@hlmacdon wrote:
@silverpinups wrote:
eBay sales have been unpredictable this year... The Trump Effect!
Without veering off into politics, consumer sentiment tends to dip negatively when politicians on all sides are behaving like children. The latest US survey numbers out indicate a large dip in May and June is trending lower.
This has been my impression as well, and I do believe the effect has been studied and recognized by marketing experts for quite some time.
I have no data of my own to go by, other than my own sales patterns for over 10 years, but something happened last July once Trump became the Republican nominee. Because I sell primarily to the U.S., I notice when a particularly unusual drop in sales occurs that is outside past patterns.
Something even more significant happened once he got elected in November, 2016. I've been calling it the "Trump Slump" for lack of a better term. My sales since that time have been lower than in any previous year, by a good 30% or more -- and not just on eBay, which leads me to believe the problem is not confined to this site and its issues (as much as some of those can contribute to poor sales). People are nervous, even scared, about the future, and when that happens, it has an effect on discretionary or luxury spending.
I've had both US and Global TRS since those programmes began, but I'm about to lose my US designation due to low sales volumes. I don't care too much anymore about the 10% discount, but I do care about whether losing TRS will only compound the sluggish sales issue by downgrading my visibility. If I survive the next year I can probably continue to limp along, albeit with far lower margins.
There is an intriguing quote that I heard years ago, but I'm afraid I've forgotten the source. Basically the comment was that during the Great Depression, nobody could sell anything unless it was a necessity. (Booze might seem the obvious exception, but it might also sadly have become something close to a social necessity).
So your prepper gear comment may not be far off the mark. I've seen U.S. websites selling purpose-packed survival seed casks for everything from a mini-garden to a complete homestead. Home food preservation units are being advertised on TV, something no one has thought about since the 1970's. There is a lot of fear and worry going on in the U.S. right now, and for good reason. That can't be having a happy effect on purchasing from international sellers (which is, after all, what we are).
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