eBay

datemike1 · ‎01-28-2020

Thought I'd post some metrics to see how everyone else is doing this January. This will end up being the worst month of sales since I started selling on eBay 5 years ago. And before anyone chimes in and says well there is no demand, don't bother. I opened an Etsy shop end of November 2019 with the same exact listings and not only did I outsell my eBay account in December by about 30%, I'm currently at 55 sales on Etsy mtd and i'm outselling eBay by about 500%. Yes, i'm sure some people aren't selling because maybe the demand isn't there for their particular items, but in a very crowded sea of tv memorabilia, there is still plenty of demand it seems everywhere BUT eBay.

ebay sales mtd jan.png

The issue is traffic. If you're wondering why your sales are down so drastically and haven't looked at your traffic metrics, I'd suggest you do so...

ebay traffic.png

Impressions are down 55% this time period last year and down 63% compared to 2018. Page views down over 60% from 2019 and down 70% from 2018.

There simply aren't enough people shopping on eBay anymore. But, this decline in traffic is drastic. eBay has to be aware that this is an issue and their lack of action has me struggling to justify continuing on with eBay. I guess I keep hoping they'll get their heads out of their a$$&$ and start getting people back to shopping on eBay but I fear it's just too late.

coolections · ‎01-29-2020

@sakic92710 wrote:
I'm going to lower my price to half then, have someone offer half of that?

@sakic92710

Most buyers have been using Ebay for many years. Offering 1/2 price usually gets the buyer blocked. Very few will offer half price and instead hit the back button. Have you tried cutting your prices by 50% so they are more in line with other sellers and just skip the best offer. Another option is drop the price 40% and keep best offer but only accept 10% off. You will continue to have very low sales doing it your way.

datemike1 · ‎01-29-2020

I can only tell you from my own experience, but I regularly purchase items on eBay that are around $8-10 each. If I see a seller, and I’ve seen several lately, with the same items listed at $50 or best offer, I don’t even bother making an offer because even half is still way more than I buy them from other people. A used goalie stick that’s not even in production anymore is MAYBE worth $20, and even then, knowing goalies, they’d steer clear of a used stick because goalies are weird (I used to be a goalie and yes I’m still weird about my equipment). Just because you think the stick is worth $75 or $37.50 doesn’t mean that’s what it’s actually worth.

It’s actual worth is what someone else is willing to pay for it, not what you think someone else should pay for it.

coolections · ‎01-29-2020

@datemike1

He's been told what you said over and over again by most here but just refuses to change and blames Ebay for low sales.

datemike1 · ‎01-29-2020

Ahhh, well that makes more sense now. I mean this guy has a lot of hockey stuff, I thought maybe he’d have a better understanding of it. But if he’s been told the same thing repeatedly and ignores it then all he can do is complain about eBay because he doesn’t see the real problem.

datemike1 · ‎01-29-2020

@gwzcomps you're welcome! I'm happy to help. I'm very familiar with these metrics, in my career I've dealt with these kinds of metrics almost daily. They can be confusing at first but the more you look at them the more they'll make sense and you'll have a better understanding how they can inform your business decisions. You're in a good position, most of us are at the mercy of eBay driving traffic to eBay (way too low impressions) and that's just not happening. It's not a guarantee you'll sell more just by listing more, but if your metrics stay consistent, then you will increase sales just by listing more.

patd3283 · ‎01-29-2020

On another note and back to the OP's question: Why is eBay hiding?

No advertising, no public statements I'm aware of except for the dismal quarterly report, etc.

Something is going on...

I once worked for a large company that the owners/stockholders wanted to sell. They dressed it up and put lipstick on a pig but had no takers. They found out one of the stockholders was interested but not at their price.

They proceeded to undermine most of the company, selling off a couple of assets, no advertising and numerous bad decisions/moves. Interest in doing business with the company fell and so did the stock price until it got to the point that the stockholder moved in, made an offer that was accepted, bought the company .... and eventually put new life in it with fresh ideas, advertising, fresh products.

What is going on at eBay smells a lot like what I experienced/saw.

Is someone at Elliot interested? Alibaba? Someone else?

There has to be a hidden explanation for their actions or lack thereof.

sakic92710 · ‎01-30-2020

I'll keep having slow sales if I keep doing it eBay's way. lol Yep - all of my listings are 2x the prices of everyone else's.

sakic92710 · ‎01-30-2020

I guess I'd better list my sticks for $8.00. Everything else for $1.00.

datemike1 · ‎01-30-2020

@sakic92710 I'm not telling you what to list them for. What I'm trying to get you to understand (and from what I understand you've been told this many time in the past by others as well) is that an items value isn't what you think it should be worth, it's what people are willing to pay. You're complaining about poor sales. And if your items are priced too high, that means people aren't willing to pay the prices you believe they should be paying.

So you can choose to ignore the advice and continue on with poor sales and complain about it being 100% eBay's fault. Or you can man up and accept, "maybe I need to re-shoot some pictures" because honestly taking product photography sitting on an end table or dining room table is a surefire way to get much fewer views. There are TONS of tutorials on how to set up a light box that you can make yourself online that give you a much more natural white background for product photography. You can dismiss the importance of product photography but to do so will ensure you continue to flounder.

And maybe accept that "my item's aren't worth what I think they are." I decided to take a look at what you've got listed out of curiosity. And almost everything I looked at was completely overpriced and had horrendous photography. Like $115 for used Star Wars Transformer Parts. Seriously?

Your hockey sticks are wood. You know who buys WOOD hockey sticks? Old school guys playing in a beer league. And even most of them have seen the light and only use carbon fiber sticks now. Because they're lighter and hardly every break. So no, a goalie looking for equipment isn't going to purchase your wood goalie stick for $100. And please realize, that Bauer Lindros stick you have for $52 including shipping and plus tax, I can buy a new twig that'll last ten times as long for half the price. Please explain how that's eBay's fault.

And I hate to tell you, but here in the states, Jimmy Carter memorabilia isn't something people are exactly clamoring for. For reference, a Jimmy Carter signed 3x5 card sold Jan 28th for $24.50. You have yours listed at $204.50. And that too is eBay's fault?

You can purchase a complete poker set with 500 chips and cards and an aluminum case for $20-30. You've got 500 poker chips listed for $100. Let me guess, also eBay's fault.

I'm not trying to brow-beat you here, but if you've been hearing the same things from other sellers as what I've said here, and it's the same advice, and you continue to choose to turn your nose up at it, then you can't complain about eBay being the problem anymore.

coolections · ‎01-30-2020

How did you manage to find all those items ? The person swears Ebay hides their stuff and thus the reason for no sales. 😀

datemike1 · ‎01-30-2020

Ahhhh, yes, lol, good ol' eBay conspiracy theories... That sounds about right. The company that can't get it's $h!t together, has stopped attracting shoppers, fixes things that aren't broken, can't estimate delivery dates even remotely accurately, THAT company has decided to screw him specifically by hiding his listings.

I think the most ridiculous thing about that conspiracy theory is the thought that eBay could actually formulate a plan to exact their revenge on him and be successful in hiding his listings without some glitch screwing it up.

Conspiracy theories, ignoring logic and truth and blaming others for his failure. He really should move down here to the States, he'd fit in quite well with about 30% of the population.

keziak · ‎01-30-2020

Starting roughly in December and strongly in January I have been experimenting with listing as much as I can at auction, not just waiting for the monthly promotions. With few exceptions the auctions are for lots, not single books or AV. Right now I'm up 64% compared to last year. I'm running out of stuff to auction. My sales would be much lower if I only relied on the Store/fixed price listings.

I'm also up on Amazon....books are not as dead as many fear.