Sales Keep Tanking and Tanking - It’s Getting Scary

[vintagequeennyc]

Man, oh man. I’m really starting to worry about the future of selling on eBay as a small to mid-level seller. This site is beginning to feel like a graveyard. 

My sales have been in a very steep and fast decline since January 2019. My 60 day sales total is thousands of dollars below what it was 3-4 months ago and dropping by the day. 

I have kept increasing my number of listings but sales are almost non-existent. I’ve been selling new and used clothing here for 13 years and this is currently my full-time job. Yes, I know clothing is saturated but it always has been. That’s never held back my sales. 2 years ago I was making twice as much money with half the number of listings. I’m currently partly disabled recovering from an accident and unable to work an outside job. So for me, this massive slump of sales is becoming incredibly frightening. 

Not to mention my impressions dashboard metrics are all up substantially since the GTC change a month ago but my sell-through rate is down 50%!!! I KNOW it’s not my inventory or prices. I’ve been at this game a long time and keep a careful watch on those things and know I am offering amazing deals on desirable items.

It’s starting to get VERY scary for me here. I used to know that if I listed good stuff at great prices, I could make money fast and reliably. Now the only reliable thing is the lack of sales. 

Is ebay truly dying?? Have buyers abandoned this site en masse? Is it the algorithm and blackouts? Are we seeing the beginning stages of an economic recession? I sit here and look through my listings and think, “How the HECK hasn’t that sold?? Or that? Or this?!” 

I’m truly at a loss as to what is going on. I’ve NEVER seen such a fast and drastic sales slowdown in all my years selling here. It really feels like an apocalypse. 

[ies-foodservicesupply]

EBAY left the small to mid seller year's ago. It started 4+ years ago when they made combined shipping basically obsolete. They wanted to force all sellers to do "free shipping" or "flat rate". Pushing for the big boy's to take over and wanted to be AMAZON. That didn't work for them. It dropped my sales by over 50% overnight. Literally overnight. I was selling 10-15 combined packages daily. Now I sell two or three per week. Then they changed the way you could list. Then they changed the return policy. Buyer's can now do anything they want with no recourse. We still maintain 100% feedback rating but at what cost. We have always taken care of our buyers. Now the GTC. Everything they are doing is to move away from small dealers and individuals. Advertising for their websites on my auctions. Giving away business to get add money. It will end with the big Dealers leaving after all the little ones are gone. EBAY will have to find a way, too much money invested but they, like every business, is out to put the small guy under. Just used us to get started. LOL

[castlemagicmemories]

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@gamersbaystore wrote:

Yeah, I keep listing daily to try and combat the declining sales. Adding hundreds of new listings brought 1/3 as many sales as the month prior. At this point, I haven't even made enough money to pay my store fees that are due in 5 days 😞 To make matters worse, I'm running out of stuff to list for sale, which isn't helping the situation.

I can't even afford to buy food. I've been eating 20 cent packages of instant noodles for weeks and nothing else. Its all I can afford. Its literally gotten to the point where its made me sick. Last night I finally broke down and bought real food for the first time in weeks. Its not worth starving to death to pay ebay. I'm still sick from weeks of not eating right though.

I did get some sales this past week, but the funds all went to my ISP, as they were threatening to shut off my internet unless they got paid ASAP.

Its not just ebay that's the problem, its the huge economic divide in America that's turning us into a third-world country. We're now a nation of the haves and have nots. The rich keep getting richer, while the working class keeps falling deeper and deeper into poverty.

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One of the most moving posts I have ever read.  I truly hope your health and sales improve.  With all due respect, this is just a suggestion as I have your best interests in mind.  There are many places, food banks, that can help.  There may be some in your area.  If so, I hope you will consider visiting them, and please know I mean that in hopes that it will help you recover your health.  I would not offend you for the world.  I wish you all the best.

[yuzuha]

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@tunicaslot wrote:

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Ebay has trained buyers to expect more for less. A couple of months ago month I wanted to get rid of shelf sitters. I marked a vintage tee - new with tags $10 with free shipping. I got an offer of $5 when it cost $4.36 to ship. I decided to donate everything instead.

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That's far from an eBay thing, though.  I see it at my B&M job all the time-- there are plenty of people who won't buy anything that isn't on sale or that they can't use a coupon for.  It's not due to people lacking money, it's people being savvy shoppers.  They know that if they just wait long enough, whatever they want will go on sale or there will be a coupon for it.

[gamersbaystore]

Thanks Castle Magic 🙂 Yeah, its tough for a lot of people right now, and I know I'm not alone. Health wise, I'm very limited to the types of work I can do now. I took a lot of bad falls on concrete floors at my last job, and it destroyed my right hip, and I can't walk real well. There's jobs here, not that pay much, and they're only part time, but I can't do anything that requires a lot of walking or physical labor.

I thought about going on disability, but the checks would never cut my bills, and you aren't really allowed to work when on disability. They limit the total income you can bring in.

I came back to ebay realizing I had such limited options for work. Its too bad that ebay treats their sellers like dirt. Their short term profits are more important than the livelihoods of their sellers.

As for food, a food pantry doesn't sound like a bad idea. I don't have many options otherwise. As for this month, I;m just working to pay ebay fees and get nothing in return. I'm worried I wont be able to pay the fees when they're due in a few days and ebay will suspend my account. I hope it doesn't happen.

[udejavu]

Yep, sales down over 50% since last year. Been selling since 1998. Seriously thinking about getting out, I'm about done.  

[tree*fern]

You'll get through this!  Been there on the noodle diet. Buy them by the case (24 per cardboard tray). Scan the bar code on the bottom of the cardboard tray (don't scan individual packets), which works out to a cheaper price per packet, usually 18 cents or less.

Cheap ways to add nutrition (especially Vitamin C) to the noodles so that you don't get sick:

• Cabbage, sliced/shaved into thin ribbons.
• Fresh spinach or kale, thinly sliced.
• Scallions, green tops thinly sliced. Buy a bunch with roots and set in a tall open jar or glass with just a little water in bottom. The scallions will regrow as you slice. Empty and replace with clean water as needed. 
• Canned tuna.
• Dried roasted seaweed snacks (i.e., nori; link to one example). Crumble into noodles. A packet usually costs less than $1 and goes a long way.
• Any other veggies you can afford. If you don't want to use cabbage, spinach, and scallions, look for other veggies that provide Vitamin C. 

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

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@partsman330 wrote:

Ebay IS making money but not off sales. Ever notice when you are checking your selling page that there is a banner ad? There are banner ads everywhere. Everytime you look at how your sales are doing or shipping orders you are giving those banner ads impressions. I noticed some are even positioned so you accidentally click on them more easily. They are making money off sellers in other ways not just commissions from sales.

They generate revenue in many other ways you don't even realize. Its very smart, just not good as far as things go for those who are selling on their site.

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I really wish they weren't so greedy they even add ads to the listing pages. Even with an adblocker it still slows down the whole process as it tries to load behind the scenes.

Imho seller pages should be off limits.

[tree*fern]

At the upper right corner of the banners showing other sellers' items, click the "Feedback on our suggestions" link and tell them what you think.  

[gamersbaystore]

Many thanks for the suggestions friend 🙂 Thats what I try and do, buy the whole box of noodles when they're available at Walmart, it is much cheaper. I think they are like 24 per case. When they dont have them, then I do buy them by the packet, but they're a bit more in price that way for sure.

And you're right, canned tuna is incredibly cheap. I've been trying to buy more campbells soup as well. They have as much as 18 grams of protein now per serving.

As for my fees, my uncle just sent some money to help me cover my fees. I was worried they would suspend my account. Never a good thing.

[castlemagicmemories]

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@castlemagicmemories wrote:

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@gamersbaystore wrote:

Yeah, I keep listing daily to try and combat the declining sales. Adding hundreds of new listings brought 1/3 as many sales as the month prior. At this point, I haven't even made enough money to pay my store fees that are due in 5 days 😞 To make matters worse, I'm running out of stuff to list for sale, which isn't helping the situation.

I can't even afford to buy food. I've been eating 20 cent packages of instant noodles for weeks and nothing else. Its all I can afford. Its literally gotten to the point where its made me sick. Last night I finally broke down and bought real food for the first time in weeks. Its not worth starving to death to pay ebay. I'm still sick from weeks of not eating right though.

I did get some sales this past week, but the funds all went to my ISP, as they were threatening to shut off my internet unless they got paid ASAP.

Its not just ebay that's the problem, its the huge economic divide in America that's turning us into a third-world country. We're now a nation of the haves and have nots. The rich keep getting richer, while the working class keeps falling deeper and deeper into poverty.

---

One of the most moving posts I have ever read.  I truly hope your health and sales improve.  With all due respect, this is just a suggestion as I have your best interests in mind.  There are many places, food banks, that can help.  There may be some in your area.  If so, I hope you will consider visiting them, and please know I mean that in hopes that it will help you recover your health.  I would not offend you for the world.  I wish you all the best.

---

I know that suggestion might go against your pride but your health is very important, and you can always pay it forward when you are in a better situation.

Please, take good care of you!

[2....1....0....sold!]

@vintagequeennyc 

Are you accepting paypal?

Ebays' "managed payments" is a complete train wreck. I've recently tried to buy several items due to ebay handing out discounts ($3 off $3.01 and "free" $5 to spend on $5 plus)...and a surprising number of times I could not pay for the item because of "managed payments" always telling me, "there was problem with your credit card information"....tried 3 perfectly good, working cards...failed all three times.

As a buyer, if I even bother to check ebay, it's the last place I check as it's almost always higher than other popular webstores...the only place ebay wins is the one place they abandoning...small sellers selling impossible to find elsewhere items.

[2....1....0....sold!]

@ies-foodservicesupply 

"Giving away business to get ad money"

I have a few expensive listings at ~$99...so ebays take is $9.90 if it sells. When i come across a computer somewhere with internet access, I bring up my ebay listing just too see what it looks like for any random buyer...and sure enough there are offsite ads that undercut my price all the way down to $79...did ebay make $9.90 sending the buyer off ebay?

[ies-foodservicesupply]

EBAY has obviously sold out to big companies directing sales to them. I assume they make add money and probably get a % from linking to the off site company. They are promoting the biggest on line food service equipment and smallwares dealers on the net, right on my listings. Not just 1, it is usually two or three big on line dealers. They must be making money on both ends.

[ies-foodservicesupply]

It's not just that either. I have noticed and started tracking items of mine that have regular movement. Any item of mine that sells well for 30 days or so, will suddenly stop selling. The item had very few or no listings but within 30 days every larger dealer that sells my product will have the item listed at a lower price or lower shipping. They are tracking volume items and notifying other dealers.

[popeye3165]

GTC CRUSHED the Blu-ray,DVD,Games category!