Lack of new members

[etb321]

Just looking down my list of sold items, there are almost no buyers with feedback less than 100.  I used to get members with feedback scores of zero or one, stumbling their way through inital purchases. My thinking, hopefully incorrect, is there has been a fairly  steep decline in new ebay accounts.

Tom

[countessalmirena]

---

@digital*ghost wrote:

---

@countessalmirena wrote:

I theorise that the lower numbers for Amazon are due to Amazon's announcement at the time of the GST on low value imported goods coming into effect - that Australian buyers would no longer be able to buy from Amazon, but only from the skeletal .au site.

---

Unlikely - GST (on low value imports) came into effect July 2018, and those numbers are for January to June, 2018. The announcement (about geoblocking us) was made around May, so if anything that would have increased visits to the US site May - June, as people would have bought while they thought they still could. (They did actually geoblock us for a while, but it didn't last long). 

---

... And I can't blame my lack of noting the period for which those numbers applied on anyone but myself... Well, I suppose that I can also blame it on some health issues. In fact, I will blame it on that. Wonky theory - feeling wonky - it all makes sense now.

I've looked and not found anything... but has anyone any statistics on how many purchases on eBay.com.au are from Chinese sellers? (Old theory discarded; new theory being formed - coffee needed urgently as my next theory will involve the question of whether cats conjugate "meow" tonally.)

[digital*ghost]

---

@countessalmirena wrote:

I've looked and not found anything... but has anyone any statistics on how many purchases on eBay.com.au are from Chinese sellers? (Old theory discarded; new theory being formed - coffee needed urgently as my next theory will involve the question of whether cats conjugate "meow" tonally.)

---

I suspect that sort of data isn't readily available, but someone could probably get a decent idea by looking into sold listings based on the top selling items on eBay AU. There are a lot of Chinese sellers on the A site as well, though. 

According to the Neto data:

Wedding items: purchased every 25 seconds
Home decor items: purchased every 12 seconds
Watches: purchased every 22 seconds
Tools: purchased every 19 seconds
Smartphones: purchased every 1 minute
Car or truck parts: 4 seconds

They all strike me as items readily available in China (re: car parts, I'm thinking more along the lines of generic lights, steering wheel covers etc). 

[chameleon54]

---

@digital*ghost wrote:

---

@countessalmirena wrote:

I've looked and not found anything... but has anyone any statistics on how many purchases on eBay.com.au are from Chinese sellers? (Old theory discarded; new theory being formed - coffee needed urgently as my next theory will involve the question of whether cats conjugate "meow" tonally.)

---

I suspect that sort of data isn't readily available, but someone could probably get a decent idea by looking into sold listings based on the top selling items on eBay AU. There are a lot of Chinese sellers on the A site as well, though. 

According to the Neto data:

Wedding items: purchased every 25 seconds
Home decor items: purchased every 12 seconds
Watches: purchased every 22 seconds
Tools: purchased every 19 seconds
Smartphones: purchased every 1 minute
Car or truck parts: 4 seconds

They all strike me as items readily available in China (re: car parts, I'm thinking more along the lines of generic lights, steering wheel covers etc). 

---

The account that I reffered to that has sold 3 items to zero feedback buyers this week from 19 items sold sells exclusively in the car parts catagory. It rarely sells generic items, but specialises in hard to get, model specific items that may not be available anywhere else.

Sales on this account have definately been affected over time by Chinese sellers counterfieting copies of the genuine article, but a lot of the items this store sells are too model specific and low volume to be copied.

The other thing about automotive components buyers is that many tend to shy away from Chinese import stuff as often it is not the same quality as genuine parts. There is a great thread in the automotive enthusiests section of the ebay forums, with photos, showing what can happen when you buy cheap Chinese auto parts.( some-ones prize BMW wrapped around a tree )

https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Motors/Dangerous-Car-Parts-being-sold-Via-EBay/m-p/1961426#M1142

[springyzone]

Not answering anyone in particular.

But I think there might be a difference  between sites when it comes to buyers & sellers.

If you look at marketplace & the FB buy/swap/sell sites, it is mostly little home sellers getting rid of an item or two around their homes.

And a lot of their buyers might be locals who see the posts and buy sometimes on impulse. Exposure sometimes results in sales.

But buyers aren't necessarily worried about where they buy, as long as the price is right and the site seems reliable and safe.

It also depends what they want to buy. For example, today I wanted a baby coin set. Chances of seeing it on marketplace? About zilch. On ebay? Pretty definite.

Ebay membership no doubt went up a lot a few years back as more and more people got online but it can't go up in such big strides indefinitely. Doesn't mean there won't be new buyers or that sales won't be good or that ebay is going downhill.

[supermussolinibros]

True - if you died and no one informed facebook then you would be seen as alive to other facebook users.  I'm sure there are accounts where people have died and next of kin has informed facebook but kept the account going to inform others - these are the people who are seen dead on facebook.  You can get caught dead on facebook by not signing in i guess but it's a technicality associated with signing in but until they are informed it's hard to know if someone is dead or not.

[unique_pre-driven]

Ebay is still the best site.  Gumtree is a quiet seller for me. Large and household pieces get sold there, sometimes ebay stuff too.

[springyzone]

---

@unique_pre-driven wrote:

Ebay is still the best site.  Gumtree is a quiet seller for me. Large and household pieces get sold there, sometimes ebay stuff too.

---

Yes, I find that too.

I have a few things on GT right now. I am constantly amazed at people who message me-Is this item still available? (yes it is) or, as I got this morning 'Will you post it to me if I pay for the postage?' Yes, that's fine) . I answer them all but then often never hear back.

Why do they bother asking, that is what i wonder.

[countessalmirena]

I recently bought a particular cookbook from a seller on GT. It was a smooth transaction with cash on pickup, but a previous person had contacted the seller to buy it, then was not heard from again.

I could not leave a transaction hanging in the wind like that. It's frustrating and disrespectful to others.

[unique_pre-driven]

Sadly it is just the way things are these days.  Shoot me down in flames but I do think F.B. is responsible for a lot of this, it has taught a not responsible attitude within groups of people.

[lupercal]

I still actually get quite a lot of newbies. But a lot of my sales are to longstanding members. I sell a lot of CDs and vintage magazines, and physical media isn't huge with Millenials.