topic Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia in Selling

Sales down on EBAY Australia

shopafix — Sun, 02 May 2021 06:10:36 GMT

What is going on? I have felt a dramatic drop in sales and interest on ebay.

I can only think of two contributing factors:

1) ebay's compulsory rollout in March 2021 to direct payments for small sellers (like myself) without a store meant an actual INCREASE in fees rather than a decrease in fees.

2) An recent increase in Australian postage

I have become disheartened. I personally stopped listing many new items after these increases. Simply put, Ebay's cut and postage is currently unrealistic for small fish like myself.

If others like myself feel the same way then this means that there are less new products listed on ebay ---> this reduces the random clicks through search engines ---> less visitors on ebay and less random sales for bigger sellers with stores too!

We must remember that Ebay is "one organism" when the weaker parts start to suffer the whole system starts to fail.

On top of that- although it is still early days- I think the wind of change is blowing over Ebay but also Amazon Aus ( a joke IMO) and even Facebook: they are fast becoming a "granny's platform" according to younger generations. Ebay feels to me like it's losing momentum. There is a fine line between treasure hunting and the expectation ebay buyers have nowadays to buy things at unrealistically low prices. It cannot happen anymore. Something must change, I sincerely hope it does.

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

davewil1964 — Sun, 02 May 2021 06:56:16 GMT

What is your question?

I am on Managed Payments on 2 accounts and have not noticed any reduction from long time averages. Nor any significant increase in fees. Are you taking into account the fact you no longer pay Paypal fees?

The only time AP increases would be applicable, competition-wise, is if people absorb the increased cost. A good way to go broke, imo.

You are selling into an extremely cluttered and competitive market.

Maybe that has something to do with it. Or maybe the fact that Job seeker and keeper payments were drastically reduced at the end of March and people have less money for discretionary buying.

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

kitschkoven — Tue, 04 May 2021 22:33:29 GMT

My sales have gone off a cliff also. I'm not on MP yet, maybe that has something to do with it. I didn't get one sale last month

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

jellybirddesigns — Wed, 05 May 2021 03:40:56 GMT

I went on to MP last year in July and did not see a difference in sales at that point.

However, I did notice a massive drop around February of this year. I carried out some tweaks in my shop and since then sales have come back, although they are still somewhat down from the same time last year.

Fees are around the same for me now as they were before MP but I advise sellers to adjust their prices accordingly to compensate if they feel there is a slight difference.

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

kitschkoven — Wed, 05 May 2021 08:38:36 GMT

Good to know that you were able to get your sales back after some tweaks. I think that's around the time my sales went off the cliff too. What tweaks did you do, if you don't mind sharing?

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

chameleon54 — Wed, 05 May 2021 09:08:10 GMT

Sorry to hear your sales are not going well. Your post raises a number of issues.

" There is a fine line between treasure hunting and the expectation ebay buyers have nowadays to buy things at unrealistically low prices. It cannot happen anymore. Something must change, I sincerely hope it does. "

The days of ebay being a treasure hunters paradise at discount prices is long gone. Auctions are now a rare commodity and 99 cent starts have virtually disappeared. Its up to sellers to adapt to changes both in the products they offer and also the way they sell their items.

Around 5 years ago, my main ebay category was flooded by Chinese knock offs and changes in technology. My sales where dropping dramatically and so I researched new opportunities, started a new selling id and went into different product lines. While sales on my original selling id's have halved, the new id, selling more relevant items has gone very well and now outsells the two original id's combined, most months.

My sales have been stable and on the firm side right through COVID and are still consistently at the better end. I,m just a single person, part time ebayer selling mainly used items and have sold 3 items worth around $80 since packing and posting earlier this afternoon. ( 3 hours ago ) For me that is good, but not that unusual.

The books you are selling are very common and targeted at a saturated market. Its always going top be a struggle to move them at a reasonable price. Your hand made knitted items are really good ( I,m an old bloke, but I love your knitted stuff , very clever ) and should be good sellers. Is it possible that the buyers looking for hand made craft items have moved to other large online sites which specifically target that market ?

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

davewil1964 — Wed, 05 May 2021 09:17:32 GMT

Books sell.

And 1st editions or bundled relevant sets are not that common. So not a saturated market.

I would tweak some of the prices, but if I was selling those books, I would be charging around the same prices for most, so they are ballpark.

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

chameleon54 — Wed, 05 May 2021 14:31:56 GMT

@davewil1964 wrote:
Books sell.

And 1st editions or bundled relevant sets are not that common. So not a saturated market.

I would tweak some of the prices, but if I was selling those books, I would be charging around the same prices for most, so they are ballpark.

To be accurate you should put the word " SOME " before " books sell. The OP has already stated that the books they have listed are simply not selling. So while some books sell, ( I know because I sell close to $1000 worth of used books on ebay every week ) its constructive to look at why the OP's books are not moving. The answer is simple. Its pretty hard work selling low value, modern, common titles that many other sellers have listed. ( same as selling used, common clothes )

@davewil1964 As you mention, many first editions do sell with sought after titles worth hundreds of dollars, but like everything, they need to be the ones buyers actually want. It all comes down to rarity, subject matter and condition. Its the one percenters that bring the really good money and sell quickly. The other 99 % make great props for wonky beds or can be used for last resort loo paper in a pandemic. To make reasonable dollars per hour, book sellers need to educate themselves on how to identify the one percenter's and find reliable supplies on an ongoing basis.

Selling mass produced, common titles for a few bucks is OK if you dont place any value your time, but it is a flawed model for sellers who want to actually make any sort of return on their time and the money invested in stock.

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

chameleon54 — Wed, 05 May 2021 23:26:42 GMT

Footnote - in the last 18 hours since packing, I have sold 5 used books for $134.00 excluding postage costs. Nothing unusual and right on target for nearly $1000 worth of used book sales each week. ( and yes there are regular posters who can verify the info )

All are rare or unusual titles and an average price of around $31.00 each.

SOME books sell, but they have to be the ones buyers want and are willing to pay reasonable money for.

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

chameleon54 — Wed, 05 May 2021 23:28:33 GMT

How do you edit these new posts - average price $26.80

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

imastawka — Wed, 05 May 2021 23:36:05 GMT

To edit, hover over arrow on right hand side above the time of post

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

fitzroy14 — Fri, 14 May 2021 03:23:19 GMT

To me Ebay is on the way out, my sales are down. Now Ebay has changed payment to my bank account and no Paypal fees. Thought fees would drop but no real difference today. Ebay has now increased their fees! I sell heaps more on Facebook market place, no fees, customers pay in cash when they pick up their item. Hundreds more people looking, sales are great. Might think about dropping Ebay altogether!

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

jwsm_oz — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 15:53:15 GMT

From a buyer's perspective, I always thought the removal of wildcard * searches diminished the effectiveness of searching for items. That was a few years back... but I think slow decline ever since.

I started using PicClick... but recently they stopped showing recent sales. A further annoyance, although it did show bids were down along with sales.

But eBay's greed is the real downer... especially fees on postage which have already risen the world over, hurting online sales. The goods are now cheaper than the postage. Global Shipping is a rip-off. Then of course you have TAX now, determined on the full price and not the goods or premium (as is usually the case with auctions). Then you have the dodgy sellers and postage gougers.

So fewer good sellers, fewer items, more damaged or rubbish goods filling your searches. And many sellers failing to mention or lying about defects.

Why would a buyer even bother? And why would a seller even list? It's getting to the stage there's no reason to use eBay. I have to be on guard and defensive with every purchase because dodgy sellers are the norm. I always think... what's the drama going to be with purchase.

Retail therapy isn't supposed to be stressful and full of distrust.

The core of the problem is eBay's greed and adversarial treatment of sellers, which negatively impacts all users. Everyone is the loser... but I bet eBay will address the profit drop with more fees.

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 11:04:32 GMT

Hardly anyone is shopping on ebay anymore. If someone wants to buy a used item they buy on facebook and if they want to buy a new item they shop on amazon. Ebay is DEAD.

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

davewil1964 — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 11:13:01 GMT

Funny, my sales are consistent.

I guess my buyers don't exist. Good thing the money is real.

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

*sons_and_daughters* — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 13:50:51 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hardly anyone is shopping on ebay anymore. If someone wants to buy a used item they buy on facebook and if they want to buy a new item they shop on amazon. Ebay is DEAD.

Really? Prove it. I was so grateful over the last 3 weeks that my husband was on annual leave because I was struggling to package up orders and get them out on time, while working a regular job. He was able to get them out and the buyers were stoked that they received them before the first ETA date.

I can't say I've ever shopped on Amazon. Probably because I haven't. I don't even have an account. Oh the horror! I'm not alone.

Maybe if you list more than one item, you might actually have people that want to buy your stuff. There's an idea.

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

springyzone — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 21:26:45 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Hardly anyone is shopping on ebay anymore. If someone wants to buy a used item they buy on facebook and if they want to buy a new item they shop on amazon. Ebay is DEAD.

-----------

I'd agree a lot of young people are using marketplace or buy/swap/sell sites on facebook. I've used them myself.

But when it comes to buying, a lot depends on what a buyer is looking for. For instance, a few months back I wanted a particular cake tin. Quite a common one. Found it listed locally on marketplace and picked it up for $5. There is no way I could have bought it on ebay or any other online sales site for that price as postage alone would have been more. I think that's the clue-if you're able to pick up an item and save postage or courier costs, of course it will work out cheaper.

Don't fall into the trap though of thinking marketplace and ebay necessarily list exactly the same or similar things. Obviously there is a crossover. But if you're after a particular item, you might look in vain on marketplace for years and never see it, whereas it is likely you'll find it on ebay, if not immediately, then soonish.

It's years since I was a regular seller but even then I remember most buyers weren't interested in common, cheap items or brands that were a dime a dozen in op shops.

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

supermussolinibros* — Sat, 05 Mar 2022 22:33:04 GMT

Darkenergy2 you should be more respectful - these posts on this thread are made by some very important high rollers who are a tome of knowledge regarding business advice on ebay - they have been around for many years making an absolute fortune out of this ebay system (on some sites they re called 'trolls' but here nothing could be further from the truth - they are invaluable 'mentors' and motivational sellers) - they come to this forum offering their experience and an insight into their wealth creation which YOU can use to build your own profit empire.

There are some really lucky ones who actually are "paid mentors" - how great is that? They make a motza selling and get rewarded with money by ebay simply for sharing their hard earned experience - sigh if only one could be so lucky.

The post i am replying to is one example of the masters of profit and wisdom on ebay.

In the past month before fees etc they sold $350 worth of stock - yes can you believe it that so much can be made here - in light of these facts when people say "leaving in droves" i take it with a pinch of salt - who in their right mind would shirk off such profit? YES real STONE COLD HARD MONEY -- this could be YOU.

It's these 'ebay warriors' who i'm sure ebay execs respect so much and are in regular contact with to congratulate and give special offers and benefits to (god they re sooo lucky) - after all who would stick around to share so many thousands of posts -only the best who are willing to share the secret of their success so people like YOU can be part of this "profit magic", so you can achieve financial independence and to quote Dave from 2010 a space odyssey sequel "what's going to happen?Something Wonderful".

The band ACDC have an album called "for those about to rock...we salute you" - I have my own version "for those about to sell on ebay...we salute you"

So Darkenergy2 when you come to these forums with negative feelings in your heart, when the world has walked all over you, when you feel the horse has bolted or when the proverbial curtain has come down just think to yourself (to quote dave from 2001 a space odyssey) "MY GOD IT'S FULL OF STARS"

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

chameleon54 — Sat, 05 Mar 2022 22:56:27 GMT

😀Thanks Musso.......... I dont often agree with you but I needed a good laugh. And as for the seller / poster you refer to as selling $350 a month before fees, if its the one I think you are referring too, their sales must be falling fairly quickly ( in line with many other sellers ) as it was a bit more than that last time I looked and even then, their sales where falling from previous months. ( despite what they are regularly telling us on the boards )

Unfortunately there are a one or two ~~trolls~~ posters here who are regularly telling porkies about how good things are for them on ebay . It might have been good for them once, but if most of the regulars here are honest, they will acknowledge their sales are falling quite dramatically at the moment.

And my sales ? Down around 40% from the posts I made on this thread some months ago although I,m not putting much time into eBay at the moment and could probably lift sales a bit with more effort.

Re: Sales down on EBAY Australia

kopenhagen5 — Sat, 05 Mar 2022 22:58:13 GMT

@supermuss

Such a load of codswallop. No one here is paid for posting on the public forums.

In fact eBay doesn't even read here as the site is run by an outside company called Khoros owned by Vista Equity.

If you are going to post here, don't post lies and made up nonsense invented by your own mind.