eBay

movieman630 · ‎09-18-2024

Traffic and sales were NON-existent today. The patterns here are just so odd anymore.

Is it just me or does everything here seem overly orchestrated? It just doesn't have the same operational feel as it did even 5 years ago. I can't put my finger on it but things just don't feel like they are operating like the "well oiled machine" it used to be.

Is it too much to wish things could just be straight forward?

I miss the good ol' days of ebay.

movieman630 · ‎09-19-2024

Ebay is my main platform for selling but I do have other sites. I'd say ebay is about 60% of my income. But this isn't by design, it's the same old story. Ebay is the biggest place for my kind of stuff. There's no other website that competes.

fbusoni · ‎09-19-2024

@movieman630 wrote:
Whatever the cause or reason. Sometimes we just need to vent our frustration with whatever it is. I don't blame any one thing. It's an amalgamation of causes I'm sure.

I will say though, it seems the more wrapped up in AI that companies get the more complicated our online business platforms are becoming. The "innocent" days of selling online are gone. Things are "driven" now. Performance is highly influenced and manipulated.

When I have days like I did yesterday I always have to wonder what was off. According to down detector ebay had some issues yesterday so that could be the problem. I hope today is better.

I bet things would improve for you if you offered paid returns and 24 hour shipping.

They did for me some years ago, dramatically in fact. It was the gift that keeps on giving.

eBay seller since 1999. This is a posting ID.

chevymontecarlo88 · ‎09-19-2024

@movieman630 wrote:
@chevymontecarlo88 wrote:
Adapt your inventory. It is that simple.
Yeah, it's not the inventory.

Half of your inventory consists of police, military, and law enforcement gear, which isn't particularly popular these days. I am a supporter of the military, but in today's world, I don't know how many people want to buy a DOD patch to sew it on their jacket/shirt. JMO

You have some cool stuff but nothing that I think buyers want/need in today's economy. IMHO

-Good luck

- Be careful of those who support Luigi.

movieman630 · ‎09-19-2024

I'm a big fan of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". It seems every single company today is all about "reinventing the wheel" over and over and over again. It's quite exhausting. And emotionally taxing.

linus.hux72fe · ‎09-19-2024

I'm sorry you had a rough day. It is hard especially when one depends on sales here for income. We all need to vent at times as well.

I do agree something is "off", meaning not a usual experience at times. There are also times it's a non-ebay something that is "off". Or a combination of the two categories. And we can't control those things, naturally, although there is comfort in knowing we aren't alone in experiences.

However, I'd like to encourage you to be open to other ideas presented here. I don't mean change your whole inventory or anything as drastic as that. Maybe just use some of the comments thrown out in a way that fits your circumstances. Even some of the nastier comments may spark an idea other than telling the poster where to stick his opinion, deservedly, at times.

For example, I look at sold listings daily in my areas. It gives me an indication what's selling, trends, how in demand, and hints about other things I can list. Works for my area of stuff.

During a particularly slow time, a group of us listed things out of what we considered our "death piles". At first we picked 1 thing each and made a bet on who's thing would sell first. It was fun, distracting for a couple weeks, and cleaned up my death pile giving me more space.

At my age, I started my own website. It was challenging and is now profitable even though I am old enough that we didn't have indoor plumbing when I was growing up. God knows if I can do it virtually anyone can.

Now, these few examples may not interest you, but you've sold successfully for quite a time, so I'm sure something can increase your sales in time and interest you and help with times you feel the need to vent.

I wish you good luck!

movieman630 · ‎09-19-2024

@chevymontecarlo88 wrote:
@movieman630 wrote:
@chevymontecarlo88 wrote:
Adapt your inventory. It is that simple.
Yeah, it's not the inventory.

Half of your inventory consists of police, military, and law enforcement gear, which isn't particularly popular these days. I am a supporter of the military, but in today's world, I don't know how many people want to buy a DOD patch to sew it on their jacket/shirt. JMO

You have some cool stuff but nothing that I think buyers want/need in today's economy. IMHO

-Good luck

Most of my customers for those items are "on the job".

movieman630 · ‎09-19-2024

@linus.hux72fe wrote:
I'm sorry you had a rough day. It is hard especially when one depends on sales here for income. We all need to vent at times as well.

I do agree something is "off", meaning not a usual experience at times. There are also times it's a non-ebay something that is "off". Or a combination of the two categories. And we can't control those things, naturally, although there is comfort in knowing we aren't alone in experiences.

However, I'd like to encourage you to be open to other ideas presented here. I don't mean change your whole inventory or anything as drastic as that. Maybe just use some of the comments thrown out in a way that fits your circumstances. Even some of the nastier comments may spark an idea other than telling the poster where to stick his opinion, deservedly, at times.

For example, I look at sold listings daily in my areas. It gives me an indication what's selling, trends, how in demand, and hints about other things I can list. Works for my area of stuff.

During a particularly slow time, a group of us listed things out of what we considered our "death piles". At first we picked 1 thing each and made a bet on who's thing would sell first. It was fun, distracting for a couple weeks, and cleaned up my death pile giving me more space.

At my age, I started my own website. It was challenging and is now profitable even though I am old enough that we didn't have indoor plumbing when I was growing up. God knows if I can do it virtually anyone can.

Now, these few examples may not interest you, but you've sold successfully for quite a time, so I'm sure something can increase your sales in time and interest you and help with times you feel the need to vent.

I wish you good luck!

I get what you're saying. I'm not going to start liquidating just yet. I had one bad day yesterday. Today isn't off to a great start so that's part of why I'm getting nervous. When my usual performance is interrupted I start to get a little nervous.

Today so far I have zero sales. My impressions and traffic are not even close to where they usually are this time of day. Something IS off. I just don't know what.

That "powerlessness" is disturbing. I don't like being reminded how dependent on ebay I am for my daily income. It's not a good feeling.

redlinear · ‎09-19-2024

@chevymontecarlo88 wrote:
@movieman630 wrote:
@chevymontecarlo88 wrote:
Adapt your inventory. It is that simple.
Yeah, it's not the inventory.

Half of your inventory consists of police, military, and law enforcement gear, which isn't particularly popular these days. I am a supporter of the military, but in today's world, I don't know how many people want to buy a DOD patch to sew it on their jacket/shirt. JMO

You have some cool stuff but nothing that I think buyers want/need in today's economy. IMHO

-Good luck

I'm not so sure about that. I think there's a niche for almost everything.
Greater than most people realize.
I've been flat out amazed by parting out an old broken crock pot, a non-working garbage disposal, and a barbie jeep. (all done on in-house bets). LOL

chevymontecarlo88 · ‎09-19-2024

@movieman630 wrote:
@chevymontecarlo88 wrote:
@movieman630 wrote:
@chevymontecarlo88 wrote:
Adapt your inventory. It is that simple.
Yeah, it's not the inventory.

Half of your inventory consists of police, military, and law enforcement gear, which isn't particularly popular these days. I am a supporter of the military, but in today's world, I don't know how many people want to buy a DOD patch to sew it on their jacket/shirt. JMO

You have some cool stuff but nothing that I think buyers want/need in today's economy. IMHO

-Good luck
Most of my customers for those items are "on the job".

I think you make a good point and i was wrong about your selling within that category.

- Be careful of those who support Luigi.

chevymontecarlo88 · ‎09-19-2024

@redlinear wrote:
@chevymontecarlo88 wrote:
@movieman630 wrote:
@chevymontecarlo88 wrote:
Adapt your inventory. It is that simple.
Yeah, it's not the inventory.

Half of your inventory consists of police, military, and law enforcement gear, which isn't particularly popular these days. I am a supporter of the military, but in today's world, I don't know how many people want to buy a DOD patch to sew it on their jacket/shirt. JMO

You have some cool stuff but nothing that I think buyers want/need in today's economy. IMHO

-Good luck
I'm not so sure about that. I think there's a niche for almost everything.
Greater than most people realize.
I've been flat out amazed by parting out an old broken crock pot, a non-working garbage disposal, and a barbie jeep. (all done on in-house bets). LOL

Everything does have a place in the marketplace. Depends on how long you want to wait for the sale.

- Be careful of those who support Luigi.

robbie31415 · ‎09-19-2024

Adapting to change is more than just inventory.

Policy expectations change. The more people get used to sites like Walmart and Amazon they start to carry expectations those sites offer.

Descriptions, title, pucture requirements shift as increased traffic and customer acquisition increase from third party sites such as Google.

I reviewed some of your listings and found lots of areas that are lacking that would contribute in decreased reach.

reallynicestamps · ‎09-19-2024

@chapeau-noir East Coast coffee break shoppers.

reallynicestamps · ‎09-19-2024

Is that dropoff in number of sales or in value of sales?

You are looking too closely.

It looks like you sold about 15 items a day in September so far.

Since you have been here for many years, how does September 2024 compare with September 2023? 2022? (skip the pandemic years of 2021 &2020) 2019?

Again in number of sales and in value of sales.

Is September usually a slow month for you?

There are rhythms in retail. Be prepared for them.

A slow period is a good time to check inventory, scour your accounts for duplicate listings or listings of items that have been sold on another site, even as suggested considering your Returns policy and shipping time.

FWIW, I see the US Federal Reserve dropped their interest rates which may allow some mortgage holders a little relief.

lakefor94 · ‎09-19-2024

@movieman630

Don't know if you are doing any PL's. If not, you might try a 2% on everything. At least everything will show up in search consistently. Both Lowest Price and Best Match.

eBay will take any little amount they can get. I don't mind throwing an extra 2% at eBay to move product. About 50% of my sales draw a PL fee.

And of course, pricing against competition will provide the end result. As we know, it is all price and presentation. Emphasis on price.

Best of sales to you.

Posting ID

wirkaholic · ‎09-19-2024

Don't worry, the holidays are right around the corner. Now is a good time to use the promotion tools in your hub. Sales were slow last week so we started a Public Coupon for 15% off. Sales are now back to normal. Or even send offers to people at random. Sometimes even sending a 5% off will close a sale. I know I've watched stuff and forgot about it until they sent me an offer. It's kind of a reminder for them. Items have to be in their watchlist for a couple days before it will show you. In case your not sure where to find your offers list is, just click on your listings page and it will show you at the top. Good luck and keep at it. We all struggle at one point or another. I miss the good ole days too but they are long gone. You need to adapt to survive these days. Even old dogs can learn new tricks. I learn something new here everyday by reading other sellers struggle.. Your not alone.