Sales down 70% on last year... what is going on?

[knewdoors]

Unbelievable...been doing Ebay for 10 years and it's never been this bad..our sales compared to last year are around 70% down...18 days at the moment without a sale, when we usually have around 8-10 per month..This has never happened before..we have 100% rating..All of our listings are free to Aussie customers..we ship same day (business day) pop prepaid satchels in post..reg post the next business day....despite all of the reassurance from the reps..i feel something isn't right..is it the lights on lights off theory?? is that real? or just an urban myth...all i know is things have nosedived compared to previous years..sure there is amazon & facebook..& gumtree..product trends change to..but really 70% so drastic Ebay says everything is fine re: page views traffic is coming..the reps are terrible here..arrogant is a word that comes to mind..sure they cant make people buy..but i still think something ain't right and does one get "blacklisted" if you disagree with their views..ie: they choke your traffic..shrugs i have no idea..then i read ebay makes a stack from google ads and we are just providing content to them..what gives...???

[bimberiretrosystems]

everyone is on facebook these days-the marketplace there is just getting bigger and bigger all the time-no fees, no paypal, no stupid feedback.

[gumardee_coins_and_banknotes]

I hear that things are not so good on Amazon as well.

[davewil1964]

Real wages haven't increased in the last year.

There was an election in NSW (1/4 of the population) a fortnight ago.

There is a Federal election in 4 weeks.

Mortgage rates have risen, as have rents.

All these things affect discretionary spending.

[davewil1964]

Didn't your posts here - https://community.ebay.com.au/t5/Selling/Decline-in-sales-not-just-eBay/m-p/2232372#M183897

elicit the sympathy you need?

[jellybirddesigns]

Not everyone is down.

I am up 5.8% compared to same time last year and 70.3% from the last 30 days.

It depends on what you sell, how diverse your store is, your photography and so many other factors.

For example, if I was selling clothes, I would hang them on a mannequin for photography purposes.

When I look at your trading cards, they look carelessly laid out.

Presentation means a lot and buyers are savvy.

[global-coins-collectables]

My store's coin sales have fallen off a cliff over the last 2 months

Not sure if I'm keepiung pace with eBays sale strategies (usually discounts, free post etc etc)

I have changed quite a few to free post but my profit margin gets affected greatly on sub $20 items

The only items that have kept my store afloat are the gold nuggets

Does anyone have some suggestions on how to increase my item's 'visibility'?

Best regards

[jellybirddesigns]

@global coins - 

I offer free postage and 1 day handling on 65 of my items as a clearance and it makes no difference to sales. In fact those items actually tend to move slower than the ones I have with full postage cost. 

[lyndal1838]

I am not sure that having Clearance items is the way to go.

I alway think of them as being old stock that has been kicking around unsold, superceeded, orders that were never collected etc.

In short, items that no-one wants.

Although I must admit I have made a few great purchases from clearance items over the years.

[jellybirddesigns]

Lyndal, you might be right.

I have been thinking about changing the wording on some of those listings, so it will be a task for this weekend.