So who else is weighing to stay or to go?

[purple-rain-store]

Just curious how many other's are weighing between staying or who else is already working thru getting everything they have on hand not listed to get listed to get rid of what they have left and to be done with selling here or reselling in general? At this point with how sales have been looking, it doesn't make much sense to continue sourcing for any further items to sell, "at least for me that is." I'm seeing at least with Pre Owned clothing even across multiple platforms that there just isn't enough people buying like they have in the past. I'm thinking since people are seeing on YT that you can get your own stuff for dirt cheap at Outlets and Thrifts they are having their own fun going & treasure hunting on their own and most likely making money doing haul video's on YT, given that I'm seeing more and more of them on YT (youtube). So did the reselling YT"s shoot their selves in the foot and in the process ruin it for the rest of us? I mean in the last couple years I've seen several YT/resellers totally stop selling preowned clothing and now doing hard goods (liquidation lots). But I also can't help thinking that they are going to ruin that for themselves as well because they are also vlogging about that as well now. I guess they don't care because they mention enough times they have their multiple streams of income to fall back on, whether it's YT views (adsense), affiliate links, Mentor programs, Amazon Books or what have you. Nice for them that have the resources to do that and the free time, unlike some of us who are lucky enough to have the time to source, prep items and get them listed. I know, I know they say there is enough room for everybody, at least that's what I'm hearing some of them say, but the more and more that come to reselling, IMO, floods the market , increases competition and then the race to the bottom gets worse and happens almost overnight it seems. Of course the question remains how many of them will last?     

[tunicaslot]

Not sure that you'll hear from many that have made the decision to close up and leave here as some sellers are leery that saying anything negative about Ebay will hurt their listings even more.

I know that not only do I use other platforms but I've also started to add other items which I would have never considered before.

I do think you have a point about the YT sellers. Despite calling out other reseller in the past for charging for information - I now see those same individuals holding paid for work shops, inclusive groups - for a fee, shop reviews - for a fee and information BOLOs for a fee. I've also seen many who sell mostly preowned items now start doing retail arbitrage as their stores aren't doing as well. There are still a few who are transparent and show you their numbers - but others give you high sell list figures and the items end up being sold as BOs.

When sellers give their secrets away - they have to look for new items that not everyone is sourcing. Those that buy much of the preowned clothing are finding the joy of walking into a thrift shop themselves and finding a rare find to wear. Many more are doing their own shopping rather than buying on the net.

Selling is not as easy as it looks and why I feel that we have just as many sellers unconcerned with customer satisfaction as we have PITA or scamming buyers.

[sextons-sweet-deals]

I'm riding the storm out.

Sales have picked up and hoping it is a combination of some fixes on behalf of eBay and of course the Holiday season.  eBay has also been doing some TV and radio advertising.

It has been a rough year compared to last year.  It was a wild ride after the GTC went into effect and some of the other changes.

[datemike1]

Just my 2 cents...

After a horrendous October and November, I added a few of my listings to Etsy for the first time about a week ago.  I've been hesitant to do so only because managing inventory between two selling platforms seems impossible, but sales were so bad (November 2019 sales were 1/4th what they were in Nov 2018) in November I decided to list I think 6 listings on Etsy.  So having a shop on Etsy for a little over one week, today my sales were:

eBay  -  2 Sales

Etsy   -  8 Sales

(Edit- I just looked up Dec 1, 2018 sales on eBay, 12 sales last year today, 2 today...  pathetic...)

Sorry, but having an Etsy shop after only a week, I shouldn't be outselling an established account here on eBay.  There is something very wrong going on here.  My metrics are almost identical to last year (Click thru, sales conversion, etc...) but my listing impressions are half what they were last year.  Which tells me there just aren't as many people on eBay as there were last year.  

I'm going to ride out December but if traffic continues as it has on eBay, i'll be closing my store down and moving full time to Etsy, not only because much better traffic and results, but Etsy fees are half what eBay fees are AND their interface is so much nicer than eBay's, esp the traffic metrics, you know exactly what people search to eventually land on your listings, and the metrics are at most 6 hours old...  There are too many positives I see from Etsy that I just don't see from eBay.

[mementomoria]

Thanks for sharing your Etsy story. Hope the good luck continues there and things pick up here.

[the*dog*ate*my*tablecloth]

Just keep in mind that they are new listings on Etsy and possibly old stale listings on Ebay.

I hate Etsy search so much I rarely shop there any more for vintage collectibles.

[gwzcomps]

I will be transitioning away from eBay beginning of next year. Gonna start doing B&M and try some of the other sites. Unless they do something radical I am so done and sick and tired of eBay. I am having more fun cleaning my shop in the freezing cold than posting several listings a day like I have been doing for years. Normally I avoid the shop in the winter to list more items since I don't have heat at the shop. From the research and planning I have been doing once I transition away from eBay I should be able to make better money. Might even have money to keep my shop above 40 ☃️

[esg-enterprises]

I have over 7K listings on ebay, my wife has about 50 on Mercari, and while her revenue is nowhere near mine, she still has sales pretty much daily, while lately I might only have one or none a couple days a month.

It just seems like a perfect storm working against ebay right now, very frustrating, wish someone had the answers.

[southern*sweet*tea]

I  listed on multiple venues for over a decade - Ebay, Amazon, Etsy, Bonanza, Mercari, Ecrater, and  iOffer to name a few. Thinned them out to Ebay, Amazon, Etsy and Mercari. As of early last year I decided I was wasting my time everywhere else, and now I only list here.  This is the only place my stuff sells with regularity.  I'll be here until Ebay dies or they throw me off, whichever comes first.

If I wanted to actually build my own business, I'd have my own website. I actually did have my own website for three years. Lots of hard work, time consuming and never made a sale. That was in the mid 2000s though, and I understand website building is a lot easier now, but at this point in my life I just don't have the time to get another one started.

Of course, I sell old cookbooks, recipe booklets and other old paper items. My buyers are totally different than buyers who buy things like clothing or electronics, or anything new and trendy.  If I sold those types of items I'd probably have a little different opinion and do things a little differently.

So Ebay it is. I just roll with whatever they throw out there no matter how ridiculous I think it is. I have to if I want to sell this stuff, and I do. I enjoy it very much, and I have some really great buyers who appreciate what I have offered. I have a lot of flexibility and so far have found it very easy to adapt.

Everyone needs to make their own decision no matter what anyone else does. At the end of the day the only things that matter are your peace of mind and your pocketbook.

[keziak]

I see this all the time in my area, books. There are always many new faces at local library booksales including whole families. They almost certainly have seen Youtube videos about how easy it is to sell books online. They have no expertise in books, they just plod along scanning one book at a time. By sheer numbers they find stuff but dealers with experience CHOOSE which books to scan, not scan every **bleep** book out there.  However the crowds certainly do offer massive competition. The sales are only so big and have only so many saleable books. More people all the time competing for the same number of books and the same number of buyers.

[esg-enterprises]

Be honest that's kinda where I'm at, think about my own website, but many I know who have them seem to get no visibility.

I am just trying to weather the storm hoping they can turn things around.

[gwzcomps]

You can get visibility through social media, and putting business cards in your packages.

[alouetta725]

I've been working my way out since October. Closed the shop, cancelled all the GTC's and now I'm liquidating ebay stock through lots that I'm putting on auction. I'm only doing the 50 free a month . Even when ebay sends me 500 more free! Items that did not sell on ebay are being moved over to my etsy shop. Sales there have been steady.  Since I made this decision I am so much less stressed. I will be glad when it's over. I have no idea of what ebay did or has done. I just know this does not work for me anymore.

[purple-rain-store]

Not even one of those Infra Red Heater? We have one in each room going right now in a 1980 sq ft home and they are keep us at 70. We are waiting on a pressure switch from Amana to get delivered for Aire Serv to fix are 2 1/2 yr old Hvac Amana Unit.

[purple-rain-store]

Mercari, not so great for me due to not having a Fedex drop location. So stuck with setting shipping with USPS for 1-3 lbs items at the $11.00. So many people messaging me complaining about the shipping cost there. Here I've been ending more Pre owned stuff due to it selling on Posh. Only occasionally do I sell anything Preowned here. Honestly feel like you have to almost give something away here to sell something. Sure has changed dramatically in the last couple years.