge' we are allotted on eBay's majestic grace.  Good luck all.  I'll be trying my luck on a site I never tried before but since I will be a newbie, it might be slow going, I imagine.  Time for change!!   🙂

[inhawaii]

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@sakic92710 wrote:

Time for change!!   

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 You've been saying that every week for years!    😉 

[mr_lincoln]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

@rookieoftheyear.com   Would like to add, my inventory is down so my sales follow that.  If I add sales from other venues to eBay's Feb total sales are fine but I am currently running behind in inventory so that drop is being felt most on the eBay part of the business ...

Competition for inventory has stiffened since Covid ...

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I'm in the same boat - inventory I'm willing to sell is getting harder to find and my sales are down because my listing is down.  And absolutely, competition for inventory has risen since Covid.  My sources started selling online themselves.  I knew this gig would eventually peter out so I was prepared for that.

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Prior to Covid I acquired most of my inventory at live auctions and what I did not list for sale online I processed back through 4 Auction houses as a Consignor.  Sometimes I would buy something at one place just to sell it at another because I knew it would do better at the other Auction house.  That entire process worked so well you could easily double your money. 

When Covid hit our _________ Governor shut down ALL live auctions AND made those companies submit a waiver for curbside pick up ... duh, at the same time stores like Walmart, Target, etc were letting people walk in off the street with no regulation or restrictions. 

Once companies finally got spooled up for online auctions months had passed and the curbside- scheduled pick up was permitted but the damage had been done.  Some Auction companies just closed up shop or faded into obscurity.

At live Auctions the only competition was who was present ... online auctions now have you competing with folks from across the country.  The days of 100% (+) margins were over.  I now look at a base of 50% margin purchasing online ...

The other thing many Auction houses are doing is going to single item listings ... they used to offer a whole box or tray of "stuff" but now they are doing more of an individual item approach ...

[wildpitchsports]

Wars, Inflation, No Stimulus, Post Holiday, Covid receding, people going out more, sellers that purchased on here now not due to tax trigger changes...the list is long ....

Lots of reasons. The 2020-2021 bubble is bursting rapidly. Hope everyone planned with their inventory accordingly, that wasn't going to last forever.

[double2trouble]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

@rookieoftheyear.com   Would like to add, my inventory is down so my sales follow that.  If I add sales from other venues to eBay's Feb total sales are fine but I am currently running behind in inventory so that drop is being felt most on the eBay part of the business ...

Competition for inventory has stiffened since Covid ...

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I'm in the same boat - inventory I'm willing to sell is getting harder to find and my sales are down because my listing is down.  And absolutely, competition for inventory has risen since Covid.  My sources started selling online themselves.  I knew this gig would eventually peter out so I was prepared for that.

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This right here. I started really branching out a few years ago. Still love to go to sales, but too many sellers, and too many would be sellers scooping up everything for me to put much effort into it. Same thing, my sources are selling, everything and anything down to the 30 dollar mark. One of my ventures is doing well, so I'm good. 

[rookieoftheyear.com]

Thanks for the response.  It's a succinct summation of the advice and insights everyone has provided.

[rookieoftheyear.com]

Thanks, everyone.   I appreciate your comments and the information you've shared.  It may have seemed a bit odd to come here with the original post; however, I wanted to gather a little information before making a decision regarding my upcoming subscription renewal.

It made sense to read what the community had to say.  I figured replies would vary, ranging from "hang in there" to "quit complaining."  I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something obvious.  Nothing I've read leads me to believe there was something I hadn't considered.

I'll keep plugging away and building the store.  I've been semi-retired for a little over a year; listing items for sale is my way to keep busy and begin cleaning out the boxes of stuff I've accumulated over the decades. 

Best of luck to everyone with your sales and the non-eBay pursuits with which you fill your days.

[lepke1979]

January and beginning of February was average to above average. But died off a lot since. Although now at least half my sales are Canadian. So, *shrug*.

But I also need to get back to listing so this all cold be part of my issue. Have had to take a few months off because of life issues.

[wheredidiputthatremote]

I've been listing an insane amount of items since October so my sales have been pretty darn good. Sold 20 alone on Saturday. Thought something was going haywire with Cassini. Yesterday and today it's been dead as a doornail. I'm just staying busy by listing more. 

[chapeau-noir]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

@rookieoftheyear.com   Would like to add, my inventory is down so my sales follow that.  If I add sales from other venues to eBay's Feb total sales are fine but I am currently running behind in inventory so that drop is being felt most on the eBay part of the business ...

Competition for inventory has stiffened since Covid ...

---

I'm in the same boat - inventory I'm willing to sell is getting harder to find and my sales are down because my listing is down.  And absolutely, competition for inventory has risen since Covid.  My sources started selling online themselves.  I knew this gig would eventually peter out so I was prepared for that.

---

Prior to Covid I acquired most of my inventory at live auctions and what I did not list for sale online I processed back through 4 Auction houses as a Consignor.  Sometimes I would buy something at one place just to sell it at another because I knew it would do better at the other Auction house.  That entire process worked so well you could easily double your money. 

When Covid hit our _________ Governor shut down ALL live auctions AND made those companies submit a waiver for curbside pick up ... duh, at the same time stores like Walmart, Target, etc were letting people walk in off the street with no regulation or restrictions. 

Once companies finally got spooled up for online auctions months had passed and the curbside- scheduled pick up was permitted but the damage had been done.  Some Auction companies just closed up shop or faded into obscurity.

At live Auctions the only competition was who was present ... online auctions now have you competing with folks from across the country.  The days of 100% (+) margins were over.  I now look at a base of 50% margin purchasing online ...

The other thing many Auction houses are doing is going to single item listings ... they used to offer a whole box or tray of "stuff" but now they are doing more of an individual item approach ...

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Stores selling essential items were allowed to remain open.  Non-essential stores closed.  Our state had a mask mandate, but beyond that, business as usual insofar as shopping at regular markets.

What happened with me is that people wised up and began to see ways to sell that cut out the middle man (me).   I can't blame them - reactive changes to a large-scale dislocation like a pandemic are going to happen faster online, and we're very wired here.

[plx.mid.y4rrly]

Interesting.  I have noticed a substantial drop in sales after complaining online about ebay increasing fees due to decreasing volume.  The attitude is, it is my fault, yet my selling strategy is no different than a couple years ago.  Offering easy to qualify discounts has only helped a little.   A friend wants to investigate for me.