Is eBay what it used to be..

[geeky*plush]

I have been selling since 2003 off & on but sales are extremely slow this year 😩…

[stockgirl12]

Something is happening with ebay.  I  have had 2 sales totaling maybe $15.  Please, if any one is having the same no sales problem, please let me know.  My sales have gone from over $1,000 a month to next to nothing.  Please help.  I've been with ebay for over 18 years and it pains me to leave.

[maxine*j]

To answer your question:  No, of course eBay is not what it used to be.  This is 2023.  NOTHING is like it was in 2003.  To succeed on eBay -- or anywhere else -- one has had to have made many adaptations and changes in those 20 years.

To answer your implied question, as a seller:  eBay is worse for me, in some ways, than it was 20 years.  eBay is better for me, in some ways, than it was 20 years ago.  It pretty much balances out, those changes for the better and for the worse.  Although my active selling days ended last Fall, mostly because of ill health, eBay remains a good place for me to sell on an occasional basis, at a moderate cost, to reach a worldwide market.

 Of course, all retailers are subject to the ups and downs of the general economy. 

In the end, though, whether you and eBay are still a good fit depends upon who you are, what your expectations are, how you work, what you sell. 

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[lconway50]

My sales have also gone from near $1,000 a month to next to nothing.  I have also sold about $15.00 for the month of May so far.   I have delayed listing any further items because sales have been so poor I am not sure that I can justify paying for a store.  I am hoping things will pick up because I have worked hard listing items and building followers.  I am trying to hold on.  

[chapeau-noir]

Twenty years in online sales is generations anywhere else.  The fast and easy sales when eBay was 'young' and king of the marketplace are long gone. Heck, I used to sell everything I listed, but those days really are long gone. Like MS DOS and my youth, I wouldn't mind having them back, but that's not gonna happen.

ETA: Though I distinctly recall people complaining about low sales back in those days, too.

[jewelbiz]

Most eBay sellers can identify with this!Rodney Dangerfield park…Queens, New York

[myfrugalboutique]

Everything fluctuates. Just like people...you are like the rest of us, not the same 20 years later.

[toysaver]

I wish I were the same as 20 years ago.

[maxine*j]

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@toysaver wrote:

I wish I were the same as 20 years ago.

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Oh, yes!  Oh, my, yes!

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[stainlessenginecovers]

There are 1,000,000 times more sellers selling the same thing; heck, it tripled since 2019 Covid. That alone makes 1 major difference. 

The 'collectors' are going away as the new generation is not interested in collecting stuff anymore (compared to, probably down 80%). 

The economy is in a major toilet, so that's another. 

[kath.layn]

My sales are down as well.  From about $1500/mo to about half that.  After reading all the posts on here, I’m glad my sales aren’t worse.  I keep listing things and I promote everything at 5%.  I run sales.  I try to shift to items that sell better.  Yes, the game is changing.  Good luck to us all.  I’d sure hate to be forced to get a “real” job.

[zero29zero]

100's if not 1000's of online sites selling everything from soup to nuts, major retailers to small operations. Many more options for buyers than 20 years ago watering down the buyer base

Ebay once the go to site circa 90's-00's is now just another fish in the big pond

[bryo_3145]

"Remember when the Ty Beanie Babies was the hottest commodity on ebay." 

[bryo_3145]

"American Malls are disappearing too." 

[toysaver]

I miss the ability to eat pizza without a Tums chaser and getting the lawn mower to start on the first couple pulls.