selling

[mrmalibu]

Is it only me, or has anyone noticed that sales have come to a complete stop on all platforms? Even at yard sales, nobody shows up. If they do, they just look.   

[telegraph_mercantile]

I have a little dream that when/if prices for new items rise because of tariffs that our used items will seem more attractive and we will hear that Cha-Ching more often.

BTW, I was listening to a session at eBay Open yesterday and the presenter got two Cha-Chings in about 20 minutes. I’m sure it made all of us virtual attendees immediately check our phones. Sigh.

[onefootflipper]

August is often my worst month.  

This year I loaded up on backpacks earlier in the year and it didn't help. I sold 9 packpacks in the last 90 days and still have 19 of them, and school starts monday here.

[youn2240]

I think it comes down to seller theory. Lots of sellers that aren't getting sales refuse to lower their prices and liquidize the money to put towards other items that will sell. Meanwhile when you aren't listing and getting sales I would imagine the algorithm stomps you down because you aren't providing the inventory or selling the inventory you have while others are. I would imagine the algorithm is more geared towards accounts that generate money and satisfy customers. Another thing about leaving the same inventory on for long periods of time is that other sellers that find the same items and like to sell things will undercut your price so if you're not staying on top of what exists in your market you're probably sitting on listings that aren't towards the top when people search and I would assume lowest price first is the most common search filter for most buyers.  I also agree with long tail selling where you have huge inventories and don't mind sitting on stuff for long periods before the sale comes. Idk everything I think about the algorithm is just vibes. 

[youn2240]

Sales on items that sit for a while I have noticed tend to happen right before the listing renews or right after it renews. There is something in that to dwell on too. Not 100% how it goes down but I see it quite a bit. 

[inhawaii]

---

@mrmalibu wrote:

Is it only me, or has anyone noticed that sales have come to a complete stop on all platforms? Even at yard sales, nobody shows up. If they do, they just look.   

---

Don't be ridiculous.

Sales have not stopped on all platforms.

There are millions,  if not billions of dollars of sales.

[mrmalibu]

I posted in my yard sale that I had Pokémon cards and nothing.  I've been collecting for 45 years. starting to liquidate our lives. 

[mrmalibu]

I've been on eBay since they started. This is the worst I've ever seen it.  Getting my GoDaddy store updated. 

[mrmalibu]

Thanks. I live in the mountains above Malibu. My yard sale were famous. We would get 200 people on a weekend sale. We were in the Woolsey fire and then COVID, so this is the first sale we've had since then. Maybe 25 people the whole weekend.  Thanks for your response.  We sell everything. in all categories.

[mrmalibu]

I thank you for your advice. I will get the white foam board like you said. We were Kewshaw Dealers at trade shows for 30 years. We found that when you handed a knife to someone, most times they would cut themselves.

So Kershaw made knives that were dull for us and put sample not sharp on them.  Those are now collectibles.

We know Ken Onion, so we only sold his spring-assisted knives.  Thank you again for your advice. 

[sreu3058]

Interesting comment about using ‘Search’ feature, and then ‘lowest price’ filter.

I have never in my life selected a ‘lowest price’ filter. and not because I am wealthy!

The 1 filter I do use in every single ‘Search’:

USA only (Sellers location)

[mrmalibu]

Thanks for your reply. For the last 7 years, since the Woolsey fire, my life has been insurance companies, contractors, and lawyers. We just settled. So my inventory just sat, but we were still selling about 400 a month. Since January, it has just stopped. I tried lowering prices. That's not helping. 

[mrmalibu]

I was referring to me, not everyone. I was just wondering if people were experiencing the same thing. I depends on what you sell and what people need. 

[redlinear]

It's the back to school blues for sales.
See it every year.
  Well, lots of other things too, but....before all the other issues, we would slow down for a couple of weeks when school started back.

[m60driver]

---

@mrmalibu wrote:

I thank you for your advice. I will get the white foam board like you said. We were Kewshaw Dealers at trade shows for 30 years. We found that when you handed a knife to someone, most times they would cut themselves.

So Kershaw made knives that were dull for us and put sample not sharp on them.  Those are now collectibles.

---

Well that is interesting, neither Kershaw, nor any other major knife manufacturer, gave us that option for dulled knife sales samples in my store and I had many a customer cut themselves when handling cutlery, always had Band-Aids at the ready.   Perhaps I just didn't notice them available at the wholesale trade shows.

[onefootflipper]

---

@mrmalibu wrote:

I posted in my yard sale that I had Pokémon cards and nothing.  I've been collecting for 45 years. starting to liquidate our lives. 

---

Sorry, that is my fault. I have made multiple youtube videos about not wasting your money on pokemon cards at garage sales (99 percent of collections are worthless and most pickers don't know enough to be able to tell). I guess it finally clicked.