@thelouiefly wrote:
WHAT AN EARTH IS GOING ON?
Have I missed something? Anyone else having the same issue?
My listings are getting very few views, most none - used to get 10 to 20 plus.
Sales are down dramatically - basically none!
Is this because of the sponsored **bleep** eBay are trying to get you to do?
I refuse to, they already take more than enough money.
Is it time to move on to another platform? Recommendations?
I'm not a business, just a part timer making some money(none as of late)!
To you & francapossum, 12th planet and pubstuff:
You are all reporting pretty much the same problem.
I haven't sold on ebay for many years so I checked with a friend who still does. He isn't an occasional seller, it is part of his business but he also sells on other platforms and runs 2 warehouses.
He said to me that ebay is the worst performing part of his business.
Sales on ebay are down that much, it's now the worst platform in my opinion. As I am semi retiring next year, it's perfect timing. Fees are too expensive for a lot of sellers now on ebay, most are going to facebook.
My take on it is that to some extent, it will depend on what you are selling, but it will also depend on what type of seller you are.
I get the impression ebay isn't encouraging or catering for the 'occasional seller' crowd. You can still sell, for sure, but ebay really wants semi professional sellers with a fast turnover. You've just got to look at the badges they hand out on ads 'One of our most trusted sellers" etc. It is often because the seller has sold thousands of items but if you look closely, you'll see that seller has mainly cheap Chinese junky items and quite a mix of negative feedback, while some smaller, occasional sellers with only a few hundred feedback, but all positive, won't get a badge like that.
Dave is right in that we can't tell you exactly why your views or sales are down. Could be the time of year, economy, type of items you are selling.
Could be when people search ebay, your items aren't showing on the first page or second.
Could be that people now look to different sites to buy the sort of thing you sell.
Times have changed and most shops now run their own sales sites.
My experience with the younger generation is they will tend to turn to Amazon well before ebay.
Small, occasional sellers of second hand items (and some new) are now on Marketplace. It has even knocked out a lot of the facebook buy/swap/sell sites.
Only you can decide if it is worth selling on ebay with the items you have. I would suggest that if sales tick over, even slowly, and you're generating even a smaller profit, then it is worth it. If you're putting in a lot of effort and cost, more than you're getting back, then it is time to switch.
Maybe make the decision in about February though as people are focused on Christmas gifts and food right now & they are busy.
