Sales are terrible! What in the Heck is going on?

[memphiskansasgirl123]

What a buzz kill!   I work hard to get sales and mid way in April someone has pulled the plug.   I've seen other posts regarding poor sales, but have found no explanation.   Once again, what a buzz kill!!!  The frustrating part is,  it does not appear to be within the seller(s) control, it definitely does not feel like a natural decrease, just an abrupt spiral down.    Sheesh!

[castlemagicmemories]

I often read this and it has been compared to turning off a spigot or faucet.

Or shutting the lights off.

Hope things pick up for you soon.

[lex-talon]

It does seem like someone is turning on and closing the faucet. There will be some days where sales come pouring in, then silence. 

[coolections]

$260 fire a fireplace poker set ? Your prices are outrageous so I would not expect to see many people jumping to buy the stuff you have listed. Maybe take another look at what you are offering and compare your price offering to other sellers.

[memphiskansasgirl123]

You might not know the vintage market, I sold a similar poker set for $400.   You might not pay that, but others did.  You are missing the point, sales have all of a suddent stopped, your comment regarding my pricing is wrong based on my previous sales.   

[coolections]

You asked what was going on and I told you. Yes, sooner or later you may find someone to purchase those items. Instead of asking what is going on, it's best to come to grips knowing it could take years to sell those items you have listed until a specific buyer comes along.

[jonathankirkland]

Sorry but 90% of the time when I see threads like this I look at the listings the person has up and their items are terribly overpriced, this seems to be no exception to that.

[memphiskansasgirl123]

The gist of "this" post is about sales suddenly have stopped.   This post is not about me continuously have bad (no) sales.  So, for me to accept what you said would mean all my prospective buyers as of  April 2018 just woke up regarding my pricing,  and,  that is what happened to the other sellers as well, you know those other sellers  who also posted about this subject. With too many sellers who were doing find "now" complaining about the same thing, it is clear to me its more of a system related problem.  

Now , this portion of my post is not directed towards you; but as I type this out, I am now wondering if the common denominator with me and those other sellers is effective May 2018, eBay said , they were going to opt some sellers into the guarantee delivery program, could the preparation for this have caused a problem with April sales?   So, to those other sellers who also are experiencing a sudden drop in sales, are you also being opt'd into the guaranteed delivery program?  Huhmmmm? 

[jonathankirkland]

Or perhaps your items that weren't terrible overpriced all sold, and now all you have left is the stuff that is overpriced and won't sell?

[memphiskansasgirl123]

And that would be the case for all those other sellers as well.    

[jonathankirkland]

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@memphiskansasgirl123 wrote:

And that would be the case for all those other sellers as well.    

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Well to be fair, I have seen many "vintage" sellers especially complaining sales are down, seems people aren't buying that stuff as much anymore.

Also, it looks like you've had quite a bit of sales this month, you should consider yourself lucky!

Another thing, 99% of your sales seem to be in the $20-50 range, which again, tells me your prices are too high...

[memphiskansasgirl123]

Regarding my product and pricing,  thank you for your opinion, but, I continue to rely on what overall has worked for me.   

[jonathankirkland]

Not sure how you can say it's working when you are complaing that "sales are terrible" and you've sold  one single item in the past month that you have priced over $100, but sure, whatever "works" for you.

[kattinsanity]

You show 70 sold items in the month of April so far.  How is that "terrible"?  How many do you expect to sell?

[luckythewinner]

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@memphiskansasgirl123 wrote:

I continue to rely on what overall has worked for me.   

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You will see many sellers here posting about the same problem, and many people offering solutions.

Some of those solutions will be convenient for you to hear, because they require no effort on your part. It is all eBay's fault; eBay is hiding your listings; eBay has secret limits on your account; eBay has rolling blackouts; etc.

Other solutions will be less convenient for you to hear, because they suggest that your business model may not already be perfect - like supply; demand; pricing; competition; buyer taste; buyer perception; buyer expecations; selling in saturated categories; etc. 

You clearly seem disinterested in changing anything at your end, and in your first post you seem to have already laid the groundwork for not taking any action because things seem beyond your control and not natural.

So it sounds like your course has already been plotted - keep doing what has worked in the past, and hope it fixes itself.