My sales have really been slow. No sales since Election Day 2024. Anyone else having slow sales?

[bargainjewelryandmore]

I have not had a sale since the middle of November, 2024.  I was doing fairly well before that. Is anyone else having slow sales?

[kept2020vtgbikes]

My sales actually picked up. Ran couple markdown sales couple weekends in a row. still selling quite a bit every month 

[dbfolks166mt]

     If you are just talking about eBay then sales have been about what they have always been this time of year by volume. I sell on several other venues and sales are about average except for the local venues and forums where sales picked up considerably starting in the last couple of weeks of November and are still going strong. But those are generally local pickup items so there are a LOT of advantages for both the buyer and seller on those venues. I will go about another week before I shut those venues down until sometime after the first of the year. By volume these days eBay only accounts for about 20% of my sales. 

[vault_and_valor_emporium]

I was having slow sales all year until I decided to "Promote" my entire inventory at 2% in the beginning of November.  The additional exposure of my products contributed to a 420% increase in items sold over the last 30 days.  If you don't already "Promote," I'd suggest trying that. Also, I've been seeing a lot more sellers moving bulk product on Whatnot, due to lower selling fees...it's flooding the market with certain products and taking business from eBay sellers. Good luck!

[hardrhymer76]

The recent negative feedback may be a factor, be it buyer confidence or search result placement, or both. You could reply to the FB to explain what happened, whether it was your fault or not. It costs you nothing, and as long as you choose your words carefully (be professional) you have nothing to lose by doing so.

[bonanza125]

It's like a roller coaster. One day would be slow and another day sales pick up. It comes down to either interest in what you are selling or lack of listing items. Have you been listing new items or just letting these items sit. You need to have account activity as far as listing.

[dbfolks166mt]

I was having slow sales all year until I decided to "Promote" my entire inventory at 2% in the beginning of November.  The additional exposure of my products contributed to a 420% increase in items sold over the last 30 days.  If you don't already "Promote," I'd suggest trying that. Also, I've been seeing a lot more sellers moving bulk product on Whatnot, due to lower selling fees...it's flooding the market with certain products and taking business from eBay sellers. Good luck!

     The problem is there is no way to prove the use of PL caused your sale increase. It could have just been the shopping season and the items could just have easily sold without the use of PL. As for the increase you have sold 40 items in the last 90 days, 11 items before 1 November, 29 items after 1 November. That is about a 150% increase not a 420% increase.

     Of course those sales are also driven by the number of items you have listed during those periods. See how those numbers hold during post holiday sales out of the 113 items you currently have listed. There have always been peeks and valleys in selling and there a LOT more factors to take into consideration than simply claiming PL is the reason for your increased sales. 

[12345jamesstamps]

I thought 'Top Rated Plus' sellers get more exposure than those who are not.

Good to know that 'Top Rated Plus' doesn't always means more exposure.

I basically am only getting 'repeat buyers'...so it's been very slow.

'Repeat buyers' keep me going.

I am doing everything new promoted at 5% now.

Might do promoted to get on other sellers pages at 2-5% which is 2-5 cents per dollar.

[kandf_vintage_finds]

My sales are not slow.  I am actually on track for a record 4th quarter.  ($$$ + amount sold)  Not bragging....just stating a fact.  Granted I load my store up on Vintage Christmas this time of year.  I hope things get better for you!  Good Luck!

This is what works for me:

* Promote everything @ 5%

* Pass the shipping discount on to your buyers

* Offer free shipping on all items that weigh less the 15oz (Adjust your price a bit)

* Accept best offers

* Undercut  or match your competitions pricing

Granted none of this works if you initially pay too much for your inventory.  After much trial and error I am able to acquire most of my inventory for minimal dollars.

[chapeau-noir]

Sites like TEMU have been flooding the internet with costume jewellery for pennies. Even though you have nice items, I think competition is the biggest culprit there.

Agree with a professional answer to that last neg to reassure future buyers that you are an ethical seller, but I doubt it's doing much to your sales or placement.

[baantiques]

Ebay cut my hidden selling limit by half last June.  Ebay sales have been heading down ever since.

We stepped up our presence on other venues which have gone a long way toward making up the difference.

One thing I did discover is now that I'm at the limit Ebay allows me for sales I've been able to drop the percentage for promoted listings from 15 down to 5 and still sell the same, decreasing my expenses slightly.

[whatmorefabric]

Th e Retailers Association of America was bragging about 15 million dollars in sales every 5 minutes.    Amazon came out  and said sales were higher than last year,  but they were very worried because of the drastic increase of sales from mail direct sellers in China and a decrease in American sold goods.

It makes me mad that TEMU can ship fabric to the US cheaper than I can without any tariffs and I pay increased postage prices and increase prices because of tariffs that they avoid.

Biden administration looked into adding tariffs,  but determined that the post office could not even begin to handle the collection of tariffs and  Republicans in Congress  would not pass funding for a computer site to pay those tariffs on line.     

[theteamsetguy]

Nope now hear.

[jasoheat_0]

sales have been dropping ever since the fall update .... sales are at an all time low , never seen sales this low , hope it changes , cross post , i sell more on Market place then on ebay these day , i use to do at least $3000 a month , this month $170 so far  after selling costs $71.87 , did 200 just yesterday just on market place so at least other sites are paying off  for me , good luck 

[chariot_badges]

Granted none of this works if you initially pay too much for your inventory.  After much trial and error I am able to acquire most of my inventory for minimal dollars.

---

THERE IT IS ^^^^  right there.

Everybody ... READ IT AGAIN.

You make your money when you acquire inventory.   And, while margins are inventory-specific, I need to get 3x my cost, minimum.  And that is almost break even.  

Most of the inventory I have right now I've gotten for about $2 each.  On average.  So, a lot was obtained below that.   That includes all costs of my purchase:  shipping, taxes, transportation, bribes, etc. 

When considering an inventory bulk purchase I try to figure what I will get for them, then offer accordingly.  (return ON investment).

Or, I'll look for the two or three percent that will sell quickly and pay for the whole purchase (return OF investment).

Be willing to walk away from a bad deal.  

I pass on 90% of what I'd like to buy, because there's no meat left on the bone for me. 

This rule should be one of the Laws of Ferengi Acquisition.   

"You make your money when you BUY."

MY personal fav is Rule #1.