Complete overnight drop off since 2nd March

[threadgame]

Hi all,

I wouldn't usually start a topic, but the instant drop off in impressions, listing views and sales has become alarming, so much so I wondered if anyone has had a similar experience. The last 90 days prior to March 2nd had been good, steady business, with a fairly consistent amount of listing views per day. March 2nd comes and the views drop by almost 50% overnight from March 1st. This has remained consistent ever since, with no real explanation. Our listing output is the same, selling across multiple categories we've built a steady business on, nothing has changed at our end. The views and sales figures are both down around 40% from the prior Month.

Has anyone experienced anything like this, and if so did you rectify it?

Thanks all

[ashwill-3742]

Yes mate , identical here , other platforms no difference to normal ( maybe slightly slower this week ) listed 15 items yesterday 10 were gone on the other platform before I even had a single eBay view. 

It's never been so bad as of late , as a test yesterday I promoted some stuff at 20% , still no views 

I don't understand it from eBay's point of view there loosing a fee every time an item sells elsewhere but seems they don't just care , even with march normally being slow and then easter holiday etc the views have fallen off cliff. 

That said why would you shop on eBay when every time you load the app you get bombarded with live streams of Pokémon cards etc. 

I know you probably have already but I'm slowing switch my focus to the other platform , I know the service isn't the best but also I'm not paying them north of £1000 a month in fees so can handle a few missing parcels ! 

Your not alone mate , it's rough especially when you know your doing stuff right , listing good stuff with good prices and good service keep your head up and don't put all your eggs in one basket! 

Can't really offer fixes unfortunately I've tried coupons sales relisting free postage and adjusting add fees , I even tried increasing the prices ! , nothing changes it you just have to wait for the few days eBay shows your items then they sell. I suppose the more you list you may sell more in that window! 

In the last 12 months my monthly sales have gone from 5k to 2.5k and from last month for the first time 4 years eBay wasn't my best selling platform 

Keep on keeping on ! 

And maybe soon we'll get the business incentives we were promised when they made free fees! 

[diecastmanhattan]

Same here Guys.  Early March this year,  after 25 years of regular daily sales, everything dried up.  Sales, feedback, replies from offers - all virtually dead.  Have a look at my post last night re customer services - even they don't know what's going on these days.  Ebay is fast beoming the 'Titanic' of the platforms - and I do't mean the largest!

[leon842]

I expect people are spending their money on food, petrol and similar fripperies

[technthread]

I can only talk from a small sample size of recent listings but it has been concerning to have some 7 day eBay auctions end with no traction at all. To then sell the same items on V the same day for far more than the eBay start bids were isn’t surprising as I’ve been seeing that pattern for a few years in various categories but I’m talking about coins and banknotes with a long standing eBay buyer base.

Last week I managed to buy some nice coins here on auction myself for £22 which are worth over £40. That’s not unheard of for an auction but had I not bid the next bidder was going to get them for £11 which would have been a travesty for the seller. There is seemingly far less bidding competition unless the seller has a big following already, it is risky for small sellers like me to play that game. If I use even slightly protective start bids it’s a guaranteed view killer I may as well not even bother. 

[bojangled]

@ashwill-3742 

I wrote almost the exact same post on here in February this year. Things originally came to a halt for me this in April 2025. Tried everything, coupons, order discounts, dabbled in promotions. 
I gave it one last push for Q4 2025, while expanding elsewhere.  Just wasted time and effort. 

I’m sure there are sellers that are doing well, and haven’t experienced the downturn. I am grateful that eBay gave me the push to explore other avenues, as I was silly enough to be a one platform devotee. 


Over the years I’ve always reasoned that people aren’t spending because - ‘it’s Easter, school holidays, Christmas, long month, cost of living, council tax and water rates landing on the doorstep’ but these things happen every single year. 

Jo

[into-healthsupplements]

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@leon842 wrote:

I expect people are spending their money on food, petrol and similar fripperies

---

All starting from the same day? Unlikely.

[into-healthsupplements]

---

@ashwill-3742 wrote:

Yes mate , identical here , other platforms no difference to normal ( maybe slightly slower this week ) listed 15 items yesterday 10 were gone on the other platform before I even had a single eBay view. 

It's never been so bad as of late , as a test yesterday I promoted some stuff at 20% , still no views 

I don't understand it from eBay's point of view there loosing a fee every time an item sells elsewhere but seems they don't just care , even with march normally being slow and then easter holiday etc the views have fallen off cliff. 

That said why would you shop on eBay when every time you load the app you get bombarded with live streams of Pokémon cards etc. 

I know you probably have already but I'm slowing switch my focus to the other platform , I know the service isn't the best but also I'm not paying them north of £1000 a month in fees so can handle a few missing parcels ! 

Your not alone mate , it's rough especially when you know your doing stuff right , listing good stuff with good prices and good service keep your head up and don't put all your eggs in one basket! 

Can't really offer fixes unfortunately I've tried coupons sales relisting free postage and adjusting add fees , I even tried increasing the prices ! , nothing changes it you just have to wait for the few days eBay shows your items then they sell. I suppose the more you list you may sell more in that window! 

In the last 12 months my monthly sales have gone from 5k to 2.5k and from last month for the first time 4 years eBay wasn't my best selling platform 

Keep on keeping on ! 

And maybe soon we'll get the business incentives we were promised when they made free fees! 

---

Same here. February wasn't as good as January, which is normal, but I normally see a bit of a recovery in March. I didn't see a recovery this March just a further dip in views and sales. I think they changed something at the start of March.

[bravergrace]

2nd March?  Wasn't that around the time when the USA admitted having bombed the girls' school in Iran?  And when the Strait of Hormuz was closed to shipping?

I know it may feel as if we in the UK are isolated from wars in the rest of the world, but this latest war has had quite an impact on many things - including fuel prices and consumer confidence - as well as distracting some people from the important business of buying on eBay.

I think quite a lot of people have been affected over the last month by rising fuel prices - and by the fear of future price rises.   Some people are reducing their spending.

[into-healthsupplements]

Yeah that's a great point actually!

[the-nutwood-collection]

I agree that world events are occupying consumers' minds.

However, my eBay impressions have dropped 50% since the beginning of March and sales are a rare event - but both impressions and sales are on an upward trajectory on my other two platforms.

Something odd is going on with eBay.  My impressions tend to be steady - little up, little down - but during the past month my stats spreadsheet has been continuously in the red zone.

[smossy2]

I know I am a bit late in seeing this post and replying but I am in exactly the same situation. Early March everything seemed to stop…..views,watches and sales. I have been putting off moving to a different site because eBay is what I have been doing for years…..but I am going to have to. I can’t survive on the sales I am getting now.

[rockgroveprints]

I have been trading on eBay for 20+ years now with different shops and at the minute I have 2 with 1500 listings in each. I am thinking of closing them as business has been disastrous as past 2 months. Normally I would get approx 20 sales per day but now I could go 3 days with no sales and then followed by 2 days with 3 or 4 sales. I pay eBay £92.50 for each shop and I also pay then the standard fee plus a promotion commission and I just cannot do this anymore.

[wheretheloveb]

''something odd is going on with eBay''........

Agreed

There are lots of recent threads about lack of sales and views. These are coming from long time successful sellers, myself included. We've seen all kinds of terrible world events over the years ......recessions, wars, inflation,  but I've never experienced such a severe drop off in interest such as this. 

It's generally accepted that Ebays algorithms have changed. Plus we also have.......

  - a totally bonkers bladed items policy

  - a search engine not fit for purpose

  - Ai messing with everything

  - sellers item page saturated with.... 'other items you might like'  (I'm having a problem actually finding the original thing I went looking for because the page is so cluttered )

Add in.... high seller fees, robots for customer service, and yes the economy. It's the worst I've ever known in 18 years of selling

[sheba-knows-best]

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@wheretheloveb wrote:

''something odd is going on with eBay''........

Agreed

There are lots of recent threads about lack of sales and views. These are coming from long time successful sellers, myself included.

---

Just to be clear - not everyone who has commented about poor numbers this year, is complaining about poor sales. As of end of Week 20 (last Sunday) - my sales are own 4% y-o-y, hardly a cliff edge. What I have been complaining about is poorer profitability, down 19% y-o-y in the same period. If I had to summarise, I would say my eBay sales are holding-up in a tough economic climate (cost of living) but increased costs and price pressure are having a detrimental effect on my profitability .

Increased costs due to:

increased buyer returns,

increased need for PL (at higher rates),

changed PL rules (ie one click spins across all buyers),

Prize squeeze due to:

competition from V_  (which has changed buyer expectations even when there is no similar item on V_),

competition from private sellers

competition from mega volume business sellers

[theelench]

I'd add to your list ebay's fantasy delivery dates.

I've just finished buying a coin -- Saturday 23/5 and been told by ebay to expect delivery (RM) between 27th and 29th.

Even if the seller can get to the PO this morning the letter won't go anywhere until Tuesday 26th because of the Bank Holiday.  I'll be happy if it arrives if it arrives 29th or the 30th or even 1st June.

I read the boards often enough to know that ebay over-promises and expects sellers to put up with any flack, but other buyers don't and blame the seller for "late" delivery, when it is really well within the seller's and RM's accurate delivery estimates.

[ikons_uk]

Sales down 30% compared to the previous month.

Sales down 50% compared to last year...  therefore it can't be seasonal.

They've managed to take a simple successful platform and completely mess it up.

[vintagechinashop]

This week has been particularly bad for me. I’m getting sales but every other day at best and views have definitely dropped for me. I’m building up on other platforms and it has been quiet there. The summer months are bad for me  but it does seem my quiet period has started much earlier this year