Is eBay a place TO SELL OR NOT any LONGER? Is it dead / dying?

[fixfix]

Does anyone else feel the same? Is eBay no longer a platform for sellers? During my years of selling on eBay, I've noticed declining traffic. The traffic and sales were so much better previously Is it the algorithm that is messing up people's businesses? Always been an "eBay Top-rated Seller." Used promoted listings, shop, keywords, specs, and delivery options including express, "free" postage, and "not-free", promotions. Nothing seems to work. Still getting sales if you can call it this way (0-3 a day), but nothing like it used to be. 

Never actually stopped promoting (not at the full suggested rate but reasonable)

The traffic went dramatically down in the last 2-3 years. Just not picking up. Any recommendations, feelings, experiences, etc.

Thinking of leaving eBay for good... It's draining my energy trying to figure it out, but nothing works.

[pillarboxred]

I'm not sure what is going on. World crises of which there have been several and are several still, cannot help with consumer spending and the general mood.  Then there are changes in fashion. It seems trendy now to festoon the home with tat that costs nothing if it is recycled and bintage (vintage but what an appropriate typo). I don't know what weight to give to the various downsides although eBay is easier to use than ever. 

[m.j.rodgers]

This gets asked all the time. 

Some peoples sales are up others are down. Nobody comes on a discussion board to whine their sales are up. They're too busy packing up their goods and posting them. 

[jh-middlesex]

to be honest even though i sell on ebay if i want to buy something the first place i look is amazon and then ebay if i cant get it on there, ebay is never my first choice!

[lucy_farmer]

'Nobody comes on a discussion board to whine their sales are up'

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Spot on.

 Also the reason why you should never take Crust Pilot's word on how awful a company actually is:

Very few people really go on a site to make a song and dance about something that went exactly as it should have done!  (unless they're being paid to do so, of course....)

[simplyessential_uk]

Ebay used to be the place that ppl searched first but now with competition (tiktok shop, Amz, Etsy, Temu, Direct websites etc) the sales are spread, I dont think its anything to do with climate/economy just that ppl will try and find an "excuse" as to why they are not getting Ebay sales.  You have to spread your business across platforms and direct, my website is now about equal to ebay sales  but Amz far outstrips them both for sales - its is ppls number 1 "goto" with next day delivery its hard to match  (unless of course you sell something that isnt listed on there)

[therenewalworkshopltd]

An awful lot of this depends on what your looking for as a buyer.

If it's run of the mill stuff, then the likes of Amazon etc is bound to be the first place you look.

But once you start moving away from that kind of stuff, there are lot less alternatives to Ebay.

All the niche stuff, second hand and so on.  Ebay is the place for that kind of thing.

But there are a lot of up and coming competitors now for big parts of the market.

Used clothing for instance is suffering due to the likes of Vntd and Dpop etc.

For sales though, the entire economy is in a weird place.  On one hand we have Trump doing his level best to upset the entire world economy.  Then we have regular increases in peoples bills etc.

There will still be people who are doing ok, or even very well on Ebay.  But so much of that depends on how established you are, what your selling and so on.  

[the_book_seekers]

Add in the in house turmoil curtesy of BPF, SD and monetary holds and its one of the strangest times there has been. 

[edwardian-dreams]

Triple whammy of changes 

more noticeable on eBay as opposed to vinted who have similar system because vinted was set up that way from day one 

[art2own]

Many small business sellers find that eBay is no longer financially viable and feel it is not worth investing their time in trying to sell on the platform. They see little prospect for improvement and anticipate only further decline in its viability going forward.

[the_book_seekers]

At the moment, according to my traffic page today hasn't happened. Views and impressions stopped dead on the 1st and the 2nd just doesn't exist. 

[2012bespoke]

I have written on the business board several times regarding this subject. I am totally miffed how my sales went from a good fairly consistent income to just a few pounds a month. I have been with ebay for over 12 years, and wish I knew the answer!! I gave up tearing my hair out, and have just accepted it now, the loss in sales means my income has taken a big hit since beginning of 2025, and it is a complete unsolved mystery. You are not alone 

[typo_lee]

I wouldn’t say it’s totally dead but it is dying. Been selling here for 25 years and our sales are 50% of what they were at the peak. You have to sell on multiple platforms these days and not have all your eggs in one basket. There are so many factors at play for decreasing sales. Economy, far more competition, rubbish search engine, extortionate fees etc etc.