Helloooooo.....any buyers......?

[jellybirddesigns]

Not normally one to complain about lack of sales, but this month is starting off as a bit of a shocker.

Stats tell me I'm down about 30% on last month and almost 50% down from this time last year.

Uuuugh!

[springyzone]

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@liw48 wrote:

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@mildred9*123 wrote:
Agree, would it have anything to do with the 600 listings store holders now have...? Flooded the market place perhaps? Then again I can also agree with yeoldecoinco !!

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Same complaints in the US.

Too many sellers out there selling the same thing.  The only true value seems to be in the luxury market, and people are trying to haggle the prices down in that market.

Maybe collectibles and vintage hold their value.  

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I'd say you're right about a lot of sellers selling the same thing and  a lot of stuff seems to come from China.

I think there are markets here that haven't been tapped into all that much.

Off the top of my head, I can think of a couple. Spices is one. Specialty loose teas is another. I know you can get them in supermarkets but often those aren't specifically labelled ingredients or organic. There is definitely a market for Australian sellers there.

The problem (for sellers) is a lot of these items need to be sent as cheaply as possible, which with spices is usually in an envelope of some sort. I've never struck any problems with delivery, it is usually very quick, but I suppose the sellers leave themselves open to the occasional scammer who might claim it wasn't received.

The trick is, I suppose, to have items that aren't in every corner store. That makes ebay a more attractive place to buy, especially if we're only talking a few dollars.

[jellybirddesigns]

So in the week since I started this thread my sales have picked up - now I'm up 5% on last month although still about 20% down from this time last year. However, we are only half way through the month, so fingers crossed.

I have branched out into other online platforms which have been working well for me. I now run 2 shops on the "E" handmade website and I'm thinking of opening a third one just for digital downloads as that is the one major advantage that site has over Ebay.

[lyndal1838]

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@typhoon4u wrote:

I think the discounts, rebates and promo's put out by ebay have actually hurt sales as buyers are now holding off and waiting for them...

A double edged sword, that one!

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Good for the buyer but not for the seller.

These days I rarely buy anything without some sort of a discount code or offer.

If it is not a direct discount from ebay I can use a Groupon discount, also issued by ebay or paypal.

I currently have 2 x $100 coupons which cost me $85 each and are current till the end of May.

I will wait till the last minute and if nothing else crops up I will buy some DVDs that are on my Watch List.

[springyzone]

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@lyndal1838 wrote:

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@typhoon4u wrote:

I think the discounts, rebates and promo's put out by ebay have actually hurt sales as buyers are now holding off and waiting for them...

A double edged sword, that one!

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Good for the buyer but not for the seller.

These days I rarely buy anything without some sort of a discount code or offer.

If it is not a direct discount from ebay I can use a Groupon discount, also issued by ebay or paypal.

I currently have 2 x $100 coupons which cost me $85 each and are current till the end of May.

I will wait till the last minute and if nothing else crops up I will buy some DVDs that are on my Watch List.

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I virtually never get offered ebay discounts, or if I do, they seem to be restricted to certain retail shops, not across all items.

But as for selling. Has anyone ever seen those selling channels on TV? I don't normally watch but when the ads come on, I have recently started to flick over to them to have a look. Oh boy, talk about pwers of persuasion! I haven't seen a thing I didn't fancy yet!

I haven't actually lashed out and bought from them though. I've found that there are websites for the items they advertise and sometimes they are cheaper that way.

It has got me thinking though. It could be useful for some sellers if they could have little demo videos of their products. I don't know if ebay currently allows this, I haven't actually seen it on any ads I have looked at here though.