on โ14-05-2013 08:58 AM
I have been a regular seller on e-bay since 2000 (yep 13 years) and I have never seen sales so critically low. The lack of sales combined with the increase in e-bay fees / paypal fees etc looks like after all these years time to finish up with with ebay and back to selling at the local weekend markets.
on โ14-05-2013 09:18 PM
Also from shopping around and finding them cheaper from an overseas ebay seller and I am not talking about the cheap junk chinese stuff.
on โ15-05-2013 07:04 AM
It is a fine line really. I admit there are sellers out there who charge too much, some who use postage to try and make an extra buck and it is not good for other sellers.
However, I am not one of those sort of seller's, on some of my items, once I have paid postage I break almost even, in some situations I lose out.
In the good times I can afford that, the bigger value items (that are still very cheaply priced) can allow me to absorb the odd negative profit item, but not anymore.
As it is no items are really selling well, so the odd small item I an still selling is in effect hurting me very badly.
I am hoping after June 30 things may pick up, but if not, I can see the writing on the wall and will have no choice but to shut up shop like so many BM stores and business have been forced to do.
BTW - this is not a whinge, just a statement of fact. :8}
on โ20-05-2013 10:28 AM
As I had some spare time on the weekend (normally busy doing parcelling of ebay sales!!) I went through some old ebay sales records to compare "May" sales from previous years.
As I suspect, sales from previous years (going as far back as 2003) are down by as much as 80%.
I appreciated some years the number of items I have listed may of been higher or lower but when the number of sold versus unsold is compared it is very clear that more items are not selling (and dont get my started on ebay fees when compared to my records back in 2003 etc).
I also remember back in 2000 when it was free to list on e-bay (just like another Aussie site is promoting at the moment!!)
on โ20-05-2013 10:45 AM
yes i agree iam in same boat all i do is make ebay rich , i will be hanging up my ebay and heading elsewhere , but i think ebay wants this itsm akiing way for retailers the big t ime serious all new reataliers ,
on โ20-05-2013 10:46 AM
yes agree that other site ihave too , but its slow as well , back to the streets and markets we go
on โ20-05-2013 01:13 PM
SAles are def down.
Last year I was silver easily, with money and number of sales.
This year only cheap items are selling for the most part and not as many in number either.
I think i'll be bronze for some time yet.
on โ20-05-2013 01:28 PM
It is so very disheartening, I think ebay is only part of the problem. Sales aren't happening anywhere. Just ask any of your local B&Ms.
I had a look at my visit versus buy stats and it is interesting that over the last 2 years the number of visitors to my ebay store has remained relatively static, some up and down days, but on the whole, not much change. However for the number of visits I am getting a lot less sales now. And the other thing is that I have nearly 100 more listing than I had a year ago.
I know I do have much more competition in my categories, not only from overseas but from here in Australia, that isn't helping, but can't blame anyone for that. I just have to market smarter, here on ebay as well as elsewhere.
Having said all that, this weekend was one of the worst in my 4 years of selling - and all the other worst days and weekends have been in the last month and a half.
Oh well, I'm going to do some craft, I don't often get time for that and a new toy has arrived for me to craft with.... LOL
on โ20-05-2013 01:39 PM
EBay's notorious for making major mistakes
It takes ebay a long time before it admits or tries to rectify its mistakes
Right now, ebay is advertising heavily in Sydney, which speaks volumes. Never seen so many ebay ads on bus shelters, etc. So they're feeling the pinch at the same time their policies are decimating sellers. Which of course results in fewer & fewer buyers
Ebay isn't smart, that's obvious. It seems to imagine it can rid itself of Mum and Dad sellers. Seems ebay intends to fill itself with virtual drop-shippers and virtual stores filled with mass-produced, flat-packed imports
Maybe some ebay head's nephew was promoted and to make his/her mark, they've undertaken to 'revolutionise' ebay
Well, when ebay profits continue diving to critical point, will ebay grasp they've made yet another of their loser-moves ? Seems they're grasping it already, as evidenced by their plague of advertising
In the meantime, long-time ebay sellers have been driven to the wall, finally. Aust Post's greed has played its role in that
We look back to the good old days of ebay and compare it with now. Makes you wonder how something so successful could be left in the hands of idiots who've destroyed ebay relentlessly, inch by inch to the hated spectacle it now is
The 'other' site needs emptying out and rebuilding, imo. There's stuff there which has been sitting for several YEARS. The sellers are still using the same photos! Don't they realise we wonder where on earth that stock has BEEN for the past several years !
That other site has a prime opportunity now to replace ebay. Yet it seems in its death throes preparatory to collapsing. Makes me wonder if it wants to succeed or if it's just controlled opposition
Ebay owns Gumtree, apparently. So maybe ebay is pushing sellers to list on Gumtree (which, if so, would probably become as expensive as ebay in time) in order to fill ebay itself with the flat-pack sellers
Sad for sellers and buyers alike. Ebay had THE winning combination a decade ago. The fact they've reduced such a successful concept to its current sad state is the equivalent of someone who regularly won lotto with their winning combination deciding to go on a losing streak by messing with those winning-numbers. It's incomprehensible. Not as if ebay is paying tax and needs to reduce its profits as a tax-dodge, is it ?
So now the entire thing collapses, taking Aust Post with it to a large extent
It's well past time a new ebay-type platform emerged. Maybe when ebay has completely destroyed itself, new 'ebays' will have a chance, who knows
Asia is NOT the be-all. Many of their producers refuse to accept that in the West, we are larger, we have longer legs and shorter bodies, wider chests than Asians as well as larger feet. That's because we're from a different gene-pool and until the Lima Declaration, Australia had the highest quality of life and best and most affordable produce in the world. We also expect accountability on the part of producers and are sick and tired of disposable consumer items. We USED to be able to purchase washing machines to toasters in the expectation they'd at LEAST live as long as their warranties, which USED to be seven years, if memory serves. My old Simpson washing-machines lasted on average 12 years each without missing a beat. Our 'new', Asian-produced washing machine posing as Simpson conked-out within two weeks. I had to fight like a tiger to get it replaced. Now, the lid is already rusted. Same with ovens and just about every other Asian-produced item we have, regardless of brand. It's rubbish. We're paying a premium for garbage and we resent it
The Lima Declaration destroyed this nation and the quality of life of its citizens. If ebay imagines Aussies are going to purchase the majority of their needs on ebay, they can think again. Ikea's going to feel the backlash too, if it doesn't quit loading $100 on its products sold in Australia, compared with the rest of the world - particularly as the quality of those products gets more flimsy by the day
To be suspected is that people like me have had enough across the board and this is being reflected in poor ebay sales. Unfortunately, a lot of great people on ebay are going to be taken down too
The Lima Declaration continues to force unemployment on Aussies for the 38th year in a row. People who do have paying jobs are saving hard rather than spending. We know a crash is imminent, you can feel it in the air. People have realised they have more than enough 'stuff '. They're tightening their belts, downsizing, getting out of town to somewhere more affordable. The younger generations are finding it hard to even get a foot in the door. The baby-bonus is likely to end. Less money in circulation. People just buying essentials and even trying to divest themselves of 'stuff ' on ebay, only to discover it's hard to sell with little return for all the effort
Ebay needs a wake-up call, a hard one. Australia Post, same. The longer they resist reality, the worse it will be for sellers who keep trying to soldier-on
This is the wonderful mess the Fabianists gave us with their Lima Declaration, which at the outset undertook to send minimum of 30% of Aussie jobs overseas, back in March 1975. The number of Aussie jobs which were destroyed has continued to grow far past that original 30%. Now it's almost impossible for Aussie manufacturers, courtesy of the exorbitant costs imposed on them by our traitorous government. Even if they succeed in paying several million just to get started, our traitorous unions will put the boot in to force closure. We are now the second and third generations struggling with inferior Asian-produced garbage in tandem with increasing unemployment. The demise of Oz Ebay will just be further proof of general decline in our once prosperous nation that was the envy of the world
on โ20-05-2013 09:04 PM
polocross.
Im sure you have a lot of good things to say. perhaps keep it a little briefer though. Its hard reading an essay. I really do not mean to criticise you in any way. Just that Im no dope but thats a lot to o readin and alot of info to take in at one time.
on โ21-05-2013 06:50 AM
I run a small shop (600 listings) selling African arts. Sales have plummeted since May 1st. I have never experienced such a drop off in email enquiries either.
I have extended returns from 14 to 30 days, offered free postage (domestic) one day turn around and a price reduction up to 20%, all to a deafening wall of silence.
Now try to tell me that something hasn't significantly changed on Ebay since May 1. It's not just the general economic climate, there's something else in playing out here and it smells!
Particularly galling is that I'm now paying significantly more in fees to enjoy the 'advantages' of the Ebay platform.