Christmas Past, Present and Future

[just-got-personal]

I have been hoping that the month on month, year on year steady downward spiral in my sales volume would end and my income would return to a reasonable level.

Having upgraded to a feature shop and increased listings considerably. Added PL to everything albeit at near the minimum level in terms of percentage, nothing has worked!

Christmas in the recent past was poor, this Christmas hasn't kicked in yet and so is looking dire for me now. So even if things went gangbusters from now thru December I couldn't make up the ground lost in October and the first half of November.

I really didn't want to believe that eBay was indeed broken but I am losing the will to keep on trying.

As for the ghost of Christmas future, does anyone think that it's going to improve in 2025?  I could do with an injection of hope from the Christmas spirit right about now...

[vintagechinashop]

I was checking back on sales for last year just to find an item I had sold and in doing so saw my total sales for last year.  So I then decided to check this years figures. With 6 weeks to go I’m a massive 42% down on sales.  I’d need to realise sales of £7k in these six weeks to equal last years sales which is unrealistic.

makes me realise just how bad 2024 has been for sales 

im hoping things improve in 2025 because this is not sustainable on the amount of fees I’m paying   

[exponential_developments]

Well i looked at one of my popular items, around the cheapest on here, but once i click on lowest price ebay filters mine out except one listing, so on that search criteria my listings are being hidden.

So, come January i'm leaving......it's like a blunt pencil..................pointless.

[bravergrace]

Taking the longer view, eBay - particularly the search - tends to swing.

This year, as mentioned, if buyers filter by "cheapest first", eBay removes some of the cheapest items from the search results and shows a selected few items instead, interspersed with other items that don't match the search criteria at all but get eBay money through promoted listings.  

Buyers who notice this, may see it as fundamentally dishonest (making me spend more than necessary).  They may see it as eBay search being "broken" or "scammy" or "useless".  But not one of them will be pleased about it.

Having noticed this happening, buyers will remember it.  They won't trust the "cheapest first" search next time.  They will either wade through ALL the Best Match results themselves (if there aren't many), or give up entirely.  Slowly but surely, buyers will stop trusting eBay to tell them the truth or show them the best bargains.

Eventually, eBay will reach a tipping point and introduce a big, new change - like showing buyers the results they have asked to see, in the order they have asked to see them.  When this happens, it will be a game-changer for sellers.  Those who rely on promoted listings will complain, those who don't will be laughing.

And many sellers - and buyers - will have given up on eBay completely, and may not be easily tempted back.

[eyewear247]

Good post but even filtering lowest price first does not work because all of a misleading multi variation listings.

Recently when searching reams of A4 paper it seems that a single sheet of paper can be set as the headline price , highly frustrating for buyers and a practice that has been rife for a long time now and it getting worse.  That does not happen on Amazon.

[bravergrace]

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@eyewear247 wrote:

Good post but even filtering lowest price first does not work because all of a misleading multi variation listings.

Recently when searching reams of A4 paper it seems that a single sheet of paper can be set as the headline price , highly frustrating for buyers and a practice that has been rife for a long time now and it getting worse.  That does not happen on Amazon.

---

A solution to the MVL problem has always been beyond eBay's imagining.

They have tried to solve it in the past.  Such as insisting that all variations should be the same price and postage cost - a bit of a nuisance if you sell Wellingtons or velvet robes with 12-foot trains, in all sizes from toddlers to giants.  Or insisting only colour variations are allowed.  

But ultimately, with some items, such as commercial stationery, dog biscuits, washing powder, baked beans or lavatory rolls, buyers want to compare the merits of frequent, small and convenient deliveries with buying in bulk and filling the store cupboard or the garage with stuff that won't be used for a year.

The present situation is ludicrous.  I've long given up trying to compare stationery prices when I buy - I try to check the prices for  a random item once a year or so, but since it takes hours (longer if I include other sites), I tend to just stick with one or two suppliers.  

I think that with stationery in particular, eBay should be able to use an Amazon-like listing format so buyers can compare "100 single-wall boxes, 6 inch cubes" or "5 reams of A4 printer paper", without it taking all day.

And as for trying to find the price of a particular book: even that has now been spammed with MVLs "like paperback books, various", or "art books".

[padanpcparts]

The simple truth is that after 10 years of trading here, succesfully I have to say. This year has been the worst on record by miles. I will be sitting down with my business partner at christmas and we will be having a serious discussion on where we go from here. I am 70/30 that we will not continue trading at this point. 'Hope? You speak of hope? Speak not to me. For I have none'. 

[73tiptip]

ive been selling since 2010 as a business, last year was the worst ever, this year has started to be similar to last year.. 

add to this the amount of dishonest buyers its making me feel like i need to pack it in a do something else .

good luck everyone 

[wyntersemporium]

I’ve got new items to put up but can’t be bothered anymore. Literally looking at putting them on Amazon in the handmade section but I only get one item per month selling there 

[wyntersemporium]

Been thinking of going as well. With me being sued by some American woman who has had kidney disease and is seeking compensation to the years she stopped working on her jewellery store for me even though I showed proof to her lawyers I did not make the rings in question but bought them on aliexpress. They didn’t believe me.

for my own health I’m supposed to be not having anxiety or stress which the above is giving me. Unfortunately the migraine I have is very rare and the more stress I get the more risk of a stroke!! 
EBay have said do not put them on sale last time I saw them they were in the bin 

[vintique*violet]

Just to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and Prosperous 2025. 

Despite what is happening on here and worldwide. 

YOU matter so please enjoy your precious time whatever the circumstance, and thank you to all for sharing their experiences, knowledge and wisdom to assist others. 

Take care and see you on the other side 😉 

[ojewellery]

Regarding MVL's, I think that rather than trying to change the way they have them programmed on eBay they need to start fresh with a new listing feature - grouping. 

Search would bring up the listing title and the listing title would have to reflect the item for sale but sellers could put in the drop down options other grouped items (effectively bringing up a new listing when clicked on) so in the case of the reem of paper vs sheet of paper a sheet of paper would be one listing, 10 another, 100 another, full reem etc.  So if you search reem you bring up the reem option but the grouping drop down would show the price for 1, 10, 100, 5 reems to give you full choice but landing on what you've actually searched for.

Sellers could also create bundle listings that they show in the group drop down or relevant accessories that would actually be useful for the buyer to add to their basket.

eBay would potentially get more listing fees but as business sellers we'd be able to use features that have never been able to be incorporated into MVL's like offers.

[myriad*seller]

Interestingly this Christmas, the supermarkets don't seem to be running out of stock of lots of items either. Everything on my delivery was in stock and I am sure that has never happened at any time of year before! 

There is a noticeable amount of stock - rather unlike other years where stuff ran out or shelves were empty

Maybe people just aren't buying anything, even supermarket goods! 

[myriad*seller]

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@bravergrace wrote:

Taking the longer view, eBay - particularly the search - tends to swing.

This year, as mentioned, if buyers filter by "cheapest first", eBay removes some of the cheapest items from the search results and shows a selected few items instead, interspersed with other items that don't match the search criteria at all but get eBay money through promoted listings.  

Buyers who notice this, may see it as fundamentally dishonest (making me spend more than necessary).  They may see it as eBay search being "broken" or "scammy" or "useless".  But not one of them will be pleased about it.

Having noticed this happening, buyers will remember it.  They won't trust the "cheapest first" search next time.  They will either wade through ALL the Best Match results themselves (if there aren't many), or give up entirely.  Slowly but surely, buyers will stop trusting eBay to tell them the truth or show them the best bargains.

Eventually, eBay will reach a tipping point and introduce a big, new change - like showing buyers the results they have asked to see, in the order they have asked to see them.  When this happens, it will be a game-changer for sellers.  Those who rely on promoted listings will complain, those who don't will be laughing.

And many sellers - and buyers - will have given up on eBay completely, and may not be easily tempted back.

---

I choose Lowest Price+P&P then scroll down to the listing and bypass it down to the list of similar items that WILL be cheaper that will be displayed below the listing I click on, click on cheapest one and scroll down again. You have to "work" the search to find the cheapest item! Also sometimes google works better than eBay search for eBay items. 

[myriad*seller]

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@wyntersemporium wrote:

I’ve got new items to put up but can’t be bothered anymore. Literally looking at putting them on Amazon in the handmade section but I only get one item per month selling there 

---

I had no idea there was a handmade section on Amazon

They certainly don't publicise it! I only use Amazon for brand new in box things with barcodes - I didn't realise there were crafted items! 

[myriad*seller]

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@wyntersemporium wrote:

Been thinking of going as well. With me being sued by some American woman who has had kidney disease and is seeking compensation to the years she stopped working on her jewellery store for me even though I showed proof to her lawyers I did not make the rings in question but bought them on aliexpress. They didn’t believe me.

for my own health I’m supposed to be not having anxiety or stress which the above is giving me. Unfortunately the migraine I have is very rare and the more stress I get the more risk of a stroke!! 
EBay have said do not put them on sale last time I saw them they were in the bin 

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Did you get some good legal advice? That would put your mind at rest, as from what I saw, you NEED decent legal advice to shut the whole action down before it gets going. 

[vintagechinashop]

I’ve just done something I haven’t done for years. Gone shopping to a busy shopping centre on the last Sunday before Christmas and honestly it was no worse than any other Sunday. The online shopping era is in full swing but it seems EBay haven’t been invited to that party. December should be busy for sellers on here but it seems eBay is not their marketplace of choice 

I sell items that you can no longer purchase in the shops but my December sales are still 50% down on last year. I’d like to meet the person who switched off the switch in March and hasn’t bothered to switch it back on.  The test for me will be the first few months of the year because no improvement will see me heading for the car boot sales to sell my stock as I suspect will many others.