Mysterious Drop in Sales
Summary: blue.dragon.curios shared concerns about a recent, unexplained decline in sales, particularly during peak hours. Others in the discussion, including ricarmic and femmefan1946, suggested factors like competitor actions and eBay's algorithm changes might be influencing these sales. Many participants echoed similar experiences, noting that sales drops are a common topic among sellers, attributing them to algorithm updates or market shifts. Various strategies were discussed, like adjusting promoted listings or revamping old strategies, but there was consensus that patterns can be inconsistent on eBay. Despite the challenges, the importance of experimental marketing strategies was emphasized.
I have absolutely no idea why the shift has occurred l. I am still listing about the same quantity of items as usual. Has anyone else here experienced something similar recently?
30 comments
reallynicestamps
·1 year agoMoving the shipping charge tab was not a good move
I fail to see who is helped by this.
Something we will have to add to @devon@ebay Chat this month.
More important that Visits/Views/ Watchers is whether your sales are better or worse than September and October 2023/2022/2019 (ignoring the pandemic surge in online sales).
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year agoYou know it's been slow on eBay when:
reallynicestamps
·1 year agoStamps seems to be pretty straightforward - at least according to eBay.
I rarely use more than a dozen listings from my subcription, they all come from the promoted freebies.
dobo5250
·1 year agoi too had a recent drop in sales from 4/5 sales week on 1800 listigs to zero for last five days -- and my other parameters are also way down for same period views etc -- at first i looked at last year and the year before and they did show a drop right before thanksgiving -- so maybe thats it -- iam lucky i have meet my costs for the month a week ago so iam ok for this week and next -- but i was trying to get ahead a little --- no such luck
i have stopped using pl on all new listings -- but still have them on all old listings -- maybe that whats happened it finally they finally caught up to me -- i don't know -- i don't like using pl but when things are dire then i do --another week before i put back on everything again --- hope you have a turnaround soon i know that feeling
hansatrade
·1 year agoToday is 3rd day after I did shut down and relist "as similar" all my 3.000 listings. I also stopped the promotions for 1 day and restarted it at 7%. Still no sales (usually I have 3-5 sales a day).
However, by checking my records I discovered I had a similar "weird" October just 2 years ago. For no reason my sales dropped to 1 per day.
But I have to admit, I stopped to list new items about 4 months ago, because I was busy with other things.
And creating new listings (10 or more per day) was always the best - and always working - way to boost the sales.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year ago@hansatrade
Grand total of 7 sales - 1 this month. 1 transaction buyer cancelled 2 mins after paying. They said "accepted offer in error???" 2 Sales 3 days ago. Nothing since. Feast or famine is the new eBay normal.
-Lotz
byto253
·1 year agoI don't use PL at all, but there is clear correlation between listing and sales getting a boost. I have recently been catching up an listing in one area, but sales in other areas have ticked up and it is random. That happens a lot, things slow up, do some listing and it gets an uptick.
byto253
·2 years agoLooks like the OP sold 9 or 10 items per day on the 12th and 13th, so may have been a blip.
chicweb
·2 years ago@lotzofuniquegoodies Interesting...
I notice something... When using calculated shipping... If Untracked and tracked international are both offered on a product... it seem that ebay only show the tracked now ?
As an example:
The Canada Post International Non-US (Air) is activated too worldwide on this item... Not showing at all in the options.
This could have an effect on the Impressions/Views/Sales directly if they implemented a change on this. International Tracked Packages is a bit more expensive than Non tracked.
Am I the only one that sees this? That could explain a lot.
chicweb
·2 years agoNevermind my last comment. Just saw I was using International "Parcel" and not "Small packets"....
That could explain a lot on my personnal case.
Don't want to divert the topic, here 😉
chicweb
·2 years agoI personnally saw a big change starting october 1st.
Impressions:
Pages views:
That's 50% less... Very very weird.
Sales are going down too compared to September... Nothing changed in my Seller ratings. Still Top rated, exactly like in September. Nothing moved at all, there.
Something happened October 1st? Dont know what, yet.
lotzofuniquegoodies
·2 years ago@chicweb
@hansatrade
I have seen a major drop off in traffic and sales, both after promo cycle ends and when I had a brief hiatus down time for a few days (2). Takes a few days to pick up even if I restart comparative promos promptly. It's back to majority of traffic is via eBay vs Offsite.
Traffic last 30 days:
Traffic last 45 days:
Traffic last 60 days:
Impressions last 60 days:
Note % drops.
-Lotz
ricarmic
·2 years agoIts probably not something you've done but something others have done....
I check "competitors" selling the same thing, is it selling for them? If it is do they place higher than you in searches (ie they're probably spending more on promoted listings than you).
There are many many things now that favour one seller over another, figuring out what they are/n't doing that you are/n't is very very hard.
Some of my prime product lines have been very very seriously negatively impacted by others who've overpriced stuff but put jumbo promotions on the items, which appears to be working for them. I've found other ways to generate enough income without putting too much into promoted listings, although I do have some tricks that used to work which I'll re-try if things get overall too slow.
Experimentation is an important part of surviving here, try some to see what happens....
blue.dragon.curios
OP2 years agoIt made me wonder if competitors are ramping up their rates for Q4, or perhaps the volume is increasing rapidly as sellers expect that listing now will be more fruitful.
femmefan1946
·2 years agoIf you don't think your PL fee option is high enough, try ending PL.
Sometimes the algorithm then panics and puts the cancelled PL item higher in Search while the 30 day "halo" is still in effect.
Or not.
It's cheaper than raising your PL fee.
Also have you compared your September /October 2024 numbers with your 2023 numbers? 2022? 2019? (because we ignore the 2020/21 pandemic surge in online buying).
Are your sales down or is the value of your sales down?
hansatrade
·2 years agoA good advice. Me too, I stop to promote for 2 or 3 days, then I promote again.
I also shut down all my listings and relist them as "similar" a few times a month.
BTW, the "mysterious drop in sales" is probably the most frequent topic since this board exists 😃
lotzofuniquegoodies
·2 years agoMy personal opinion is for anyone seeing a sudden drop in sales, it is something eBay has done recently. Not the seller. They've done so much to the algorithm in the last 3 to 4 years, what works 1 day no guarantees will work the next. eBay sell similar relisting is a lottery at best, as of late. (It did for some magical reason trigger sales. Now, not so much.) With most things eBay the only pattern is there are no patterns or in other words inconsistent consistency. Now off to buy some lottery tickets!! 🤣 I need to stop asking is this ticket guaranteed to be a winner!!!
-Lotz
hansatrade
·2 years agoYes, I can confirm that. I shut down and relisted "as similar" 3.000 items this Friday. Until now (Sunday evening), not a single sale. Usually, such a massive relisting resulted in 12-15 sales within 2 days. I have a Premium store, so I can relist for free. But imagine a seller without such a store, or with a lower level store - such relisting would cost 300 dollars! 🙄
Additionally - what's even more strange, the traffic did increase!
I am TRS Plus, so in theory I should have the max visibility, right?
Here are my last 31 days sales:
reallynicestamps
·1 year agoBut imagine a seller without such a store, or with a lower level store - such relisting would cost 300 dollars!
Really?
Because with a Basic Store, in addition to the purchased 1000 listings, eBay has been giving me 10,000 truly Free promotional listings for over a year, possibly longer .
I don't count on having those free listings though, and am ready to drop half my current listings if the freebies disappear.
Sales are going down too compared to September...
October is not September. Nor is September August.
How do your sales compare to October 2023? 2022? 2019? (Skip the outlier pandemic surge years of 2020-21)
I know that come November my sales on this account will drop, because my customers will be using their stamp allowance to buy holiday gifts. This year that starts on Hallowe'en which coincides with Diwali. This happens every year and has since we first opened our business in 1978.
and when I had a brief hiatus down time for a few days (2). Takes a few days to pick up even if I restart comparative promos promptly.
I agree. If I don't list for a few days, sales are off. If sales are off, it takes time to build up again. On the other hand, I've noticed that if I make a sale to an unusual location (low population Idaho or to Liechtenstein) I usually have another sale there soon after.
I think eBay gives active sellers more Visibility in Search where they have already been successful.
...so may have been a blip.
Probably.
i have stopped using pl on all new listings -- but still have them on all old listings -- maybe that whats happened it finally they finally caught up to me
PL worked well for me, even a 2%, for a long time. Not so much that the PL items sold, but my Views and more importantly my overall sales went up.
Like you I just don't think of using PL when I am listing. I used to do about one in ten listings as PL at 2% now I doubt I have one in 25.