front porch trash

front porch trash

Saturday, July 13, 2013

HAS ebay LOST ITS MIND?

This has been the worst week on ebay for me in a long time. Nothing much is moving. What is selling is totally random and off the wall. The first week in months that I have had two days with no sales.

After a reasonably decent weekend with 6 sales over the weekend, no sales on Monday, two on Tuesday, none on Wednesday and two on Thursday. I'm writing this on Friday, and no sales yet.

I'm blaming it on the 40,000 free listing demon.

I received a message from ebay, at 11pm on Sunday, that "yeah" you have 40,000 free listing between July 8-July 12. I couldn't list 40,000 things in that amount of time if I listed 24 hours a day. Plus, I have lots of stuff but I would have had to have the pictures and measurements ready to go in order to do any listings in a reasonable amount of time. I think ebay counts on you not being prepared so you can't take advantage of the total amount of "free" listings.

And, if I did list 40,000 items this month, what would I do next month? Relist all of them? Just pick 500 that I thought would sell? Pay 10c per item to relist? Oh sure, I would pick the 10c option, that's only $4000!!! I think ebay just wants to suck me into listing more.

So far since ebay has had their 500 free listing per month for my store I have been at 500 per month or just under by 1 or 2. Could that be why my sales are suffering? Ebay sees that I'm not spending extra to list and I am on their "crap list"? I have over 600 in my store as of today and I wasn't planning on listing all of the items I had that had expired. Some have been listed a year or so and not sold, some are just plain not going to sell unless I give them away, and some will sell. Next month when all of these listing come up I will be brutal and
cut my losses and just donate them.

I am busy getting my school and fall and Christmas stuff in line to list so I have to make room for some things. I find it much easier to justify paying 10c to list a Halloween costume or a winter coat or a cashmere sweater than a vintage doo-dad that will sit for months waiting for the right person to come along.

Here is what went out the door this week:
Bonanza, first sale in months
Bud Gnawood, plush, 50c sold $18
Bud Gnawood, he chirps and talks with tags
ebay
Women silk blouse, 25c, sold $16
Dinosaur sheet set, twin, with a repaired rip, $2, sold $15
Woolrich cotton sweater, $1, $22
Roastin Post, grill accessory $1, $15

Fill with Coke, the soft drink kind,
stick up a chicken's butt, place
on grill. It was new
And I don't do free shipping. Of course I shouldn't complain. I made over 18 times my original investment, not counting the fees. Needless to say I didn't meet my goal of $100 a day!!

On another note. Ebay wisdom strikes again.

A buyer bought a polo shirt well before Fathers Day and didn't receive it by that Sunday. She opened a did not receive case. I checked USPS and they attempted delivery, left a notice, and when it was not picked up it was sent back to the sorting facility and then it went back out and was delivered on Monday, the 17th. Ebay closed the case by refunding the buyers money. What? Didn't affect me, but geeze are they stupid? It clearly showed on the case review (on ebay) that the shirt was delivered on the 17th and some customer rep refunded anyway? The only good thing is ebay didn't take the refund from my funds.

Oh, well!! I did get stuff listed and relisted and I guess I'll just have to be happy until ebay decides they like me again. (Please don't let me do anything to piss them off!!!)

No comments:

Post a Comment