eBay sales down to 64% this past 30 days

[hrmretrochic]

Hey Folks, 

I just started selling clothes late last year, before that I had been selling my own stuff here and there etc. I focus and buy either new with tags, new without tags or just excellent condition that look pretty much new. Until last month, sales were great. I would think adding more inventory would do better for me but my sales have pretty much stopped. I'm selling high-end clothing most new with tags, some is without tags but still new, all the other stuff I'm selling only because I want to have something for everyone and have more items to list. 

My prices are high because my stuff is new so the cost to get it is more, it's still up to 70% discount.  My traffic has gone up but conversion and sales have dropped immensely. 

At first, it seemed like every other day my views and watchers were being reset, I kept calling eBay and they did say a couple of weeks ago that other sellers have reported and it would be fixed in 48 hours but my sales still haven't picked up like before. 

Any pointers here?

[hartungcards]

I have a pointer.  When a CS rep says, " other sellers have reported this and it will be fixed in 48 hours,"  just give up because that's when you know you're being read to from a script.

[hrmretrochic]

Oh no, does that mean something?. I've checked my account and I'm "Above Standard", I don't know if everything I have could be bad buys. I've sold similar items and brands just fine before, I know I'm a new seller and listings not into 1000's but it makes no sense that nothing I have would sell for weeks. Does the scripted reply mean anything?

[chapeau-noir]

@hrmretrochic  Looking through your offerings, I see an awful lot of fall/winter, which is probably why your sales are falling off.  You need more summer/warm weather items.

[hrmretrochic]

@chapeau-noir

Thanks! Yeah, I realize that and I guess I'm just not a summer person myself and had issues with sourcing the right things. I guess I'll just have to keep on listing and hopefully the summer stuff sells. There are still a lot of summer items that are not selling, that's a concern like shorts, tank tops, dresses etc. I guess I better keep on listing and get more summer stuff posted. 

[hrmretrochic]

What's worse is a lot of sellers are going on social media announcing how they sourced for super less and selling high. Most customers now think, everything is sourced super cheap which isn't true. I don't source from places that I don't think are clean, that's just my issue. 

[new_spin_boutique]

When did you drop to above standard? There is a dramatic visibility decrease that comes with not being top rated. Also, there is definitely some site issues going on and if it's not because you dropped to below standard then it may have something to do with the site issues. 

[hrmretrochic]

I totally get it, I've never been top rated because I've totally stop selling multiple times so even though I've sold many items, it's never been 100 in a year lol. At first, I didn't really have that many items listed but as I got serious with the clothing I kept adding more and more. I should be top rated soon, my sales are way above $3000 but my item count is still less than 100 for this year but I'm very close and would've gotten to top rated had my sales not slowed down. I get it, I'll keep on listing and see if I can get some stuff out for cheaper to reach the top rated. 

[new_spin_boutique]

That's a good idea. I wasn't sure if you were top rated and your drop in sales coincided with you losing top rated, as that would definitely cause a large drop in traffic and sales volume. Over the past month or so the site has been very wonky which I believe is what's causing your slump in sales, but it's hard to say. Just keep sourcing good items with high sell-through and you'll be fine. If you have the storage, then don't avoid cold weather items as in a few months those will start moving, too. Anything with demand, if priced right, will sell no matter if it's off-season or not. Good luck!

[wheredidiputthatremote]

Summer, economy is shaky, and interest rates aren't friendly to anyone at the moment. I feel your pain, the first couple weeks of June were rough.

[adrguti_1668]

same issue this past month as well

[adrguti_1668]

having standards is not an issue but in this world where you have to be without morals to succeed it makes it very hard for us who wont be scumbags to make a sheckel 

[chapeau-noir]

@hrmretrochic  I haven't found being above standard versus top rated to make any difference in my sales. I used to drop to above standard every year when I closed shop and took the summer off - I wouldn't even know that I was at top rated again until I'd notice it one day - it made no difference to my sales.

Going *below* standard is another story and probably will affect visibility, particularly in a crowded market like ours.

But yes, consistency is key - just keep listing.  Summer has been a slow season since I've been selling here (years - one reason I used to just take summer off, but I need to get these things moved out of here so here I am).

[fashunu4eeuh]

This is the summer slump. Sales will pick up again around back-to-school time and then we’ll be into the holidays selling season. Hang in there!

[rugerskick]

Clothes are a very competitive category online here.  One of the more cutthroat categories, as you know.  Thats impacting you as well.