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@chameleon54 wrote:

 

Thanks Digi, no offence taken and no offence taken to others who may be a little sceptical. I,m just trying to work out what is going on and if there is a way to increase sales.

 

 

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Personally, I've come to view eBay as a finite resource - not in a static way, and not necessarily in terms of there'll be a point where sales peak, plateau, or dry up, or that growth beyond a certain point isn't possible, but that at any given time, there is only going to be a smaller percentage of all potential customers buying here. With both eBay being what it is, and people having their own preferences, a seller is never going to be able to "catch 'em all'. In my categories more specifically, there would be a point where I wouldn't be able to attract new customers without significant change (by which I mean new product lines, and/or changes in business practices). 

Some people don't like to shop here for quite a number of reasons, others don't want to use PayPal (or bank deposit) under any circumstances, so will seek out alternative options  - I have some customers who are happy to buy from me anywhere, some only on eBay, others only in other places. I likely lose a few customers who do shop on eBay due to my personal preferences and practices (eg no free shipping items, rarely any promotional discounts or sales, more expensive materials so higher priced items than many of the equivalent items for sale, but at the same time some of those things will gain me customers, as well).  

My long-term plan is now focused on growth via expanding to other platforms, rather than growth on any one in particular, and allow them to all to feed and grow each other (if that makes sense), which is working well enough for me (so far 😄 ).