Many Ebayers are Complaining about the lack of sales

[jersey..authentix]

I can open these discussion forums and find Many Ebayers are Complaining about the lack of sales. You can put me on that list. 

So I am just posting my reason for one possibility. Wrong or right.

Ebay is a dinosaur. There are a lot of fresh faces now in the online sales arena. 

Ebay doesn't stay current. They lack any effort to remind people that they are still around. I live in Canada, and I can not remember the last time I have seen any advertising. I hear they had a disastrous Comercial in the US that they had to pull due the flack they received. Goodgoing Ebay

You look at Amazon and Wayfair. They advertise the heck out of their site. Where would you go to do your online shopping? A Place that tells you every day "hear I am", or to a site where the only time you hear the word Ebay is in a Joke. Whats really bad is lately you dont even hear that much of the jokes anymore. Ebay is getting lost and forgotten.Ebay needs to pickup there sox and get the word out. Not just collect the fees.

[pink.fish.rule]

The International sales vanishing is mainly due to the outrageous USPS increases on International mail. (What level playing field?)

[this*old*attic]

Good grief, no kidding - and I MISS my international sales!

But that isn’t Ebay’s fault.

Crummy search is, though.

[this*old*attic]

Yes, I can.

There are over 2,000,000,000 items on EBay on any given day, and your 600 listings constitute 0.0000003% of those listings. That percentage is so tiny it’s to the -7 power.

It will take about half a minute of research on the web to learn that’s not a statistically valid sample.

It’s mathematically impossible to draw valid conclusions from what you’re looking at, no matter how comforting it is to blame EBay.

That doesn’t mean they haven’t made crummy decisions: Cassini then Ayden, not policing the site, making sellers more responsible without any solid rewards or protections for being so, failure to advertise, the flood of 99 cent carp....

Plenty to complain about, exhausting to adapt to, but there’s no manipulation or conspiracy to control sellers’ sales.

[pink.fish.rule]

Then maybe, if it's not deliberate or a conspiracy, it's just the way the mish mash of varied algorithms etc have combined ending up with the same results?

[monstertoybox]

@this*old*attic 

We’ll just have to agree to disagree.

[monstertoybox]

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@pink.fish.rule wrote:
Then maybe, if it's not deliberate or a conspiracy, it's just the way the mish mash of varied algorithms etc have combined ending up with the same results?

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Either way it’s not working for me.

[pink.fish.rule]

Exactly. It's the consequences we're left to deal with.

[trustedbasset]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

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@trustedbasset wrote:
I compare the posts here regarding slow or no sales to a mouse in the house.
If you see one mouse there are many more you don’t see. In this case the Slow sales posts are like that one mouse. One poster claims slow sales how many are not posting here that are experiencing the same thing? Or, where there’s smoke there’s fire!

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Does that same argument hold up when you see a post form someone like me who says their sales are holding up just fine? 

Someone who has no problem with sales, and thus has absolutely no reason to come to this board and complain?

Are there many more that you don't see? 

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Probably,  but the reason I posted that is because of the old argument, sellers only come here to post when things go bad. 
Well things are bad for some and it isn’t getting any better. 

[trustedbasset]

No, they don’t conspire, they came out and confessed they control listings. Maybe you were not on these boards or you didn’t catch the interview on ebytes. 
I usually get sales right before my fees are due and then closer to the end of the month. 
Every month I can set my clock by it almost for the last 5 years! 

[trustedbasset]

eBay wants to sell toilet paper.
New, disposable and used frequently!

[trustedbasset]

eBay wants us to sell TP.

[doctor-of-style]

I think redrose makes some salient points. I know it's not easy to be saddled with a lot of inventory that won't sell, and it's tempting to buy into conspiracy theories that eBay is the cause of it all. ebay isn't without its flaws. Their tech is laughably outdated. Every time they tinker with the site, something happens; I almost picture someone chronically knocking over a cup of coffee all over a circuit board or something. In the end, though, they make money if you make money, so there's no logical reason to think that they would just completely cut off select sellers at the knees.

I believe you mentioned in another thread that you do not sell on other platforms. How are you, then, able to say that the reason for slow sales is eBay-related and not related to your inventory? If eBay is the problem, then why not close up shop here and take the inventory to Amazon or another platform? There would be an investment of time, but you really believe the issue is eBay and not your inventory, then I don't see why you'd hesitate another day in getting that inventory onto another platform.

I'm a lifelong collector, including toys. So please, I mean no offense when I say, looking at your inventory, there's nothing particularly engaging about it. There's nothing vintage, nothing even more than a few years old. If I were looking at your store, I might think you were drop-shipping from Amazon. 

Which is not to say that modern toys don't sell. I know they do. I'm a consumer myself. It's just that if you're dealing with modern product that is readily available online and in stores such as Walmart, there has to be a hook. I know some people who do OK with modern toys, but it's usually by having a loyal customer base. Wholesale prices differ, but I recall they're pretty high on some of the more popular toy lines, such as Marvel Legends, Star Wars, and WWE. So I understand that you cannot get too deep into a price-cutting battle without slicing away at the already thin profit margins.

I did not look at every one of your items, but I did do a search on eBay and Amazon of a few of your items. Here is what I see:

- Obi-Wan Figure Star Wars Black Titanium Series 40th Anniversary: Your price with shipping is $27 or $24.80 with your current sale going on. I see six of these in the complete sold search results. The highest price in the US was $15 shipped. Currently on Amazon, this item is $12.27 with free shipping.

- Plush Troll Reversible Into Rock Authentic Disney Store Patch Frozen Free Ship: Your price is $27 with free shipping. eBay complete sold search results show the highest sold price of this item is $20 with free shipping, though most appear to be around $15 shipped or less. On Amazon, it's $39.99 plus shipping. This is a good example of why it might be worth it to look into selling on multiple platforms.

- Falcon Electronic Action Figure Civil War Speech Sound Effects Avengers: Your price is $28 plus $8.50 shipping. There is one sold on eBay and that was a Best Offer accepted off a $12 plus shipping listed price. On Amazon, it's $29.99 plus shipping. Another example of Amazon having the edge.

I think you get the picture. It's a mix of your items being overpriced compared to other markets and being overpriced for eBay. Amazon is a different beast and you'll have to deal with different sorts of headaches over there, but I know that Q4 is a really great time for toy sellers over there. I just don't think it's really an issue of eBay preventing buyers from seeing your stuff. I think it's just that the buyers for those items aren't really here at the prices you're asking for.

[xcomicstore]

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@femmefan1946 wrote:
 keep in mind that the sellers who are busy with selling and shipping are not here to complain about turnover.

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I'm one of those, rarely visit the boards, but it's Sunday night, and time for a break.

I have about 40 orders stacked up to go out tomorrow, a typical Monday.  If you have stuff people want, price competitively, and provide good service, sales are good.  If you have dust collectors or used clothing, it's hard to break out from the field, and while eBay is NOT hiding your listings, not all 99 bazillion clothing items can be on the first page or two.

[xcomicstore]

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@gamersbaystore wrote:
Ever since they made this push for promoted listings, ebay no longer feels its necessary to advertise, they only care about collecting fees, and could care less if we have sales or not.

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Well I'd have to disagree with that as promoted listings generate no fees for eBay unless they sell. 

I do think eBay needs to up, not cut, it's advertising budget, to reach as many potential buyers as possible.  And not just for sexy electronics but for low-priced collectibles as well.

[xcomicstore]

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@equid0x wrote:

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@poke_magz wrote:

I'm getting tons of sales, the problem I have is eBay brands themselves as a bargain site so it's hard to sell anything remotely close to it's actual value for new products.

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In my opinion... eBay has always kinda been a bargain site but I agree that lately the pricing is so depressed in many categories that its nearly impossible to turn a profit selling here. 

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Maybe one should quit trying to sell in those overcrowded categories and source some items with less competition.