eBay sales are non-existent!

[digginforgoldtradingpost215]

eBay sales have been slow for a while, but now they have grinded to a screeching halt! With 600-700 items listed, I've maybe sold 5 or 6 items per week over the last few weeks, and those sales were for low dollar items! Has eBay changed something while trying to push people into Promoted Listings? Considering just getting a job, because eBay isn't even paying what a convenience store job would pay these days! I'm just tired of trying to jump through the eBay hoops all of the time! 

[12345jamesstamps]

Sellers and buyers will say it is the economy.

However, most of my sales for a week now are International Buyers where there is a charge for shipping. My domestic shipping is free. I do have my "repeat buyers" who are in the USA thankfully. I kinda feel my items are pushed Internationally and not domestically...eBay does make more from an International Sale than a Domestic Sale from me. I did promote a week ago...6 sold out of 300 at highest rate fees....some at 15%.

Not much left to do except to keep listings more it's.

And if you have only domestic shipping that could be rough.

However, gas for my motorcycle went up again...$6.57 a gallon where I live. LOL

[myfrugalboutique]

I will not disagree. Everything is at an all time low. It isn’t the economy, eBay is broken. 

[caseypl]

Sales were slow in August and then they went high in September. I sell auto parts, so it kind of makes sense... cooler weather in September, more people may work on cars. I would just look at overall averages. And yes, lower sales lately, lower dollar value items, but hard to find items continue to sell fast. Always remember there is another seller who may not value their time as much, may not realize they have to pay taxes, and does not factor in all costs. Just give it more time and it'll all balance out. 

[inhawaii]

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@myfrugalboutique wrote:

I will not disagree. Everything is at an all time low. It isn’t the economy, eBay is broken. 

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Ebay is only broken for those who are experiencing non-existent sales. It's working fine for those experiencing average or above average sales.

[john_wade]

I did fine last October and made a couple of big sales. I have my fingers crossed that going back to school and going to all kinds of outdoor events has something to do with it. Everybody I know is having trouble selling on eBay right now. You're not alone!

[lakefor94]

"but hard to find items continue to sell fast."

I see the same. We all know what our good stuff is. Buyers don't have a problem finding it and it goes fast. Pricing is the key on alot of it. 

During the pandemic I went to retail price on a LOT of items.

Worked well for about 2 years. Not so much anymore. 

As I continue to check pricing on ebay and elsewhere, my items sell better at a discounted price at this time. I have to be competitive. Pricing is a continual process to exist.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Hi, @digginforgoldtradingpost215  I took a look at your listings and see 79 items for sale. With that number, more information could be added without too much trouble in some of the Item Specifics and Descriptions that might spur some sales. I can't speak to what eBay may be doing, but there usually are a few things a seller can do to improve sagging sales.

Take listing #325250127931 for example. Entitled "Dell D10U Optiplex 7040 Micro i7-6700T 128GB SSD 8GB RAM **READ**" None of the Item Specifics are filled in. For everything "N/A" has been inserted. Anyone looking for that item using the usual keywords will likely not see your listing in their Search results. And you are even more hamstrung because selling anything on eBay as Used signifies full operational status, yet you have a disclaimer in that listing noting that the item is untested and may be locked. Who's going to buy that? You'd do better to list it as For Parts/ Not Working, like you have on some other listings. At least then it is less a SNAD waiting to happen. 

And listing medical devices/goods is risky without following policy which can require a medical disclaimer and/or expiration dates. (See policy below.) I am referencing the dental items, like #325788237043 (the impression material). And perhaps the centrifuge, #325738085574.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/prohibited-restricted-items/medicine-medical-devices-healthcare-p...

Noticed that most of your listings state "As Is".  As a protective measure, this offers virtually no security to sellers because the Money Back Guarantee trumps all seller disclaimers. But, having a more buyer-friendly return policy, on the other hand, might afford some help against those who would improperly use the MBG to get free return shipping. Just a thought. 

[beautifulbeauty2012]

I am in the same boat. Once again, you got to have right things for sale to make sales. I am not getting any new inventory, and ebay likes when you list brand new items, not relisting/selling similar. Then right prices. 

Ebay has many competitors nowadays, some platforms offer better shipping rates for buyers (for example, Posh charges $7.97 flat fee for up to 5lb because they negotiated that rate with USPS); if ebay did the same, it would had brought more buyers IMHO.

[bryo_3145]

Google Marginal Utility. New poll 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. 

[chapeau-noir]

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@bryo_3145 wrote:

Google Marginal Utility. New poll 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. 

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That's hardly new - Americans have been over-spending for decades.

[tobaccocardyahoo]

Ebay is not broken.

Although the past three months have not been my best months, they are not bad enough to indicate other than market demand problems.

I have been selling online long enough to have seen economic hard times before, and it looks exactly like past hard times.

[kensgiftshop]

When I'm looking at items and see, no returns, sold as shown, sold as is and there is no description, I hit the back button.

If you want people to buy your stuff, tell them what they are buying.

[isaiah53-57]

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@digginforgoldtradingpost215 wrote:

eBay sales have been slow for a while, but now they have grinded to a screeching halt! With 600-700 items listed, I've maybe sold 5 or 6 items per week over the last few weeks, and those sales were for low dollar items! Has eBay changed something while trying to push people into Promoted Listings? Considering just getting a job, because eBay isn't even paying what a convenience store job would pay these days! I'm just tired of trying to jump through the eBay hoops all of the time! 

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"Considering just getting a job, because eBay isn't even paying what a convenience store job would pay these days! I'm just tired of trying to jump through the eBay hoops all of the time!"

@digginforgoldtradingpost215

OK, so I would ask WHEN did it ever? - In looking at your stats, if you think you came anywhere close to making what you WOULD have made at an average paying job with average benefits, then you desperately need an accountant to show you how far out reality your thinking is - If you account for ALL the hours you spend sourcing, driving, cleaning, testing, sorting, storing, picture-taking, listing, question-answering, packing, shipping, more question answering, dealing with returns, accounting, taxes, etc, etc. I guarantee you, you only made a fraction of what you could have made in those same hours at a normal job - Plus you would likely have HEALTH INSURANCE(cant see how that is even possible for you based on sales), 401K, paid vacation, etc.

Plus, for 9 out of 10 small sellers selling here,  your life would be more simplified, your happiness level would  increase dramatically, you would feel a greater sense of accomplishment, have higher self esteem, be able to plan for things in your life with a steady income, have less stress in "jumping through the hoops" and wondering when the house of cards is gonna come tumbling down, have more REAL human interaction... plus a additional lengthy list of life changing benefits...

It just amazes me when I see people make this comment and I see it often...

[beautifulbeauty2012]

@fashunu4eeuh  I like your analysis, spot on! Can you look at my listings and tell me what you think?