eBay

ony_chine · ‎10-22-2021

I am beginning to think a lot is not well in this platform, what can eBay explain to me for no sales for a whole week? I remember how eBay marketed her managed platform to be one of the best things in the whole world. It is very clear I am yet to experience the best of managed payment. There is nothing best here if I am not selling or I am picking crumps under the table when I got the capacity to eat nice meal. If eBay don't want sellers to be selling individual items, let them inform us. We can all go to China and be importing whatever we see there. Please let no one reply that the poster is complaining, I find that very disrespectful when I am saying facts and an ignorant seller or a clout chaser is saying that I am complaining. So if something is not going right I should keep quiet and be saying "All is Well". Any day eBay starts performing, I will be the first to say it and make it loud.

ony_chine · ‎10-24-2021

I don't know much about selling books but I can share some of my general knowledge and creativity in selling. Like other sellers mentioned, I think one of major challenges that eBay got is making too many swift changes to her platform. I know that they are trying to reposition the brand to make it more viable but they don't do due diligence to understand how it affects the sellers on the platform. eBay sellers are eBay buyers, if life on eBay is difficult for the sellers, they wont buy because they don't have the funds.

Another challenge eBay is having is that more people had discovered the opportunities in hosting sellers online during the pandemic. So almost every Social media platform is encouraging their subscribers to start selling. So there is more competition as per hosting sellers. Physical stores have also started hosting seller e.g. Walmart.

My suggestion is for you to stick to known principles of selling, create other avenues of selling books, sell in other platforms, sell on social media platforms. Create a book review group on Facebook and WhatsApp. A Book review Group will be more viable than a Page. A book review group will attract more readers of books who are also potential buyers. You wanna start by reviewing popular books from various works of life. Go to google and search trending books, those are the ones you want to be reviewing in your Book Review Group. You don't need to be selling the book you are reviewing, you just trying to add value to people while creating traffic for your sales. Invite every member of the group to post their Book Reviews. Hash tag all your selling platforms links on all the posts on your Facebook group . For example , search your eBay store on google, copy the link and hash tag it on all posts. Also hash tag the link to your items on sale on Facebook market place. I forgot to mention that a book review can be a short write up with the picture of the book/attractive Image or a short video on the book, make sure your video is not less than 3 minutes on Facebook. If you can make videos consider having a YouTube channel and a Tiktok account. You can also pin all the reviews on your Book Review Group on Pinterest. I believe your sales will rise significantly with this, I hope this helps you in any way, good luck

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sakic92710 · ‎10-22-2021

The site is failing miserably for many. I've had better weeks where my total was $200-300 higher than my sales over the last 4 weeks! This isn't the normal "ebb & flow" of selling. This is a tsunami sucking the water away from the shore & it never returning! lol Depressing, frustrating, discouraging, annoying & stressful. My only savior this week was FB. $360 in sales there & no fees! Good luck to us all. 🙂

katzrul15 · ‎10-22-2021

@ony_chine

I don't even know what to type to these type of questions any more.

For us, it has been stressful and our sales - just hit a wall and it is bad.

Others report, "no change". Many threads on here, just like my experience and yours.

I am so disillusioned that I really am out of ideas. Spent 6.5 hours today waiting for a PL campaign that ended to allow me access to the items again to start another campaign.

I have run out of words to describe how frustratingly absurd this is. (and DH got laid off again tonight from his temp automaker assembly job as there are no parts. Parts just floating out off the coast, but certainly not being off-loaded and trucked to the midwest auto plants).

....... "The Ranger isn't gonna like it Yogi"......... Boo-Boo knew what he was talking about!

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dbfolks166mt · ‎10-22-2021

It's not just you a lot of sellers have been noticing a slow down in sales depending on what product they are selling. Rising shipping costs, and the addition of sales tax has leveled the playing field between eBay and B&M stores. In addition there was a huge explosion in the ecommerce industry that was caused by the pandemic. Wall Street predicted that post pandemic it was going to be difficult for ecommerce businesses to hold and maintain a significant market presence as the economy began to open back up.

People are beginning to return to the B&M stores where they can physically look at an item prior to purchase, in the case of clothing try it on, don't have to worry about shipping issues, returning items and can buy and take the item with them. There is also the looming inflation issue which is cutting into people's disposable income, people are still spending they are just getting less and less for their dollars.

chapeau-noir · ‎10-22-2021

I'm doing OK elsewhere, I'm just having problems sourcing season-appropriate stuff to list here. If I list, I get sales, but listing has been tough. Plus USPS charges are at last starting to price me out of the market - I managed for years but we're looking at shrinking prices online and accelerating COG which is really reducing margin.

@katzrul15 I hope your DH gets back on the job, soon - the supply chains have been really disrupted.

“The illegal we do immediately, the unconstitutional takes a little longer.” - Henry Kissinger

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reallyhardtofind · ‎10-22-2021

Ebay has finally chased away the buyers. The constant changes on this site have been exhausting mainly for sellers but this update affected buyers in a big way and they are now shopping elsewhere. I've made record sales on my website and no sale here. Ebay is clueless and 4th quarter changes have finally come back and bit them on the backside.

ony_chine · ‎10-22-2021

I think more people buy things online now, the only difference is that almost every social media platform have started selling. The physical stores had intensified efforts to sell online, some are closing some of their outlets to concentrate on online transactions. More online stores are springing up, Walmart online sales is no longer a news. But eBay has leverage over most of those platforms in terms of sales, I just feel eBay is not properly utilizing her capacity. If eBay wants the platform to be a Win-Win for her and her sellers, it requires some work, long term planning and specific direction, but it seems eBay is trying to follow other platform's models and that's why eBay keeps on having swift changes . Those sharp changes affect individual sales on eBay. eBay wont feel it because they have many subscribers.

ony_chine · ‎10-22-2021

I think its a wise idea to sell on other platform instead of concentrating only on eBay.

fashunu4eeuh · ‎10-22-2021

Not to split hairs here, but I see you went without a sale for 4 days, not a week. But otherwise, you seem to have fairly consistent sales, tho only one or two a day. That is great considering you are selling primarily pre-owned shoes, which must be pretty difficult given the saturation of the category, and the time of year when folks are gearing up to buy gifts. And your price points are decent, you don't seem to be "fire-saling" them. Your listings are excellent, great pics, which helps I'm sure. Though you do not offer returns, and that could be costing you some sales.

I agree with your position regarding eBay in your #7 post. There is seemingly a lack of long term planning, and they don't seem to know who they are, which may be why they try to pattern themselves on other sites. And competition is getting steeper and steeper. In addition, there is no consistent corporate message and a lack of advertising for the platform. Ebay does little in the way of marketing, and has actively done away with successful promotions such as eBay Bucks. My sales have been down since May, but I know that is primarily due to my having removed many listings without replacing them until now. However, overall, I see this downturn as temporary.

coolections · ‎10-22-2021

I can explain. Some of your used shoes look dirty. Most of your used shoes are priced at the price people can pay for new at a store.

downunder-61 · ‎10-23-2021

A week ????

You are one of the more fortunate one's it would seem 😊

This place has been tumbleweed-town for a very long time............

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downunder-61 · ‎10-23-2021

@sakic92710 wrote:
The site is failing miserably for many. I've had better weeks where my total was $200-300 higher than my sales over the last 4 weeks! This isn't the normal "ebb & flow" of selling. This is a tsunami sucking the water away from the shore & it never returning! lol Depressing, frustrating, discouraging, annoying & stressful. My only savior this week was FB. $360 in sales there & no fees! Good luck to us all. 🙂

Wish those waves would show up on our shores over here LOL

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dbfolks166mt · ‎10-23-2021

I would agree that more people are, or were, buying online and part of that move was fueled by the pandemic. My sales were significantly higher during the pandemic and the B&M stores in my area were like ghost towns for a long time. However, with the lifting of some of the COVID restrictions, vaccinations and people just being cooped up for so long that has started to shift a little. There are still a lot of online buyers and sales taking place but the competition has increased.

As for the B&M stores I am not sure about your area but most of the stores in my area are returning to the pre pandemic levels of shopping traffic. Increased costs (shipping, sales tax.....) have also caused the ecommerce market to have less of an advantage over B&M stores. Generally I can find commodity items cheaper and get it quicker at at B&M store than I can online. However I am fortunate that I live in an area where about every major retailer is within 1-2 miles of me. The biggest problem the B&M stores are having is keeping some items in stock due to the current supply chain problems.

soh.maryl · ‎10-23-2021

Can you further explain how "this update affected buyers in a big way"?

I can see how some changes could have been upsetting for sellers, but how have they affected buyers?

powell-memorabilia · ‎10-23-2021

@ony_chine

You are complaining that eBay isn’t performing well? eBay is a facilitator - your performance is what counts. They set up a website, set the rules, and let you and the market dictate sales and profits.

No, that doesn’t mean “all is well” for all sellers. But, the solutions lie with individual sellers. Shaking your fist at the sky will NEVER improve your situation.