posted on September 24, 2000 09:46:40 AM
I sell jewelry, definately not a necessity (sp?). My hits are down by 50 % while sales are also down in quantity sold, they are also down in the prices they should be bringing, as I start out at one dollar over my wholesale cost. This month i have gotten very few items to sell over the original asking price.
People stop spending money on "feel good" items when they are scared, and they do seem to be scared. Of what? I can only guess that it's their economic future.
After being in retail for over 30 years, I have seen this trend over and over, but all things pass with time, and this economic slow down will also, just quickly I hope.
Just my humble opinion, Soldbyj.
posted on September 24, 2000 12:17:54 PM
So, back to the original question, How have your sales been for the month of September?
Also, what do you anticipate for the rest of the year, reguarding your sales on Ebay?
posted on September 24, 2000 12:47:31 PM
Here's my observation. My sales are very slow. But everything I want to bid on ends up in a huge last second snipe-fest. So why is everyone else's stuff so much in demand and mine's not? Can someone check the stars for us??
posted on September 24, 2000 01:53:41 PM
Muriel,
What do you sell? Could the demand for your product be starting to fade? The demand for jewelry sure seems to be fading somewhat.
posted on September 24, 2000 03:17:19 PM
I sell a variety of things. Actually, my jewelry has been doing pretty well. Glassware not so good. Go figure.
posted on September 24, 2000 04:45:32 PM
Down sales are indeed due to many reasons not just one reason.
after all the interest rate incresses the feds made over the last year and a half the economy has been slowing last hike really slowed things down more then they care to know.
second this oil crisses self made or not is very real they do have big trouble all over we have been hearing storys on the news that suplys are really short and if this is a cold winter goverment may have to force large manufacturers who use huge chucks of resorces in the northeast to shut down if its a cold winter this year so there will be enough home heating oil and gas and truck fuel to deliver the food to stores.
I dont know about some of the rest of you but if its a cold winter and we will be faceing brown outs black outs and lack heating fuel and could be outa work as well.
as someone who lives in the northeast who works in a factory I am holding on to my money all I can one or two months out of work due to goverment order will hurt bigtime.
next is this is a presidential election year the economy started falling off last quarter of last year goverment has been trying hard to keep it looking shiny and bright till elections are over, there is less then 90 days till these elections and its getting harder to excuse the drops in the markets.
clinton and gore right now are wrestleing so many factors that adding the word ressesion to things against them wouldnt be to good.
if this economy was still so good and manufactures were still floating in orders why where I work in a plastic factory where we make plastic bottles for many companys many should be ressesion proof food medical auto shampoo ECT. why were we faceing layoff this June they shut down half there machines companys cut down orders and were only ordering just what they needed 50 to 55% decress in order since march of this year.
and come to find out they had a surpluss of work we made last year that was ordered and custumers never took delivery because warehouses are full of stock no ones buying they choose to stop makeing and sell old stock at last years prices.oil being the base for most plastic they will sell old stock at a loss over what prices are today.
I dont think were heading toword a world ression I think we started heading there unnoticed here some time last fall.it took time for all the wheels of this big growth to slow us down and it may be near over before it we ever feel the worst effects but its already been here.
#1 cause of the slow down here is the fedral reserve incressing interest rates in the name of holding down inflation. playing with the stock market. I dont think internet business and sales would have been as hard hit if there wasnt that big flood of IPOs growth here would have been a bit slower but not effected by markets outside its self.
Remember this Computer popularity and use started in the 70s during a bad time of inflation and ressesion the Dos, microsoft,intell apple all started in these times.70s oil crisses, inflation,ressesion,and price freezes.
net popularity and the word PC home computer gian in popularity in the 80s let see ressesion, small cars,stock market crashes bank failures the net still gained and boomed microsoft and window really started to make computers friendly.
the web, IRC, chat rooms, personel and bussiness on the web, netscape all started to gain big popularity in the earily 90s, to mid 90s Golf war, fear of a oil crisses, many states were still feeling the effect of the ressesions of the 80s bussinesses were down sizeing in this time people were building web sucess privitely and doing well in this caos.
mid 90s feds lower interest rate to help boost stocks home sales business start up and so on market gets moveing fast along come IPOs mergers web site sale prediction of billions a year in sales in a few years suddenly fed raise interest not once but 6 times to slow this market high oil prices fear of inflation and ressesion internet starts to fall apart IPOs fail goverment sues microsoft wants to break it up netscape crys foul ECT.
The internet its self will do well in a ressesion, Auctions of the right catagorys will do well in a ressesion antques coins any thing that will rise in value after the ressesion is over and hold most of it value will fair far better then stock or money market IRAs and other investments.
what you wont see during a ressesion is a big incress in prices, you wont see people going out of there way to invest bill money in to these things but you will see them bid and buy what will make them the big dollars when its over in fact if ressesion does hit in full for any time todays buyers are tommarows auction sellers this is the cycle of this bussiness.
infact the only things that will rise in a recession is gold sliver and energy.so technically if were not in the recession already then energy is still reasonbly priced.
posted on September 24, 2000 07:38:34 PM
My sales are fine. Last year fine, thie year fine. I didn't have a summer slump. Sales are nothing like they were when I first started selling at eBay. Now there are a lot of "pros" to compete with.
If you're having a problem, try doing a little brain work. I've had to revise my sales and come up with strategies a few times. Sell new products, find ways to cut fees, diversify, write some new ads or improve your HTML, there are ways you can give yourself a shot in the arm.
posted on September 24, 2000 08:11:19 PM
I'm with twinsoft. My 50 auctions closed tonight with extremely healthy hits and bids. The slump, for me, lasted a couple of weeks in late August and sales have been picking up each week since.
If this changes in the future for any reason, I'll just dig in, revamp, and redouble my efforts.
posted on September 26, 2000 10:07:24 AM
I think the Olympic games have a great deal to do with the slump right now. I experienced a great come back in sales around the first part of this month, then as soon as the Olympics started, sales went flat again.
It's especially hard to take since I have had awful sales all summer and was happy to see things getting back to normal in Sept. Now this...wham!
Well after this Sunday it's all over and hopefully things will return to normal. Has anyone else noticed a sharp decline in sales due to the Olympics?
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