Zero sales

[theclassof1984]

Anyone having a serious lack of sales action? I haven't seen this inaction ever in my short career on Ebay, seems like business has just dried up completely. Nothing for 2 months now and I am feeling like I am on some kind of black list.

[sunstone]

Worst couple months in over 15 years...sold 3 times the amount at  5 times the profit  with 1/5 the costs at another site.Bought an item at ebay,....not received ... ebay only a shadow of its former self .

[73rhc]

Yup. eBay wasn't broke, so why did they try to fix it? Job justification. Some will try to make you believe that the market place has changed and eBay adjusted! BS! The beginning of the end!

[westernstargifts]

Sales are way down from other years.  It began last November when eBay made some changes and sales plummeted.  It has been difficult going ever since then.  At least that is my experience.

Views are few and so are watchers.

In the new year I am going to start listing again on other sites to see if I can pick up a few more sales.  eBay kept me too busy previously to spend time on them.

[rose-dee]

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@westernstargifts wrote:

eBay kept me too busy previously to spend time on them.

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Yes, that's the irony, isn't it?  I completely agree.  

I've spent so much time and effort over the last 12-16 months trying to understand and comply with eBay's ever-evolving policies, that I have little time to spare for anything else.  And selling has been getting more and more difficult as this year progresses to its end.  What's coming next?  I keep thinking of straws and camels' backs.    

It's just my opinion, but I believe eBay's massive policy changes and site changes are beginning to kill off the average small seller, and I don't think it's unintentional either.  EBay will drive a large contingent of their old "core" sellers away, those independent, individual sellers who have managed to stick it out for several years here, and who provided eBay with a reliable foundation.  

They may make fast money from mega-sellers in the meantime, but I think that some day, when the likes of Target and other sellers of mass-produced goods abandon eBay and move on to easier pickings, eBay may regret losing its independent sellers, and may find it's not so easy to seduce us back here.  

[westernstargifts]

Retail seems to swing both ways.  At one time the small unique shops are where people shop, then it swings to big box stores.  

Speaking for myself, I prefer to shop small stores, online and off.  When it comes to physical stores I find the large stores to be a real chore, being of that aging boomer generation when you develop arthritic knees, etc.  Online, I usually get better service from the smaller sellers.

Eventually people get tired of seeing the same old things in the big box stores and start searching out those small shops again where they can actually find some "unique" items.  There will always be a place for these types of stores for this reason.  It is also the way to compete with the big box stores because the chains can't carry the kinds of things boutiques carry, like handcrafted items that aren't mass produced.

[anguscoinshop]

you are not the only one, my e sales have really fallen off compare to last year.

my store sales(home store) by 500% over last year.

a lot of buyers tell me they are extremely displeased with this web site and they have no intention on shopping on this site again

to many listings makes it difficult for buyers to find what they are looking for, they have strong displeasure with the gsp and ebay customer service is the worst service they ever seen.

i still have me regular e shoppers but the # of them is getting smaller, ive pretty much exhausted all my idea on how to increase sales. i would tell you more but i fear this site staff is reading these post. i know from experience that this site loves to retaliate. 

if i was in your shoes i would list what has the best chance of selling. you have 50 free listing a month so you are in good shape.

[jbhl11]

I think a key point that everyone is missing is the horrible new search feature.  Try searching any key word and see how many useless results you get!  If you can't find the items you want then how can you buy them?

[anguscoinshop]

search doesn't matter when buyers wont buy. i think one thing that are kept into consideration is inventory. i keep my best inventory for my home store.

i cant see the point of spending on listing that will just sit

it becomes a fine balancing act

[westernstargifts]

I think that is what made the difference last year when sales suddenly dropped.  I don't like the new eBay search for buying or selling.  Your are correct that it brings up a lot of useless junk. 

Even within my eBay store, if I type in Butterfly earrings it brings up all of my post earrings that have "butterfly" closure listed in the item specifics but are not butterfly themed.

Also you get all of the Chinese sellers that list dozens of duplicates under different id's or the same id using a different SKU number in each title for an identical item (same photo & watermark).  You have to wade through pages and pages of them to find something you really want to see.  The duplicate listing policy has failed in that regard.

[rose-dee]

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@angus_coin_shop wrote:

a lot of buyers tell me they are extremely displeased with this web site and they have no intention on shopping on this site again

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I think you've hit the nail on the head.  I've been thinking for months now that eBay has messed around with this site to the point that buyers are getting frustrated and exhausted trying to keep up with the "flavour of the week".  I call it 'buyer fatigue'.  

I know there are sellers who disagree, and will say that eBay primarily attracts new buyers who don't care about the ever-changing look of the site, but I'm not so sure.  Even a fairly new buyer will probably want to be able to return to this site and find things in familiar places, done in familiar ways.  It's just too much trouble otherwise, and too easy to hit the "back" button and go to a more comfortable site. 

I look at it this way:  if I, as a seller who has been accustomed to adapting to eBay's changes over the years and is fairly proficient at using this site, find it irritating and/or frustrating to locate something when I want to make a purchase, or difficult to understand where things are on pages that used to be familiar, then how are less experienced eBayers reacting?  I think that's an easy question to answer, and I think perhaps too many cooks -- probably very young, eager ones -- in San Jose are spoiling the broth. 

[westernstargifts]

The same goes for new sellers.  How can I recommend selling on eBay to others when it has become so difficult to do so?

And sellers also buy on eBay, so buyers are not all newcomers.

[cumos55]

Even with 3600 listings,  I can count on no sale days.

Two years ago it was 35 no sale days.... 10 % of all the days in that year

Over the years   

(1) The longest period with no sales was 4 days.... and that was after 38 days with atleast one sale each day....

(2) The wildest combination of no sale days was...

No sales on Monday and Tuesday....  one sale at about $20 on Wednesday... and then no sales on Thursday and Friday.

Yet  the year was no different with respect to the dollar value of total sales.... than the years that followed...

(3) No sale days are a reality......   

[westernstargifts]

It isn't the no sale days that bother me.  It is the low sales compared to previous years and less traffic.

[cumos55]

Several factors.

(1) The number of listings one has on eBay.

(2) Has there been a change in type of inventory

(3) The level of competition....  the number of listings has most likely gone up..... 

(4) Is the competition US or Canada.

(5) the new search protocol Cassini  will influence how a seller's listings will appear in a search... primarily in relation to the format in which an item for sale is presented...  keywords and more

It took me several months to sort out the effect of Cassini on my listings... and the better I presented my listings... the higher the views....  and then came the sales.....

Anther thing that might have an effect on visibility is the 16 months factor....the search will most likely overlook listings that have been on eBay longer than 16 months....  with no sale.....  These listings only show if they are unique on eBay  and someone is doing a specific search.....for that item.

[melissasminis]

Usually this time of year the sales are up. I haven't seen much happening, a rare sale here and there. I'm usually flooded with sales by now. I'm am very concerned about selling here on ebay 😞 Has become less and less over the years. Hate it here now!

[cumos55]

There is something  that one might call

getting dead ended

Market saturation

As one starts selling   the buyers come and they buy.....  and then  there are less buyers interested in what you have listed.

The market is saturated with your product....

There is a limited number of people who would want to buy what each of us has for sale on eBay.  New buyer are few and far between.

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One thing I have done is diversify, based on the inventory I can find.

I started with the basic... Canadian History books.

Then I added Mennonite history because availability with respect to early settlement in Manitoba  

as well as books about Ukraine  --- my ancestry.... also can read Ukrainian.

Then came bibles.... not necessarily English  as I have found a few high quality collectible bibles.... but in languages other than English... German, French, Polish, Russian, Italian, Portuguese... and the new Testament in Inuktitut... I find them, and I sell them

Added in books about Canadian Art and artist..

Inuit sculpture.....prints... native art...

The environment, Agriculture (My area of expertise)

Wildlife including birds....

One gets the impression that one needs about 25 to 30 listings in a category in order to be visible on eBay... that is books in topics I sell...

---------------------------------

Constantly listing new  inventory

Another thing  has to do with visibility.

 I list with a store, and I work to have the same number of books ending each day.

With 3000 listings, the aim was to have 100 listings end each day....  

Also with 30 books in a category  that could mean one ending each day.....

Sales in a category helps.

Things do not get uploaded to eBay  and then left......constantly adding inventory,  revising inventory,  deleting old inventory in categories that no longer are being listed.... 

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Never let it lie... do not let it go stale... and focus in a major category....constantly working the inventory....

Focusing on a broad based category... allows for multiple purchases... and a lower cost for postage per item purchased....

There are many things I do to stimulate sales....  but that is the book I will write once I retire... If I ever retire!

[premium-audio-tubes]

You forgot cassini.

[anguscoinshop]

where can i find the place to read on protocol Cassini ?

thanks

[rose-dee]

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@angus_coin_shop wrote:

where can i find the place to read on protocol Cassini ?

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That's the thing - eBay will never reveal the inner workings of its search/placement system.  You have to discover by default, or by careful trial and error, what will work best for your type of inventory.  

I've run a few experiments and have, by elimination and deduction, figured out some factors that appear to influence and enhance listing visibility, but these are no doubt only a small part of the picture.  I'm not an eBay lackey, but I am certain that following eBay's "best practices" policies - including lots of good photos, clear, complete descriptions, outstanding terms of sale, and so on -- helps in placement and visibility.  

Beyond that, don't ever expect eBay to make specifics known about Cassini.  Logically, why would they?  The whole point is that Cassini allows eBay to remain in control over seller practices by boosting those who "follow the rules" well.

Keeping the parameters unknown to sellers also means that every seller has to work their way up by effort.  Imagine the chaos if everybody knew precisely how to get into the top 10 on page 1 of every relevant search!  Effectively there would be no differentiation between good sellers and poor sellers, no distinction between excellent listings and really deficient listings -- if everybody were #1, then nobody would be #1.  

We can't do anything about being Canadian, which is a handicap in the huge US seller base.  However, many sellers are looking for that "trick" that will boost their listings to the top of the heap.  We already have it: we've been told that, in general, if we meet eBay's best practices, we'll have a better chance of getting above the crowd.