What is happening at EBay??

[leebrothersmc]

So I started an eBay business at the beginning of April. I sell NOS motorcycle parts. It has done ok so far. But what I can’t figure is the fluctuation in sales. For a few days it is one sale after another then (like now) nothing for over two days!! I’ve been doing it long enough now that I am convinced the sales patterns are not natural and something is affecting them.

what are the alternatives to eBay!?

thanks

[tornari-group]

Firstly, you have a great eBay store. That didn't happen overnight and business sellers on here will appreciate the work you have put in so far. But eBay no longer just floats along and gives you sales, so keep working on the store with new items, revisions, price changes etc. I tend do something everyday.

I think this post may be removed, as eBay don't like you asking about other platforms, so just be careful!

In your line of business there isn't anything better. You could try your own WS. We built our own which took some doing as I'm not computer savvy, but as a small business it's what you have to do. Other than that, stick with eBay and just improve what you have. Don't forget the motorcycle industry is sleeping at the moment. Big dealers are shutting down so ride out the storm and in the Spring everything will be a little better. In the meantime, have some sales, look for bargains to offer cheaper items and just keep at it. By the way, no everyone understand NOS, so try "New Old Stock" instead - it may help with searches.

[leebrothersmc]

Thank you for that. Another problem is, When I set up I had a point of
contact who helped me get started etc. cannot get hold of him at all
now.🤷🏻‍♂️

[santlache_sales]

It is ebay messing about with your visibilty, basically turning you on and off.

It's been happening for years, huge fluctuations in sales which is exactly what we saw yesterday.

No sales for five days, then seven days before that, then yesterday we had four sales.

I listed an item last night, but after just seasrching for it I couldn't find it anywhere today.

[ojewellery]

I have a mantra about working on things in your control - there is definitely something in visibility switch off  but I doubt any of us will get a definitive answer on how to solve it.  May be a red herring but I know when I was listing some items in what turned out to be system identified wrong categories, I had regular no sales days followed by a spell of good sales days.  Likewise when my item specifics were empty the same happened.

Improving sales is going to be a case of tweaking what you have to optimise your offering.  

There are a few basic best practice things, and it looks like you're on top of many of these...

Clear images

First image on white background (improves offsite visibility as google and other shopping tools often require a plain background to include listings)

Minimum of five images - if you don't have five you can do close ups of some or show packaging

Ensure you optimise titles that buyer search strings are likely to bring up your items - I see it as the weighting of the first word is highest and last word lowest.  The first three to five words critical.  Its often said put brand first and for many of your items I see you do this.  If you think like a buyer and say right if I were looking for this head gasket what would I type, start tying it into the search bar (on eBay desktop version) - the drop down shows/ autofills with commonly searched terms and you can pick what seams relevant.  

Fill in as many item specifics as possible (although I admit I've been a bit slacker on this lately)

Consider offering a fast/ express post option.

Consider if becoming a top rated seller or meeting eBays premium standard (watch your defects too) stacks up for your business

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/selling-policies/seller-standards-policy?id=4347

Monitoring sell through rate and ensuring you don't keep listings active older than 90 days with no sales.  End and sell similar - switching the photo order and tweaking the title before relisting.  Visibility drops off significantly after 90 days and that reduces overall offering sell through rate, which slows sell through rate and the spiral continues.

Chatting to other sellers and realising its not just you, can also be very beneficial.  Those little golden nuggets of information that give you something new to try.   

I've been involved in seller meet ups this year, they're free to attend for eBay business sellers and run by eBay business sellers with some support from eBay - the pilot one wasn't too far from you in Manchester.  Next one in Manchester is January 16th 2025

Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ebaymanchestermeetup

Its the same facebook group for the whole country now and quite a few more groups are in the planning stages so will be advertising events soon.  eBay socials are getting involved with a bit of promotion so if you follow those you should stay in the loop.

You mentioned you had a contact when you first started so I don't know if you've already been through the start up scale up programme:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/sellercentre/grow-your-sales/start-up-scale-up