Very slow sales last weekend of May

[meliquidation]

Although we've had a few big orders during the week (that saved the week) sales have been generally very slow for almost a week now. This last weekend was absolutely dead with a total of maybe 5 sales which is virtually unheard of. I think the last time we've had only 5 sales for the weekend was about 2 years ago when we were starting out. Generally speaking - I also noticed that sales during school holidays seem to be subdued but that's been a regular trend now for a few years and there's no school holidays now. Anyone else notice that the last few days are exceptionally slow or is it just us?

[chameleon54]

Our sales fluctuate quite regularly, but usually average out over time to be very consistent. Like you we did notice a slow down at the end of May, but things have picked up again with recent good sales returning us to our long term trend.

[kopenhagen5]

I had the following small sales -

March - 2 

April - 3

May - 9

For me, never sems to be a pattern except it picks up Jan and Feb after a usually nothing Dec.

[meliquidation]

Yes we do have quite dramatic fluctuations - however usually if we sell nothing one day we sell 10 the next so within 3-4 days it has evened itself out again.

This time I havn't seen the 'bounce' so was just wondering if there's a larger trend at the moment.

[knewdoors]

throw in the news of ebay plus which reading between the lines looks like a doorstep to major retailers..really bugs us how we pay massive fees to help build this platform then ebay goes and supports the big end of town....miserable sales..like always..why bother..

[chameleon54]

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@meliquidation wrote:

Yes we do have quite dramatic fluctuations - however usually if we sell nothing one day we sell 10 the next so within 3-4 days it has evened itself out again.

This time I havn't seen the 'bounce' so was just wondering if there's a larger trend at the moment.

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According to seller hub, our larger store is up 5.5% on previous 31 days and smaller store is up 4.9 % on previous 31 days. April was slightly slow for us so the small increases in sales are just returning us to long term trend. Sales for the last few days have been boringly average.

This is slightly suprising as I have not put a lot of time into ebay for a couple of months, so to be keeping sales at average rates is actually a good result.

[kitschkoven]

Granted I have only got about 20 items up at the moment, but ever since I closed my store about 2 months ago I've had no sales, apart from one on Thursday and one on Friday.

[flare-tech]

I am v new to ebay.. a month or so since I launched as a seller.. started with a unit a day until the last week when I was averaging 4 units a daytime..and today it's zero!! Is it due to the eBay guaranteed delivery? I'm not on it yet...

eBay is meant to be a major source of my income therefore it's pretty worrysome.. any thoughts??

[countessalmirena]

@flare-tech,

The major thought I have is that a seller who relies on eBay for a major source of their income is completely at the mercy of eBay's whims and flimflams, its ability to change the user agreement (hence, "contract") between itself and the seller (while the seller is unable to change any aspect of the contract), and its ability to penalise sellers for perceived infractions even when the seller is innocent, is too vulnerable.

It would be wise to explore other options as well. Online selling has other platforms, which I won't mention other than to say that having your own ecommerce site would seem a wise thing for you to set up. Granted, those other platforms reportedly don't have the traffic of eBay, but things change quickly in the online commerce world. Don't put all of your eggs is one basket - trite but true.

[chameleon54]

It looks like you are doing OK for a new seller with 6 feedbacks, so congratulations and best wishes with the new store. It is still possible to make a major portion of your income from selling on ebay, but as the countess has mentioned it is also a very high risk strategy these days. Due to constant policy and site changes ebay has become a very unstable selling platform.

If you are relying heavily on ebay as a major income source you need to have a viable plan "B" in place, in case something unexpected happens and you can no longer sell on the site. This plan "B" needs to be able to be cranked up quickly to replace lost ebay income. Plan "B" could be as simple as alternate marketing opportunities for your products or as complex as another business or job you have idling away in the background, ready to rev up and run if required.

I used to make a full time living from ebay, but as sales have slowed over time in my catagory, I have started a sheep grazing business. Ebay now makes up 40% of my income with the grazing business making up the balance. This works well as I can spend the cold and wet days in the office on the computer and spend the nice sunny days outside, working with the sheep. Best of all the businesses are completely unrelated giving income diversity and some income security.

Although I have found a new niche on ebay which could be a viable full time business, I am not game to go back to relying on ebay for all of my income.