posted on October 10, 2002 08:52:32 AM new
Starting auctions at a penny and getting what you can off the shipping isn't my idea of making money, that would be a waste of time in my book. Even if you run a ton of auctions, its not that much money,but when your hungry I guess you do what works. I buy leather every week and sell most of everything I buy at my booth with an excellent return.I usually have a great Christmas on E-Bay but most of my sales are in November thru mid December. I would say alot of the sales should start around the middle of this month. For some reason alot of people like to start Christmas shopping when it starts snowing. Of course all the stores already have most of their Christmas items out, but that doesn't mean their selling that great.
posted on October 10, 2002 08:55:21 AM new
October has always been the worst month. Notice the stock market is always the worse in October too!
People just do not spend much in October. It may be the 4 month crunch cycle. April is the first crunch after the Christmas spending peak; and October is the second crunch after the peak vacations in July.
Anyway, the economy is not to blame; it's not ebay's fault, and it's not a new trend away from ebay. It's not even a shock to see sales decline at this time of year.
posted on October 10, 2002 06:50:15 PM new
It's been a good 6 weeks or so for me. I had one person who purchased something like 37 of my buy it now's within 30 minutes, sweet!
posted on October 10, 2002 10:55:12 PM new
September was great, sales increased by 20-30% each week..........
But.......the Last two weeks have been "off", I'm getting more Buy It Now sales then usual, but fewer auctions that close with successful bids. Sell through rates are down by about 20-30% -- and sales in general are lagging 10 - 20% behind my projections, as opposed to outpacing them by 20% as usual.
There is also an interesting trend where some days are increasingly heavy while others are very slow.
Also -- I've had an increasing number of "Hi, Can I cancel my order?" and payments are coming in slower -- which of course is partially a function of slower sales.
Something else interesting -- sales are down, yes, but looking at the sales I haven't collected payments on, particularly those where I never heard from the bidder at all, most of them are from the weeks where sales were higher.
Anyway, it seems to me that sales are down for a number of reasons:
-Baseball Playoffs & the Start of new TV Season -- people are watching the season premieres of their favorite shows, catching the playoffs, sure to affect eBay Traffic -- I base this on the fact that I'm having great days when there are no games on.
-War Uncertainty -- sure to grow worse now.
-Possible double dip recession -- nuff said'
As for all the people who want to say that down sales are just a function of work -- well you're partially right and partially wrong. In the end, if you sell on eBay you're running a retail business and you're going to be affected by things that affect the entire economy, retail sales in particular. Two it is helpful to discuss societal and economic factors that may affect traffic on eBay and our sales in general. Three we all sell different things and are going to be affected by different events/economic conditions differently.
For instance -- the Pro Audio gear I sell to musicians and DJs is selling @ higher rates then it was back in September -- because I'm working, expanding inventory, etc. The Home Theater gear is selling sporadically and in lower #'s, because people are using their Home Theaters to watch baseball and not shopping --- and like always, once the big game(s) are over, there is a rush on my A/V gear that subsides once the games start up again.
There is a lot to be gained by discussing trends with our fellow sellers, it can be a sanity check to see if it's you or if it's affecting everyone and to find ways to combat said negative effect.
posted on October 10, 2002 11:46:17 PM new
August was our best month since about May. Summer was not bad really. September slowed down well but October so far has been a stand still.
Were down to 18% Sell through rate. I am glad there are still a few business out there buying cause for personal use it is way off.
posted on October 11, 2002 06:56:00 AM new
My sales have been bad for the last month so I have stopped listing for now untill I see more sales in the categories I sell in. Since some of you use a different name here than you do on eBay it is easy enough for you to show those great sales percentage just post your ebay ID.
posted on October 11, 2002 10:50:21 PM new
My sales were slow through the summer and into September. Infact, my Yahoo sales out did ebay for a couple of months. However, since mid september, my sales are great. In fact, my October sales have already set a record for most sales in a month and it is not even half over yet. Not totally sure why that is, except I have been using the fixed price venue instead of the auction venue on many items. Most of my sales have come from the fixed price items so far this month, but yet the items I listed in the regular auctions have done well too. I guess I have the horseshoe in my rear end this month.
posted on October 12, 2002 12:27:28 AM new
It's not just ebay. I also sell on Yahoo Auctions and it's been a bust there too for the past 2 weeks. Have talked to several others on Yahoo feeling the same crunch. No one knows what's going on...other than the economy. But this is usually my busiest time of year for auctions and I can hardly give things away right now! My counters show hundreds of people looking...but no one is bidding. Go figure...
posted on October 13, 2002 05:47:18 AM new
I too, am having really bad results. I find it intersting that some people can just slough it off by saying that it will pick up... yeah but my $$$ is invested now & the products aren't selling for nearly what they went for last month. It is very stressing. I have auctions ending every day this week, starting tonight and they are dismal!
What a nightmare.
Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care!
posted on October 13, 2002 06:21:40 AM new
My sales are way down. I had a pretty good month in September, but it appears that buyers are not buying right now.
I think November will be a better month. Perhaps this is a good time to re-organize, take inventory, prepare for the Christmas customers, and if applicable, consult with your tax representative.
This is also a good time to purchase items for Christmas. I've even noticed many of the Brick and Mortar (B&M) stores have reduced a lot of their merchandise.
Thanks for the post. Although some feel like we're complaining, I believe communicating with others helps us understand what's going on with Ebay sales.
