WHY HAVE EBAY SALES CRASHED

[pinnacle-agencies]

I have found in the last three weeks that my sales volumes on ebay are down by about 70% ... same listings ... same promotional discounts and no other changes on my side...

Are you other sellers finding the same?

My sales of same products OUTSIDE ebay have not changed, and now subsidising my ebay fees.

[horizon1907]

Oh H, Your invite must still be austpost & the food was Vietnamese. 🙂

[mccrae2007]

Just wanted to add, that I think one of the major factors is so called "Free Postage" & the expensive postal costs of Australia Post.

If an item is worth $7.00, and weighs over 500 grams, then add the postage cost of approx $13+, therefore the price to purchase has to be $20.00.

No such thing as free postage for anyone. 

Needs to be called "Price Includes Postage Costs" .  (says me again) 

[treasuress.4207]

I have long lived in hope that Ebay actually might a) have someone reading these boards for more than just swear words.

b)Give  a  flying continental about what their ACTIVELY INVOLVED community members think.

Clearly - not gonna happen anytime soon.

I will stop 'putting Ebay down' when Ebay no longer deserves to be put down.

[wilk1149]

Maybe the elephant in the room is very poor consumer sentiment towards the coalitions budget policies and the fact that we might just need our money for more important things

[cmcoins2000]

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@horizon1907 wrote:

Oh H, Your invite must still be austpost & the food was Vietnamese. 🙂

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So you sent it Express Post by Australia Post - that explains the tardiness of arrival.

And I love Vietnamese.

[polocross58]

Most people seek a bargain.  When times are tough, finding bargains becomes even more of a priority.  But with Ebay continually bleeding more and more blood from sellers, bargains on Ebay are diminishing along with buyers (and sellers)

Ebay and Aust. Post have been feeding off each others backs for many years.  Now they've eaten buyers and sellers down to the bone with their short-term thinking and greed

Most of us saw it coming years ago.  Funny how CEOs are paid multi-millions of dollars, yet they couldn't see it too and avert the Ebay slow train-crash

[pinnacle-agencies]

So it’s not just my store that is finding things tough on ebay.

It seems to me that ... less sellers on ebay = less competition = buyers are much worse off.

For ebay to be successful, ebay must have sellers and sellers must make enough profit ... under $5 per hour is NOT enough.

Let sellers do what they know and that is “SELLING” ... source quality products, deal will buyer enquiries and wrap/pack/send  ASAP  after a sale. “CUSTOMER SERVICE” should be Priority 1.

Most Sellers run successful businesses outside of ebay and don’t need to be told how to “suck eggs”.

Sellers need Ebay to bring customers  ... not impose time consuming compliance policy requirements that mean we spend 70% of our time “complying” instead of “SELLING”.

Bad sellers will always find a way around “compliance” requirements, but honest sellers try to do everything and end up failing in “SELLING” and “CUSTOMER SERVICE” because of compliance overload.

I just want ebay to be successful for buyers, sellers and ebay ... a fair and equal opportunity for us all.  

[arlottstreetstation]

My Ebay sales are through the floor as well & this is normally a VERY busy time of year for me in the lead up to Xmas. I don't think it's got anything to do with the Budget or Economy although the Coal Industry is still reeling from the effects of the Carbon Tax & a lot of normally big spending Mining Families are now without incomes & facing a bleek Xmas.

During the worst of the high Elecricity & Fuel prices because of the Carbon Tax (plus all of  the flow on from that- i.e. food  prices etc.) my sector still kept growing & people were spending...

My customers are buying direct from me more & more because of the high prices we Sellers are now forced to put up on Ebay, so the money is still there but NOBODY wants much to do with Ebay anymore...They KNOW that Free Postage is just a Scam...They KNOW the high FVFs are pushhing prices higher & higher & so & so on...they are telling me this almost daily......

Sadly Ebay has fallen into the same old trap that most big players do eventually. They have become so arrogant & out of touch with their customers (we the Sellers) & the real world that they think their future is assured no matter what. History is full of these stories & the bones of the dead Companies that went the same way....

They have completely forgotten that their Customers are US - the Sellers....Without SELLERS, there are NO BUYERS.....no SELLERS, there are no FVFs, no Store Fees....They continue to interfere with our Businesses, trying to tell us how to run them, trying to tell us what our customers want, how many pictures to put up, how to describe our products & so on & so on & so on, then impose Defect Systems on us that have been VERY badly thought out, force completely unrealistic Return Policies on us, put Adverts for our Opposition on our listings etc. & expect us to just keep putting up with it because they feel they are some sought of untouchable Demi-God....

Their opposition is already becoming stronger as Buyers seek out the better deals, & Sellers adapt by moving over to them & open their own Websites etc. So in a few years Ebay will be one of topics that come up at BBQs when someone asks "Does anyone rememner Ebay?" ...and the answer will be "Yeah...they were good for a while & then went crazy.....pitty"....then the conversation will just move on...

[polocross58]

As far back as I can remember, Ebay was always about CONTROL, GREED and CREATING DIVISIONS

[pinnacle-agencies]

I really want ebay to work for Sellers, Buyers and Ebay.

The truth of the matter is that I am just so busy doing ebay compliance stuff that I am having to work huge extra hours to keep on top of Customer Service.

I just don’t know where I would move to if ebay wasn’t there!