SALES CONTINUE TO BE LOW

[woothy]

My sales here continue on the decline. I keep hoping that eBay will fix all the issues but it has been a month since the rollout and things seem to be getting worse instead of better. Lack of sales, bogus views, popular items with  many watchers not completing. I have had items listed here for two months with watchers but no sales sell in less than an hour when posted on another site just this morning. I have also cancelled all my promoted listings as they were not seeing much traffic. I know watchers are no indication of sales but not only are the number of them way down but the conversion rate I used to see is way off as well. I hope I am wrong but eBay seems to be circling the drain at least for us small sellers.

In addition, I think the drop shippers are burning a lot of buyers. They have the volume to keep their feedback at a decent rate but if you look at their numbers there are thousands of buyers who have gotten disgusted by either not getting their order. thinking it was in the US only to discover that it was coming from China & taking forever, or having it be damaged by poor packing. I think it is fraudulent  to list an item showing a location in the US when it isn't.

Enough venting for one day. Hope everyone has a nice Sunday & Happy Easter to those who celebrate!

[nhfd4976]

EBAY want all the small sellers to quit.  All their new policy's are to have small sellers fail.  They want the chineese sellers not us in the USA.  They should move their headquarters to China.

[davewearsredsox]

For me sales are reaching a five year low and when I did not sell full time. GTC has definitely not helped me but I think there are also some other concerns. 

[sextons-sweet-deals]

On my dashboard, I'm down 59% from this time last year.

People keep low balling me! 

I sell and buy on E-bay. I buy for things I may need at home, personal hobbies / collections, and at times buy and flip.

If I'm not selling, I can't buy! I have to watch my finances!

If E-bay is hurting, this is my suggestion. Move! You don't need to be located in California. Move to the Midwest! Cheaper property, lower salaries, and lower taxes. We are past the Silicon Valley days! There are people all across this country with skills!

What I hate is when I have an issue and need to talk to someone, they are from India. Cheap labor and it is difficult to understand them and vise versa! 

[hyperrush]

OP you had 30-40 sales, that is a good mark.

[woothy]

Not when I was averaging 3.5 sales per day.

[orangehound]

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@sextons-sweet-deals wrote:

If E-bay is hurting, this is my suggestion. Move! You don't need to be located in California. Move to the Midwest! Cheaper property, lower salaries, and lower taxes. We are past the Silicon Valley days! There are people all across this country with skills!

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At the corporate level, eBay isn't hurting ... profits are growing.  And, overall platform sales are neither growing or shrinking (which is basically treading water).

But, I agree wholeheartedly with your general comment.  That is, if a business is hurting - whether it be a large corporation or a small on-line seller -  then it needs to take action and make changes.

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@sextons-sweet-deals wrote:

What I hate is when I have an issue and need to talk to someone, they are from India. Cheap labor and it is difficult to understand them and vise versa! 

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I think it is the Philippines .. but, wherever, they are indeed sometimes difficult to work with.

[jayandsteph96]

I have sold online since 1998, and since the last 10 years sales have been dramatically on the decline...just like most I have to challenge myself to find ways to improve sales...but with the forever ongoing changes...sales just continue to nose dive.  When the 30 day return policy was put in place, losing discounts, encouraged to offer free shipping, and if you don't do free shipping you are charged 10% of amount the buyer has to pay for shipping, and paypal customers/buyers who are able to ask for a refund up to 180 days...yes 180 days...being a seller is no longer easy or even close.  No one in reality can afford to sell items for less than $20.00 because of the risks involved or the fees.  As a twenty year seller...I really believe my days are very limited as a seller.  I just wish Ebay can find ways to improve sellers performance and not forget about the buyers who would buy the small price items as they are rarely available...because sellers cannot sell such items and make a profit and the risks have become too high.  Ebay days are not so bright into the future...sadly...I only want whats best for this once great company.  

[silly-shoes]

Just took down 2 listings that have been up for months of 10k gold items that were selling pennies over spot. With the 10% taken out I would be a fool not to just bring them up to the jewelry store and scrap them (and I will tomorrow). Ebay has made itself a disaster with no way of cleaning up it's mess.

[sidgotiques]

My sales have tanked since GTC, Please ebay reconsider offering us 30 days again.  I honestlyy dont have any incentive to continue to use my time looking listing and all that entails without much to show for it.

[ckudika]

Someone fill me in... what was the 'rollout' for? My sales have fallen off a cliff over the past month, and ive noticed that when i create new listings they immediately have 17+ views as soon as i hit the list item button.

[sweetpieces4you]

I certainly hope not as I am one of the smallest sellers ( right now ) on this site !! And I ain't quitting . 

[sweetpieces4you]

Hi , I looked at your listings and you actually have a few items I liked !! And that is a rarity when I look at some of the items people have listed !!! I particularly liked the cowboy and Indians book from 1958 !! I Like cowboys and Indians . Seriously I do . Good Luck 

[sidgotiques]

Thank you

[mlkav]

My sales are at the lowest they've ever been. eBay has been working very hard the last couple of years to get rid of small sellers and this latest decision to force the good til cancelled choice on all fixed price listings has finally done it. They are saying that it is the best option for all sellers so they made it the only option. Well, it has always been an option for those sellers that feel that it works best for them so there was no need to shove it down the rest of our throats other than to finally get rid of us. Well, eBay needs to remember that the small sellers are also buyers and many of us will either quit buying altogether or certainly drastically lessen our purchases. I have a couple more months of my store subscription and then I will be shutting down after 15 years unless eBay rethinks this and lets us go back to making our own choices for listing durations.