No Sales in April/May 2025 - Ebay Bank Holiday weekend What happened?

[theglo-68]

We have over 200 ebay listings with Zero Sales all Bank Holiday Weekend.

Ebay was once our best selling platform but since start of 2025 we are going downward with sales. Our sales were exceptional last year but even though we are advertising both paid and General still sales are not hitting.

What is the result of this downward decline - Has anyone else noticed it. We are now paying over £50 to ebay everyday for Promoted listings but getting no Sales.

Please share your thoughts.

[m.j.rodgers]

@theglo-68 

You create a thread like this every month. Perhaps you need to put a bit more effort into selling stuff. It's clear from your own posts that your sales have been dreadful for ages. Maybe take a look at the root causes. 

Is your pricing right?

Are you selling the same stuff as everyone else and thus competing for sales with lots of people?

Is your seller account in good standing?

Are your listings coherent and well presented with good photos? 

Do you have any VeRO strikes? 

Is your stuff actually worth buying? 

Have you moved with the times or are you still selling exactly what you were selling fifteen years ago? 

If it's not one of these then it will be something else. 

So many things can ruin sales which we can't see because you are posting this from an account with no listings.  I'm to criticising that, we just can't offer tips to our fellow eBayer. This is my personal eBay account, It's not either of my two work accounts. 

What isn't the problem is that "Nobody is buying anything on eBay". People are clearly buying a lot on eBay. They're just not buying it from you. Try and figure out what you need to change to become profitable again.  

Nobody ever sold a single additional item by asking "Are sales dead <insert relevant date here>?" There's no reason to think your duplicate posts asking that will ever help your sales. 

[stampsnallsorts]

One way to move listings up the search engine is to revise them with a small change as frequently as possible.

Having been selling on eBay since end of 1999 generally I have found one should be selling approx 10% of fixed price items per month. Personally I am working on getting my stock up to a retail value of £60k on eBay that should give me a resonable income.

Another type of listing that I have found very useful is the multi-variation listing, you can now have up to 240 variations in each listing (remember items advertised in these listing must follow certain rules). (not all categories support this). Think of adding multi buy discounts in these listings. The more they buy the cheaper each item becomes.

[m.j.rodgers]

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@stampsnallsorts wrote:

One way to move listings up the search engine is to revise them with a small change as frequently as possible.

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Absolutely. I stock check and listing check all my items every 3 months at least. Change the price a few pence. Change the available quantity slightly. Add a random character to the start of all my SKU's then remove it a few months later.  

The algorithm is fickle but it can be played. 

[stampsnallsorts]

As sales in my core line of products stamps, coins and postcards have fallen off a cliff so to speak, I am re-launching an old line Swimwear business line what with summer coming up. this time incorporating it into my main eBay shop rather than having 2 eBay IDs. I have invested several £000, into new stock. See
https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/stampsnallsorts/Swimming/_i.html?store_cat=44833186018

[collectorshop-co-uk]

We are also down by 50% from last year. Don't know why. We promoting adding multibuy follow rules have 2000 listings and when we used to sell 100 a day now its more like 15-25 per day.... The heatwaves, The bills families pay for cost of living perhaps its The UK itself which is struggling at the minute. I hope it will change so we don't close our store after so many years.

[flutterby-enterprises]

Hi

I have tried everything I know to gets sales. Spent £638 pounds approx in promoted listings for 2 sales. Please be aware of the new promoted listing rule far more expensive.

I have gone to Ebay open had people look at my account.

Lost top seller status as I could not post one article after a night a family member needed an Ambulance. Sorry I am disabled just could not get the ONE order out. What with ridicolous fees. Metrics beyond my control ie late shipment when the orders were sent on time. I have had more sales on EBID this week. 

I have tried for years to make this work for me but its to complicated to many rules. I get better return on sale or return in local furniture shops or on wholesale orders.

Ebay answer promted listings etc. It may work for some but not me. Either Ebay changes soon or even I have to leave.  What with HMRC changes coming next year more fees for that, and other problems. When I purchase things on Ebay goto the business section and try and see if the company has a website so to avoid Ebay greedy fees for another seller. Its legal. Ebay treat your sellers like you are, in a short while you will have the same bland companies and no customers as the once unque items you could get are gone.

So sad that was once a fun selling site is now anything but.

[vintagechinashop]

I have just downgraded my shop to basic as I can’t sustain the fees for the amount of sales. Like you my sales have dropped quite considerably from 2024. I have listings on another platform and have just taken 5 parcels to the in post locker. My eBay parcels this week have totalled 3 

hoping for a upturn but not holding my breath. 

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Maybe I'm missing something here, but you currently have about 1300 listings active.

If you downgrade to the basic shop, it will cost you a lot more than the mid tier shop in listing fees.

Or do you intend to also remove a lot of your listings?

Or to put it another way, the basic shop will cost you £27

You will then have another £105 in listing fees for the extra 1050 listings.

So excluding VAT you will have total cost of £132 against a cost of £77 for the featured shop.

[simon3341]

I suspect the biggest problem is the economy. This Govt changes to employee NI is just biting now. Inflation on fuel and water is bad. People are being super cautious if it hasn't hurt then already. 

Our sales are almost non existant all of a sudden. Very noticeable over the last month!

[typo_lee]

Exactly. News today.... Economy is screwed. Reeves needs to scrap all fiscal rules and too spend more and more. IFS says UK could very well go bust (my accountant forecasted this 12 months ago). Starmer spending billions on putting the country on a war footing. How are people meant too feel? Not exactly chirpy right now is it? In fact this is the worst I've known business since starting up 25 years ago and thats including the credit crunch and COVID. Although were in fact our best years.

[stampsnallsorts]

Sale have all but vaporised, My figures for last 90 days £3246.98, 31 days £845.68 & 7 days £92.33. At that rate based on last 7 days, next 90 days will equal £1187. My business needs £1k per just to pay all the bills. Unit rent, insurance, utilities etc. That is why I am bring new ranges of items into stock. Swimwear which I used to sell very well. My top selling line https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/386960580788 

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Arghhh, I know better than to look at links.  Just burnt my eye's out!  🙂

People actually buy them?

[bojangled]

@therenewalworkshopltd sonthen I had to look…put me right off my afternoon hobnob!

[gbrtrading1]

The state of the economy doesn't help, but as someone who also sells on the other platform (I'm assuming we're not allowed to mention by name) I was disappointed with how ebay performed in May. Comparing it with May 2024, Ebay sales were down 18% for me, meanwhile the other platform sales were up 202% That's not an economy thing.

[masonskingsshop]

I mean there was something similar but with a bit less of the "hob" and well... lets keeps this at least PG rated. 😄 

[typo_lee]

I think it very much depends on what you sell. If your selling clothing on ebay I think thats collapsed due to the likes of Vinted. And not only that Shein sell clothes cheaper than secondhand clothing. My daughters both buy loads off Shein even though I hate their business model and website but its cheap. My daughter works but needs to save for a car so she buys cheap clothes from Shein. How can I argue? But other selling markets may do well on ebay? We are down 30% on ebay and sell personalised decals but the market is flooded now with part time sellers.

[the_book_seekers]

It will be interesting to see what happens to Shein and the like if the UK follows the EU's suit and adds a charge to each small parcel coming into the EU, and I've read the UK Government is looking at doing something. The EU has said the 2 euro fee will be paid by the tech companies, but given the numbers involved the cost may well be shifted to buyers. Also with Trump ending de minimis Shein and Temu will be under some pressure. If they try to get round Trump's new rules he'll be looking for ways to close loop holes. 

[stampsnallsorts]

Regarding lost Top Sales for late dispatch. Do what I did 2 years ago. I set my dispatch time to 10 days, (Yes I lost my seller fees discount, I can live with that), but I still process orders/ship on 2 days a week a Monday and Thursday, I mention this in my terms and conditions of sale also in my shop header, so if any personal issues arise my dispatch time is unaffected or if I need to take a day or two off.  

[therenewalworkshopltd]

Hopefully we do follow suit.

But they have already started to try to get around this sort of thing with the "local suppliers".

But what it will mean regardless, is an increase in prices and that will of course be paid by the customer.

There is no way that they will be able to absorb the extra cost of delivery, as they are already very cheap.

Which of course is exactly why people buy from them.

It really is ridiculous that the postal system still treats China as a third world country.....

[flutterby-enterprises]

Thanks that a brill idea