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Original poster

No Ebay sales for over a month, very slow this year

83 replies

tectonicplates · 12/10/2018 15:24

I'm a personal seller and I currently have twenty items listed - mainly clothes and a couple of other things.

I always list everything as Buy It Now and just let them sit there, and they sell whenever.

This time last year I was selling two or three items per month. This year, practically nothing. My last sale was six weeks ago, and the one before must've been about six weeks before that. I do get views and watchers but I think people just watch things for fun. It feels like the whole place is practically dead. I used to have best offers deactivated, but I've reintroduced it to some of my listings (with a minimum offer thing) but not received any offers.

Before anyone says it, I'm on Facebook selling groups and nothing ever sells there either. As has been mentioned before, there's a lot of discussion and questions but very little actual buying or selling going on.

I think people just like window shopping.

OP posts:
greencatbluecat · 12/10/2018 18:01

Well it's all a case of product and price, so I would guess you need to put your prices down. I've sold a lot of things on eBay recently, although I have thought for the last few years that is more of a buyers rather than sellers marketplace.

ginswinger · 12/10/2018 18:16

Check your keywords in the title, have you included sizing/age/sex info?
Try auctions instead of BIN
Are you offering free post? If it's only pick up, that's probably why there are no sales
Check your photos, could they be better?
Read some of the CrazyLister articles on selling, they are super helpful
Hope that helps

QuickPollPlease · 12/10/2018 18:21

I don't buy anything BIN as I always think they are a company.

Try them on auction with your BIN price as your starting price?

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General shopping
Dodie66 · 12/10/2018 18:22

I sell loads on eBay.i always start them low on auction. Some get bid up to higher amounts. Some don’t but I do make quite a bit.
Try auctions instead. People like bidding on items and once they have a bid they keep watching. Do a few to start with and se ehow you go

Twickerhun · 12/10/2018 18:23

Is it because of the rise in Facebook market place?

Original poster
tectonicplates · 12/10/2018 18:23

Yes I'm usually quite successful at selling, that's the thing.

I always put the size in the title and as much info as possible.

Always give measurements

Everything has free postage.

I think people just aren't buying any more. I'm getting watchers but they never go anywhere recently.

OP posts:
Original poster
tectonicplates · 12/10/2018 18:28

I don't buy anything BIN as I always think they are a company

I'm always very clear that I'm a personal seller, and most of my clothes are (lightly) worn anyway so no tags. This has never been a problem in the past.

It's interesting to get comments here saying to change them to auctions. I actually changed to Buy It Now a while back as I felt nobody was interested in auctions any more. Many of my BIN items have sold at random times like 5am which is not when people are around for auctions. Also I don't want my good stuff selling for really low prices in the event that there's only one bidder.

OP posts:
Lovestonap · 12/10/2018 18:29

I don't buy much from ebay anymore - I find postage adds so much that I don't feel I get bargains anymore. I think facebook buy and sell have contributed to this.

I also won't sell on ebay anymore because of the ebay tax on postage (how is that fair?!?) and because there is not much protection for the seller.

It's a shame, I used to love ebaying!

Original poster
tectonicplates · 12/10/2018 18:31

I've tried to sell things in Facebook groups but everyone just ignores my posts. I've never been successful there. Like I said earlier, there seems to be a lot of discussion going on but hardly any actual buying or selling.

OP posts:
Clutterfreeintraining · 12/10/2018 18:36

I also do BIN only.
I’ve been listing intermittently for the last few months (was a more regular seller until a couple of years ago) and some things are selling quickly, others have been up for ages.
Maybe things will pick up a bit in the run up to Christmas Smile

madmum5811 · 12/10/2018 18:37

Retail is in the doldrums reading the results for the last three months. Pubs are suffering, folk just are not spending as much. Supermarkets are the only ones getting a bit of a lift. The UK is in a slump.

MyMiddleNameIsLaura · 12/10/2018 18:45

I just don’t think Ebay is as good as it used to be. I use gumtree more and more and find it cheaper and more satisfying.
Last time I sold something on eBay I had the buyer start a dispute about the condition - which I refuted and consequently won but I know if they’d pushed it Ebay would have come down in favour of them even though they were just chancing it and that really put me off selling anything else.
My brother runs an eBay business and has told me horror stories of buyers saying an item isn’t as described and then posting back a box of bricks. He then has to write the item off as it’s just not worth his while pursing - bad ratings etc.

isseywithcats · 12/10/2018 18:51

i sell on ebay for a charity and find clothes have to be certain labels and usually brand new with tags, labels like per una even bnwt dont even get base price, look at what you have on sale and look at completed listings on the left hand side of your page the green pones will give you a better idea of what to price at, i do all mine to start on a thursday night for ten days to end on sunday night which still seems to be the best night to end, and i dont do free post just knock the postage price off the strat price so hopefully i get what i want

MouseholeCat · 12/10/2018 18:56

I've stopped using Ebay and just shop for second-hand clothes locally instead, even at car boot type events if the stuff is hung up nicely and pressed.

I'd had a few bad items and the whole kerfuffle of returning was frustrating. Also, the general quality of items seems to have declined massively in recent years.

Postage fees on Ebay also seem to undermine the point of saving the money in the first place.

Original poster
tectonicplates · 12/10/2018 18:57

look at what you have on sale and look at completed listings on the left hand side of your page the green pones will give you a better idea of what to price at

I already do that as standard.

and i dont do free post just knock the postage price off the strat price

But there's a load of people here who specifically refuse to buy anything that doesn't have free postage.

OP posts:
NoTeaNoShadeNoPinkLemonade · 12/10/2018 18:58

I'm curious...can you post a link?

Original poster
tectonicplates · 12/10/2018 19:06

No!

OP posts:
StrangeLookingParasite · 12/10/2018 19:10

Well don't be the seller I encountered tonight (not that I think you would be, really).
Item listed at £50,00 opening bid, doesn't sell, relisted at £48,00 opening bid, with best offer. I offer £45, she rejects it, says BO shouldn't have been there, and jacks the opening bid up to £60,00.

Cheeky fucker.

isseywithcats · 12/10/2018 19:24

that is a seller who wont sell her item, and also clothes sellers are up against sites like everything5pounds.com i buy lots of my stuff off there and iof you buy enough items it justifies the postal charge

Petalflowers · 12/10/2018 19:29

I’ve had the opposite. I’ve resisted a few items that haven’t sold in the past, and am selling one or two things a month. I’ve tried Shpock and local Facebook selling sites, but have had a lower success rate. It annoys me that ebay take a percentage of the postage as that combined with normal ebay fees and PayPal fees mean you loose quite a bit of money before you start (always amazed when I see things listed with a 99p starting fee because of this).

Original poster
tectonicplates · 12/10/2018 19:53

Hmm. You know what - based on some of the comments here, I might try converting a couple of my listings to auctions next week to see what happens. I haven't done auctions for a couple of years though and I know there's been some changes, so if someone could talk me through it please! Is there still a way of setting a price below which you don't want it to sell, like a reserve price?

OP posts:
ScreamingValenta · 12/10/2018 19:59

Dodgy buyers have ruined things for genuine buyers. Sellers, understandably, send almost everything signed-for now, which means you have to be in when it arrives or trek to the sorting office - plus, the postage cost is higher. This is fine for a large or expensive item but frustrating for small, cheap items which would fit through the letter box. That's one reason why I buy a lot less nowadays. To reiterate , I don't blame the sellers, I blame buyers who try to scam them.

Original poster
tectonicplates · 12/10/2018 20:06

I also blame Ebay for siding with scammers.

OP posts:
ScreamingValenta · 12/10/2018 20:10

Yes, there's no doubt eBay have facilitated this.

ByeByeCircle · 12/10/2018 20:10

I just start my auctions at the minimum price I want. I always schedule to start at 9pm for 10 days