Slow Sales?

[mksports03]

Sales down, views down, interactions down.  Anybody else experiencing slow sales, views? Due to Capitol insurgence? Would love to hear from some of you.  Thanks and stay safe.

[strugglinlikeyou]

Slow Sales?

I have no way of knowing, but here is my point of view: I have only 61 active auctions and have been selling here for just one year. I  sold just one item last week, but I didn't list anything new the previous week.

But I do know there are shoppers out there. I run seven day auctions, ending on Friday. By Sunday it is obvious which items buyers are interested in.

I hunt diligently for unusual items and then I research them before I list them. If I it turns out I bought a stinker I sell it locally or donate.

I do depend on reselling to help make ends meet. However, I do not go to all the trouble of listing items that will not sell for a reasonable profit.

Apologies offered in advance to anyone who may be offended by my response. 

[yuzuha]

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@Anonymous wrote:

If that's the case, then all you've stated has been going on for awhile now. Here's something that happened to me a couple of years ago, I had a Disney Christmas ornament and decided to sell it the first of December that year. No sale on it art all. In January the next year, I posted it. It sold in a couple of days. That makes NO SENSE AT ALL.

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That's actually totally normal. I sell just as much or more Christmas stuff immediately after Christmas (and into February) as I do in December.

[selsa84]

Just the ebb and flows of Ebay my friend.

[barefootdreamer]

I have been slow on all platforms too but I have been selling on ebay for 9 years and I have never been this slow. I have over 900 listings and ended about 250 recently. I am resisting those a few at a time. I am also listing like 4 times a week. I know I should do more but don't have the time right now, but even with this amount of work from me in the past, I still saw a minimum of 2 -3 sales a day but these last 3-4 weeks I am getting 2-4 sales a week. The last 2 weekly deposits from eBay have been less than $50. This is seriously scary.  I am thinking there are way more sellers now with the pandemic and people losing jobs but seriously. I am starting to really worry. 

[barefootdreamer]

Yes everything over last 3 years that eBay has changed their item specifics, I have gone in to add what is missing and it is info that was already on the listing, but was taken out of the specific box. Such a pain in the butt.  The programmers for ebay are horrible and whoever is in charge that keeps making the decision to fix what is not broken...well it is a good thing people don't know who they really are. EBay definitely makes life tougher these days. And that is why other platforms are springing up all the time and doing well. 

[barefootdreamer]

I am not a big conspiracy theorist but when it comes to eBay, I have to stop myself.  The platform is sometimes and more often nowadays, not seller friendly in use and in bringing sales.

[grandmasjewelry123]

I think there are a few problems here. I can't control covid-19, the economy, etc, but there are some things that ebay has done that have not helped sales.

First my sales went to half in Dec and then half of that in Jan to half of that in Feb.

Nothing changed. My prices stayed the same and traffic increased according to their traffic reports.

Ebay changed managed payments, which means less money is in PayPal accounts. Impulse purchases are impacted. I don't buy because the money isn't there in PayPal and by the time I reach for the debit card, I realize hey I don't really need this. Others probably the same.

Ebay has a pathetic computer system. There are items tracked and shipped and ebay shows it needs to be shipped. Say what?

I asked a friend to go to my ebay store from his phone. He was directed to a store with my keywords who is in China. Another hit a blank page when they hit my store.

Finally, ebay frequently has a note, its not you, its us. Really? Why am I paying ebay when its there technical support.

Ebay needs to fix these technical issues. I am not a techie. I can't give them any advice there.

[lindyslucky]

Just to note, we are very small sellers.

When covid started, sales went up!!

Got into a listing mood in December. We doubled what we had listed. 

Sold that much and more, including several things listed for a year or more.

We do take things down & let them "rest" & then put back up.

It does help.

And sometimes I raise the price and promote big.

In the end, some stuff sells pretty quickly, others just don't capture the imagination, I guess.

And while these things are "luxury" items, a $9 pin can be a small treat. 

Our sales have remained really steady.

Right now slowed down a bit,  need to get fresh items up.

We have been a bit confused about the whole thing.

Our items right now are low dollar.

Buyers just love low dollar things.

However, shipping on many things is more than the item itself.

Leaving us with not much $$ for the work.

Another thing... we have sold more local pickup in the last few weeks than ever before.

Buyers request. 

Its a hassle, but with Covid & awful weather, we are home anyway.

Thinking that these local pickup sites are affecting buyers behavior.

Buyers are seeing they can drive & save $8 on shipping.

To some, that's worth a drive.

[thetechgenie1]

Me to and is odd. I believe it the new managed payment system. As with PayPal most just used funds to buy other items. Now direct to bank account and having to wait a few day to transfer funds is killing sales, which I suspect was going to happen?

[thetechgenie1]

Yep this is exactly what killing sales. It likely going to kill eBay off as well. I literally have not sold a thing in a week on my old, or new account. Usually selling something every couple of days. It took a drastic hit. Managed payment system is a huge mistake. The high up are clueless to the fact most sellers are buyers as well and most will likely spend funds when available in PayPal instead of waiting to transfer funds and funds be immediately available make impulse buyers spend more on eBay.  By doing direct transfer to bank and no means to spend funds directly kills sales. This will likely end eBay as now other alternatives people can seek out. 

I saw this coming unfortunately yet the overpaid  executives didn't think this though, or figured that people will get use to it. The problem is most eBay buyer are sellers and most seller are more likely to spend balance in PayPal, then funds from bank account? This managed payment system literally will put them out of business, unless they reverse and put PayPal back as payment processor as option soon, before it is to late. You don't make changes that compromises the whole foundation and what made eBay in the first place. I hate PayPal, but it what kept buyers using eBay and to impulse buy. 

[59parts]

Same here - very good January, not bad first week of February and then, as you said, everything fell off a cliff. No sales at all, no interaction, no questions, no offers. 

[wellhewa-0]

Yes, you're right, sales are slower than in the past. I still can not find the reason for this. I sell clothes.

[nilis13]

I've been an Ebay seller for years.  This is the 1st Monday where I have no orders to ship.  Yes, Covid, etc... etc.... but I think there's more to it.  Changes, updates, etc.  have affected my impressions, traffic.  I have reached out to Ebay and they assure there's nothing wrong?  Yet, I've read on here that others are having the same issues with impressions.  

[books_unlimited_kk43]

Just to let you all know, I am also experiencing lack of sales in Australia. I'm a small eBayPlus seller, mainly selling books and small office items and the odd refurbished PC's. In January I had a total of 6 book sales and in February up to 02.23.2021, zero sales.

I am not sure if phasing out of PayPal with eBay is a contributing effect as PayPal is still available as a payment to year 2023 in Australia. In addition, credit or debit cards, Visa, Master Card, American Express, Google Pay, Apple Pay and Afterpay are all available.

The epidermic is largely under control in Australia, so I don't think that is a contributing factor and vehicle and home sales are booming. During the start of this year, there has been a additional 900,000 unemployed people added to the unemployment list and this may be having an effect.

Whatever the reason, I have been a active eBay member for 12 years and I have never seen sales so low.

[genv]

ALSO... Shipping Rates, WAY UP... FEES are UP... All that makes stuff MORE costly to sell/buy...