topic Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem? in Selling

Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

yanrovinskay-0 — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 01:04:50 GMT

Don't understand why such a drop in sales. May be need to move from ebay to another platform?

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

imastawka — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 01:52:53 GMT

January is traditionally slow.

Post Christmas - paying off credit cards

Back to school

No spare cash for indulgences.

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

jellybirddesigns — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 02:20:53 GMT

Stawks - I would have to disagree - the lack of sales has become an Ebay issue. Mine have deteriorated since November 2020 (when item specifics became a thing) and are consistently down around 70-90% since then.

In comparison, on my Etsy store, my sales have never been higher - I'm up 180% on last January alone and 2021 was approx 30% higher than 2020. So people definitely have discretionary income to spend, but my items are not getting the exposure on Ebay that they once did before I updated the listings.

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

imastawka — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 02:26:39 GMT

Sorry. Just based it on my sales.

My items are collectables and I have return buyers.

January is very slow for indulgent items in my case.

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

jellybirddesigns — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 02:29:01 GMT

OP - I would say the main reason you're having issues is because you don't have any measurements. No point telling a buyer that something is a size 10 top. It's meaningless without some base measurements such as armpit to armpit (to help ladies work out if it will fit across their chest). For your leggings add the waist measurement and length etc.

Buyers are a lot more fussy these days and will skip over listings that do not offer this info.

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

veiled-lady — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 07:27:45 GMT

We had a good few months (selling mostly collectables) before Christmas, with record months in October and November, and a good December.

This month is well down, but that's quite normal for us for January.

Discretionary spending is usually down during the Christmas holiday period.

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

davewil1964 — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 08:01:40 GMT

You don't seem to have been selling for long. Last January was different to this January, as more people were stuck at home. Now they can go to a shop and try before they buy. Plus, everything said about discretionary spending in January.

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

p9games — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 23:03:16 GMT

For me Jan is up 21% year on year

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

4476.iveco — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 05:01:14 GMT

When we had B & M stores January was by far the best month of the year as people are out & about on their holiday break, however we have found year after year for us with online sales, January is always the worst.

I have to agree with jellybird, both our Ebay stores are down 26% & 50% this FY compared to the previous year, however our website is up 73%.

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

silver-fox-bullion — Fri, 28 Jan 2022 06:03:32 GMT

sales are dropping and Ebay know it. As a past business seller on here has just had ebay marketing on the phone with us trying to get us back to ebay to sell. We have told them why we refuse to sell or even buy on ebay under managed payments as there way to many loopholes etc. Why would I sell on ebay when I can elsewhere with better protections as a seller via pay pal. And why would I buy on ebay again when I go elsewhere and get better protections as a buyer via paypal.....

Even the ebay rep that was trying to sweeten us with an offer didn't brother with the offer when we started rattling the issues off to them re they managed payments and the lack of protections as a seller... They even agreed with us they managed payments suck and are losing sellers and buyers to other places..

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

bikeden — Sat, 29 Jan 2022 23:14:20 GMT

To gauge sales across eBay and your main selling category, in Seller Hub -> Research -> Research products.

Type in your most common used search keywords, brand or description of your items a buyer might use. Select the sales period. On the second graph 'Total sold' - the 'Trend line' can give you an insight into sales across the platform.

In our main category we see a steady downwards trend in sales across 365 days. You also get a snapshot of your competitors sales in the item listing sales below and also the number of sellers in your category by sorting different columns.

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

repentatleisure1952 — Sat, 29 Jan 2022 23:44:14 GMT

@bikeden wrote:

In our main category we see a steady downwards trend in sales across 365 days.

Perhaps buyers are noticing the key word spamming.

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

chameleon54 — Sun, 30 Jan 2022 03:35:33 GMT

Or perhaps is simply because ebay sales are falling dramatically right across the site.

https://www.ecommercebytes.com/2021/10/27/ebay-sales-down-10-in-third-quarter-revenue-rises-11/

Sales down 10% across the site in 3 months ending September 2021 while seller numbers remain the same. With COVID restrictions lifting globally it is fair to assume the trend has continued in recent months.

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

*sons_and_daughters* — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 11:53:31 GMT

@chameleon54 wrote:
Or perhaps is simply because ebay sales are falling dramatically right across the site.

https://www.ecommercebytes.com/2021/10/27/ebay-sales-down-10-in-third-quarter-revenue-rises-11/

Sales down 10% across the site in 3 months ending September 2021 while seller numbers remain the same. With COVID restrictions lifting globally it is fair to assume the trend has continued in recent months.

Except for you, who has increasing sales every month due to your "niche market". I don't think I've seen anyone sell as much as you do, despite my sometimes 250 sales a month.

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

chameleon54 — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 13:34:18 GMT

@*sons_and_daughters* wrote:
@chameleon54 wrote:
Or perhaps is simply because ebay sales are falling dramatically right across the site.

https://www.ecommercebytes.com/2021/10/27/ebay-sales-down-10-in-third-quarter-revenue-rises-11/

Sales down 10% across the site in 3 months ending September 2021 while seller numbers remain the same. With COVID restrictions lifting globally it is fair to assume the trend has continued in recent months.
Except for you, who has increasing sales every month due to your "niche market". I don't think I've seen anyone sell as much as you do, despite my sometimes 250 sales a month.

What a load of interpersonal carp. While a few forum regulars know one or more of my selling id's and can verify what I post, as far as I know, youre not one of them.

I simply tell it as it is. Most of the time my sales are pretty stable. Usually I sell about as much as I can comfortably handle in a couple of days a week and I,m not really looking for more sales.

Like everything you get as much out of ebay as you put in. At the moment I,m not putting much time into ebay at all and havnt listed anything of significance for a couple of months ( other fish to fry ). As a result my sales are down around 40% on long term trend. ( which suits me very nicely as I need to devote my time elsewhere at the moment )

Once I have sorted some other stuff out, I intend to put a bit more time into ebay and hopefully sales will pick back up, but with COVID disruptions and eBay losing market share in the online sales space ......... who knows.

As for " Niche Markets " .........sure they are great while they last, but what was last years " niche Market " is often this years pile of obsolete junk. I have had to change and adapt what I sell, just the same as any seller who has been here for a number of years.

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

chameleon54 — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 21:42:13 GMT

Except for you, who has increasing sales every month due to your "niche market". I don't think I've seen anyone sell as much as you do, despite my sometimes 250 sales a month.

Another thing that is probably worth mentioning is that ebay success is rarely gauged by total sales per month. A seller of $3.00 stamps or $5.00 books can have a large number of sales but very little return on the time invested. That's fine if someone just does it for fun and doesnt value their time, but if a seller is hoping to pay some bills with ebay sales its a very poor strategy.

The real gauge of success for individual sellers is dollars per hour profit and return on investment in stock. I focus my attention entirely on dollars per hour ( actually earning a genuine salary comparable to other jobs ) and return on investment and on that gauge I do reasonably well.

As a general rule the higher the average item selling price and profit margin, the better return per hour. On 3 selling id's I make a genuine salary after accounting for every minute of time spent on my ebay business ( including sourcing stock, listing, going to the post office etc. ) of around $35 - $40 per hour. A reasonable salary that I can live comfortably enough on and comparable to what I might earn in other jobs. This is achieved with average item sold price of around $38 ( excl. postage ) and profit margins of 500% - 1000%.

On my 4th selling id ( an account I run for a charity ) I have pushed profit per hour to $75 - $80 per hour. This is largely due to the fact that I am selling the absolute gems that get donated and have been able to push average item sold price to around $60 - $70.

@ tipping-point, - You may well sell 250 items some months, but have you accurately calculated your return on time invested over a number of years ?

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

springyzone — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 23:14:48 GMT

Wow, that is an impressive wage per hour (in both cases). There are many jobs around that pay a lot less!

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

huatao1975 — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 02:05:02 GMT

On my 4th selling id ( an account I run for a charity ) I have pushed profit per hour to $75 - $80 per hour. This is largely due to the fact that I am selling the absolute gems that get donated and have been able to push average item sold price to around $60 - $70.

I spent my entire morning sitting on a stool, listening to a 3 LP set of vinyl records, after cleaning them with my Ultrasonic cleaner and waited for them to dry over night. I had to listen to every second of them as if there is a skip or loop they will become worthless. I'll probably list them for $19.95 + postage tomorrow.

Maybe I should worry about money again.

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

countessalmirena — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 03:44:30 GMT

hautao1975, if you enjoyed listening to those records, that brings its own reward.

I would be extremely put off if I had to listen to thrash metal records for $19.95, I must admit! But if it were something in my favourite genres, I would not begrudge the listening time.

Re: Sales drop, sale only around 3 items a week. Anyone else has similar problem?

*sons_and_daughters* — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 09:13:23 GMT

@chameleon54 wrote:

@ tipping-point, - You may well sell 250 items some months, but have you accurately calculated your return on time invested over a number of years ?

Ummm, yeah I have. Most of my sales I make over 5000% on purchase price, and am doing quite well thank you. So much so, I was thinking of dropping a day each week from my regular job to keep up. Maybe you need to stick to your "sheep grazing business". Whatever that means. I'm a sheep farmer, and have never heard anyone call it a "sheep grazing business'. You have sheep for wool, or for market (freezer). You don't have a business having them eat your excess grass, which is what grazing is.