Ebay Sales Completely Dead **November 2024** ‌

[theglo-68]

Hi

We have been selling on ebay for over 10 years. Sales have been down since start of 2024 but its completely dead. Like we look at our stats from July to September and sales figures are less that what we are paying ebay for Promoted listings etc.

Although we have moved our inventory to Amazon and tiktok but wondered what has actually happened to our Ebay. It used to be aweseome but we now cannot even afford to list.  Listings are sat there doing nothing even with promoted listings.

November has been our difficult month so far as with Zero sales i mean come on there got to be something causing this loss. Is it new so called AI.

Please share your findings.🤔🤔

🤔🤔🤔

[british-ceramics-and-paintings]

I've been offered £2880  😂

A year ago it was about £7000.

Tells it's own story.

[exponential_developments]

Can you buy me a beer with the difference........ 🤣

[british-ceramics-and-paintings]

Probably not these days....... 

[cb-home-textiles]

After a terible few days trade on here I am wondering do ebay want well established accounts or  small business sellers on their platform anymore given the lack of views on our listings it feels that I am irrelevant to ebay 

Gavin 

CB 

[typo_lee]

Absolutely! I'm not that hard up not to buy you a beer haha

[digitrade99]

same problems, last year £1500 a week, this year £200 (and thats a good one). I suspect we are being sidelined for eBay-favored sellers; this is only speculation, but there are a lot of Chinese sellers that have setup shops in London and other major cities that are somehow able to get all the promotion and undercut everyone's prices. Is eBay running their own shops in the background? 

The weird thing is that for two years now many like us have been complaining about the lack of sales on the platform. Is this since Temu...pay per click..are we not giving greedyBay enough of all our profits? Remarkably, eBay's stock market share price reflects success; somehow eBay is able to tell investors they are making a profit. I would love to know where it is,  not from us business sellers. I suspect we are all responding in the same way and not paying their promotion fees as they would like because nobody wants to work for nothing.

[typo_lee]

I can't comment on the Temu, Chinese competition etc as all our listings are showing at the top of all ebay searches. From our own personal experience as I highlighted above I simple believe that ebay doesn't have the user base it had. I'd say its 50% of what it was. Christmas shoppers now hit the high street and retails now as online delivery is very expensive unless you sign up for the Amazon Prime membership.

[bravergrace]

I've tried some online shopping today.  Standard stuff - medium quality pyjamas for older people.  And I've looked at half a dozen sites and been unable to buy anything.  Each site has its own problems.

1) eBay: 340,000 results.  Can I be bothered to filter them?  No.  The first page of best match results contains lots of cheap stuff, at sweatshop prices and quality, but judging by the pictures, there are about a dozen designs, each one being sold by multiple sellers (or possibly by the same seller, with the same picture but slightly different titles, I can't tell).  Nothing inspiring, nothing quirky, only one item over £20, so not the quality I'm looking for.

2) Clothing website A: they've set their website so that I can't even browse without signing up.  No, I'm not going through that rigmarole without being able to see if they've got anything there.

3) Clothing website B: not bad quality, but expensive, and the filters are appalling and it's all sold as separates with no link (so you buy the trousers and then have to play hunt the matching jacket).

4) Chainstore website: looks good, but pictures don't show the ankle, or give leg measurements, so no good to buy for someone who doesn't happen to be the same (unspecified) size as the model.

5) Boutiquey shop website: Expensive, looks good, but they've inexplicably sold out of over half their lines, so you can only buy a yellow top and green trousers, not a matching set of pyjamas.

6) Supermarket website with clothes range: Their clothing search gives only grocery results today.  So searching "Pyjamas" shows me "potatoes".

7) Amazon: Nice pictures, but the first page of designs are almost exactly the same (plain trousers, check top), though allegedly a variety of brands.

Result: I'm reluctantly off to the shops to do some shopping.  Because none of the websites seems set up with the buyer in mind - and I haven't even started on hidden P&P prices and minimum spends yet...

I think a user-friendly clothing website could do well.  But I haven't found one yet.

[typo_lee]

And this is exactly what I said above. People are going to the high street and retails as they can actually see, fell and touch the item before buying. Its far better than online as much as it pains me to say it as we only sell online. Although nothing like clothing we sell items you can't get on the high street so more niche. This is why the retail parks are packed. People having coffee with friends etc etc. Its a far better experience and online delivery charges are now bonkers.

[darth_baggins]

A lot of people I know, including Mrs Baggins, just don't like using eBay any more. The biggest complaint I hear is when a seller abuses MVLs, like having an irrelevant 99p freepost item in the list, which is totally against eBay rules. Of course reporting these listings does nothing.

My brother says he will only buy on eBay if he really can't find it anywhere else, as a last resort.

But it's hard to find what you want. eBay basically don't let you sell much unless you pay for promoted listings, so that just pushes the prices up so eBay is no longer competitive.

And of course there are still 1000s of private sellers who are businesses that are denying people their lawful consumer rights.

Years ago eBay had a reputation of being like the wild west and full of cowboys. Sadly I think this reputation has got worse, not better, over the years.

eBay has lost its way.  Customers are going elsewhere. It's sad, but undeniable IMO.

[typo_lee]

Your totally right

[leadhills_scot]

I mainly shop online, nearly finished the Christmas shopping. This year I've not felt well enough to shop around so have mainly brought from Amazon (kids/grandkids all have wish lists) and a bookshop site where some of the money goes to my nominated bookshop. Never bother to even look on ebay.

Sales are way down on last year, only sold 1 item over the weekend and so far this month just 9.

[spence0175]

I'm old school. All my Xmas shopping is done in real shops. Not that I buy much these days as I've become a Sprugg ( society for the prevention of useless gift giving).

So I go into a sports shop to buy trainers for my son. Sorry we don't have that size but you can order it online.

Gone.... next sports shop, have you got that colour...no but you can order it online...so I bought the colour that they had the size in....

[bojangled]

@bravergrace 

Your point No.1 is one of the most annoying . Multiple variables with more variables, all those listings with duplicate images won't get a smidge of interest from me. 

Amazon is just as bad. All tat.

[exponential_developments]

I'm being rather open here, if ebay doesn't pick up in sales, come January i'll be pressing the Plan B button.

Is anyone actually busy, be honest, i will check....lol.

[cke786]

It seems to be that something sometime during this year that has really started killing off people's sales, for me it was around middle of April or early May that sales dropped off the cliff like a boulder! At the start of the year, sales were up far more than last, sales after sales, then like that.... poof, everything was dead, to the point where my hours had to be cut, so it's actually affecting my employment after 15 year selling on eBay!

Been trying everything, discounts for multiple sales, reducing prices, Special Offers to item Watchers, even putting some items on at 40 % promotion... I'm at a loss!

[pg_kicks]

My sales arent bad, around the same each month for the last year, but compare with 24 months ago they are £4kish a month worse, biggest issue is how many private accounts do what I do but on a smaller scale. They used to only list every 2 weeks but now its every day, it might just be 2 pairs per account but when theres hundreds of accounts it soon adds up.

I'll get messages every week saying can you price match this person, I say no they arent a business and they reply saying but you accept returns so rather buy from you, also get returns openingly saying just needed to know the size and will buy some the cheaper seller, when I sell for £100 they can sell for £90 and get the sale yet we both get the same payout. Add in when they open a return thats gone via eBay authentication saying it doesnt match and they get free returns, its annoying.

Theres so many simple things eBay could do to make the site much better but eBay seem to wish to just change stuff thats not broken first.

[cb-home-textiles]

@exponential_developments what is plan B as I need one also .

When I started on ebay it was a lot easier . You went to a wholesaler bought listed then sold . Then the wholesalers came here so we changed track and sold away from the crowd  by making our own product (cushions mainly) so the crowd sold small covers we made large ,orange was in so we sold yellow . all was possible then we always tried the avoid the race to the bottom . 

Then the wholesalers got upset as the manufacturers came here and sold direct again driving prices down . then the far eastern sellers came and drove the quality and price down . We reshaped and cut our overhead  but sadly this is not working well as other factors are also in play . 

1) cost of living 

2) change in shopping habit post covid ( as mentioned customers going to touch and feel product and grabbing a coffee) 

3) any disposable income going on family days out etc (again a post covid responce) 

4) I have said this before when I started in 2011 the big super markets did not have a great online presence they do now ) 

5) the rise of specialist sites Vinted etc 

6) Ebay has let us down by making selling so difficult and expensive  sponsored this advertise that 

7) relevant to amazon also search is awfull caused by adverts and misleading listings 

😎 people holding off spending until black friday (this is becoming a trend )

I am sure other people could add to the list above 

Gavin 

CB 

[exponential_developments]

Yep i looked at you listings, good pics, and a good stock, do you just use ebay or your own site as well?

[auctiongabble]

Logged in this afternoon and noticed the order page has had a revamp, why? it was working fine before.

Ive qualified for a £5,760 ebay loan to spend on stock or 'advertising' .... if ebay cant provide business sellers with a decent working system now why on earth would i get a loan to invest into ebay advertising?