posted on May 29, 2007 05:57:05 PM new
I was just browsing some oldtimers 30 days listing,these are good sellers with high feedback and I cant believe how low the sell through rate is-17%,15%.
posted on May 29, 2007 07:41:27 PM new
In a word...Ghastly!
I don't know what happened on May 5th but that was the day the traffic died.
I was just checking my EBay Store traffic in Omniture and it is down by about 1000 from the same time last month. We are not huge sellers, we have just over 200 items in our Store and last month exactly half of our sales were from the Store. This month we have had just 12 sales from the Store and auctions are about 12-15%. Used to be 80-85%.
Time to take a Summer break and just let items sit in the store.
posted on May 29, 2007 10:15:59 PM new
Listed 70 auctions May 24th, 20 cent listing day. So far I have 23 bids & only two with more than one bid.
A year ago if I listed 70 auctions I would sell 60 or more.
It's so bad I have to wait for half price day to list. The new postal rate is killing me too, a two ounce rubber stamp used to cost 63 cents to mail, now I have to use paackage rate because it's not "flexible" cost is now 1.30
I would quit, but I still have about 3000 rubber stamps to get rid of.
posted on May 30, 2007 03:16:32 AM new
McJane-my sell-through rate on 20 cent listing day is less than half of a normal listing day. I wouldn't list on these days if I didn't have an eBay store - the listings do increase traffic to my store and I see increased store sales which help to offset the lower sell-through rate.
posted on May 30, 2007 05:43:22 AM new
Part of the problem is that eBay needs to clean up its act. Type in Vintage Lucite Bracelet and 90% of what you'll get are brand new bracelets fraudulently advertised as "vintage". I was looking for a genuine vintage Lucite bracelet and had to weed through the new ones. I know they are new because I sell the same things and cheaper, I might add. eBay needs to make stores more visible, too. Auctions just don't work for most of what I sell because I won't start them at 99 cents. I can use auctions for the vintage jewelry items, but selling new items that way is a crap shoot at best. I usually only list a lot of the new items if there is a listing sale. Otherwise, it's just not worth the cost.
posted on May 30, 2007 09:46:32 AM new
I've been trying to redo my E-Bay Store as I have added alot to it. I really need to be sewing more, hopefully I will get a lot of that done these summer months. We clean at the College and I will get some time off from there.
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posted on May 30, 2007 09:52:23 AM new
Yes, the sell thru rates these days are pretty low. The gravy days are over. I don't worry about the percentage that sells, just so long as I make an overall profit from items that do sell. As long as I sell enough to cover the costs of non-selling items, all is good.
On the listing special days I used to hit my break even point (all listing costs paid for) on the 2nd day of the sale. On the current listing special, I have just reached break even today, the 6th day. That's still ok, since most buyers wait until the last minute to place bids.
posted on May 30, 2007 10:35:29 AM new
For the first time in seven years, I am below 50%.
I ship priority mail, mostly clothing.
The postage increase killed me.
My competition, too.
posted on May 30, 2007 10:42:05 AM new
Bids are slower than I can remember in recent history.
I did have many questions during the Holiday and most everything I listed are high ticket items so maybe it will be OK. Think I will end on the next Holiday and see how that goes?
posted on May 30, 2007 02:31:43 PM new
Let's just say that with 500 listings listed on the listing sale date, bids on my items just about total my sales on a regular listing day when I have 50 items ending. Pathetic! First they killed STORES, now they killed CORE .... lock your doors sellers! We're next!
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posted on May 30, 2007 03:11:33 PM new
Just heard a suggestion-Ebay should merge with Yahoo.
Worth looking into-Ebay always strike me as goldmine which management does not know how to mine-
with all those members who have made Ebay an important part of their life,Ebay cannot do more than just providing a venue.It cant come up with a health insurance policy for its powersellers;it cant entice us or coerce us into using all those bell and whistles it built into the 'list an item' form.
Ebay staff is street wise and street smart war horses who put the Yahoo ones to shame,but-
Ebay stores ,Ebay express are cheap looking compared to Yahoo shopping.
With Yahoo finance,Yahoo shopping,Yahoo personal ,Ebay can entice its fans to spend some time smelling the new roses.aka Yahoo.
Yahoo needs to wake up,it needs to be more responsive to its users and Ebay would show them how.
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Lets all stop whining !
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posted on May 30, 2007 04:48:57 PM new
Yes,it was the last thing I heard just before the storm,it knocked out our electricity and cable .
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Lets all stop whining !
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posted on May 30, 2007 05:02:36 PM new
Even if you don't agree with him, Cramer, you gotta listen so you know what the latest in stock picking is or isn't.
posted on May 30, 2007 10:55:31 PM new
My latest sell-through night (I end once a week) was about 50%, and I don't list on the cheap listing days. It's very seldom that I have more than 1 bid on an item now.
My husband just read a report that said Americans aren't cutting down much on their auto usage but they're spending less when they get to their destination. Our museum here has noticed that; we're getting more day trippers now, from the Inland Empire and the Palm Springs area, even San Diego and LA, but they're spending less in our museum shop AND putting less in the donation jar at the door.
The merchants in town are complaining, too, that there's a lot of foot traffic but most is people who are looking, not buying.
An estimate given in the article he read was that people won't really alter their driving habits until gas hits about $4.35 a gallon.
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There is more to life than increasing its speed. --Mahatma Gandhi
posted on May 31, 2007 12:32:25 AM new
Well, as to that changing driving habits, I already have, don't go anywhere and am not spending what I don't have.
As for Ebay, I have sold 3 things out of 11 I listed and that 11 was only listings I did in last 2 months. Ebay has gone down hill and I see the writing on the wall, no one has any money to spend so I am not wasting my time and postage put the nail in the coffin just about.
Therefore I am bored and have time on my hands to just fade into the background and wonder how we got to this point. I know the answer but no one cares.
************** I married my wife for her looks, but Not the one she gives me lately!
$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Check it out
And Feebay stuff at This link
posted on May 31, 2007 04:14:41 AM new
Ramblings: I have no scientific evidence for this, but I have come to the conclusion that there is simply more non-consumable (i.e., not food, fuel, medicine, etc.) stuff existing and being manufactured than can be absorbed. As an example, when I look at our local small paper, there is always at least one story about a local artist showing/selling their work. There is no shortage of local artists wherever you go, they produce lots of work, and are thrilled when two are sold at the show.
In New England, we have "The Christmas Tree Shops", mega stores of all the made in China knick knacks, etc. If you live near one, you would never bother buying that sort of stuff on eBay.
And as for 'vintage', for many of these categories there are not sufficent collectors (and there really never were). Ebay just allowed sellers to hit the brick wall of this realization sooner, rather than later.
posted on May 31, 2007 12:50:25 PM new
Most of my 20-cent listings have ended and it wasn't as bad as I feared. 25% of the sales came from snipes, I hardly ever get snipes anymore!
posted on May 31, 2007 01:00:20 PM new
My $.20 listings just closed, and I had a 50% sell thru. Lower than normal. Partly due to offering a higher starting bid.
posted on May 31, 2007 02:05:51 PM new
In another thread some of you mentioned Ebay has lowered the credit limit from 500 to 200 dollars,I would not be surprised some oldtimers are not paying their bills.
Trends usually do not reverse overnite,it takes time to form a trend and if a seller is getting lower and lower sell thru rate,it is not going to turn around soon.
In Ebay 2006 annual report,there were both Paypal and Ebay bad debts to the tune of 76 million each.
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Lets all stop whining !
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posted on May 31, 2007 08:37:25 PM new
There are too many 'things' out there,since most are made by machine manned by cheap labor,so the only thing which will stop these things from overproduced is cost of raw material which we all know is GOING UP AND UP!
There are also too many sellers out there,and so many of them are 'weekend warriors' who come home from work and throw a few things into cyberspace.
The entry barrier is so low,anyone can be a seller-a PC,a phone/cable line,a camera or a scanner and voila,we are in business.
Now the barrier is rising,Ebay fees build up fast.Ash tray,coffee mugs and ordinary stuff dont sell anymore,you got to have something nice and rare,so this is the barrier ,it takes money to make money,you need to find nice things to sell and they dont come cheap.
Lord helps those who have maxed out their credit cards to fund their Ebay operation.
posted on May 31, 2007 10:13:15 PM new
Merrie - I would rather that my listings show "before the pack" rather than "äfter the pack" so I list them early..
I married my wife for her looks, but Not the one she gives me lately! 