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ebay sales slowing down?
 

hi guys,

last month i had ok sales, slow but ok, this month however it has ground to a halt and i don't understand why... is it just me or is this happening across the board?

there seems to be watchers on my items which used to translate into sales, but now there are just idle watchers, it seems...

It's a combination of things.

EBay is losing traffic everyday because of all the changes they're doing, your auctions are not being shown as much with eBay's new search.. and people are spending less.

Things will probably pickup after Thanksgiving.

so you've got this too aspkin? :(

It's for everything right now. If you're selling something that isn't a NEED.. then you will have fewer sales. The stuff I push that are for entertainment purposes only, their sales have been cut in half. But around Christmas time things should pick up. I'm not worried.

I guess you guys have been using BEST (WORST) MATCH for some time in the states.

When it came in in the UK where I was listing I basically went to 0 sales.

I figured it out pretty well though..

If you have items on buy it now with 1 available it'll never sell cause it will never get anywhere near the front.

You need to list multiple items, when each one sells, you move closer and closer to the top of the list. I had about 10 in the top 50 when I got banned. All cost me almost nothing to list too...

You can do auctions with buy it now too and they will still make it to the top - just no 3 5 7 10 day BIN with 1 available or you'll be screwed (that was the way I was selling before BM came in).

My sales seems to be doing fine. My auction final bidding prices are getting higher now that christmas is rolling around. Hopefully things keep up.

He actually hit it perfect. From the November 2008 eBay Newsletter,

Hi.. This is Jeff King, Senior Director of Finding. Starting this week we will be showing all identical listings from the same seller for Fixed Price items in search. Since July 30, we had been showing just one listing to ensure that buyers see relevant items from a variety of trusted sellers. Now that a track record of recent sales is a key factor in the sort order for Fixed Price, most sellers are combining identical items into single, multi-quantity, 30-day listings. This has proven to be the right strategy for sellers and a great shopping experience for buyers. Please note that we are continuing to show a maximum of 10 listings per page -- whether Fixed Price or Auction-style -- from any one seller.

To get the best position for Fixed Price listings this holiday season, we encourage sellers to focus on the following:

# Create effective, accurate listings with distinct and descriptive titles.
# Use the long duration (30-day or Good ‘Till Cancelled) multi-quantity format whenever appropriate.
# Offer free shipping.

Sincerely,

Jeff King
Senior Director, Finding


[/end] :)

-HeG

Here's an eBay link that further explains Best Match and how to use it to your advantage (yeah right lol).

-HeG

Seller Resources

yesterday i watched the countdown of one of my auctions, i was desperate to see at least one bid lol ... No sales ... Took a chance and listed some VER0 items, this morning i check my emails = INDEFINITE SUSPENSION

on to the next account.......

That'll be why I only had 10 then :D

It's pretty sweet to have that many on the first page from 1 listing fee :)

what do you mean from 1 listing fee?

My sales were like crap last month but are picking up a bit now. Its that the economy is shot right now and people don't have a whole lot of extra money to spend.

I agree with Aspkin...I contribute it mostly to Ebay's new search results.

Yes, things should pick up for the Christmas sales...But what about after that?

Out of all the Dumb things Ebay has done, this new search thing has been the most damaging for me. Lately I have just been listing with "Fixed Price" listings with "Best Offers"...seems to be working OK, but you have to be patient.

Pay 1 listing fee with multiple items, say 15.. as they sell the listing goes closer and closer to the top

My stuff goes the same way. If I try to list it at a higher starting price it won't sell as high as wehn I start it No reserve at 99 cents.

Go figure...thats eBay addicts for you. :p

-HeG

Well what ever doesn't sell this week (which is usually 1 or 2 things) , I'll relist with the 99¢ format and see how it goes.

Actually the fixed price listings have went very well. When I do an advanced search on completed listings, I have been getting as much or more than highest amount sold for people who listed the same thing and let it go to auction.

I've been selling on Ebay since '96. This is the worst time of year to sell anything on Ebay. It will really plummet from now to the 1st of the year. I never list anything in the month of Dec, its not worth it. Go here Auction Count Charts for the Ebay auction count. You can see that last year, for example, the listed auctions declined from about Dec 14 to after Xmas by about half. Nothing sells well in Dec so the smart sellers don't list at all.

IMO the best months for sales have always been Jan-May and Sept Oct and the first half of Nov. Feb and Oct are the absolute best. The summer used to be horrible for sales but the last 3 years you can do OK with cheaper stuff, save the expensive items for the winter months.

With ebay your always gonna make sales. Atleast I've always had good sales on ebay. But December is going to have amazing sales, I hope. :rolleyes:

excellent post.

what you're saying is consistent with my experiences too -- i always wondered why i did so well in october, then sold next to nothing in november ....

Oct rocks. So does Feb and March. People are indoors, the kids are in school, they're bored and shopping on Ebay.

i always thought Novemember and December were the best months, i always flourished in those months... except this year lol ..