My Ebay sales are through the floor as well & this is normally a VERY busy time of year for me in the lead up to Xmas. I don't think it's got anything to do with the Budget or Economy although the Coal Industry is still reeling from the effects of the Carbon Tax & a lot of normally big spending Mining Families are now without incomes & facing a bleek Xmas.

During the worst of the high Elecricity & Fuel prices because of the Carbon Tax (plus all of  the flow on from that- i.e. food  prices etc.) my sector still kept growing & people were spending...

My customers are buying direct from me more & more because of the high prices we Sellers are now forced to put up on Ebay, so the money is still there but NOBODY wants much to do with Ebay anymore...They KNOW that Free Postage is just a Scam...They KNOW the high FVFs are pushhing prices higher & higher & so & so on...they are telling me this almost daily......

Sadly Ebay has fallen into the same old trap that most big players do eventually. They have become so arrogant & out of touch with their customers (we the Sellers) & the real world that they think their future is assured no matter what. History is full of these stories & the bones of the dead Companies that went the same way....

They have completely forgotten that their Customers are US - the Sellers....Without SELLERS, there are NO BUYERS.....no SELLERS, there are no FVFs, no Store Fees....They continue to interfere with our Businesses, trying to tell us how to run them, trying to tell us what our customers want, how many pictures to put up, how to describe our products & so on & so on & so on, then impose Defect Systems on us that have been VERY badly thought out, force completely unrealistic Return Policies on us, put Adverts for our Opposition on our listings etc. & expect us to just keep putting up with it because they feel they are some sought of untouchable Demi-God....

Their opposition is already becoming stronger as Buyers seek out the better deals, & Sellers adapt by moving over to them & open their own Websites etc. So in a few years Ebay will be one of topics that come up at BBQs when someone asks "Does anyone rememner Ebay?" ...and the answer will be "Yeah...they were good for a while & then went crazy.....pitty"....then the conversation will just move on...