has anybody else having a sales crash in oz ebay since the new year and experiencing no sales now

[tgfineminerals-2]

I sell on another id and have been a seller for 10 years and have experienced a huge downturn from $500 to $800 a week to now zero this week, buyers are scarce even watchers, ebay is useless in finding why, just says sellers are dependant on buyers-what if they have dissapeared like here? I am only giving it another few weeks to show something is happening beyond my control & will not have any money to pay ebay for my store and listers, any suggestions?

[bottomoftheharbour]

Well as someone from the West Coast, I hardly get any sales from here, most of mine are from Qld, NSW and Vic. So who knows who wants your items.

[imastawka]

Wouldn't that many refunds raise a red flag with ebay, and then affect the TRS standing?

Refunds mean the buyers are not happy = defects.

Surely there's a policy regarding buying feedback.

[chameleon54]

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@books_unlimited_kk43 wrote:

I am a small eBay Plus member, main sales are new books offering free express post. Start of year sales around 5 - 10 books ($100-$200) a week. Now, October 2019, no sales whatsoever in 2 weeks and it looks to me like a recession looming. Also, Vic. buyers are pikers, because 80% of all my sales come from WA, Qld and NSW.

With the devaluation of the Australian dollar (around 68 US dollars), I would love to sell international, but Australia Post international rates go by weight and cruel it. For example a 600 gram parcel, the cheapest economy air shipping rate is AU$32.70?

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My sales have improved slightly since the post you responded too. OS sales are still going strong although I havnt increased postage costs yet to reflect the latest AP price rises.

Smaller books can be sent OS as large letters. Around $13 up to 250 grams and less than 2 cm thick and $20 for 250 g to 500g and under 2 cm thick. One problem with many new books is that they are available in the buyers country without them having to pay Australias high international post prices.

Out of print books often are not so readily available. I sell quite a few antique and non fiction books on ebay. I recently had a batch of New Old Stock, out of print, craft books for sale. They where for a highly specialised field and most still sold to international clients. Often it is the most obscure titles for the most specialised areas that attract OS buyers. Things such as " how to make leather suitcases " or " how to build model aircraft engines ".

There is no doubt that buyers are being very careful at the moment. Its not just in Australia, but globally, due to Brexit, Trump and the China slow down, but with the low Aussie dollar our items are at least 25% cheaper for international clients than a couple of years ago. If you can find interesting titles that no-one else has, there are still good sales results to be achieved for books on ebay.

[springyzone]

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@repentatleisure1952 wrote:

Perhaps they may be turned off by an offer to buy positive feedback...sure would have me reaching for the back button.

Perhaps supplying information for Christmas postage for 2018 may indicate to some that the seller does not update their listings... another turn off for me.

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It wouldn't be a turn off for me as such. I'd have no objection if every seller refunded me $1 if i gave positive feedback.

But I've never seen it offered in an ad before.

The thing is, though, that it would not make me more inclined to buy anything either, except from the point of view that the item was going to be $1 cheaper.

And if I had a problem with an item, it wouldn't stop me lodging a claim.

I suppose if i were the sort who didn't usually give feedback, I might be tempted but I have my doubts. It would mean that person remembering and maybe logging in especially and a lot of buyers still probably would not bother.

The real problem I think with it though is the extra chance it gives to put the buyer offside if a seller makes any mistakes.

I usually give feedback anyway, but if I was offered $1 refund and I didn't get it fairly shortly after leaving feedback, I'd be a bit peeved. It's not the money as such, it is the principle of the thing.

So from my point of view, I think the seller might be giving himself extra work for very little return with that idea.

Plus as stawka said, what if it caused trouble with their ebay account?

[brerrabbit585]

The refunds shouldn't cause any problems with a seller's account.

I vaguely remember something about 'buying feedback' but it was years ago so it's probably changed. I think it smacks of desperation and that's never a good look.

[*tippy*toes*]

I wouldn't buy from you for a few reasons. I will not be bribed for feedback. Period. Giving someone a $1 refund for feedback is laughable. Your desperation for feedback makes me think that is your priority, rather than making your buyers happy. I couldn't give a rat's doodle about feedback, especially if it meant I was going to get some generic feedback that means nothing. You leave pretty much the same feedback for everyone.

You are offering free express post on items that are supposedly brand new, on items that are under $15. That to me screams fake. Express post on up to 500g is over $11, yet you offer it on brand new books under $15. Either you have stolen the books, or you are losing money.

I have zero confidence in you as a seller. Sorry, but that's what I gain from your listings. If I can see that, I'm guessing other buyers would be seeing simiar things and have equal amount of confidence that I do. 

[offroad7400]

With NSW and Victoria school holidays across three weeks, the middle week is the killer for the countrys most populous states, one week to go and sales should pick up for everyone come 14 October 2019. I did receive the eBay declutter promotion with free final value fee's that middle week... funny that ?

[springyzone]

It's funny, I guess we all have different reactions.

When I looked at a few of the ads, what i noticed was some had free postage & some charged postage. The ones I looked at didn't offer express postage but I've no doubt you're right and some do, as the postage charges seem to be a bit all over the place.

I though would have no hesitation in buying from the seller if there was something there that i wanted and it was the right price. Her feedback is 100%, the descriptions on the books I looked at seem detailed enough and the photos are adequate.

But here's the thing. The $1 refund would have zilch impact on me as far as buying. I either want it or I don't.

So I doubt it is worth offereing it in the ads, especially as a main focus in red. As you say, it does look a bit desperate and really, the seller doesn't need to be. With a 100% positive feedback of over 700, an extra feedback here and there won't make any difference. Some people will give feedback anyway without payment. Main thing is not to have a swag of neg feedback but if someone is mighty unhappy, $1 won't bribe them to hold back.

[Anonymous]

Any attempt to manipulate feedback or Detailed Seller Ratings (DSRs) is not allowed. This includes:

• Offering to buy, sell, trade, or give away feedback
• Registering multiple accounts or working with others to exchange feedback with the purpose of artificially increasing a feedback score
• Referencing eBay feedback in a listing title or description
• Conducting transactions with the purpose of increasing a feedback score, or to obtain Top Rated Seller status or site privileges
• Manipulating another member's feedback through repeat purchases, or a pattern of leaving positive feedback with consistently low DSRs
• Buying or selling eBay user accounts

Listings that don’t follow these rules may be removed from the site or from search results. Other actions we may take include lowering a seller’s rating, charging additional fees, limiting buying and selling privileges, or suspending an account.

[imastawka]

Thought there'd be policy somewhere