Has Anyone Else Experienced Low Sales Since The Beginning of the Year?

[nadjahughes]

My sales are at an all time low.  Is it just me or is everyone experiencing this?  I sell, new, nearly new brands and designer and vintage women's clothing but have found since Christmas sales are REALLY LOW!  I can't afford to offer free postage, and my prices are very low as it is!  Can anyone suggest something?

[pnc75]

That's interesting, padi. I always thought that it was ebay that coughed up the $ for the discount, but maybe they have a different agreement with the big boys.

They must think people are gullible if that's their regular practice. Surely astute buyers check all on-line avenues as well as b&m before buying?

[padi*0409]

Yes pnc, I always thought that as well, but it was strange to see them increase the price a couple of days before the discount offer appeared on 2 separate occasions.

[lyndal1838]

You can see if ebay pays the discount by looking at your receipt.

You should see the invoice amount, less the discounted amount.   If the total sent to the seller is the amount of the original invoice then ebay has stumped up for the amount of the discount.

If the seller receives the amount of the invoice, less the discount the the seller has given the discount

[jellybirddesigns]

I can't say that my sales are low - in fact my Ebay hub shows I'm up 50% compared to the same time last year.

Each month is a bit different, but I get sales every few days and sometimes multiples in one day. Weekends are my best for sales as people have the time to browse and watch.

I guess it really depends on what you are selling. My items are all handmade, so even though I'm never going to be as cheap as a chinese seller, I do get people who appreciate a quality item made in Australia and sometimes they come back and buy a few more times, which is always fantastic.

For me, the Ebay store has definitely been worth it. I have increased my listings over time to cater for a wide range of styles and tastes and I definitely have my "best sellers" and others which, after the fabric has run out I won't list again.

[pnc75]

I haven't bought anything, lyndal, I was just commenting that that's how I expected it would work.

[chameleon54]

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@pnc75 wrote:

Yes, I agree, but am wondering just how long they can sustain all of the discounts they're throwing their way, and I imagine on top of that they're giving them huge fee discounts. Eventually something has to give. I'm glad i don't have shares in ebay right now.

I wonder how long people like TGG will hang around - surely they could discount more on the ir own websites rather than on ebay, you'd think.

Also, ebay is currently sending out surveys about online grocery shopping on ebay, so that looks and sounds as though they might want to take on the big A (think river) when it opens in Australia. Foolish, I think. They had a formula where people came to ebay for unique and unusual, interesting things that they couldn't find in b&m shops, but that's no longer the case. And, if private sellers aren't selling, then they won't have the money to spend on buying, either.

I'd love to know how ebay's profits are going. Does anyone know?

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The latest figures for ebay are for the 3 months finishing on December 31, 2016. These show ebay had total revenues of 2.4 Billion dollars U.S, up 3.14 % on the previous December 2015 quarter. Profit was 54 cents per share up 8 % on the corresponding December 2015 quarter. Share price is currently around $34.50 U.S which is good for ebay and the 40 top U.S share anylists are very encouraging about the stock.

To summarise, we the little people might be struggling, but ebay is still making profits and slowly improving its position, although its certianly not going gang busters.

. Sorry, pnc75, thats probably not what you wanted to hear, I know......... On the positive side, at least ebay is not going bust, so we still have a platform to sell on...........