Very Slow Sales November 2019

[rapidresol]

We have been selling on Ebay for 15+ years now, but since March sales have struggled.  Ebay seemed to make changes to the search engine meaning items we had sold hundreds of units of were no longer selling.  They became almost invisible. 

Today we only had 8 sales on EBay.  A few years ago we were averaging 50 a day.  

I would be interested to hear how other sellers are doing at the moment?  I am extremely worried about the way things seem to be going!

[monstertoybox]

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@uncseniorsportsfan wrote:

Well, now that November has ended I have tallied my stats for the month - down 46% from November 2018 even though this was my best month for total number of sales over four accounts.since February 2019.    This account which normally accounts for half of my November sales accounted for 18% this year.    Will probably finally lose my TRS status.    

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So sorry to hear that. I'm right there with you with that sales number, but not to brag or anything but I'm 67% down. But, I know it's really no joke and just flat out sad. It has picked up and I have a good sale going tomorrow, so hopefully it will help that number a little more. All we can do is remain hopeful, because we have no control over anything else. Good luck in December!

[membersinceaug2001]

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@punkiesplayhousellc wrote:
I’ve been gone for a month. Best decision ever! Smart people have already left or do leave soon. This is not ebay as we knew it. It’s easy for the cheerleaders to come in here and say they sell 50 items a day and everyone who don’t has no clue what they’re doing 🙄 Don’t make it true. I come here for entertainment now. (Sorry, not trying to be amused by others pain but at what point do you realize that this is not a viable selling platform anymore and go elsewhere). Can’t blame ebay. People keep paying them for store subscriptions for absolutely nothing. They have no need to change

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That is insulting.

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Yes it is insulting, but sadly it's true. 

I see so many come on here believing the hype that a "store" is some magical thing when it's nothing more than a list of your stuff for sale.  Apparently most don't know you can get more free listings every month if you don't have a store.  No fees until items sell.

[mam98031]

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@uncseniorsportsfan wrote:

I check it every month - if December 2019 is no better than November 2019 - I'll probably be below the sales threshhold.  December 2018 was my best month out of the last 12 by far.   

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You really should check it more often than that.  Weekly is a good idea.  Sometimes, especially on the late deliveries, they are incorrect.  Ebay likes timely responses to getting them the proof they are incorrect and then you can get them removed before they affect your evals.  But there is other information there as well and you always want to make sure it is correct.

[mam98031]

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@membersinceaug2001 wrote:

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@mam98031 wrote:

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@punkiesplayhousellc wrote:
I’ve been gone for a month. Best decision ever! Smart people have already left or do leave soon. This is not ebay as we knew it. It’s easy for the cheerleaders to come in here and say they sell 50 items a day and everyone who don’t has no clue what they’re doing 🙄 Don’t make it true. I come here for entertainment now. (Sorry, not trying to be amused by others pain but at what point do you realize that this is not a viable selling platform anymore and go elsewhere). Can’t blame ebay. People keep paying them for store subscriptions for absolutely nothing. They have no need to change

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That is insulting.

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Yes it is insulting, but sadly it's true. 

I see so many come on here believing the hype that a "store" is some magical thing when it's nothing more than a list of your stuff for sale.  Apparently most don't know you can get more free listings every month if you don't have a store.  No fees until items sell.

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@membersinceaug2001 

Because it is your opinion does not make it true.  It simply means it is your opinion.  One you are entitled to have but it doesn't make it a fact.  Certainly makes it rude, but still not a fact.

There are sellers that want to list more than 50 items a month.  And most sellers that come to the threads are aware of the 50 free listing that a seller can access if they don't have a store.  But with that said, micro sellers or casual sellers, sellers that only sell within the 50 free listing per month are not what most sellers do.

Having a store the right size for your little business has several benefits that can help a seller save money beyond what the appropriate store level costs them every month.  Sellers that run more than 50 listing per month would end up spending a great deal more money by not having a store than by having on.  Of course your sales has to warrant this is something that you do.

[vickyaa]

They are definitely lying as all of us here are proof. 

[laurabeardsley]

It is SOOO discouraging to sell here now. Sales have slowed to a halt no matter what I try so I stick to my 50 free a month and only slightly beyond that. To have worked at something as hard as I did for 18 years and to have Ebay discard me like they have ,has made it even worse. I still think if things don't change on this site this company will have severe problems and soon. All it would take is some communication from them and revision of their site so why is there still dead silence???

[jazzywazzyaaron]

No Sales in 5 weeks.Where have all the buyers gone?Think I have some really great stuff at reasonably low prices.I'm retired and used to make a little extra money.I'm seriously thinking of giving up.At this point Ebay is making more than me.Any one want to buy all my inventory at 25% or less of it's value.Started to walk dogs much more enjoyable & profitable.

[myoasisjewels]

instead of advertisement, ebay rather spends time and resources on stupid campaigns like the "share your holiday shipping selfie" contest..... really??? shouldnt they try to get more traffic to this forsaken site, instead of trying to distract sellers with such nonsense like a selfie contest???

[esg-enterprises]

Been selling for 15 years, 7 or so full time, November worst sales month, and my previous worst was 3 months ago.

I am expanding to other platforms, I keep thinking ebay can't totally fail for most of us, but at this point I just don't know.....  

[vickyaa]

What sites do you suggest any ideas?  Because this is crazy now....It's just DEAD!

[esg-enterprises]

Nothing that everyone doesn’t already know about, but they have only been mildly successful for me, nothing like ebay used to be. 

[aliceinabundanceland]

I sold 10+ items on Facebook Mstketplace locally in the last 48 hours. This is better than I have EVER done here. Plus, no fees, no shipping, cash in hand. I can actually lower my prices and still make a profit. I am seriously considering changing my business model to local. 

Sure, there are lots of flaky people, but still, this is working.

[mam98031]

I'm very glad you found a method in which is working for you even though you haven't done it for long.  So over time I hope your sales stay good, but you need to keep in mind that it may not.  And if you are shipping the items, then you have to take your time to go meet these people or bring strangers to your home. 

I think there are sellers, such as myself that don't want to be messing with that.  But again, if it is working for you I think that is absolutely wonderful.

Sure, there are lots of flaky people, but still, this is working.

Till it isn't.

[yuzuha]

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@vintagestately wrote:

 Tides have changed, and with Millennials being the largest percent of buyers it will only get worse for vintage and collectible sellers.    They can’t relate to those items, don’t like clutter and things collecting dust, they don’t want the junk. New and shiny, latest gadget and their eyes will bug out. 

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This is the part that a lot of sellers seem to be steadfastly sticking their heads in the sand about.  I see sellers here complaining about a lack of sales, and when I go to look at what they're selling... it's nice stuff, but it isn't stuff that younger buyers want, so they've effectively limited their own sales by only appealing to a certain (older) age group.  That isn't something that can be blamed on eBay, that's just a shift in consumer demographics.  I work B&M retail in a chain department store and the VAST majority of our customers are under 50.  Sellers need to be appealing to those demographics if they want to see consistent/increased sales.

[aliceinabundanceland]

Marketplace  is definitely not what I wanted to do lol!

I really wanted to make this ebay thing work. My husband and I had a store about 13 years ago, that was totally different (CD/DVD store) and we just could not compete with the "big boys." It was kind of a disaster. Once we discovered the one thing we loathed to do (drop ship) was what everyone else was doing, it was too late and we were out of $$.

Mine is different though, the old treasure hunt and resell, but Good Lord! I'm dying over here. I had to do something.  If it weren't for FB, I would have to go back to work right now, so I'm very pleased in the short term.

I live in a large metropolitan area, with lots of meeting places and tons of "towns" , so I do feel I have a huge advantage there as opposed to sellers living in rural areas. 

So, it's this and others for now, have had some small success with Mercari and Letgo.