My worst week in 8 months

[jellybirddesigns]

Hi all,

I have had virtually no sales this week which has become my worst week in 8 months.

I was just wondering if my listings are showing up properly?

Has anyone else noticed a big drop off lately?

[dazzledayz]

---

@cushioncovers wrote:

Hi all,

I have had virtually no sales this week which has become my worst week in 8 months.

I was just wondering if my listings are showing up properly?

Has anyone else noticed a big drop off lately?

You bet, sales have been the slowest I've ever seen.

Even B&M outlets and Op Shops are reporting the same though so it's not just eBay.

It looks like the public is just not spending ATM.

[jellybirddesigns]

It's so frustrating. 

Hubby has been unemployed for 8 months and to some extent we live off the supplemental income my store generates.

It sends my stress levels through the roof when things dip right down like this.

[247newdeals]

---

@cushioncovers wrote:

It's so frustrating. 

Hubby has been unemployed for 8 months and to some extent we live off the supplemental income my store generates.

It sends my stress levels through the roof when things dip right down like this.

---

First love your cushion covers. With online sale particularly but also with B+M sales you will have dips and times where sales drop to or nearly 0. With any form of self employment you will have lean times so you need to be frugal during the good times and put some aside for the quiet/quieter times.

Now just a thought you have a good product and clearly have a grasp on how Ebay works how about getting hubby selling to? Before you disregard it the reason I say this is a) a bit of extra cash never goes a miss b) If hubby sells a different product type the diversification would decrease the chance of having a 0 sales week c) if hubby make just $20 a week that would give you $1,000 a year which is a nice cushion for lean times (sorry for the play on words but can not resist if hubby makes a small cushion you would have it covered 😉 )

Whatever you decide I hope things picks up for you soon just to add I have had 2 pretty shocking weeks so your not alone not that it makes it any better 

[jellybirddesigns]

Thanks 247newdeals,

Will run your idea past hubby - might spark a creative thought or two. He's never been much into Ebay and has pretty much left that side of things to me, but you never know....

Another thing that occurred to me is that people are getting all those Xmas bills which have now come due and are suddenly realising that there is no money! It's only 2 months since December, so I'm thinking that might be part of the problem.

[clarry100]

On Friday we had one single sale.

On the very day first day we sold anything on ebay back in 2011 we had one single sale.

Since that day this has never happened again until Friday.

I know Feb-Mar is usually the quiet time for us but its a worry when it dips this low.

We are thinking we will see ZERO sales days this year.

This is supposed to be our mainstream income.

On the upside our ebay fees will be low too.

[cathyjoyjoy]

Remember also that this is the month of February which is a very quiet month for many businesses as school returns.  Things start to pick up from March.  Also (and I'm not sure about this) I'm wondering if the addition of Myer to the growing options of major retailers has had a further impact on some smaller sellers.

[clarry100]

The major B&M stores don't carry our product range (or very little if any).

Which is one of the reasons we originally chose this line.

We think its the continual increase of the cheap Chinese sellers flooding our category.

We quite often used to be up inside the top 100 in search results.

But these days there is rarely any Aust seller inside this top 100 in our category.

We just wish our Govt would bring in this low or zero GST threshold on imported goods accompanied by a (say $25) collection fee if the item value is below their cost threshold to do so. This would stop buyers from buying for O/S and tip the advantage our way lots.

Yes... we would then have to pay GST on our imported raw materials but that would be easily offset by increased sales volumes for our final hand made products.

[everard6920]

Yes, my sales dropped off so I decided to have a sale (I've had some of my stock for months, and I have a large shipment arriving tomorrow or Tuesday and will need the room for it).

So far, it's working a charm. Many of my regulars have come out of the woodwork and I've had some new buyers, too.

Obviously, my margin has taken a hit because of the reduced prices, but I'm still making something and I was sick of looking at that stock, anyway.

I know not everyone can afford to do this, though.

[funkyflamingo*]

I had a great December, a brilliant Jan, and a good first half of Feb, and then I think my lights have been turned off. This was the quitest week I have ever had but shops and walk in stores have also been quiet in my area. I am also contemplating doing a pop up shop. Just to mix it up a bit. I hope your sales pick up, and stick with it, I completely understand the stress and frustration.