Christmas Rush

The doors are open. Payday has arrived and I'm ready for the Christmas rush 

 

Oh wait. Where is it. 1st November and not one sale question or offer.  Anyone else started November like this?  My shop fee is due so let's hope things don't continue like this 

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Christmas Rush

From what iv'e seen over the years the rush comes about the 20th of December along with the rise in item not received claims over the following 2 weeks.

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Christmas Rush

Don't forget the additional Xmas Eve rush

 

"Can you send it fast so I get it tomorrow?" 

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Christmas Rush

Same here, nowt selling, few views, the place seems dead.

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Christmas Rush

The weather might have something to do with it

 

Here it is so mild all my summer bedding plants are actively flowering, despite being November

 

It is so mild it does not feel like November, and doesn't feel like Xmas is only 7 weeks away 

 

No forecast for it to get colder over the next few weeks either! 

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Christmas Rush

I sell an eclectic mix of Antiques and Collectables and find china the hardest to sell since the Vintage tea's fad ended.

Could you diversify?

I have also been selling more unwanted personal items on my private account since the free selling. It's very liberating and I have already sold enough to cover this months shop fee. It's amazing when you go through your cupboards, garage, spare room etc and find items that you don't use or want anymore.

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Christmas Rush

I've found 'the rush' gets later every year. I think last year it started around November 6th.

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Christmas Rush

Yes it's definitely harder to see vintage china now. I've been selling the same categories for 20 years and it was so good in the heyday. Even lockdown year was good but every year since then it's declining however I'm still amazed by how some sellers seem to continue to sell at high prices when there are many of the same items cheaper. 
I compared one of my items to sold items on one particular item. One had recently sold for double the price of mine and I wasn't the cheapest. Mine was actually in better condition. I'm working hard to improve my service and usually get items posted well before the edd but I've found even though you meet buyers expectations feedback is rarely given these days because we are in a world governed by prime delivery and buyers seem to expect next day delivery these days 

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Christmas Rush

Same here really quiet. Last sale was Friday early morning and i am on the 10% off Ebay promotion.

 

Ive got a feeling that this year that most people will hold out until Black Friday and then have a last minute spree after Black Friday online and in shops. Black Friday is the worst thing that could have happened to UK retail in the run up to Christmas. Its slap bang in the middle of what used to be the busiest season. With people spending less and shopping more savvy i think thats what most of them will do this year.

 

I hope not though,  this October was the worst i have had.

 

 

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Christmas Rush

There is simply way too much on Ebay UK these days, I just searched cup and saucer and over 340,000 items come up, if I change the search to UK only the number drops to 46,000, obviously this is still a massive number however Ebay UK is now dominated by overseas listings across the board.

 

We sell paintings and it is a similar scenario, if you search oil painting there are 380,000 items that appear, if I change the search to UK only the number drops to 69,000.

 

UK sellers are not being looked after at all.

 

People just cannot / cannot be bothered to search through all that, why would you ?

 

It's killed lots of categories and Ebay seem to be totally oblivious to it.

 

I don't see things picking up at all really. October, November and December used to be very strong months, that stopped 2 - 3 years ago.

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Christmas Rush

Been like this since the 20th, things were okayish until then, but hit a brick wall after this date and coincides with a hefty dose of glitching. Still having to watch for being switched to .com. Pretty rubbish.

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Christmas Rush

Unreal expectations of delivery have started already.

Posted a 2nd Class freepost item on Wednesday 30th, eBay's EDD was November 1-2.  Buyer wants to know why it hasn't arrived yet.

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Christmas Rush

I sell vintage Art Deco Glass, or try to and from what I can see ebay isn't flooded with it.  From my Saved Searches results there is no more of it on ebay.uk than there ever was during the last 10 years, possibly somewhat less.

 

The problem is (IMO) that since ebay removed all the old categories that made refining a search to specific areas, it's the search results are flooded  --   with irrelevant items.

 

I just tried searching for a Brockwitz Glass Fruit Bowl that I listed last Sunday

 

Searched for "Art Deco Glass Bowl" 

Default results = 41K+ 

UK Only all cats.  = 15K.

Decorative Cookware & Tableware = 10K+.

Tried to whittle that number down using the filters on the side-bar.

No filter for Amber under Colours.

No filter for Brockwitz under Brand.

No filter for Art Deco (only 1920s or 1930s).

 

Before a browsing buyer could use the sub-cats. listed on the side-bar, clicked "Date Lined Glass  1919 - 1939" which would have deleted most of the results, leaving about 1K of relevant items.  Refining from that number by searching by colour or manufacturer would have taken me to my bowl  in 3 or four clicks.

 

Now it's more or less impossible to winnow out of all the Ks  using what's on offer without knowing that its Brockwitz and putting that in the search box.  Combined with UK Only that gives me 136 results.

 

That's why my auction has only had 9 views in a week and even with 3 Watchers is highly unlikely to sell.  Because more than likely the 3 watchers, who either know which names to search for or have the patience to slog through the mass of irrelevant items will be re-sellers who aren't interested in paying a decent price.  They're waiting for me to get desperate enough to send them a 50% off offer. (No chance when the only other one for sale on ebay is £168 + P&P from the US)

 

That's why I've only sold 4 items on ebay this year and 27 on the other site I use.  It's easy to find my items over there but on ebay it's so difficult. 

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Christmas Rush

I agree, the removal of categories hasn't worked for many, a lot of the issues have coincided with the introduction of item specifics which in many ways have contributed to the absolute mess we see now.

 

The old school set up was far better in many ways.

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Christmas Rush

We are completely dead and are considering closing our eBay shop after 25 years being on here. Never known anything like this in all our years of trading. The end is nigh 

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Christmas Rush

I really believe eBay's user base is no longer there compared to what it used to be . Everyone is now using temu and tiktok. Spoke to a lady the other day who said she'd bought this lovely looking jacket off tiktok. She said she had to wait some days for it from China but it was cheap as chips. In this climate what are people going to do tbf? Buy cheap to save money

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Christmas Rush

billtev
Conversationalist

Not had a sale since 30th October  and very sporadic before that - worst year ever on ebay 

 

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Christmas Rush

Just compared the same week as this one to last year and we were selling 4 x what we are this year. Shocking 

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Christmas Rush

Combining the hopeless search results with ebays insistence that I sponsor my listings to get "increased" visibility it's now more or less useless listing anything on ebay.  The old categories made things far more intuitively easy to find. 

 

The real reason it's now necessary to sponsor listings is mostly because they're effectively hidden in absurdly huge categories.

 

Why do I sell more elsewhere?  Because a buyer browsing for Art Deco Glass / Brockwitz Glass / Amber Glass / etc. / etc. types that in the search box and every listing with those words in the title is put in the results for them to see.

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Christmas Rush

Well, I did all my Xmas shopping on eBay and Amazon last night

 

I bought much less than in previous years but it is done. 

 

 

(Except the edible gifts as I have no willpower and will eat other people's gifts if I buy too soon)

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