Sales down a lot this Christmas from previous years

[goodies_draw]

Just wondering if anyone else is experiencing the same huge down full in sales this Christmas from previous Christmas's? I am feeling that it is all due to the Big Retailer's over discounts?

[davewil1964]

But your stuff probably doesn't go through Sunshine (or Chullora). Noted for bouncing parcels between each other.

[*tippy*toes*]

They usually go via Chullora. All my mail except local stuff goes to Sydney. I nearly puked a few weeks ago when I sent a tracked item to Vic and it went via both Chullora and Sunshine West. I was expecting an INR, but for some reason unknown to anyone, it only spent 2 days at both, and didn't bounce between the 2. I have had a few bounce back and forth, but never had an issue with express (I know others have though).

[typhoon4u]

AP really needs to do something with that black hole that is "Sunshine West".

My parcels disappearing into a different dimension is just not on !!

[wilmajames123]

My sales are down about 80% over this time last year.  I can't attribute this to crowding by the major retailers as I offer a specialized line which doesn't have much competition.  This year I'm listing far more items than before but results remain dismal.  Lucky if I get five sales a week!   

[chameleon54]

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@chameleon54 wrote:

My sales are down around 30% on last years figures. I have to admit, I have not done any serious listing for several months as I have been spending time off ebay building a sheep grazing business.  This does make a difference and my figures may be better if I had put the time into ebay.

Ebay has been my main source of income for several years and has provided our family with a good income stream comparable to a "normal" full time job, but I would not be able to pay all of the bills with my current turnover.

I have just had minor surgery ( carpel tunnel ) so will spend a couple of weeks listing. It will be interesting to see if this kick starts things again and gets my figures back up. 

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 Just thought it worth mentioning. I have spent a number of days doing new listings and sales have responded very well.  My sales have shot right back up to above average. This is not all the new listings either, but many items that have been listed for a year or two.

It seems ebays search system responds to account activity. The more activity, the higher your search rankings.  I have always thought this was the case, but the last couple of weeks seem to confirm it.

There IS STILL LIFE in the old ebay dragon  

[mbselections00]

That's great positive news and I do agree, I also think sales are related to account activity, which is why I often say/think/wonder if the amount of time devoted to eBay is worth it - and I moan/procrastinate frequently that I don't have time to pursue other platforms

Hope you've recovered well from the ct surgery & that the sheep grazing business is going well - I would still be a bit concerned about relying heavily on this place

[dazzledayz]

Sales are up for me too.

In fact they are ticking along at pre-Cassini levels ATM and I don't seem to be experiencing blackouts.

Sales are doing what you'd expect and just ticking over fairly regularly rather than in the burst mode we have all become used to.

I don't know if this is a permanent change in visibility or whether it is a temporary thing to get around Christmas postage delays.

You'd think if that was the case they would have put it in place before Christmas though.

Maybe all the talk about supporting small to medium sellers has finally led to something?

Here's hoping anyway!

[chameleon54]

Thanks MB, Carpel tunnel surgery has worked very well. No more waking at night with pins and needles and dropping things due to nerve loss in fingers. I have booked the other hand in for 12 months time.

Sheep are doing very well, but feed and water could be tight in a couple of months time. It is very dry in many places around the country. It should not be too big a problem for us as we have plenty of hay and grain in storage. We will begin trucking sheep from the hills near the city to our outback property in the next few weeks as we have artesian water and grain stubbles for feed there.

I do enjoy the sheep work. It is hard, dusty work, but never boring.. 

[*tippy*toes*]

Glad to hear all seems to be going well for you, especially the sheep business. I can totally sympathise with the pins and needles. I've got ulna nerve issues so get numb and tingly from my elbow to finger tips. Thankfully it only affects the ring and pinky finger, but it's frustrating having reduced strength and I do tend to drop a lot of things. The neurologist said it would get better on its own after I had nerve conduction tests done, but it's anyone's guess how long that will be. It's been like it for 2 years already!

It's also great to hear from those who's sales have picked up. I've sold 2 things since Christmas. I'm not worried though. I don't have anywhere near the amount of items listed as what I usually do, which probably doesn't help.

[collect247]

We love our sheep and chooks and horses,goats they are all great to have around,the kids love them and look after them.

No need to mow the lawn as the sheep and goats eat the grass continuosly as it grows.

It's a great life living on acreage surrounded by animals.

All the best with the sheep grazing.