JAN 2019 Sales Have Tanked - Bad 4th Q too

[wdiptr]

*Posting ID

Anybody elses sales down 50% or more.  The Performance metrics are flawed.  I've been doing about 1/2 the sales I did the past few years during 4th Q and the start of the year.  What's your take?

[pls44]

Yes, I saw that also.

[laurabeardsley]

Same here. Why isn't ebay addressing this in some way? Don't tell me they are not aware of this!

[trout10]

The problem is shipping costs. I'm a collector and can't pay more for an item because that has to be added.

[aceshighcomics]

Shipping cost are destroying me. I sell comics and I have to charge $4.50 to where I was doing the typical $4 ship rate for 1 books. Where as I could have shipped 5 packages for $11 I can now only do about 3 at $11.

[bookwoorms]

Your post scared me. I did a google search and there were 2 ebay listings but they were way down at the bottom of a very long list.

[shellhut]

It is so DEAD that I don't even feel like taking photos and listing new stuff. I don't even feel like making anything new to sell.   it has been 14 days since I had a sale.  The incentive to sell on eBay has been destroyed.

[zamo-zuan]

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@rschissler wrote:

Buyers would rather buy on Amazon than eBay.  Buyers are less interested in used or vintage stuff than in previous years.

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If this is true, it's only to a minor point. Natural trends are pretty small, 5-10% at a time, so even if vintage was dropping it wouldn't be a huge, sudden drop.

If we look at what changes actually happened on eBay that might affect vintage, vintage simply doesn't fit as well in their new catalog, and it's harder to search for that type of item than it used to be.

[lesubjonctif]

when  people are nervous about their finances the first thing they cut is the extras,  like vintage and collectibles.  Think about the government shut down and what effect that had on people.  then look at your January sales.    That's why sales were/are down.  also there is a recession coming, due in part to the January slow down and government shut down. 

[weschurch]

Its been on the decline for years.  With every silly change, with every new hoop to jump through, sellers leave. This is a collaboration of all of those small migrations. Like a snowball rolling down a hill, the ball is huge and is now picking up huge amounts of snow every second. The worse the site gets, the more people start leaving.

I used to buy thousands of month for my business, anymore I can't find anything to buy. The stuff just isnt there. Sure I can find a few things at average prices but Ebay depended on "options".  Now those options are gone and the buyers are gone to. The buyers are gone because the sellers are gone, and the sellers are gone because the buyers are gone. Ebay has noone to blame besides themselves. Its been terribly managed for years and they REFUSE to listen to their customer base.  The ineptness at such a large company amazes me.

[tj2014fs]

No sales here Ebay is tanking I think people are going to other selling sites , I do not get views  or sales on ebay Looks like my account is only for relisting items and paying my ebay fees .  To much time and money has been spent trying to sell items on a site that is dead as a doorknob . And to top it off now they ask you to open a store and pay to promote your listings as if they were not getting enough of my money they just want more , Again no views no sales time to move on .

[shellhut]

I haven't had a sale since February 12, 2019.  I went from at least a couple sales a week to NONE!  eBay is DEAD!

[weschurch]

I am solely a buyer here. I come here everyday, virtual cash in hand, ready to buy. Spend many hours a day searching, but there is just nothing here to buy anymore or if there is, I can't find it. The selection is dwindling. I search a certain category, before I could barely keep up with all the newly listed stuff, literally every minute a new option. Now In about a days time, I get maybe 1 page of new listings. Kind of seems like a waste to even look anymore. Ebay has ran off all the good sellers. Sellers leave and buyers leave. Its truly sad.

[demyan1978]

Last days I don't have buyers from USA. Only from Europe. It is very strange because I have many buyer from USA. It looks like they cannot find my items.

[cburkhartrrs]

I have tried everything myself and here it is, March. I have been a seller for a long time and top rated. I have changed my store subscription, changed what I sell, offer free shipping, do promotions, pay for ads, and still can't make money. May have to close my doors. It is crazy. I don't know what it takes to be successful now. I put in a ton of hard work for nothing.

[xray731]

All the venues are slow right now that I'm on - not just Ebay. People did not get the refunds they had hoped for this year. That being said - I've drastically slashed prices just to get rid of inventory before garage sale season starts. I'll be selling bulk lots thru options like C list as others may have a better venue to sell them on that I don't use.

It's disappointing to be down almost 50% from last year but to use this venue means we have to constantly adapt to the changes. I'm getting tired of it tho.