eBay

guitarsunderthestarsllc · ‎02-03-2016

I am at a loss.....my sales have completely dropped off a cliff. I am a TOP RATED PLUS seller and recently I often have to search pages and pages deep to even find my listings and sometimes I cannot find them at all. Also items that are selling like hotcakes right now are not even getting views. I have 5 auctions running right now for Nike Huarache 4 LE Lacrosse cleats that when I look at sold listings appear to be selling steadily...yet several of my listings have less than 10 views after being up for several days now. I am not the cheapest or the highest priced on my items...im in the middle. But If you look at my listings like my Nike Huarache Lacrosse shoes listings I beleive my listings are of a pretty high quality and my feedback backs up that quality...so why are my listings getting such low view counts? I thought being "TOP RATED PLUS" meant your listings go to the TOP. Any suggestions. I cant event cover my ebay fees at this sales rate. If this keeps up I will be forced to close my store. I did far more sales BEFORE becoming TOP RATED PLUS than I do now....far more.

Signed......confused, scared and more confused.

My Nike Huarache listing to use as an examle:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nike-Huarache-4-LE-LAX-Leather-Lacrosse-Cleats-Choose-Color-Size-624978-199-...

luckythewinner · ‎02-04-2016

@guitarsunderthestarsllc wrote:

My Nike Huarache listing to use as an examle:

OP,

When I sort the results for "Nike Huarache" by lowest price, yours are exactly where they should be - on page 25 with 600+ cheaper listings above you.

When I search "Nike Huarache Lax" by Best Match, yours start at #40 out of 314. When I search "Nike Huarache Lacrosse" by Best Match, yours start at #50 out of 410.

Two things I did notice:

- a lot of other sellers have free shipping

- a lot of other sellers with common items like shoes sell them at Fixed Price rather than auction

Unlucky

rei-npkrlma · ‎02-04-2016

"We've noted before on other threads, if you do a search on just about anything, there are tons of pages of CHEAP chinese knock offs with companies that have 97% feedback! "

I was looking to buy something the other day and have to concur - China is taking over, literally. I will never, ever understand why anyone or any business etc., would want to under-cut and destroy the small American seller. Just can't make sense out of it, but it's really happening.

It does seem that the Chinese knock-off and speical treatment on mail costs IS having a huge impact on US and UK sellers - and this is getting beyond serious, it's becoming a real crisis IMHO.

From Internet Retailer Magazine - scary stuff for those who understand the magnitude of what this means for US e-Commerce:

Asia—Now the World's Largest and Fastest-Growing E-Commerce Market

Last year, the e-commerce world tilted on its axis, shifting the industry's epicenter from the West to the East. Internet Retailer estimates that roughly half of total 2015 e-commerce sales worldwide were transacted in Asia—and web sales there grew by a third to $850 billion (more than e-commerce in the U.S. and Europe combined).

allstar-comics · ‎02-04-2016

Its election paranoia Happens every four years Its alarming that its happening so early on My sales came to a grinding halt around December 23rd I believe I got some holiday pop that kept November/December good. This January I was down 35% and that is with almost 50% more inventory as I continue to list a ton of item daily. This might be a tough year. I was told tax returns will be rolling out slowly and I think the real reason for that is too give the economy a gradual slower boost over 3 or 4 months rather than the few week pop we usually see.

The result is I will be spending much less till I see a turn around and I spend a ton on Ebay to either break up and resell lots or flips bargains as well as personal spending. So if a lot of sellers are in the same boat it just gets worse and worse

leftcoasttrading · ‎02-04-2016

I'm glad someone also see the writing on the wall....

jaxjoy · ‎02-04-2016

I am in the same boat. I always think it can't get worse...silly me. Day 4 of the month and only 2 sales so far for a whopping $29! I have over 950 items listed. It's been getting worse since a nosedive in 2013 but this is ridiculous.

grasshopperx · ‎02-04-2016

Same thing here. after being on ebay 15 years and doing and selling the same thing. Sales were shut off to us in sept 2014 when the fall seller update started. Never recovered. 35-50 views a day for 15 years, now ZERO views. Sales are fine on our other venue. Then when I go to buy from my favorite sellers on ebay, they are ALL gone. Nothing but chinese junk now, everyone is leaving. i am disgusted too, because this last year, because of ebay, we didnt know if we should keep going, buy more supplies or what to do. Now I have decided to keep doing what I do and MOVE on from this place. I'll keep some items on here to see how things shake out, but as far as ebay goes and all the ridiculous rules and laws, I dont care anymore. I'll get to it, when I get to it. I'll make my titles what they should be. I'll set my own prices, and so be it, from now on. If they dont treat us right, why should we listen?

shesellsseashells73 · ‎02-04-2016

I did a quick search too....they are easy to find if you are looking for auctions. All in all, there are over 1,300 listings.

I don't know how much this matters, but I despise auctions. I think they are great for one-of-a-kind items and/or collectibles - but they are a pain for a buyer. I miss things all the time because I am not available for the end of the auction. I will also tell you that I sell mainly clothing. Sometimes if I'm up in the middle of the night because I can't sleep, I can score some awesome deals on auction of items I sell myself. Actually, the time isn't even the biggest factor...I get them all day long. I receive them in the mail and list them...lots of times making double the money.

If I were shopping for something like LAX cleats, I would not want to be bothered with an auction. I want to buy them now and have them shipped quickly.

I guess what I'm asking is...have you thought of relisting a few as "buy it now" to see what happens?

shesellsseashells73 · ‎02-04-2016

@onesweetfind wrote:
@prettynice444 wrote:
Well, it kind of is. People come to ebay for BARGAINS.

I don't think you understand what I'm saying. Do you buy Chinese? I don't I listed what I like to buy above - China doesn't have that stuff, and that's NOT what is driving down prices of what I look for. (although electronics and jewelry, yeah).

To make it simple: the product isn't here anymore. Sellers left. Buyers left. The products that are here are marked a little higher, because the sellers are desperate. So no buyers buy.

Maybe an economist could explain it better, but when I have 20 saved searches, and NONE of what I want is available, there aren't enough sellers left!!!
I'm not certain what listings you've been viewing, but my prices are marked way DOWN, precisely because I'm desperate (I've got bills to pay). When sellers are desperate, they tend to lower, not raise prices, just in the hopes of getting a sale. For instance, I've been selling off stuff from my jewelry stash, new, NOT CHINESE. These are artisan/handmade and upscale pieces. A $249 necklace for $59, $165 necklace for $32.99, a Coldwater Creek necklace that was originally $179 and I'm asking $18.99. How much lower should I be expected to go?

It's the same with my yarn. I spent probably 10 hours working on a lot of reclaimed 100% cashmere yarn from England and am only asking $24.99. Not counting what I spent buying the yarn, my labor works out to $2.49 an hour, and out of that ebay and PayPal will take their cut.

I think my prices are pretty darn reasonable, and I'm willing to bet I'm not the only one who is marking things down.

Sometimes marking things up does help. If people think the deal is too good, there is something wrong.

Just my .02 cents.

nowthatsjustducky · ‎02-04-2016

@savanna.dance wrote:
As for search results, using these keywords: Nike Huarache cleats new lacrosse, your listing came up as #39 and your calculated shipping to me is $16.65. I'm in SAV, GA. Are these shoes unusually heavy?

If the total package weight is 2 pounds / 1 ounce to 3 pounds, then yes; that is about right. A 3 pound package from coast to coast has retail postage rates of $16.65 for Priority, $13.45 for Medium Flat Rate, or $10.77 for Regional A.

And without a box or any packaging, a pair of typical mens' athletic shoes already weighs in at close to or a tad over 2 pounds, which would put the package in the 3 pound rate range..

If it works, sell it. If it works well, sell it for more. If it doesn't work, quadruple the price and sell it as an antique.

-- Ferengi Rule of Acquisition #80

guitarsunderthestarsllc · ‎02-04-2016

Shipping used to be $12.50 to that same location.....Postage increase. My choices are....ship for free(which only makes me raise the price to accomodate) or simply be honest to my buyers. A real price and let the system calculate shipping....im in Washington the pacific NW so if you are in NY you should pay a higher shipping than someone in California. So I let the SYSTEM tell buyers what to pay. Guess I need to change them all to free shipping and simply raise my price. I often wonder how other sellers price so low knowing what these items cost to stock in the first place. And often I see guys with ONE pair sitting on thier couch or coffee table or just thrown on the floor and photographed...then a dirt cheap price to go with the dirty looking photos....and free shipping on top.....are they stealing these items? It would seem that is the only way to get them as cheaply as some sellers seem to. I try my best to take quality photos in a clean environment and then package each with care so they are ready for shipping. I see other sellers who seem to be selling stuff right off their dirty old couch, dog hair and all. And Ebay has all those listings getting views. Why show that to customers? Why wouldnt you show the better quality listings? Seems odd to push the garage sale looking ones up and push a TOP RATED PLUS seller down. Just sayin.

jaxjoy · ‎02-04-2016

I noticed the same thing with similar items placing higher on search results but with horrible thrown on floor pics and not so great feedback. Makes me wonder why I'm working so hard sometimes. I even saw a seller that just had someone holding up clothing in a messy room and they had just run of the mill clothing similar to what I sell but they were selling way more than I do. I just don't get it.

guitarsunderthestarsllc · ‎02-04-2016

Look at my listings...half my inventory is shoes on a BUY IT NOW. These auctions were a desperate attempt to sell something....anything. I went from 4-10 pairs of shoes going out a day....all on buy it now by the way....to absolutley nothing some days and if I am lucky 1. So I launched some pairs I had more than one of the same size of on auction...and I set the auctions to end on Saturday trying to maximize how many people would be available at the end. I kept duplicates in my BUY IT NOW multi listing in case any of those bidders got close but didnt win they could simply buy it out of my store. I have been trying hard to think of every angle to make sure I maximize....the problem seems to simply be my views have dropped off a cliff these last 3 weeks.....no views=no sales.

onesweetfind · ‎02-04-2016

@shesellsseashells73 wrote:
@onesweetfind wrote:
@prettynice444 wrote:
Well, it kind of is. People come to ebay for BARGAINS.

I don't think you understand what I'm saying. Do you buy Chinese? I don't I listed what I like to buy above - China doesn't have that stuff, and that's NOT what is driving down prices of what I look for. (although electronics and jewelry, yeah).

To make it simple: the product isn't here anymore. Sellers left. Buyers left. The products that are here are marked a little higher, because the sellers are desperate. So no buyers buy.

Maybe an economist could explain it better, but when I have 20 saved searches, and NONE of what I want is available, there aren't enough sellers left!!!
I'm not certain what listings you've been viewing, but my prices are marked way DOWN, precisely because I'm desperate (I've got bills to pay). When sellers are desperate, they tend to lower, not raise prices, just in the hopes of getting a sale. For instance, I've been selling off stuff from my jewelry stash, new, NOT CHINESE. These are artisan/handmade and upscale pieces. A $249 necklace for $59, $165 necklace for $32.99, a Coldwater Creek necklace that was originally $179 and I'm asking $18.99. How much lower should I be expected to go?

It's the same with my yarn. I spent probably 10 hours working on a lot of reclaimed 100% cashmere yarn from England and am only asking $24.99. Not counting what I spent buying the yarn, my labor works out to $2.49 an hour, and out of that ebay and PayPal will take their cut.

I think my prices are pretty darn reasonable, and I'm willing to bet I'm not the only one who is marking things down.
Sometimes marking things up does help. If people think the deal is too good, there is something wrong.

Just my .02 cents.

I'll try that on a few, and add a Best Offer to see what happens. Will report back if it gets any action.

guitarsunderthestarsllc · ‎02-04-2016

Actually text on photos is allowed.....BUT it cannot have an outside WEBSITE listed. The EBay support team told me my pictures with my STORE NAME are allowed AND they told me to MAKE SURE all my listings had it. They assured me that not only am I not in violation, but that they encourage sellers to do what I have done. Read the policy again...it pertains to leading poeple to an OUTSIDE WEBSITE, not leading them to your EBAY STORE. What I have done is not only allowed but how EBay would prefer listings to look. As a matter of fact it may not be long before they impliment photo requirements that dont allow for people to simply throw thier item on their dirty couch and take a picture like its a garage sale. They may very soon REQUIRE that sellers include their seller ID in photos and that the photos meet certain requirements for backgrounds and quality. I am actually looking forward to seeing all the thrown on the dirty carpet or couch photo's go away from EBay....it would definitely increase the quality of the site overall. Sorry to all the sellers who dont take time to produce quality photo's that dont look like your selling out of your dirty trailer in a trailer park.

guitarsunderthestarsllc · ‎02-04-2016

Did I ask you for a discount? NO, I simply stated that my job options are limited so this downturn in my income is scary....if you have a problem with people asking for a discount.....DONT RESPOND. People will always try to get you to empathize with their plight to get a deal....i get it too. But to come across like its a problem only with disabled people? Dont respond to people wanting a discount, they are the most likely to file a claim against you anyway. Stick with legitimate buyers.....ignore the low ballers. And back off coming across as angry that I mentioned being disabled.....SORRY IF GETTING REAR ENDED BY SOMEONE DOING 45 MILES PER HOUR AND TEXTING OFFENDS YOU....I DIDNT ASK FOR IT EITHER. I did not ask for any special treatment....i simply expressed that for someone like me with limited options this downturn is scary. SORRY I OFFENDED YOU.