eBay

sidexsidevisions · ‎03-14-2023

I use to sell 3-5 items a day (3-6 months ago) and 5-8 items a day a year ago but now I am lucky if I sell one item every 3 days. Also my listing views and impressions have been dropping steadly for months. I know the market is down a bit but this is killing my business. Has anyone else seen the same thing or is it just me. I have spoke with eBay and they said my listings look good and they do not know why this is happening.

memorymarielane · ‎03-15-2023

I'll give ebay a bit of a break regarding sells when it comes to what is going on in the economy today because honestly they have zero control over that matter. However, there are plenty of issues with the ebay website that are affecting sales and like you, myself, and countless others are currently experiencing a huge decline in sales that will eventually close our doors if things do not get fixed. I will never figure out how ebay operates this platform as everything they do makes no common sense. I just do what I can control and keep it moving. But know that you are not alone in this dilemna as I am of the few that believe ebay is coming to an end.

femmefan1946 · ‎03-15-2023

@sidexsidevisions

Yes, those customers (especially the one who left a neg) sound like nasty people.

Which is why sellers often read the Feedback Left for Others when selling by auction or to a Best Offer.

It's also why responses to such FB is a Bad Idea, unless the seller can be calm, factual,professional, and above all, short.

femmefan1946 · ‎03-15-2023

I just started selling on ebay about 4+ months ago.

There is a consensus that new sellers do get a little boost in Search for a while at the beginning of their career here.

Likely yours is over, and here you are in the pool with the rest of us.

I tried paying all the promotions I could but my viewings still did not pick back up.

Not exactly.

You don't pay for PromotedListings until they sell.

And viewers view.

Every View is a potential customer who did not buy.

from bids made when the items show up on "time ending soonest" and they grab it at the starting bid.

Ah. Auctions.

EBay's brand is auctions and they default ~~suckers~~ new sellers into that increasingly unpopular category to support the branding.

EBay's suggestions are always good for eBay.

EBay is our landlord, not our friend.

Since your items are seemingly only being found with the About to Close Search, and are selling for full asking at that point, you could try using Fixed Price listings.

If you are having any problems with Unpaid Items, add Immediate Payment Required, but, in my opinion, if your customers are paying promptly, don't use it since it also makes multiple purchases (and shipping adjustments) more difficult.

Over 85% of transactions are Fixed Price because buyers want Immediate Gratification.

Also your FP listings are up for 30 days and then relist automatically so each has more time to be found.

femmefan1946 · ‎03-15-2023

@gamer4life555

I used to have dozens of watchers daily, now I maybe get 3 a day.

Keep in mind that eBay recently revamped Views, so that we no longer see views from bots and search engines, and views are only seen for 30days.

The count will change daily as a result.

It is also useful to compare the same months in previous years if you can.

Ignore 2020 and 2021, because of the pandemic surge in online shopping, but 2022/2019/2018 should give useful comparisons if you were selling then.

You are very wise to sell on other platforms. Before we retired we had our own website, eBay, ZoS (hobby specific) and DelCampe Auctions in play in addition to our B&M. The shop , website and eBay were the money earners and where the sales came would vary from month to month.

sidexsidevisions · ‎03-15-2023

I use to sell $60,000 a month on ebay and did from 2015 to late 2022. Now my sales are $16,000 a month.

grandmasjewelry123 · ‎03-15-2023

I notice the same thing. I have spent more money effort and time getting traffic and there is almost no sales. I don't know what ebay changed but whatever it is doesn't work for sellers. And I don't think it's the economy creating this kind of drop.

gamersbaystore · ‎03-15-2023

I agree with everything you stated. ebay is no longer relevant with a paltry 3.5% market share of e-commerce in the U.S. today. Americans don't want to shop here, likely because so many people hate this platform. ebay spent years trashing their sellers, allowing scammers to have a field day, and yet people can't seem to figure out why this platform is failing.

Mercari has shown quarter after quarter of growth, while ebay has shown quarter after quarter of decline.

gamer4life555 · ‎03-16-2023

Exactly.

gamer4life555 · ‎03-16-2023

What I meant is watchers, not views. Like when you have the option to send people an offer. I used to be able to do that dozens of times a day but now maybe only three times a day. It's really bad. I do compare to the 2019 time frame and see a huge and debilitating decrease in sales. I wish it would get better.

gamer4life555 · ‎03-16-2023

So true my friend! When I have been making tons of sales on the other platforms, I keep thinking that those are sales that ebay is no longer making. They are literally giving this money to their competition. They would need to re-vamp so many things in order to fix all the problems here. They seem really greedy too, so it's not like they will ever reduce the amount they charge us in fees either. Have you also noticed how long it takes to complete one listing on ebay compared to other platforms? I actually timed it, and on one of my alternate platforms, it took me 60 seconds or less to finish one listing. With ebay's huge amount of ridiculous item specifics, it took me more than double the amount of time to create a listing on here. By the time I listed 10 things on the other platform, I would have only been able to list five or less on here. Sellers want to create listings fast and easily and ebay continues to make it harder and more time consuming. It is so dumb.