topic Re: Decline in sales not just eBay in Selling

Decline in sales not just eBay

gumardee_coins_and_banknotes — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 21:08:28 GMT

So I have been reading the forums from Amazon and Etsy as well as the eBay forums that are in English, and sometimes translate the foreigh languages. And I see this slow down in sales everywhere. As well as department stores.

So I think our problems of slow sales is more than just this site. With the decline in house values, it is scaring a lot of people, and a lot of people are in negative equity and are struggling. I smell a recession comming.

Thank you, please put your imput below.

Glen

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

springyzone — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 21:41:07 GMT

I'm old enough to have seen that things definitely do go in cycles and you're right, property values have decreased about 10%, at least here in the Melbourne suburbs. I think it was a correction that had to come. The market was buoyant & confident 2 years ago.

I've sensed a bit more hesitation in the market though since at least mid last year. The trouble I think comes down to the fact that the average worker just isn't earning the sort of income that could justify such high house prices. It was out of proportion.

Coupled with that is the fact a lot of people have what i would call huge mortgages and now there is talk of interest rates rising eventually (which is pretty much a certainty, given how low they have been).

So possibly quite a few people aren't quite as confident as they were a couple of years ago. Or not your low to middle income earners, anyway.

People are still spending money but perhaps they might be thinking a bit more carefully about the non essential items before splurging.

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

digital*ghost — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 22:39:48 GMT

eBay (and Australian) sales have certainly fallen, but international sales have increased steadily over the last few months - about the only benefit (to me) of the Aussie dollar falling against the US dollar, but at the same time makes new stock purchases harder, since the majority of my stuff is imported and priced in USD.

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

melinachristina — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 01:00:39 GMT

You are right. Buyer participation is very patchy just about everywhere. Were noticing the same. Sales are few and far between and it’s hard to get lookers, let alone watchers. High end expensive items, in our neck of the woods just aren’t selling for us, so we’ve refrained from listing them. The cheaper items seem to be the preference at the moment.

Although, the old standard applies. If you’ve got something people really want, it’ll sell. I’m not sure about margins though. They seem tight too.

Unlike some other poor souls I’m pleased were not relying on eBay for income. Some must be hurting.

Melina.

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

daydreams_12 — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 01:14:57 GMT

Like you springy, I also well remember many of these cycles. A point also is the fact that here in NSW we have just had an election and it is only a matter of weeks away before a Federal one. People are scared to spend unless it is essential. Job security is not great with many businesses shutting shop weekly. Just this week in south western Sydney over 200 were advised that there jobs are to go in a couple of months. Many people do not know how they will pay rent/mortgage, pay bills and feed kids in 6 months time.

I would not like to be relying on retail in any form for my income.

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

performance_parts_clearance_centre — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 02:10:28 GMT

In the "bricks & mortar" business I'm employed by, sales across the three brands trading under our parent company have been steadily decreasing for the last few years, due to a combination of less overall demand and an increasing number of online sellers fragmenting the available market.

It's absolutely not just an eBay thing, it's right across the board.

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

jellybirddesigns — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 05:16:28 GMT

Whilst I agree that sales do go in cycles, my shop has been trending upwards since I opened it 4 years ago.

Some months can be a bit weird - for example in the middle of March I was down 40% compared to the same time last year, but then suddenly I had a rush of sales in the last 8 days and ended the month almost 20% above last years figures.

I do have 2 other online stores on Etsy which I opened up about 3 years and 1 year ago respectively. Their income stream definitely helps to add to my overall gross annual figures. The diversity has definitely helped.

I'm not going to retire anytime soon, but collectively between the 3 stores I do ok.

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

chameleon54 — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 23:36:09 GMT

@gumardee_coins_and_banknotes wrote:
So I have been reading the forums from Amazon and Etsy as well as the eBay forums that are in English, and sometimes translate the foreigh languages. And I see this slow down in sales everywhere. As well as department stores.
So I think our problems of slow sales is more than just this site. With the decline in house values, it is scaring a lot of people, and a lot of people are in negative equity and are struggling. I smell a recession comming.

Thank you, please put your imput below.
Glen

On the global front, the U.S economic & jobs figures for March where released last night. Employment grew by 198,000 for the month, ( about average since Trump was elected ) but retail employment was down 11,000. This was attributed to more people buying online. Economic growth ( annualised ) was nearly 4 %, again average figures since Trump took over. Despite the squealing and scare mongering of the U.S political lefts, Trump appears to be delivering stable economic growth in the U.S.

The only hint of recession in the U.S is that casual employment has been falling for the last few months. This is a leading indicator and could signal bosses, cutting casuals first, before permanent staff, but permanent staff numbers are growing ? All up pretty good numbers coming out of the U.S.

The interesting discussion coming from the U.S is the drugs ( Opiod ) epedemic sweeping some U.S states. Younger white males are particularly affected with this having a noted statistical effect on jobless figures in some U.S states. Trump is trying to clamp down on the illegal imports of cheap Fentinal from China which has been identified as a major cause of the problem. The drugs issue is currently one of the biggest drags on the U.S economy. Sound Familiar ?. People living in comfortable suburbs in Australia may not be seeing the problem, but ice is causing huge problems here in Australia.

China is slowing though, so some dark clouds on the horizon for us. This will keep our local Federal reserve cautious about raising interest rates any time soon.

My concern is more about the 100 year economic cycle. We see a major global economic crash every 100 years or so, the last being the 1920,s depression. If this pattern continues the biggy could be just around the corner ( although it could be argued we have already had it with the financial crisis of the early 2000,s )

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

melinachristina — Sat, 06 Apr 2019 01:53:13 GMT

Some interesting points about the US and China. Instability in government, and we’ve had plenty of that here, always flows through. Elections are another factor, made worse this time I think by the abject lack of faith in either major to do what needs to be done. We just seem to have been treading water for years.

Im told my ideas about Donald are fairly radical, but I honestly think he’s doing a pretty darn good job. A Donald type here would put the cat amongst them, that’s for sure.

Personally, not that I’m any expert, I don’t think it’s just a blip. It’s long haul and lots of things need to change before the roses start smelling like roses again.

Our politicians today are wearing twins of chic pea size. We need walnuts!!

Melina.

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

chameleon54 — Sat, 06 Apr 2019 02:22:46 GMT

I have concerns about Trumps handling of international affairs and the risk he poses to global military stability, but on the domestic front I don't think he can be any worse than Hilary Clinton. She is only interested in the establishment and business sector and is completely alienated from the poor and disenfranchised. ( sound familiar ? Both of our major parties are only interested in cronyism )

Trump may not be poor and disenfranchised, but he has made this group his core voter base, so is invested in seeing things improve for this social class. Wages for the lowest income earners have been steadily improving since Trump was elected, with an increase in minimum wages of 6 cents in March. Six cents may not seem much, but when combined with six cents last month and six cents the month before it totals maybe seventy cents for the year. Minimum wages in the U.S are much lower than Australia so the annual rises are significant.

There is no doubt the U.S establishment hate Trump and have done everything they can to tear him down. This has included making claims of false criminal charges against him at the highest level in an attempt to have him impeached. If the establishment hate him so much, he must be doing something right.

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

digital*ghost — Sat, 06 Apr 2019 04:06:24 GMT

And yet, more and more American politicians are talking about the need for a UBI. Why? Because "trickle down" economy is largely BS - give the already wealthy a cash injection, and it'll help the poor. Yeah, that's how capitalism works in the long term.

Trump is a capitalist, obviously, so if you speak to businesses and the wealthy, they'll say everything's great. Speak to the rest, they won't paint such a pretty picture. Steel and aluminium industries are loving the tariffs, farmers and car manufacturers... not so much. Retalitory tariffs have caused an increase in farmers filing for bankrupty under Trump - in some areas it doubled.

Oh, and the industries he's crippled now need a bailout.

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

chameleon54 — Sat, 06 Apr 2019 11:24:38 GMT

@ Digi, I,m also not a huge fan of trickle down economics. Its a classic case of the the rich get richer while the poor can eat cake. I,m also not a big fan of Trump either.

BUT....... The broad figures on the U.S economy show the " little people " are doing much better under Trump, than workers here in Australia.

Unemployment in the U.S is running at 3.8 %.....one of the lowest figures IN FIFTY YEARS !!!! ...........Compare that to Australia's latest figure of 5.4%, down from 5.6% last month.

Average hourly wage growth in the U.S is 3.2%, against an inflation rate of 1.5 % giving a real wage increase of 1.7%

Compare that with Australia where private sector wages growth is currently running at 1.9 % against an inflation rate of 1.8% giving a real wage increase of barely registerable 0.1%

Sure Trump comes across as a complete wally, his big wall idea is plain stupid and he appears to be a risk to global stability but when it comes to whether the average U.S citizen is better off under a Trump administration, the facts speak for themselves.

As the U.S left wing haters have been caught out peddling their corruption and lies, you have to wonder. Maybe the U.S voters made the right choice after all and maybe Trump is not as stupid as he looks.

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

purplemon18 — Sat, 06 Apr 2019 11:41:19 GMT

@chameleon54 wrote:
@ Digi, I,m also not a huge fan of trickle down economics. Its a classic case of the the rich get richer while the poor can eat cake. I,m also not a big fan of Trump either.

BUT....... The broad figures on the U.S economy show the " little people " are doing much better under Trump, than workers here in Australia.

Unemployment in the U.S is running at 3.8 %.....one of the lowest figures IN FIFTY YEARS !!!! ...........Compare that to Australia's latest figure of 5.4%, down from 5.6% last month.

Average hourly wage growth in the U.S is 3.2%, against an inflation rate of 1.5 % giving a real wage increase of 1.7%

Compare that with Australia where private sector wages growth is currently running at 1.9 % against an inflation rate of 1.8% giving a real wage increase of barely registerable 0.1%

Sure Trump comes across as a complete wally, his big wall idea is plain stupid and he appears to be a risk to global stability but when it comes to whether the average U.S citizen is better off under a Trump administration, the facts speak for themselves.

As the U.S left wing haters have been caught out peddling their corruption and lies, you have to wonder. Maybe the U.S voters made the right choice after all and maybe Trump is not as stupid as he looks.

...Is it possible that this is all just misdirection so that nobody pays attention to the real things he is changing?

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

knewdoors — Sat, 06 Apr 2019 19:29:18 GMT

sales have kept nosediving for months...the lights on lights off syndrome we put it down to that dreaded word that's running riot through the internet known as the "Algorithm"..keep saying it the best days of ebay have been and gone..its now an overpriced..outdated..unfair..selling platform...that every now and then tosses you a little light..but for the most part..it's an unpleasant experience we hope sales pick up for everyone...and we're sure people are trying so hard to improve their situation..it's doubly hard when the system is rigged...

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

bimberiretrosystems — Sat, 06 Apr 2019 23:26:52 GMT

i think people are sick of the rubbish like amazon and ebay and etsy (etsy who??)

I have moved everything, just about, to facebook-after all the biggest behemoth of social media-how can ebay ever expect to compete with them-it is so convenient to use facebook and then scroll over to the side and look on marketplace-global reach, fee free, no paypal, no stupid feedback, no credit card chargebacks, no silly rules, no fees on postage.

The decline you speak of i am not seeing on facebook-just growth on their market place.

Ebay is just a footnote really these days-went to look for a two cd's on ebay-can't even find it here, looked on facebook-bingo.

Using ebay/amazon/etsy who just makes people negative

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

digital*ghost — Sun, 07 Apr 2019 02:19:21 GMT

@chameleon54 wrote:
@ Digi, I,m also not a huge fan of trickle down economics. Its a classic case of the the rich get richer while the poor can eat cake. I,m also not a big fan of Trump either.

BUT....... The broad figures on the U.S economy show the " little people " are doing much better under Trump, than workers here in Australia.

Unemployment in the U.S is running at 3.8 %.....one of the lowest figures IN FIFTY YEARS !!!! ...........Compare that to Australia's latest figure of 5.4%, down from 5.6% last month.

Average hourly wage growth in the U.S is 3.2%, against an inflation rate of 1.5 % giving a real wage increase of 1.7%

Compare that with Australia where private sector wages growth is currently running at 1.9 % against an inflation rate of 1.8% giving a real wage increase of barely registerable 0.1%

Sure Trump comes across as a complete wally, his big wall idea is plain stupid and he appears to be a risk to global stability but when it comes to whether the average U.S citizen is better off under a Trump administration, the facts speak for themselves.

As the U.S left wing haters have been caught out peddling their corruption and lies, you have to wonder. Maybe the U.S voters made the right choice after all and maybe Trump is not as stupid as he looks.

Statistics are capable of being incredibly misleading, though, especially if they are just percentages.

You have to look at the type of jobs being created, and stuff like how many a person has to have to be able to live comfortably. It's all well and good to say that unemployment is at a low, but if people have to work 3 part time jobs (because that's all they can get) are just barely making ends meet, there's still massive problems.

Plus, the industries where he's created the most jobs are either dying, temporary and / or will do a lot of damage to the environment in the long term.

Personally, I find the man himself absolutely abhorrent, in pretty much every single way, and I don't buy into the "he's just doing bad or stupid stuff to distract people from all the good he's doing" rhetoric - the American people aren't cats, who need to be entertained with a big, dumb fuzzy orange ball while someone else adminsters the worm meds they don't like but really need, lol. (think back to the government shutdown he caused not so long ago, that was weeks that government employees went without pay, because he wanted to have a tantrum over funding for the stupid wall - around 800k US government employees that he crippled financially not just during, but for several months after - those are not the actions of a man who cares about the long term effects of his decisions on the people he serves).

Nor do I buy into the "they're out to get him - he must be doing something right", thing. Maybe, he's actually just doing stupid stuff because he has no education, understanding, or forethought with regards to economics, the environment, and many other political issues that are just as important as number of jobs available, or immigration, nor does he appear to have any regard to the long term effects of his decisions and actions, and people want to take him down because he's doing a lot that's either wrong, or actually dangerous.

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

dazzledayz — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 02:37:56 GMT

There are 3 kinds of Lies: Lies and Damned Lies, but then there are Statistics (Mark Twain popularised this saying but see link for attributions)

Not all are bad though and the most salient one to come out lately is the bond yield inversion currently occuring in the US with long duration bonds yielding less than short term ones.

In other words, the markets are expecting the economy to tank in the medium term.

If sustained for any lengthy period of time, this would point toward a recession in the US with a high degree of confidence so watch this space.

It's pretty certain that the whole neo-liberal economic model is faulty and is only sustainable in the short term.

This has increasingly become the view of most leading economists, the World Bank and the IMF.

Unrestrained Capitalism, as in Friedmanesque systems in play since the mid 80's, will have the effect of concentrating wealth at the apex of the capital pyramid (trickle down), so a big thanks to Maggie and Ron!

We fail to learn from our history repeatedly and disregard the lessons our forebears learned the hard way, that Capitalist systems need strong controls to function effectively and prevent this situation occurring.

The systems in place after WWII were based on the theories of Keynes which were designed to give govts prescriptive economic powers in an attempt to avoid the boom and bust cycles that had been the norm previously, particularly at the end of the 20's ie The Great Depression.

Unfortunately, this involved hard work and political menace for incumbent govts so the theories of Milton Friedman, who was head of the US Federal Reserve under Regan, held considerable appeal.

They went like this:

If govt's sold off all the public goods they were responsible for (Electricity supply, Rail, Post, Coms etc), they could not be held accountable for any price hikes as this was the result of mysterious and often spooky "market forces".

Thus, they could relieve themselves of both ownership and workload, not to mention responsibility.

They could then go to the people around election time with promises to make the economy great by giving business tax cuts and handouts in the hope that the electorate would gain employment and a rise in living standards.

What a beauty! Collect tax, sling it about, go to lunch, swig some Grange and enjoy a nice cigar in the courtyard afterwards.

This view was all well and good, and it does work in the short term, but when you stretch this sort of thing out, that capital concentration function built into the system begins to become unsustainable.

All those public companies and privatised services become pressed to show profit growth as consumers have less to spend.

So prices rise and the accountants sharpen their pencils and get to work cutting costs.

The low hanging fruit in this exercise is always the wage bill so the market as a result contracts and profits go down more.

Unfortunately, govt has no levers to pull as they gave them all away, so in reality, the best they can do is fiddle with the cash rate and hope for the best.

Or throw more cash at business and again, hope for the best.

So Capitalism doesn't work, but why not?

After all, didn't Adam Smith lay it all out in eloquently in his "Wealth of Nations"?

Well yes, he did, and it's definitely a much better system than the one Marx has to offer, but there is something adherents fail to take into account.

You see Smith was a moral philosopher, not an economist, and he was a Presbyterian Scot to boot.

Few people who read his "Wealth" tome, ahave ever read his original work.

This was:

The Theory of Moral Sentiments

He opens with these lines in the preface:

" How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortunes of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it.

Of this kind is pity or compassion, the emotion we feel for the misery of others, when we either see it, or are made to conceive it in a very lively manner.

That we often derive sorrow from the sorrows of others, is a matter of fact too obvious to require any instances to prove it; for this sentiment, like all the other original passions of human nature, is by no means confined to the virtuous or the humane, though they perhaps may feel it with the most exquisite sensibility.

The greatest ruffian, the most hardened violator of the laws of society, is not altogether without it".

How do you think this would be received in either the modern board room or the govts cabinet rooms?

But this is the prescription that underwrites his Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations and that's the book that defines our economic system.

So, to conclude, how the hell do we legislate for the above morality in Free Market Capitalism?

Maybe Digi is on the money with a UBI?

Maybe the Nordic countries are on the money by just being ethical?

What we see at the moment is a turning point in modern capitalist economics so sit back, relax and try to enjoy the ride.

Sales will pick up eventually when govt realises it's better to go for trickle up economics as that's what makes markets grow, even if it does involve some hard work to keep it on track.

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

zanadoo_56 — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 04:05:37 GMT

Wages have really stagnated...unlike the bills. This would be enough to put a damper on any spending.

Before I retired there had been no wage increase for three years where I worked.

Now all I get is the measly CPI indexed increase which is useless against the rise in gas, electricity, water and health insurance.

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

davewil1964 — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 09:20:43 GMT

Benjamin Disraeli coined the phrase, and Sam Clemens attributed it to him.

Re: Decline in sales not just eBay

knewdoors — Mon, 08 Apr 2019 20:24:58 GMT

Ebay is DEAD... IMHO..ZERO sales in 9 days...NEVER had it this bad....