eBay sales February 2014 DOWN / STOPPED !

[Worzel]

Hi all, this isn't the usual.. oh my sales are up and down. I've dropped from an average and consistent (for eBay) £3000 a week, all the way down to £41 this week.

eBay of course deny all knowledge, I've even had customers email me for items numbers because they CAN'T FIND MY LISTINGS!!!!!

So, I've found the problem. The default search has changed to "Time: Newly Listed" - PLEASE tell me this is some dumb idiots mistake, or they've been hacked? Surely this is NOT the new default, after all their time "perfecting" the BEST MATCH????

I'm so confused right now. All my listings have vanished as they are GTC as per eBay recommendations. I'm just hoping this is an error, hack or a desperate attempt to get sellers to go on a listing rampage to stay at the top?

Please advise

 

[johndon68]

So, I've found the problem. The default search has changed to "Time: Newly Listed" - PLEASE tell me this is some dumb idiots mistake, or they've been hacked? Surely this is NOT the new default, after all their time "perfecting" the BEST MATCH????

I've just done 3 separate searches for completely different items and they all came back defaulting to Best Match...

John

 

[JamesSco]

I've just done 3 separate searches for completely different items and they all came back defaulting to Best Match...

John

Can confirm Johns comments - 3 searches all defaulted to Best Match and not Newly Listed so this will not be the issue.

From our business perspective, we usually do very little on Ebay. We have had 641 order for the month of February which is already more than the entire month of January. So sales for us are up a fair amount.

Perhaps if you could provide a specific product you sell and we can see if we can find the said listing?

 

[Worzel]

OK, I figured it out. It's staying on your last search criteria. So let's say your looking for something local and set to "distance nearest" it will STAY on that and won't default back to Best Match. Before it would always default back.

 

[silvermusic]

Best Match is always the default unless you've set it otherwise. On search results (anything will do) you'll see a "View" drop down menu, from that Select "Customise" and there's an option to reset to defaults for everything. As a default setting on eBay now Best Match is the only thing that makes sense as a default for them.

As for the sudden drop in sales first option is to check your competition on eBay, what are they doing, what have they changed/improved, made cheaper, etc.

If you'd like me to do any specific searches for you, I'd be happy to help.

 

[benb]

I've heard this happen to other ebay users - maybe ebay have changed their search algorithm.

Do you only sell on ebay? Times like this can be a hard lesson of having all your / too many eggs in one basket

 

[yasar365]

Been very quiet for me too in feb. Just the way it goes.

 

[TPH1]

Feb sales have been very disappointing, about half of what I expected. I have noticed on eBay actually that on a few listings, we're being outsold by another seller with a fraction of our feedback and overall sales, plus they are selling at higher prices on those listings...

 

[IanG]

I use GTC quite a lot as well and mine are all still present as far as I can see.

It is frustrating when buyers choose items at a higher price.

I deal a lot in used items, I've seen items in worse condition go for more money. That's on Buy It Now listings as well so its not like there's a rush - mine are there better and cheaper and buyers don't buy those for whatever reason.

I also sometimes sell things for lots more money than other people, despite there not being much to separate on condition.

I think some of it is to do with Ebay's algorithms, but a lot is down to buyers not being at all savvy. Which is frustrating if you have genuinely better deals on offer.

 

[The Byre]

I don't know if this applies to the OP (obviously!) but customers will buy at a higher price or hit a Buy-it-Now! button if the pictures are better and the descriptions are fuller.

Also, you need to have various options, such as a Buy-it-Now! AND a regular auction and a hint at a direct sales site and a number they can call.

On ebay it is very important to be as transparent as possible. If you hide who you are or where one can get a hold of you, people will tend to think that there is something odd or dodgy about you.

 

[PalmerCreative]

I always found eBay quite inconsistent around this time of year, always dropped for Jan & Feb for me every year.

 

[wayzgoose]

I always found eBay quite inconsistent around this time of year, always dropped for Jan & Feb for me every year.

I would say that's quite consistent then ;-)