sales slump now for two weeks trying new methods

[dobo5250]

i have because of no sales for last two weeks now started increasing discount up to 70 %off  my reg prices and even though i hate to---- started promo listings again even though its a low rate of 3 % -- have to try something -- last year at this time i had a great first weeks  of dec and a non sales the last two weeks -- to be expected cause of xmas -- who is fixing plumbing and electrical then ???so these first two this year cause of the strike completly nil so now iam worried cause of last two years record of poor last two weeks --- maybe if the strike settles -- they go back to work or what ever happens work to rule who cares --- the first two weeks of jan will be better--- god-- i hope so  my last resort is 80 % off next week thats as high as they let you discount  and with a increase in promo to say 5% maybe something will happen --- needles to say no money  is being made non zero -- but iam hoping just to cover my costs for the month -- which  is looking very bleak i missed covering the costs last month and had to borrow money to pay bills -so iam really already in the hole as of this month i need a hail mary pass thats for sure -- good luck all --  hope to see you in the the new year 

[ericsells75]

ok. A - any seller who starts listing items at 70% is an immediate red flag for me. and B. you know there has been a postal strike and people haven't been buying as much right? and if you weren't using canada post a lot of buyers probably weren't willing to pay higher UPS/Fedex etc... prices

[mrdutch1001]

To my way of thinking if you are so desperate as to offer 70/80% discount then perhaps it's time to re-think what you are listing/selling here on eBay and/or those discounts are an indication that your items were way-over-priced to begin with...

Successful selling is about the product-it's uniqueness,quality, target market,etc

Times change,

trends change,technology changes

buyer habits change

sellers have to be willing to make changes as well...

[ricarmic]

In my experience, in my (stamps) categories, sales have low positive viewing/selling results.

What I have done for my experiments is instead of discounting 20% I change the promotions rate to 20% and leave the price the same. I sell a lot more this way then using sales. Different results will happen in different categories. It's sad that the customer doesn't get the discount but that's how it seems to work (ebay likes it of course).

I also echo others comments that folks have postponed their online buying because of all the shipping uncertainty out there, (non postal stuff is erratic at times now too). You can't sell much if nobody's looking to buy at the moment.

[chicweb]

I also think this time of the month is slow for online shopping. People prefer to buy in physical stores to be sure they get their stuff before xmas. Which is understandable.

I've tried multiple things during the strike. I've found something "somewhat" working that I might keep for good.

People just need to try new things. I know it's out of our comfort zone, but we have to be creative and think outside our box a little.

[ricarmic]

@chicweb Yep for sure. I've been doing "this" for 46 years, here for 25, and things are always changing, evolution and problem solving are required to persist.

Experiments are exellent ways to find ways outside the box, sometimes they work sometimes they don't. Some of my very very best experiments have come from ideas or thoughts other posters have mentioned here! 

My challenge at this point in life is trying to find a better "work"/"life" balance. During the postal strike I was able to put time toward a rather significant experiment that should run in January. If it works, will significantly help that quest. If not other experiments will be necessary!

[dobo5250]

yes we wll see what happens now that post office is back on line and now  i can reduce my shipping expenses (fedex/u.p.s.)-- but to answer a question above -- no  my items are not over priced -there are for these items most of 1700 items approx  anywhere  on ebay or even online close to my prices ( save for pokemon and coins items that are not mine -selling for  friends ) -- and to another question yes iam trying to get out of selling on ebay and so have my items extremely discounted to get things going  again (expenses need to be covered at least )i have forgotten about any profit thats gone for a long time - i will raise  my promo rates as sales increase ( this is what i hope ) so i can get out of the hell hole of a selling platform - i will also increase promo rate as i decrease sale rate discount --as  for now i believe that promo is very neccesary to sell anything  here-- i have  learned my lesson taking it off- and now have put it back on 

just as a side note --- they this week lost 7 of my listings again (its a ongoing concern with them)  - which ones iam not sure but i will have to due another count against listings to find which  ones they delisted  another waste of time - that could be doing other more presious things at this time of the season hope everyone gets up to speed  as thursday comes and we go back to almost normal for awhile -- ha ha 

good luck all 

[dobo5250]

things still looking bleak for the end of the new year - have increased all items to 80 % off now till dec31 - then i will maybe - lower my discounts to 40 % off and reduce my shipping rates to $9.99 anywhere in canada since by then canada post will be back up to full strenght and things will be moving -- iam hoping that will help reverse things -- because of the strike i have had a couple of requests for refunds which totally wiped out any sales i had in the month of dec -- so things look as bleak as they have ever have -- and i will need another loan at the end of month i guess-- to covers costs which will now put me way into debt -- tried marketplace to sell a few items but the hassels of no shows and people making excuses and people showing up with only half the money claiming thats all they had -- made that experience quite unbearable and i won't try that again - only thing i have left to sell on marketplace is a former partime  business of mine a*** blade master  pro model series one skate sharpening machine( two heads) ***from a former part job i had years ago at an arena its my last big assest to sell hopefull its a $18000 machine new i will let it go for $2500  just to cover my bills and such---- hate to part with it but it needs to be done and will make someone happy thats in the business or wants to start a business skate  sharpenning    --wish  me well selling it soon--- other than that my health is ok now-- and the xmas spiirt-- i hope --i really hope 

comes over me soon before xmas or new years  --hope your xmas and hoildays bring many cheers 

[38e_avenue]

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@ricarmic wrote:

What I have done for my experiments is instead of discounting 20% I change the promotions rate to 20% and leave the price the same. I sell a lot more this way then using sales. Different results will happen in different categories.

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I also tried almost everything (lower prices, discounts, sales, etc.) but the best results are always with the  promotions at higher rate (above 7%). The only problem: here how I look like after seeing the promotion fee deducted from my sale: