No Sales in November and December

[justjillianr3]

I've been a small seller on eBay for a decade. I usually average selling 5-8 items per month since most are collectibles. I have had ZERO sales in what should be the 2 best months of the year. In October I sold 10 pieces of turquoise. What has happened? Am I alone? I've never posted before but am so alarmed and discouraged that I wanted to share.

[tunicaslot]

I reread everything as I didn't see advice at all coming from the haters and thought I missed something - but I still don't see any advice coming from the haters - have posts disappeared or been edited? The advice I see is from the Cheerleaders as we are so often called.

[rschissler]

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@kattinsanity wrote:

"I wouldn't take the advice of the "haters" on here"??  From what I see, your "advice" is exactly what the so called "haters" HAVE given the OP.  All you are doing is voicing the same "advice"  already given by  the "haters"?  Can you come up with your own "advice"?

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Wow, a little testy perhaps?  I guess you thought I was referring to you?  Maybe my advice wasn't good enough for you, but it was specific enough for the OP, I thought.

[siayan]

With ebay now you have a small window to get the views. A new listing with a low price, lots of clicks, action and sales. After that the listing goes stale and will sit and sit until someone stumbles across it. The longer things sit stagnant the slower it gets. 

That is the new eBay. Change or die.

[grasshopperx]

Tunic, not talking about you!LOL

[thatsallfolks]

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@grasshopperx wrote:

Thing is, I wouldnt take the advice of cheerleaders who have no sales or make a couple bucks profit per item.

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Since no one here can prove what their profit is (without posting their tax forms), you’re saying you wouldn’t take anyone’s advice.

You have 7 sales in 3 months; why should anyone take your advice?

[kathieskorner]

Thing is, I wouldnt take the advice of cheerleaders who have no sales or make a couple bucks profit per item.

You're making a lot of assumptions there.   Many of us have multiple accounts, and you have no idea of our profit margins.

As an accountant in my former life - before I became a fulltime recycler - I learned all about profits and how to maximize them.   Back in the early days of ebay when I also had a brick and mortar store - my PROFIT on ebay alone reached 5 figures a couple of years - far more profitable than my brick and mortar store where I had a lot of overhead.  

After retiring and the recession I stopped selling higher priced items online - most of my items now sell in the $6-$20 range plus shipping with an acquisition cost of under $2 for 99% of the items.  I have never listed anything on ebay for less than $5 plus shipping so I have never relied on volume to make a profit. 

Last year which was typical for the past 5-6 years - on aprox. $8000 in sales I made $5500 in pre-tax profit  (also known as taxable income for the IRS)  - selling expenses (ebay and paypal fees,  net shipping costs and supplies) amounted to 24% of sales - acquisition costs less than 5% of sales.    That supplements my retirement income very nicely and fills up some of my spare time.  

Because I only make "a few bucks" on many of my items does not mean that I don't keep up with what is going on at ebay,  ecommerce, and the economy  in general.  

[savwillsell09]

i come here for comic relief,maybe even a serious question,.,once in a blue moon,.,..,.,.,i sell but really don't need the $$$,i was at one time a doctor a lawyer and candlestick maker,.,.merry xmas..........i hate the **bleep** about cheerleaders etc

[justjillianr3]

Thank-you! I'm going to research other arenas to sell in.

[justjillianr3]

All I see when I search for an item anymore are paid sponsor items and Chinese imports. What made Ebay special is gone. They are trying to be like Amazon and it will never work. Wish they would go back to the basic model that made eBay special and a great place to buy and sell.

[justjillianr3]

eBay has screwed sellers this important Holiday season. Someone has made a deal on the corporate level with big suppliers/retailers like Overstock etc to take sales away from dedicated sellers. My guess is eBay will have very poor EOS results to show stockholders in Jan/Feb.

[justjillianr3]

TY for the encouragement and message! Much appreciated 😉

[yuzuha]

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@justjillianr3 wrote:

eBay has screwed sellers this important Holiday season. Someone has made a deal on the corporate level with big suppliers/retailers like Overstock etc to take sales away from dedicated sellers. My guess is eBay will have very poor EOS results to show stockholders in Jan/Feb.

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Gotta love how people immediately jump to conspiracy theories rather than stopping to consider the fact that there are literally hundreds of thousands of clothing and jewelry listings on eBay at any one time and they're all competing for the same pool of buyers.

[designerconsignertampa]

I feel you. November was excellent but December has been a disaster. Yesterday was my first zero sale day (with 900 items listed much less) in three years of tracking my daily sales figures. Disheartening to say the least. 

[coolections]

@grasshopperx

It has nothing to do with cheerleading. Is that the best you can do ? To the OP, you have not added anything NEW in the last month or so. The items you sold are gone. Buyers have already looked at your current items and have seen them for months. Without adding NEW items to your listing then you should not expect as many sells as in the past. It is kinda like going to an estate sale. The first hour 100 items sold, the 2nd hour 30 items sold, the last hour 3 items sold. Once the good stuff at the reasonable costs are gone it is expected to slowly have less and less people interested.

[stockjedi]

Yes that is the "new and improved" eBay experience. Been here since 1998, multiple selling accounts thousand of items, 100% feedback we are now hitting a new rock bottom in the history of eBay. Pretty much think they're done for good. It's been getting really bad for 3 -5 years now this is just ridiculous. We're packing up and selling elsewhere starting Jan if things don't change. Good luck everyone!