The fault is not in the (eBay’s) stars, but in ourselves.

[richard1rst]

(And by “ourselves” I mean the whole human condition, not any one person individually)

I am constantly amazed at the number of posts that seem to think it is somehow eBay’s doing, alone, that sales suddenly tanked or rose. “Throttling” was the big fad for a while but it seems to have given way to “item specifics”, “1099K”s and “Winter updates”.

eBay does not exist in a vacuum. It may be an identifiable corporation but the buyers and sellers are real people living in a real world. Their buying and selling decisions are influenced by what happens “OUT THERE”, not here.

Their individual decisions are based on whether or not there is the potential for a Russian invasion of Ukraine, or a shortage of goods due to the supply chain, or the threat of an overreaction by the government to a truckers strike, or the loss of a job due to a mask mandate, or being jailed for giving the school board a hard time, or a thousand times thousand other individual events from the international to the mundane.

All of the above, and then some, direct Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand.

There is no identifiable reason (and a pointless quest to seek one out) when a large portion of 7 1/2 Billion people suddenly turn 1 degree “this” way instead of 1 degree “that” way.

You will have as much luck getting an answer to that as asking yourself “why did the guy 6 cars ahead of me suddenly change lanes?”

Some questions are just not answerable.

[slippinjimmy]

Many people have difficulty understanding complex issues, they prefer to think in simple terms which leads to simple conclusions which are rarely correct.

A current example, "It's Biden's fault gas prices are way up" as if it's just a simple thing for one person (even a President) to control the price of gasoline.

[chapeau-noir]

True.

Adam Smith's 'invisible hand' did depend in part on the 18th century concept of 'enlightened self interest' which I think has been subsumed by corporate self-interest, which is often not very enlightened (though neither was the 18th C version of 'enlightened').  Right now they're creating quite an undertow with sky rocketing profits from the pandemic and now inflation.

"We've been very comfortable with our ability to pass on the increases that we've seen at this point," Kroger CFO Gary Millerchip said in October, one of several executives to brag about how much they've been able to jack up prices in 2021."  (Business Insider - and other publications).

T-Gel shampoo is now being scalped online for $65 a bottle because there's an ingredient shortage and the secondary market follows suit.

[richard1rst]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

True.

T-Gel shampoo is now being scalped online for $65 a bottle because there's an ingredient shortage and the secondary market follows suit.

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It is in the enlightened self interest of the scalper to ASK for $65.00.

1)

It is in the enlightened self interest for the potential buyer to say NO and find an alternative.

In time the scalper will get no sales, see the fallacy of his idea,  and drop the price.

2)

People are so desperate for this particular product they will pay any price.

The scalper will make profit and hold his price where it is. Maybe even raise it to test the limit.

***

Either way - The Invisible Hand at work.

[chapeau-noir]

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@richard1rst wrote:

---

@chapeau-noir wrote:

True.

T-Gel shampoo is now being scalped online for $65 a bottle because there's an ingredient shortage and the secondary market follows suit.

---

It is in the enlightened self interest of the scalper to ASK for $65.00.

1)

It is in the enlightened self interest for the potential buyer to say NO and find an alternative.

In time the scalper will get no sales, see the fallacy of his idea,  and drop the price.

2)

People are so desperate for this particular product they will pay any price.

The scalper will make profit and hold his price where it is. Maybe even raise it to test the limit.

***

Either way - The Invisible Hand at work.

---

Well, I was agreeing that it's macro forces that move smaller changes, not vice versa.  Pandemic/inflation opportunism (self-interest) by corporations lead to the same opportunism by smaller operators (self-interest), but just because there's a football game on doesn't mean my sales dumped.

However, Adam Smith mentioned the invisible hand concept only once or twice in his book (IIRC - it has been a long dang time since I read it), while he did report numerous instances where so-called 'natural liberty' doesn't work, either, leading to bubbles (South Sea is a great example, so was the Tulip Craze) and crashes through economic speculation and failed expectations.  The next theory spun off from that was 'general equilibrium', but that that doesn't really work, either.

We're like a lot of little boats bouncing around on what is in fact a stupendously unstable medium, it just usually works mostly. 😥

This is a good topic!

[yuzuha]

It also shows how woefully narrow some people's field of view is.

"Inflation is all Biden's fault" would you like to explain to my friends in Europe and the UK how it's Biden's fault that they have inflation there too?

[casuallyattractive]

@yuzuha Did you even read @slippinjimmy post????

.....................

He said:

A current example, "It's Biden's fault gas prices are way up" as if it's just a simple thing for one person (even a President) to control the price of gasoline.

Not "Inflation is all Biden's fault"

[bbravo65]

@casuallyattractive 

...pointing finger to blame the others is not a solution to solve a problem...FIXING IT UP is the key...

...USA is the biggest consumer, the majority in global economy...when inflation happens in the US, it will eventually affect the surrounding/ the world...

...when we, the USA sneezes, the world will have a runny nose...

[casuallyattractive]

Yes, 100% @yuzuha 

@bbravo65 

[slippinjimmy]

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@casuallyattractive wrote:

@yuzuha Did you even read @slippinjimmy post????

.....................

He said:

A current example, "It's Biden's fault gas prices are way up" as if it's just a simple thing for one person (even a President) to control the price of gasoline.

Not "Inflation is all Biden's fault"

---

Not sure where this is going......I could have used the inflation example except in that case one person (a President) can do something about it (even though the consequences might not be good in the long term).

Always good to have multiple examples, perhaps accidental because I know that @yuzuha skips all my posts (JUST KIDDING!).

In any event we should get back to the subject of critical thinking and leave out the political examples which are inflammatory and could lead to this thread being quarantined over on the [].

[thatbooklady]

OMG this is the first discussion that I fekt compelled to read from start to finish. Thanks for the discussion, refreshing.

[chapeau-noir]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

---

@casuallyattractive wrote:

@yuzuha Did you even read @slippinjimmy post????

.....................

He said:

A current example, "It's Biden's fault gas prices are way up" as if it's just a simple thing for one person (even a President) to control the price of gasoline.

Not "Inflation is all Biden's fault"

---

Not sure where this is going......I could have used the inflation example except in that case one person (a President) can do something about it (even though the consequences might not be good in the long term).

Always good to have multiple examples, perhaps accidental because I know that @yuzuha skips all my posts (JUST KIDDING!).

In any event we should get back to the subject of critical thinking and leave out the political examples which are inflammatory and could lead to this thread being quarantined over on the [].

---

You mean The Dead Horse Society (soapbox)? 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

Yes, factors far beyond our control do indeed influence buyer behavior, and thus our sales.

But I've always felt "Why are my sales down?" is the wrong question to begin with. If your sales are down , the question should be "What can I do to increase my sales?"

Because , frankly, most things ARE beyond our control. Is inflation impacting buyer behavior? Probably. Do I have any real control over inflation? No. Potential for War in the Ukraine? I have zero control over what will happen there. Has ebay changed the fee structure? Ditto. Has ever fickle fashion decreed some of my items are no longer in high demand? Ditto. No control.

BUT.....I do have some control over how I run my business. I can list more (or less), raise or lower prices, I can use social media, I can try different sales channels, I can promote my listings (or not), etc, etc. 

I know this seems counter-intuitive to some people, but in my opinion, I don't really need to know WHY my sales are down. As you say, there may be no clear answer to that question anyway. What I need to do is stop wasting time trying to answer that question, and simply go to the important question: what can I do to increase my sales?

[slippinjimmy]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

---

---

You mean The Dead Horse Society (soapbox)? 

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Yes, lots of quality flogging over there..................................................................................................................................>

[chapeau-noir]

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@slippinjimmy wrote:

---

@chapeau-noir wrote:

---

---

You mean The Dead Horse Society (soapbox)? 

---

Yes, lots of quality flogging over there..................................................................................................................................>

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Ooooo...sometimes the mood strikes me.