Sales at standstill...

[reallynicestamps]

@decollectibles 

We have to change our address when we look at listings to a US one. I use 90210 as the zipcode.

The OP has a couple of hundred listings with good pictures, clear descriptions, measurements (!! THANK YOU @patsyk7 ) , and lots of Item Specifics.

The only problems I can see are that she is listing in a very crowded category.

Possible solutions:

• Ship internationally. You can choose the countries, even if  you use the eIS  Seller Protection program.
• Get out of the crowded Used Clothing category.
• Sell on other sites.
• Use Promoted Listings to increase Views.
• Make Offers to Viewers.

It seems that the best thing to drive sales is sales.

That is, when you are getting sales, you move up in Search.

If sales drop off, you move down in Search.

[reallynicestamps]

Hmm- looking at your stats, to the limited extent possible.

Apparently you have sold about 140 items in the past 12 months.

Of those, 84 sold in the past six months, and as you report, June has been terrible.

Perhaps the problem is less that your overall sales are off (although they certainly are in June) but that  December to May were so good that your expectations are overly optimistic?

You've been here since 2006, how were your sales in June 2022? June 2019? June 2018? (ignoring the pandemic surge in online buying that makes 2020 and 2021 outliers)

[memorymarielane]

The downturn in our economy IS having an effect with online sales. With inflation and rising interest rates on credit cards/mortgages spending goes down. Every aspect of the economy affects another as they are intertwined in order to function properly. Ask yourself... when is the last time YOU purchased something on Ebay? For me it has been several years and it was a small purchase at that. Many are in a financial burden as their debt outweighs their "spending $$$" and thus online sales dry up. The only way out is a crash which is coming. 

[traditonalproducts]

She has 232 listings mainly in the clothing category.  Unfortunately, I also have a number of items in that world and it is slow along with competition is tough.  

[mn467462]

I'm right there with you. I've never felt so defeated in my entire life. Sales are non-existent. The few sales I do get, I get nothing but complaints from buyers. I'm in the midst of fighting a false negative feedback, from a buyer who flat out lied about me. I have been on here for 15 years, and I'm throwing in the towel. This place has turned into pure cancer. 

[traditonalproducts]

I also have a number of clothing related listings. It has slowed on that end. I can say there are certain categories that are still busy and thriving. Overall, even with my diverse 360+ listings I am off about 35% or so from last year. I truly believe the collectables & clothing world is off this year. 

[shar_27]

35% off only... You're in good shape. I envy you. My sales on eBay drop by at least 50%.

[missingcord]

Ya we downgraded from a premium store to basic. The sales have pretty much vanished on this platform.  We do however still use ebay as a sourcing opportunity. I guess the good old days are gone lol 

[chapeau-noir]

The pre-owned and new clothing sector is incredibly competitive now. I'm not sure how it's so tough to understand how eBay is shrinking when it comes to being a destination site for pre-owned clothing when there are large freestanding sites where that's all they do, plus an accelerating number of people getting items themselves on the secondary market. This doesn't even include over-stocked stores blindsided by the pandemic plus cheap direct-sales massmarket companies like Shein accelerating in a younger demographic. Heck, I sell pre-owned C&A and I totally get this. Thredup alone has over a million listings here. Add summer to this and all I can say is try to diversify, or consider this a bit of a vacation time.

[samanthasb0utique]

You are absolutely not alone. I have been selling for 13 years now and 8 million dollars later….. I was making around 100k in profits each year and now this year, I’m trending to make around 30k in profits. Maybe less than that. This event is unprecedented (for me at least). Granted I sell things that require people to have extra income but still, this has my mind completely boggled. I thought by now, my business would be flourishing and I would be expanding by leaps and bounds. Now I’m hemorrhaging faster and faster that each days passes. This business of mine I have poured every ounce of my being into and now watching it burn right before my eyes is so devastating. If business doesn’t get better by the end of the year, I will be throwing in the towel. I never ever thought I would say that.

[yuzuha]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

The pre-owned and new clothing sector is incredibly competitive now. I'm not sure how it's so tough to understand how eBay is shrinking when it comes to being a destination site for pre-owned clothing when there are large freestanding sites where that's all they do, plus an accelerating number of people getting items themselves on the secondary market. T

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Not to mention a million and one B&M stores that sell used clothing too. I can walk to no fewer than nine different thrift/consignment shops where I live and ALL of them are full of used clothing.

[isaiah53-57]

Sad to hear - Wish you better luck - On the upside, it doesn't look like you are the kind of seller who needs to make sales to pay your mortgage, though your certainly dont want to be wasting your time here either - I just pity the medium sized sellers who have many of their eggs in the ebay basket and didnt prepare for whats happening - I see some of them posting they have had to resort to Promoted Listings at 10% to 12% just to get near the sales they did have at one time, and then once they get a bit more comfortable another INEVITABLE SLOWDOWN comes along and they need to tack another 2% onto the already UTTERLY RIDICULOUS FEES to pay the bills - Talk about a race to the bottom here...

[stuff4divas]

@patsyk7   yea, if this is a place as one's only source of income, some will be homeless

[isaiah53-57 · Accepted solution]

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@samanthasb0utique wrote:

You are absolutely not alone. I have been selling for 13 years now and 8 million dollars later….. I was making around 100k in profits each year and now this year, I’m trending to make around 30k in profits. Maybe less than that. This event is unprecedented (for me at least). Granted I sell things that require people to have extra income but still, this has my mind completely boggled. I thought by now, my business would be flourishing and I would be expanding by leaps and bounds. Now I’m hemorrhaging faster and faster that each days passes. This business of mine I have poured every ounce of my being into and now watching it burn right before my eyes is so devastating. If business doesn’t get better by the end of the year, I will be throwing in the towel. I never ever thought I would say that.

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@samanthasb0utique

I just posted this to the OP, but it is more appropriate for you:

"Sad to hear - Wish you better luck - On the upside, it doesn't look like you are the kind of seller who needs to make sales to pay your mortgage, though your certainly dont want to be wasting your time here either - I just pity the medium sized sellers who have many of their eggs in the ebay basket and didnt prepare for whats happening - I see some of them posting they have had to resort to Promoted Listings at 10% to 12% just to get near the sales they did have at one time, and then once they get a bit more comfortable another INEVITABLE SLOWDOWN comes along and they need to tack another 2% onto the already UTTERLY RIDICULOUS FEES to pay the bills - Talk about a race to the bottom here.."

I too was selling the numbers you are talking about, but as soon as PROMOTED LISTINGS came out back in 2018 I could see exactly what it would do to this site - Out of a combination of principle and business acumen, I didnt hesitate(which is my norm) and hedged my selling here utilizing several different avenues, including going traditional with a part-time supervisor job at UPS - I made close to 40K last year working less than 25 hrs a week, I have full coverage insurance(used to cost me almost $500 a month) - a wonderful 401K program, profit sharing, and 3 weeks paid, plus sick and option days. I'm still sourcing(had to just get a new storage unit recently), but my selling has been local and regional at comic cons, collectible fairs, etc etc - waiting to see how the online sales game pans out before I start back up - I may just start my own website - it would be worth it as I have multiple 7 figures of collectibles to sell... Glad I got out when I did - Jobs are gonna be scarce pretty soon once everyone who was squeaking out a meager living selling online needs to make a paycheck...

[lazarustradingco]

Yeah, it’s brutal out there for the used clothing/houseware/trinket/tchotchke market. I’ve been to Goodwills and thrift stores everywhere and these things just sit there collecting dust even at ridiculously low prices. Sorry to say but you need to shift gears and maybe go into other more in-demand stuff.