Nose dive on sales Help and advice

[bearsue1]

Hello all 

I am looking for some advice and help ,I am a top rated seller but my sales have taken a sharp down turn on my main items T shirts and i am not getting the veiws and very little sales.

I am reaching out for advice i understand its hard to comment but any help i would be greatful

I have done the norm promoted the items dropped the price and to be honest if i go any lower im just paying ebay and not making an profit at all.

I have also tried to book an appointment with the 1-1 sales people with ebay but trying to get a slot is proving impossibe.

[m25jet]

The old saying "Don't put all your eggs in one basket" comes to mind here.  Rather than just selling on eBay try selling your items on other online platforms as well to see whether you do any better on those platforms when compared to eBay.  That way you'd be in a better position to be able to tell whether the sharp drop-off in sales is due to an overall decline in demand in the market you sell in, or, in the event that you do well on other online selling platforms but continue to struggle on eBay, whether the problems you are experiencing are in some way related to selling on eBay.

In case you haven't already considered it perhaps it would be worthwhile setting up your own website selling your items directly to the general public.  You'd have to be properly registered as a business seller with HMRC, and would need to keep a record of your sales and do an annual tax return, but if you were to do that then by selling directly to your customers you could cut out the middleman and avoid paying a percentage of your selling price to whichever online selling platforms are hosting your listings.

[bearsue1]

Thank you m25jet

Thank you for your reply 

I am registered as a business seller on ebay and also registered with HMRC as a sole trader, I have not tried other platforms as of yet but i am tempted to do so.

My worry about  that is  all my items are new and the other platforms i see doing the rounds seem to advertise sell your unwanted items on here and so on and if i put my items up for sale i get knocked back or a ban saying you can not sell that here if you catch my drift.

I shall look into the other options you have talked about and try them

many thanks 

[nigel_paul_wright7557]

Try selling at car boot sale.

[bearsue1]

Thank you for the reply 

[m25jet]

@nigel_paul_wright7557 wrote:

Try selling at car boot sale.

At this time of year, with winter fast approaching?  What with the outside temperature dropping almost as quickly as eBay's popularity with its site users you'd more than likely end up spending the best part of the morning freezing your ba11s off, not to mention getting soaked through if the weather took a turn for the worse!  A good idea in theory, but perhaps better reserved for the warmer months than during the autumn and winter.

[bravergrace]

I don't know anything about selling tee-shirts, except that it's a very crowded market.

But in general terms, if your main category isn't selling well, the best advice might be to diversify your product range.  Try to find a niche product or a niche market, and you may be able to make enough profit on that to balance out your lost profits on the tee-shirts.

I've been selling on eBay for many years, and I've gone through several types of product.  Some became unfashionable, some were killed by Royal Mail tripling the postage prices, some were killed by foreign imports or copycat sellers.  Some proved too labour-intensive or incurred too many returns.  It can be hard to change your product range, and move away from something you are comfortable with, but sometimes it's worth a shot.  If you sell three completely different types of item (say, tee-shirts, filing cabinets and paperweights) you're cushioned against a fall in one market.

[typo_lee]

I've sold on here for over 25 years and ebay has nose dived. In fact their shares dropped 10% last week so that says a lot really. The user base is no longer there. People hate ebay but love Temu and Shein and the likes. We sell personalised christmas gift tags on here and in the past we would be selling 100s by now. This year.... ZERO! Sorry but you need to sell on other platforms as ebay is dying. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you really need to sell on other platforms to survive and things are sure to get harder with the latest budget. More unemployment, less money in peoples pockets. Its a dire time for sure which I've not known since the credit crunch.

[exponential_developments]

" freezing your ba11s off, not to mention getting soaked through if the weather took a turn for the worse!"

Really, then stay home and be skint, and people wonder why the country is screwed.

[m25jet]

I've got no idea where you got the idea that I'd be skint by not selling on eBay or doing car boot sales.  I can certainly stay at home if I want to, but then again, having a decent employer who offers flexible hours and the option to work from home for a decent annual salary is far more appealing to me than flogging a dead horse by selling on eBay, or getting absolutely frozen and soaked to the skin trying to flog unwanted gear at a car boot sale during the coldest months of the year...

[exponential_developments]

"absolutely frozen", it's the UK, it's never cold, i suppose everyone is different.

[leadhills_scot]

Surely that depends on where in the UK you live. Up here there have been times when it has been below freezing all day. At night it has got down to as low as minus twenty seven degrees.

[exponential_developments]

I'm in Cumbria, middle of nothing................Depends how you are built...........besides the thread is about the person selling T-shirts who is struggling, if you need cash you stand in the cold.

[fatbobfan]

@bearsue1 Ive seen some simlar band merch Tees at a Swansea boot sale, and it was quite a busy table, I purchased 2 NIN including the one your selling. Guessing youll get better footfall in Cardiff/Barry but get the right boot sale, cant help you there.

You've a few Sleep Token tees, UK tour this month and Cardiff is a stop, maybe a bootsale might be a good idea but be quick its the 30th 

Prices seem fair and apart from MM and his er herm, exploits its a good selection but always keep an eye on your competitors and pricing

I always ask for Band Merch as a pressie, so hopefully things will be good for chrimbo

Good luck

PS as at @m25jet eggs and basket

[the-nutwood-collection]

Other than discomfort for the seller, merchandising clothing in inclement weather is a dead duck.

I had a friend that sold clothing at agricultural shows and she said that customers like to hold the article against them and look at themselves in the mirror.  When it was raining or cold, they were reluctant to take off their outer clothing to admire their reflection, so passed on by muttering 'that's nice'.

Also, on a bad day, the stock got damp so she had to dry it out before she could pack it away - otherwise it started to smell musty.

Finally, the British weather got the better of her, and she sold online.

The dog and I were wandering around an agricultural show in the pouring rain (I show sheep), and a guy in a burger van shouted to ask whether I would like a burger.  When I said no thank you, he said 'Does your dog want a burger?'.  That's desperation marketing.

[bearsue1]

Thank you for the advice fatbobfan, I have tried the swansea car boot once  the 4AM start nearly killed me lol and it may have been me who you saw,  great place but very little sales there so i never really went back,plus i found it a bit odd that it was still a working car park as well.

Car boot wise by me cowbridge way was great but the council called it and shut it down sad to say. Sleep token wise i m hoping i have a rush on them as i did well last year and then all of a sudden it just died off.

The worse thing for me is i do it for the love of it and getting the buzz from customer contact and the sales which really does not make me any money, and been a welshman i like to have a chat with the customer as well which i think is all part of the game.

I might give swansea a try again as its the run up towards xmas and see how it pans out i was there about a year ago.

[fatbobfan]

You commented on my Rammstein long sleeve, could have been me, small world

The Swansea High Street boot sale its still getting the footfall, if it was your table it was busy when I passed had to wait my turn, guessing like minds will have a similar opinion, love my Merch maybe not for every one, who knows. Christmas is coming, I love a Christmas pressie Merch but maybe thats just me.

Good luck