topic Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question in Selling

I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

arlottstreetstation — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 10:00:19 GMT

Is it just me or is anyone else experiencing a massive drop in sales?

Things died for a while after the increase in FVFs but picked up - But, ever since the lastest "Disaster Release" I've noticed a steady decine to the point where I'm now going days without a Sale. This time of year is normally the other wayaround for me with the lead up to Xmas.

Granted, a lot of my normal return Customers are now contacting me direct because they're sick of paying the high prices I'm forced to charge on Ebay to cover Fees, but there are VERY FEW new Customers coming along.

When they do, I am constantly surprised (and amused) to hear cmments like "I don't trust Ebay anymore", "Ebay is too User Unfriendly" etc. .....

THE BUYERS are telling me that they don't believe in Free Post & in fact even become suspicious when they see something that seems too cheap with Free Post as it usually signals JUNK!!!! They're sick of being ripped off by the Chinese Junk Peddlers & their misleading Listings saying the item is in Australia, only to find it's coming from O/S & will take weeks to get here.

I've taken a wait & see attitude up until now, but alas I'm beginning to wonder if it's all worth it. Some boffin who wouldn't have a clue about my Business constantly telling me what's best for it - what Buyers want when clearly it is not - creating a poisonous atmosphere of distrust by BOTH Buyers & Sellers & so on & so on....

So in the immortal words of "Big Brother" - It's time to go....EBAY!!!!

Sales might be slower on other Sites, or even my own Website, but then, nothing is happening here anymore....

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

horizon1907 — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 10:06:49 GMT

Hams, I think many, many folk will wholeheartedly agree with you 100% .

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

i-love-my-sheep — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 10:06:57 GMT

Things are about normal for me.......but I'm far from being a long term seller.

As for people getting sick of being ripped off with Chinese junk, no-one is forcing them to buy it!

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

found-in-australia — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 10:13:54 GMT

I sell collectables, which are not generally suitable as Christmas presents, so I generally experience a decline in Australian sales from about early December (and targeted American sales usually pick up about the second week of December).

The last two weeks has felt like Christmas has come early this year - not in a good way, but a lack of competitive bidding (other than last night) even with decent numbers of watchers on items, and items not selling that usually would, both in a way that the market usually falls for me in early to mid December.

Not sure if it is an economy thing, or an Ebay thing, but I am losing cash flow earlier than I usually do this year.

Kind Regards, Kevin

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

character_parties_aus — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 10:16:22 GMT

Sales are down 50 percent on ebay but my website and shop sales are fantastic, so basically it's the big finger to ebay .:) the sales slump on ebay for us is largely caused by issues with combine post and the free shipping lie. Much easier and better deals if you buy direct,with us so people do. Ebay is becoming a rip,off.

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

digital*ghost — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 10:33:17 GMT

I dunno how much anyone wants to hear the flip side, but I've kinda been swamped lately.

Once upon a time, all I wanted was to hit 100 sales in a month (took me two years to actually acheive that), but this past month I've exceeded 500 with no sign of slowing down - I know compared to some that's not huge, but for me it is.

I just told someone how much my eBay fees are for this month, and they're still recovering from the choking and spluttering, though (they did manage to gasp out a "that's obscene" at one point).

It's interesting to hear that people have said they don't trust eBay (as a buyer) - I'm guessing part of that (at least) stems from poor experiences with select sellers, but I wouldn't be surprised if eBay's own actions have contributed.

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

van_werkhoven — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 10:54:58 GMT

I'm also on the flipside. After three pretty rotten and disheartening weeks, I have $150 in stock to package up tomorow morning (not bad for tues/wed/thur sales, for a mum working maybe 10-15 hours a week on this) and Fri/Sat/Sun/Mon are usually my best days, so here's hoping the weekend goes well for me! I sure need the boost after receiving two defects in one week.

I'm not sure what clothing sales will be like leading up to christmas. I have sold before, but not consistently, so this will be my first christmas in full swing. I know season changes bring on sales, all my kids swimsuits sold within like a week of each other when summer hit!

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

kane1417 — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 11:08:34 GMT

Hi Hamsy3, You have hit the nail right on the head ! My sales started nose diving 9 months ago, with a 500 % increase in time wasting non payers, and just lately from 1st November, sale cancellations and refunds to boot.Too many ever changing rules and regulations and fee structures have seen a once enjoyable and profitable selling platform turn into a long winter of discontent, every day I wonder when the last sale will go belly up for some trivial excuse ! Running a ebay online store today is like trying to sleep with one eye open.I truly believe the lunatics have taken over the asylum and its just a matter of time before someone locks the doors and throws away the key ! and ebay will be a thing of the past for small business sellers.All the best for your future endeavours ! Kane1417

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

chameleon54 — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 22:11:27 GMT

I Agree with a lot of what you say. I know I am buying very little off of ebay these days. ( probably 10% of what I purchased 12 months ago ), but I,m in the other camp for sales. I am not spending much time on listing or managing my store, ( working on exit strategy ) but are achieving average long term sales figures at the moment which is pretty amazing with the low listing levels. Many of my sales are coming from existing listings that have sat there for months unsold.

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

phorum_junkie* — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 23:58:42 GMT

I have just reopened my store after a six month break and although I haven't sold a great deal yet I have sold some items that have been listed for a very long time. I have been busy creating listings for my auction id so haven't added any new store items yet but expect things will ramp up a bit when I do. I have only had a few auction items finish so far but only one of them was unsold and a few have multiple bids so I am not complaining.............yet

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

dotm2004 — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 00:16:22 GMT

It's not just you hamy 😞

I'm a long time seller, and my sales have also dropped over the past few months (probably about 25%) I find that I sell a lot of my stock, but usually to the first bidder. I have a few 'regulars' who bulk buy (good quality, second hand kids clothes) and they keep me going.

I'm hoping the latest 150 free insertion listings will give me a boost ..... I LIVE IN HOPE.:)

It's hard to understand when you keep up the same standards .... I have very good feedback .... I 'talk' to several other small time sellers like myself, and they are experiencing the same.

Maybe the BUYERS are experiencing hard times .... although, you'd think in these times, eBay is a cheaper option?

Maybe things will improve soon ..... let's hope 🙂

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

coalitionbrands — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 00:30:16 GMT

I'm in the same boat, sales have been really healthy over the last week or two. Sold 15 items overnight which is unheard of for a weekday. We sell ski and snowboard wear and people are starting to buy for the Northern Hemisphere winter. We also stock street and summer gear so are getting the best of both worlds at the moment.

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

bettyboopsadaisy — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 00:37:33 GMT

No, its is definitely not just you !!

I actually find myself cheering out loud, whenever I get a bid these days, they are so rare !!!

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

chameleon54 — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 01:34:34 GMT

I think it depends a little bit on what people sell, although I would have thought the OP,s train items may have been more resiliant than some fields. Clothes have always had a huge amount of competition and items can get lost in the vast numbers of listings. With the general economy being flat, many large stores are having constant sales with major write downs in prices. If people can buy a T shirt or pants from a B & M Target store for $5-$10, they are not going to buy one online and pay the high postage costs and ebay fees that sellers have to build into prices. I realise that as you get into more expensive clothes this is not such a big thing but the principle still holds.

There is no doubt that ebay is facing much more competition for the online spending dollar than a year or two ago. The fact that ebay management has shot itself in the foot so many times recently with the hacking incident, stupid policy decisions such as FVF on postage, the defect system and changes to return policy has compounded problems for sellers and buyers using the ebay platform. This is all contributing to the general decline of ebay and are some of the reasons that ebay is slipping behind the performance of its online peers such as Amazon. This is being reflected in a sagging share price which indicates that many people much smarter and wealthier than me think the company is on the nose.

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

yeoldecoinco — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 12:50:39 GMT

I will probably get shot for saying this, but here goes anyway.

The last few months have been quiet on eBay, no doubt about that.

I have kept my sales up by running a lot of 10% off sales, whilst that has not helped the profit margin, at least it has kept the sales up.

My last 10% off sale ended on Monday, so I thought, the rest of the week will be dead, if they were not going to buy it at 10% off, why would they buy it at the full price?

Tuesday, to my amazement, was an absolute boomer of a day, sold more than 30 items.

The rest of the week has been excellent as well.

Listed a large collection of 180 items a couple of days back.

As I listed the items, I looked at what other similar items were selling for and listed mine at a slightly lower price with free postage.

I list everything as Buy It Now, gave up on auctions a long time ago.

This place is fiercy competitive. You have to offer a good range and good prices, otherwise the material will sit there forever, just costing fees.

Whilst I sympathise with many people who are having the problem of low sales, one has to be proactive and keep an interesting range of material listed at decent prices. Otherwise, you have no chance.

My category is coins and I looked at what other people were listing their items for.

In many cases, I looked at the ridiculous prices others had similar items listed for and thought, that person has no hope of selling the item at that price, not at least, until I sell mine, which is priced at less than theirs...

Yes, it is partly the economy, yes it is partly eBay, but it also down to each of us to work hard and smart if we want success.

With eBay's crazy defect system, even that might not be enough anymore..

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

chameleon54 — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 23:07:23 GMT

yeoldecoinco, The suggestions to keep listings fresh by continually adding new items of interest, discounting older stock through sales etc. is all good advice. I would agree that pricing your items slightly lower than other sellers will help to generate sales, but the constant "race to the bottom" on prices can adversly affect profit margins.

I run my stores on a different pricing policy. I charge as much as I reasonably think I can get for my items. I may turn nine potential buyers away, but eventually some-one will part with the cash and buy the item. This means my items sit for longer, but my profit margins are much higher than competitors. I still sell as much as I can reasonably handle, so dont really want to increase sales ( read workload ) by discounting and slashing my profit margins. ( more work for less dollars ). My field is specialised and I can offer expert technical advice that casual sellers may not be able to assist with. I also have a very large range of listings in specialist fields and only sell good quality products. ( no cheap damaged rubbish. ). I try to describe my items accurately and mail very quickly. By providing this type of service I have managed to maintain strong market share, with prices at the higher end in a highly competative sector.

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

i-love-my-sheep — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 23:35:50 GMT

I rely a lot on the lower feedback buyers because they don't tend to shop around like a more experienced buyer would do. They see something they want and buy it. Many people don't know about the 'see similar items' link in their watch list. I'd say over 50% of my buyers have less than 40 feedback.

I tend to have runs on things. I won't have much interest for ages, then bang, bang, bang. This is not my main source of income though, so there is no pressure to increase sales. I'll just be glad when i've got rid of all this stuff, then I can stop regular selling!

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

jjs20142014 — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 01:26:56 GMT

The reason for this is Ebay is favouring some sellers over others over time and few accounts i experience this too, and Ebay will make u relist and relist at cost prices and then only show your stuff more often when they feel they have made enuff from relisting fees. they dont care about you, only the share holder and there favoured sellers. u could have exactly the same product and much cheaper, and the favoured seller has 20 watches and repeated buyers and the much cheaper one has no watches and sales, im sure another reason is buyers are getting sick of ebay and all the scammers out there so less traffic, sellers are also leaving ebay in there hundreds i am delisting and leaving two accounts today. if there favoured sellers also leave bad untruthful feedback they dont care, but if u leave truthful honest feedback on one of there favourites it gets taken off at the drop of a coin. its all become too manipulated here, ebay is on its way down, it used to be great here but not anymore NO MORE BUYERS COME U MIGHT GET 5 VIEWS IN 3 DAY LISTING AND TWO VIEWS OR 3 MIGHT BE YOUR OWN VIEWINGS. THEY START EVERY LISTING WITHING SECONDS WITH 2 VIEWS WHICH IS A LIE AND SELLERS ARE GETTING SICK OF BEING RIPPED OFF AND UNFAIRLY TREATED

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

jjs20142014 — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 01:29:22 GMT

I THINK U WORK FOR EBAY TO MAKE THEM LOOK GOOD I DONT BELIEVE ANY OF THAT

Re: I Know Everyone Is Sick Of This Question

jjs20142014 — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 01:30:30 GMT

ITS A SETUP EBAY RUNS TO SEEM LIKE NON BUYERS EVER PAY, ITS SO THERE FAVOURED SELLERS GET MORE EXPOSURE HAPPENS SO MUCH LATELY MUCH MORE THEN EVER USED TO