eSeller004
|
posted on August 10, 2001 07:13:32 AM new
I've noticed my sales are slowing bigtime. July was great but August has been DEAD! 
Anybody having luck in August?
|
katiyana
|
posted on August 10, 2001 07:14:37 AM new
A whole whopping 2 sales for August... both less than $5... NOT a good sign...
|
loosecannon
|
posted on August 10, 2001 07:21:42 AM new
Not so far. It's only the 10th. 
[ edited by loosecannon on Aug 17, 2001 09:18 AM ]
|
kiawok
|
posted on August 10, 2001 07:23:05 AM new
Nope, August has been very good so far.
P.S. And I don't accept PayPal.
|
mballai
|
posted on August 10, 2001 07:30:35 AM new
On eBay it's practically dead--really not worth much listing, on Half my business is fairly good. I might just switch over to almost all on Half as it is much less maintenance--no deadbeats, collection banking, no PayPal or BillPoint etc, email tag and other baloney.
|
katiyana
|
posted on August 10, 2001 07:32:36 AM new
I had my first cancelled order on half.com yesterday. Fortunately I was notified prior to shipment so I"m not out the item and the $.
|
litlux
|
posted on August 10, 2001 07:47:30 AM new
Well, some month has to be our worst month of 2001. Might as well get it over with now, as I would hate for it to be around Christmas!
|
LaneFamily
|
posted on August 10, 2001 07:48:13 AM new
I have sold more in the first 9 days in Aug than most of the last 3. It was shaping up to be a record for me till eBay closed 129 of my auctions.
Oh well I needed a vacation.
Jim
|
petertdavis
|
posted on August 10, 2001 07:50:05 AM new
August is shaping up to be my best month EVER, on ebay. This, however, has almost nothing to do with ebay itself.
|
ultimato
|
posted on August 10, 2001 08:00:08 AM new
Katiyana mentioned having an item canceled on half.com and coincidentally I've had THREE canceled this month, the first time that's ever happened to me. In one case the buyer wasn't happy with the product, said there was a skip on the CD. In another the person simply decided they didn't want it. In the third I fortunately hadn't sent it out yet but I'm wondering now what happens with those other two. The buyers have my CDs already but half.com has canceled the orders and charged the price back to my account. On top of that the one who had the skip on his CD gave me a 1/5 negative feedback even though I'd be perfectly happy to give him a refund. According to my account it looks like I'm out the CDs and the money plus I gained a negative feedback from these! Does anyone know if there is any way to fight or at least question these transactions? Something is very rotten if a buyer can cancel a sale after they already have the item, get a refund and leave negative feedback to boot!
|
keziak
|
posted on August 10, 2001 08:13:43 AM new
It's not really too bad, but I think I detect a strong trend towards 1-and-only bids. I am pretty distracted with vacation plans and other stuff, though. Mostly I am looking ahead to (a) possible end of the month FLD [the theory is late August, right, or was it late Sept?], and (b) settling into a routine once the kid is back in school.
keziak
|
soldat2
|
posted on August 10, 2001 08:23:52 AM new
Sloooow, mostly because we have little listed. After school starts we list more but for now we're just coasting along with the current!
|
ahc3
|
posted on August 10, 2001 08:30:42 AM new
half.com is very flawed - Sellers have very little control - Canceling a sale after it happened is something I have not heard of, but it is a great scam, esp. on expensive items (luckily most items are inexpensive) - I doubt there is a system in place for a person who cancels the sale after goods are received. I think once confirmed, the buyer should NOT be able to cancel, only the seller. I sold a video recently, and the person who received it called me and said it was defective. I refunded them (by reporting a problem to half) and told them not to bother sending it back to me since it was inexpensive, and I did not see a reason the seller would lie for a few bucks. However, there is a lot of potential for buyers to do bad, and with poor customer service at half, it is a bad situation. Don't even get me started on the feedback, I hate the system where a person can accuse you of being a thief, and you can not respond back to them OR the feedback file! At a minimum there should be something in place like ebay where a seller can explain what happened!
|
llama_lady
|
posted on August 10, 2001 09:42:28 AM new
I guess I can whine a little too. Mid-July and beginning August were very slow. Actually hardly worth listing anything. In addition, I have 5, count 'em five boxes that contain items from non-paying bidders in my hallway from that time period. That is the most ever for me. Luckily I'm going on vacation next week. I have enough frustration in my life besides stressing over the lack of bidders. Actually it's not the lack of bidders, but the lack of paying bidders that stresses me. The break will be good though and when I come back I'll be refreshed. Now, I'll just have to be stressed out while I'm in Daytona Beach continually watching for Jaws as I venture into the water. (and I am a Miami native.)
|
ultimato
|
posted on August 10, 2001 10:04:19 AM new
ahc, everything you said about half is true, and I do think it's a scam. The buyer can go back to the auction and there is a button to "report a problem." There are then 4 buttons they can punch, including damaged item, wrong item, etc. The seller then gets a copy of the complaint and can respond to it, but the buyer still has the option to cancel the sale after the seller responds. So if the buyer already has the item and doesn't feel like paying for it, the seller is out of luck. The buyer gets credited and the seller is out the money and the item, plus runs the risk of lousy feedback. And like you said, it's not usually worthwhile to ask them to return the product unless it's an expensive one (which it usually isn't). And also like you said, there is no way for the seller to contact the buyer directly or respond to feedback. I was getting into selling on half because in a lot of ways it's easier than Ebay, but there is too much room for fooling around on there, and very few options in the seller's favor.
|
debbielennon
|
posted on August 10, 2001 10:28:38 AM new
llama_lady:
I'm in Daytona Beach----they did have to close some of the beach in New Smyrna (just south of the inlet) last week due to 4 or 5 foot sharkies in the surf. They are definitely there. Enjoy your vacation, though! 
|
genxmike
|
posted on August 10, 2001 10:31:20 AM new
We just finished our best week of the summer. Things seem to be really picking up lately.
|
eSeller004
|
posted on August 10, 2001 10:38:42 AM new
I haven't had any problems when selling on Half (well actually 2, but Half resolved both in my favor) after hundreds of transactions, except the sell-through has all but dried up. It seems like it's a rare case where someone will screw you. The majority of people will deal honestly.
My gripe with Half is you have to relentlessly undercut the GROWING competition in order to sell anything. 50% rebates off Retail aren't going to cut it when nutty people are willing to go MUCH, MUCH deeper! For some items even 90% rebates aren't enough!
|
suz23
|
posted on August 10, 2001 10:51:15 AM new
Last week was my worst ever as half of my auctions ended with no bids~ ( 2 high sellers though that made my week ~ and they actually paid very quickly) This week appears better but I keep changing what I sell so it is hard to tell. I am waiting till the summer is over before putting on high items and these items (books) I am throwing on marketplace ( amazon) in case I get a nibble~ in not they can on ebay!
I think things will pick up ~ too hot in the east from what I have heard to be booting up the internet. Suzanne
|
keziak
|
posted on August 10, 2001 12:39:03 PM new
Revising my comment to say, sales aren't too bad, but getting PAID is terrible! I can't believe all the items still sitting here unpaid as I get ready to leave town. Maybe the "check is in the mail" and I'll get them all when I return home...
keziak
|
camachinist
|
posted on August 10, 2001 12:57:12 PM new
sales aren't too bad, but getting PAID is terrible!
hehehe...isn't that the bane of every business? cash flow....
Now just imagine sending your item and hoping to get paid in 30 days (standard open account terms)....you'll watch those receivables like a hawk! (Like I do in our B/M business)
Sales...can't comment since I'm not a regular seller but I can say, as a buyer, vintage and antique jewelry and wristwatches are commanding pretty high dollars with bargains few and far between. Activity is spotty but the known quality sellers are loaded up with bids (IME)
I imagine, as the slowing economy takes hold, lifestyle adjustments will occur and the buying trends will shift...hard to say where though ..
Additionally, as many parents prepare their kids for another school year and end-of-summer vacations occur, I believe many people are just out of the general marketplace for now.
Most of our friends are working hard to pay off CC and other unsecured, high interest debt and are curbing extraneous spending. Having said that, as I've watched my new wife in action the last year, I firmly believe that women are soley responsible for a healthy economy...
They'll come to your rescue, I have no doubt!
Just today my wife told me she didn't want anything out of a cooking utensil catalog (hints for Christmas *G*) because she had everything she needed...now, that's scary!
My best wishes for happy and robust sales!
Pat
UBB flub...
[ edited by camachinist on Aug 10, 2001 12:58 PM ]
|
fonthill
|
posted on August 10, 2001 03:26:13 PM new
Frankly, sales have been in a slump for us since November! August seems no worse than July, although we had a bit of a pick-up in May/June...
Regarding the Half issue... that is also why we don't accept paypal. THe buyer can (and has) said that the item hasn't arrived or is not acceptable and get a refund... Paypal will issue the refund and take the money out of your account so you are without stock or $. By the way, the person who duped us is a well known scam artist in the Tallahasee FLorida area - she especially likes to buy 1920s theatre coats and then try to rip you off.... so I know the coat arrived - she is just a con artist...
|
GreetingsfromUK
|
posted on August 10, 2001 04:04:08 PM new
I am very happy with my current sales. I sell low value lots World Wide. School kids are on holiday and happy to pay my prices. It is winter for my customers South of The Equator. This is not my trading name.
|
azeclixpt
|
posted on August 10, 2001 04:30:35 PM new
Hi,
Yes, August is my worst sales Month ... but because I'm in holydays
Best
Jose
|
MAH645
|
posted on August 10, 2001 04:41:58 PM new
This will no doubt be my best month this year on E-Bay, but it has been so bad at the Flea Market we quit for the year.
|
outoftheblue
|
posted on August 10, 2001 09:26:42 PM new
July and Aug have both been pretty good for us. June was terrible this year.
|
siddielou
|
posted on August 11, 2001 07:32:53 AM new
Dead here too.
After this, almost anything will seem like an improvement.
Although, it might be good bargain hunting????
Sid.
|
thepriest
|
posted on August 11, 2001 09:12:51 AM new
Kind of slow here, but we've added bargainandhaggle as another site to list on (same item - delete when one sells)
That's filled in nicely....
|
susanfromar
|
posted on August 11, 2001 12:34:21 PM new
I haven't sold a thing in the past month.
-----------------------------
Passion Parties By Susan
http://www.passionpartiesbysusan.com
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
"Nothing is so complicated that
it cannot be explained simply"
- Albert Einstein
|
thepriest
|
posted on August 11, 2001 07:19:46 PM new
bump
|
