@pocomocomputing wrote:
Off Topic - One comment I have to make on your listing is the use of many contractions like haven't, we're, we've and so on in the text of the listing. I always used the full words (have not, we are, we have) and not contractions since I felt that contractions were harder to understand for people who have English as a second language. Given the weak education system in the past 30+ years for teaching English and the drop in proficiency of reading and writing skills, contractions might be challenging for those with English as a first language!
That's probably a good point for sellers of general goods, but my focus is on sewing patterns (with instructions and annotations in English), and over 90% of my customers have traditionally been in the U.S. After all these years, I've come to know my "typical" customer pretty well.
They tend to be in a somewhat older age bracket than I imagine the average eBay buyer of commercial or electronic goods would be. They also -- by definition as people who use sewing patterns -- read (LOL). And of course the vast majority of my sales go to English-speaking countries. In other words, my items primarily appeal to a target group that is very competent in English.
So, although the little niche I've got is self-limiting (few sales to non-English speaking countries), I don't usually have to be concerned about language issues, and I'm certain that using colloquial language plays no part in the current sales slump. What does seem to be a correlation are the really big, negative events in the U.S. -- Trump getting nominated, then Trump getting elected, now two hurricanes, etc. It's almost like a reliable barometer, i.e. when people get worried about the general state of their country, they stop making discretionary purchases, which is understandable.
I don't sell anything that anyone really needs, so I suppose I have to wait patiently until all the crises settle down or until I can no longer make a profit and have to close up shop. I do think that eBay's focus on advertising new, brand-name electronic, fashion, and household goods and other mass-produced consumer items on its site has probably turned away a lot of my "traditional" buyers.
Interestingly, events in the U.S. don't seem to have affected my sales to the U.K., Australia, NZ (and parts of Europe where English is a common second language), on another site from which I sell my own designs. I've never been able to sell much in Canada, despite a lot of marketing effort on my part over the years, so I've stopped making particular efforts in that direction. If I get one Canadian buyer in 3 months, I'm happy.
The real question is whether, after more than 10 years on eBay, I'll be able to carry on after one too many Seller Updates or cost hikes. I'm poised to quit when my store subscription expires in May 2018 if things don't improve. Effectively my costs of doing business here have risen by around 50% in the last 2 years, and that's not sustainable unless sales also rise considerably. You may wonder about 50%, but after a ca. 25% hike in store fees, loss of TRS discount, and now GST/HST to be paid, even on the eBay fee side things are bleak. And that's not taking into account increases in Canada Post charges, and the rising Canadian dollar. It's a squeeze at both ends, and it's rather depressing.
I agree with 'dutchman' -- I think eBay no longer has any interest in supporting its traditional small, independent sellers, and will be just as happy if most of us drop off the back end by attrition. They've taken on more and more big retailers, and doubtless they feel that's where the money (and the least trouble) is.
