topic Re: Convince me to stay! in Selling

Convince me to stay!

niceoldstuffdownunder — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 04:51:03 GMT

I have been selling regularly on here since 1999, mainly my own stuff (retro , antiques, collectables)collected over years and years and my own quality clothes and shoes. I realize ebay can't operate without fees but I've noticed declining views and watchers and ultimately sales . I use keywords, brand names etc and my prices are cheap but I don't feel like paying more in promotional fees .....I've read they don't work anyway! Are high postage prices a problem ? I always offer pick up. Or is Marketplace a better option ? Or is it what I'm selling ?Also ebay used to dangle carrots like 5 fee free listings or free postage for your next 5 sales .....haven't had these offers in ages ! Would love to know what others think.

Re: Convince me to stay!

kopenhagen5 — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 07:42:05 GMT

As long as you can list for free, then may as well.

I suggest putting ‘make an offer’ on all your listings.
No one has money at present. Dare I say it, I think we are and have been in a recession for a few years.
I hear some have great success with marketplace, however I think prices need to be very generous.

I also haven’t seen many promos offered for some time, both for selling and buying.

Re: Convince me to stay!

pnc75 — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 07:49:14 GMT

Plus it's always slow this time of year, with Christmas, holidays and then back to school. People don't have any money left 😞

Re: Convince me to stay!

pnc75 — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 07:57:08 GMT

Just to add though, ebay isn't what it used to be 😞 but it has a more competition these days. I have success on some other platforms, but still hang around here for the occasional sale.

Re: Convince me to stay!

brickworksmarket — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 00:18:02 GMT

High inflation usually tells you theres too much money in the economy but as you say many dont have much money. Someone is spending keeping inflation high instead of going through a short recession with a price correction making it easier for everyone else.

Re: Convince me to stay!

*casey* — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 06:20:03 GMT

@niceoldstuffdownunder

I agree with pnc in respect to "eBay isn't what it used to be".

As I'm sure you're aware, once upon a time some of your 'labeled' women's and children's items would have been snapped up for MUCH higher prices than you have them listed for now.

I don't think it's ALL about lack of money though.

Much of your target market have moved away from this site.

Many think it's old fashioned and are looking on Marketplace instead.

While some people think that Marketplace buyers will try to beat you down in price, I think it really does depend on where you live and what you're selling.

JMO, but I think some of your labeled items would do very well on Marketplace and you'd have a wider audience of local buyers.

As far as the rest of the site goes, it's flooded with Chinese dropshipping junk , often making it too time consuming for buyers to actually find the good, Australian sellers.

And with so many other online sites to shop, those buyers have had enough of having to sift through all the Chinese dropshipping junk, so they've left here.

Re: Convince me to stay!

springyzone — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 20:36:13 GMT

Why don't you try out both? List some of your items on marketplace as well as here. You can also look up facebook groups. Sometimes there are dedicated groups for selling particular brands of items/clothing and you could join and list in those too.

If some of your items are listed on both sites, you'll be able to judge for yourself how they do. It would be easy to juggle as if you get a person on marketplace who is offering to buy, you can just quickly pull the ad off ebay before accepting.

Things on ebay have changed drastically since 1999. Back in the early 2000s, I sometimes bought good brand/excellent condition used clothing but it is not something I have even considered doing on ebay in many years now. It has lost its appeal. I have occasionally bought something for the grandkids but that is about all.

What you're facing is a situation where most companies now have their own websites and sales, which they didn't back in the early 2000s.

And I'd agree with Casey in that a lot of younger people (and younger people to me are those 40 and under 😁) just don't use ebay. They didn't grow up in a time when ebay was about the only sales site online.

If you're able to list on ebay for free, I agree with kopenhagen, then you may as well. Nothing to lose. But do both and double your chances.

Re: Convince me to stay!

south.coffee — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 06:13:42 GMT

It's not you. It's everyone. Everyone is selling clothes. Type the word 'cotton' into search field and you will get 4,558,214 results.

There are 22,519,505 listings in Clothing, Shoes & Accessories category on sale to Australian buyers.

How you stand out statistically where your 34 items for sale is mathematically low... and your 16 sales in the last few months reflects the statistics. It's not you.

Re: Convince me to stay!

south.coffee — Sun, 25 Jan 2026 23:06:33 GMT

My local Vinnies store sell second hand T-shirts for $6-10 when up the road at Kmart you can buy a new one for $4.50 and don't have to wait days or cost for delivery. Fast Fashion too has killed off second hand clothes market.

Unless you are looking for something unique, retro or vintage new clothes cost very little. Even Op-shops don't want them any more and throw out many donated clothes. They take up lots of space and return little. Two Op-shops in our town closed as they went broke...

Re: Convince me to stay!

*casey* — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 02:46:36 GMT

"new clothes cost very little"

Obviously I live in the wrong area.

Could someone please post the locations of eg

The Decjuba, Witchery and Country Road stores where they're selling their clothes for 'very little' ?

TIA

Re: Convince me to stay!

countessalmirena — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 04:50:29 GMT

When a new T-shirt is $4.50, my suspicion is that it’s made in China, of fabric that is carcinogenic, fabricated by Uyghur slave labour in Xinjiang.

I despair for humankind.

Re: Convince me to stay!

springyzone — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 10:53:35 GMT

@south.coffee wrote:
My local Vinnies store sell second hand T-shirts for $6-10 when up the road at Kmart you can buy a new one for $4.50 and don't have to wait days or cost for delivery. Fast Fashion too has killed off second hand clothes market.

Unless you are looking for something unique, retro or vintage new clothes cost very little. Even Op-shops don't want them any more and throw out many donated clothes. They take up lots of space and return little. Two Op-shops in our town closed as they went broke...

You're absolutely right, the world is flooded with fast fashion.

Even the op shops don't want it once it has been worn a few times as people are well aware of the cheap brand names.

I think the likes of K mart get many sales from families as kids grow so quickly and times are hard for a lot of people.

On the other hand, good brands are not cheap and there is a market for them if they are in good condition.

Mind you, it can all get a bit pretentious. I well recall years ago (about 35 years) I met up with a friend who bought her baby son a flannel shirt from Target while her friends had their toddlers in designer flannel shirts that cost $130. And let me remind you-that was 35 years ago! I wouldn't even be surprised if they were made in China too. Even some of the expensive brands are not ethical in what they pay their workers overseas.

But it is like anything else. Paying a bit more will usually get you better quality, up to a point.

Re: Convince me to stay!

niceoldstuffdownunder — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 22:19:21 GMT

Thanks everyone for your input, I'll take it all on board! Happy selling in 2026 🙂

Re: Convince me to stay!

etb321 — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 03:09:49 GMT

There was a time when eBay was the place to sell. Many valid reasons for the change have already been mentioned. One reason that shouldn't be forgotten is the management of the site which firstly encouraged the creation of alternatives and later an exodus of smaller sellers

Re: Convince me to stay!

novaclover — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 19:56:37 GMT

I deleted all my clothing ads. No one is even viewing them. I have listed on marketplace instead at a bit lower price since I won’t be paying eBay a percentage or paying the postage.

Re: Convince me to stay!

south.coffee — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 06:57:39 GMT

I don't think eBay is making much from their 22,519,505 clothing listings. At some point, the cost of hosting so many listings that generate zero revenue for them becomes redundant. The category may at some point flip to paid listings to recover costs.

Far more money promoting electronics and other high cost desirable products that consumers want. It's all about cash flow and one smart phone sale will turn over more commission than a hundred or so t-shirt sales...

P.S. (The cost of labour in China has forced their largest maker to manufacture in Bangladesh and Kmart has followed too).

Re: Convince me to stay!

*casey* — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 08:34:41 GMT

Tip for Buyers:

Buy your smart phone/ electronics in a retail store where you'll receive a warranty and a guarantee that they're not one of the numerous counterfeit, fraudulent listings on this site.

Re: Convince me to stay!

springyzone — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 21:04:29 GMT

@south.coffee wrote:
I don't think eBay is making much from their 22,519,505 clothing listings. At some point, the cost of hosting so many listings that generate zero revenue for them becomes redundant. The category may at some point flip to paid listings to recover costs.

Far more money promoting electronics and other high cost desirable products that consumers want. It's all about cash flow and one smart phone sale will turn over more commission than a hundred or so t-shirt sales...

P.S. (The cost of labour in China has forced their largest maker to manufacture in Bangladesh and Kmart has followed too).

I don't think second hand clothing necessarily sells as well as it used to or anywhere as well as some other categories. It's true on ebay but also true on marketplace I think.

Unless it is a top brand or children's clothing, it can be lucky to get many looks.

Re: Convince me to stay!

south.coffee — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 03:53:20 GMT

Foreign manufacturers throw away new cotton garments with imperfections. Impossible to sell and expensive to dispose of, 'rag traders' take them for free, bundle into 25kg bags and sell to factories and mechanic shops for.... $1/kg including delivery !

Selling second hand clothes is a dead loss and today's item count in clothing has risen to 23,047,455 that's half a million more than 3 weeks ago !

So the OP's now 43 items for sale, statistically your Click-through rate, Page views and Conversion rate are diminishing by the day at an alarming rate like everyone else who sells clothes.

Re: Convince me to stay!

*casey* — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 04:46:28 GMT

"Type the word 'cotton' into search field and you will get 4,558,214 results.

There are 22,519,505 listings in Clothing, Shoes & Accessories category on sale to Australian buyers.

I don't think eBay is making much from their 22,519,505 clothing listings.

Selling second hand clothes is a dead loss and today's item count in clothing has risen to 23,047,455 that's half a million more than 3 weeks ago !"

The OPs selling brand names... good , popular labeled clothing

Buyers of these labels generally search by the label and size !

These buyers are NOT looking for a $4.50 Kmart T shirt !

As mentioned before, much of the target market has moved over to Marketplace