Sales dropped the past few weeks

[brianc3784]

I was pushing about 5-7 items a day but in the last few weeks, I've been lucky to get 1 or 2 sales a day. And my sales are down 12.6% according to my seller dashboard. Anyone else experiencing this? Has eBay some kind of changes? I would think sales would be steady since it's the shopping season.

[honestabe411]

Nope. I opt'd into guaranteed delivery and my sales declined within a day or so, VERY fast. Opt'd out quick and sales are picking back up.

[nawlinsron2]

Appears that many have found the real meaning of GD...Guaranteed DROP

[tunicaslot]

Returns - is the only thing I can think of that are hurting us - but then when you sell clothing - you have to expect returns and Ebay should know that and differentiate between an SNAD and a buyer's remorse. I was going great guns since last Oct with record months even in the summer - but I did get 2 returns right before my vacation and a couple when I got back. I have a return rate of 2% - all except 1 were buyer remorse. I owned the SNAD and refunded without return.

Had a few sales overnite - knock on wood - but really slashed prices to get them. 3 NWT and 3 preowned - so people are still buying used clothing. As a matter of fact - I've sold more used than I have NWT and I'm thinking of getting out of the NWT items as the overseas and Big Box really have the advantage there.

[bosmingfarg]

My sales  have dropped. Most of my goods are vintage, and I describe them well, add close up images, etc. As a buyer, I love Vintage clothing. I cannot guarantee quick delivery, but I do ship within 2 days of the sale. I don't offer free returns, and try to keep my prices sensible.  We all like a bargain, and I do love my buyers. My packages go from my tiny cow town to las vegas, then onto their destinations. I don't use standard shipping that goes to Bell Gardens, California, then onward. It's a downer to keep listing, and not sell anything for 2 weeks, but I keep plugging away.  I wish each of you good luck !

[brianc3784]

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After looking into guaranteed delivery, I know I didn't sign up for any such thing. That would be a huge gamble this time of year when the post office is busy. My returns would be going through the roof. Could my return rate be the cause of my slow sales? I always accept returns. I just looked and my return rate is something like 5.5%. I mostly sell electronics, so there's always a possibility of something being wrong. And I had one yesterday where it was a buyer error and automatically approved since they pay return shipping.

[tunicaslot]

bos - where abouts is the town you live that mail goes thru Vegas? Best to you too!

The return rate is the only thing I can think of - but there are others who have a far higher return rate - selling like gangbusters.

I've been here 20 yrs and this is the worst it's been at holiday time. A couple of years back - I had a 5 month stretch that was horrible - but took advice from a boardie - changed up keywords, worked on descriptions and things really took off. The month following a vacation is always slow for me as I shut down my listings - but I never recovered this year.

I'm not happy to see you two are down also - but I was feeling I was the only one as there haven't been the complaints on the boards that there usually are.

[baantiques]

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@maryjillsroom wrote:

My sales have droped drastically and I al slashing prices. This is now December and I thought I would be busy.

What is going on I am listin eery day and all good feed back. Starving and about to loose my home.

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I feel your pain.  I'm slowly losing ground.  I'm barely making expenses let alone extra to put back into the business.  I bought a car last week for resale and I had to put it on my CC, which I swore I would never do.  I've been trying to expand but it's tough.  The car is sold with a tidy profit, which I can put away, but my ebay sales continue to slip.  I need to find other effective selling platforms because Ebay's throttling and hidden selling limits are a real problem.

[brianc3784]

Now today my sales started going back up to normal. And last night I called eBay to see if something was wrong with my account. This can't be a coincidence that I get a sales spike the day after I talk to eBay.

[papyruspapillo]

No, it is not a coincidence.

[keziak]

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@rixstuff wrote:

It appears that most of your stuff is pre-owned so there would be a drop in sales as buyers focus on new items for gifts.

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I have the same sense. A friend doesn't sell here much but has been enjoying a major increase in sales on AZ. She's been  listing new books and while I have some new, mostly I have used books. I think it makes a difference.

[papyruspapillo]

Welcome to the new ebay.

[booox2]

Has anyone bounced back from the slump yet?  My sales are down 49% period over period. Horrible.  I stumbled upon this thread and was sadly relieved to see I wasn't the only one.  I had attributed my slump to 3 negative feedbacks in one week--typical buyer problems as everyone complains about--but I had problems even prior to that.  I am now barely getting 2 orders a day compared to 20 or more some days just a few months ago.  I have done the same thing as others here, used markdown manager, changed listing key words and descriptions. Anyone have any other advice?

I'm struggling...........

Thanks

[myoasisjewels]

my sales in january are even worse than they were in december. i have tried everything and nothing seems to help....

[brianc3784]

My sales are down 31% from last month. In november I had a monthly total over $2K, now I'm just hovering right above $1K, I hope it doesn't drop below that. January has been a very slow month for me. I had 0 sales on Sunday, sold a few Mon-Wed and yesterday I had another 0. And so far nothing today, hope today is better.

[mksports03]

Spotty sales here, no sales in 3 days and views way down, the after xmas slowdown should be over, better pick up soon or we will look elsewhere to sell.