eBay Sales Slow?

[Den82]

I have no idea what is going on, but for the last 3 months or so it seems I haven't sold ANYTHING. Not even getting offers. Anyone experiencing this?

[thunderbolt]

selling less than usual. School start up and I think all the uncertainty with the govt and the health care that no one can figure out.

[Nostalgiabuff]

I have been selling a lot the past few months but some things I thought would do well have not, or in a lot of cases not even sold after repeated listings

[steelcouch]

Ive had to relist some items more then a few times. It seems to be certain items that are not selling because I posted some bmx stuff and it sold the first posted day.

[bobws]

Yeah,i need to get rid of stuff one box at a time and maybe 1 item sells a week. It's driving me nuts.

[mikeMc6]

I'm hoping in November people on ebay start waking up, both buyers and sellers...I hardly find anything I want to buy on ebay and interested buyers are few...

[spacecaps]

Well as a buyer, I'm purchasing more now than I have in a long time. I'm not talking about nickel and dime stuff either. In the last few weeks I've gotten some big item toys that were well out of my price range a few months ago so on that side, I'm supplying someone with business but maybe they're not getting as much traffic as they thought they would or should.

As a seller though, I haven't seen some downside but not much. Maybe a few items I thought would go first try took a second or third listing to get rid of and my BIN have certainly been duds but I'm still seeing the big push in the final seconds on most of my auctions. There have been a few big items I've posted that I know in the past would have gone right away that only get a couple of watchers now.

I don't think slow sales has anything to do with back to school now. I mean were almost to November and my kids been in school for the last two months and outside of picture day ($35) or the fall field trip ($15), there hasn't been any major expenses. That's $50 over two months so I haven't exactly been crushed by school expenses. All the big purchases for school came in August with the supplies. If anything I think this time of year is more when people start buying for others with the Holidays coming up. Not that people are necessarily shopping for them right now but I know I'm at least thinking about what I'm getting for others and as always the list is daunting so I think that plays more a part than back to school. I'm sure there are studies on this but this is always a slower time of year than in say, March when sales always pick up because I think that's when the tax returns start rolling in, the Holidays are over and people have a bit of extra money to spend on themselves. I'm also not sure the economy has a huge part either. No matter how bad things seem, ebay always seems to operate in a world of it's own. I mean if more people had more money than of course you'd get more bids on stuff but even with the way things are, I still see toys selling for crazy money.

I don't know how others do it but for me ebay is like a revolving door. I list things I don't want, get money for it in my paypal, and then buy the things I want. I very rarely dip into a bank account to pay for something I buy there but not everybody sells which probably explains why there are bids but not a lot of them.

[hedrap]

I've been doing okay, but you are right that it is at a slower rate.

Two-three years ago, you could list complete pieces and watch things fly.

The Ebay hand-holding for sellers is actually making it worse. By pointing out to the unaware what certain brands are, they're giving them an inflated value rate. If Ebay is going to clue in the clueless, they have to change the pricing index to include a scale for condition. Sending people to auction with incomplete or broken parts but looking for BenBarb rates is killing more sales than helping.

[Splitty]

Not just ebay, but eCrater too.
I've made the first sale this week on eCrater after selling nothing for three months (used to average a few things each month).

I've haven't posted much on ebay lately, but have had to sell for much less than it's worth and gotten fewer bidders.
Part of it may be economy scares (but I'm guessing). It's possible after things settle down bidders will be back. I know alot of people are worried about their jobs reshuffling hours and increase in insurance and whatnot. Anytime something large happens to the economy people grip their wallets tightly for awhile.

I know on a personal level, my mom's job has just reshuffled, and after working there a long time not only have they cut hours, but they have dropped ALL benefits. No more sick leave, vacation leave, or medical. Sucks. That might be what some people are afraid of.

For myself, I never let economic worries infringe on my spending habits! Stuff stuff stuff!
But alot of people aren't ........like me.