@bargainsalesfreak wrote:Has anyone noticed a drastic drop in sales in August of 2018?
This month has been a weird one for me, @bargainsalesfreak. Essentially, my sales had dropped off to a trickle since the end of March. All of a sudden at the beginning of this month, my sales picked up and I was selling several things in a week. I was starting to think that whatever rock in the tundra I had been placed under had finally been lifted/shifted, then BAM! I'm now back to zilch, zero, nada, nothing again. Haven't had a sale for more than a week.
I ought to know better by now how things go, as there seems to be a weird pattern that occurs at least for me. Sales will be non-existent, then out of the blue, I will get one or several purchases from international buyers, then sales from the west coast and deep south, usually from the same states. I know for sure the "gate" has been opened when I get a sale from my home state which *never* happens. Then, I will get a few more sales from scattered states, and just when you're Happy as Larry, bang, the gate seems to slam shut once again.
When this happens, I have a small collectible item that has broad appeal which I list. I call it my "Canary in the Cave," It *always* sells, and often results in some fairly active bidding or will be snatched up quickly via a BIN. In nearly four years, I have never had one of them not sell and have to be relisted. How fast it moves gives me some indication whether something is going on -- whether that be site issues, the mood/buying enthusiasm of shoppers, or that I have apparently been sent to Siberia again -- who knows? But, if that item sits and lingers, there's no hope anything else I have on offer is going to move.
Well, you guessed it. This item has been up for days now, has had only three views, no watchers and definitely no sales. NOT at all the usual response. So, although I don't know *what* is going on, I do know *something* has been these last couple of weeks since my "mini sales spurt" which I was so happy about -- as you can plainly see in the handy-dandy chart eBay has so graciously provided me:
Before anyone chimes in and says the reason why my sales have tanked is because the types of things I sell have low appeal, I don't find that to be a valid reason/excuse as I also sell on several other platforms and the very same items I have on offer here on eBay have sold simultaneously on other sites for more money and for less overhead cost. So, it's not what I sell, but where.
Bottom line, OP? I don't really have any advice for you or others, just wanted to weigh in and let you know you're not alone. Selling here continues to be challenging and a true adventure. Personally, I could use less "excitement" in my life. Or, if life IS going to be "exciting" I'd rather it be in the form of *sales*. 😉
