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A sharp decline in sales

 
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healthylife2020



Posts: 3

PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 1:31 pm    Post subject: A sharp decline in sales Reply with quote

Hello friends !
I've been selling to Еcrater from soon. Until a few days ago, the store was going well. 1.2.3 sales almost every day. But suddenly the sales stopped and I do not understand what the reason is. Whether the reason is in Traffic or just has such periods?
I am currently on - Medium (5.9% marketplace cost apply
Should I increase the level to high or extra high?
I will be glad if you share your opinion and give me advice!!!
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slyravengear



Posts: 120

PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 3:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I think there is something wrong with search, as I was getting sales and views but now zero views for the last week, except on older items.

But, I'm talking with Ecrater about this, its not confirmed, its just my suspicion.

Raising your goole ad percent may help getting people from google shopping, but you have to ee where most of your sales are from..the ecrater marketplace, google shopping, or direct. If its not consistently google shopping then raisng the limit probably won't work.
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MoonwishesStore
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Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 4:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Selling 1-3 items a day here is good. The suddenly stopped without a time frame doesn't leave us with any good information to base an answer on. If suddenly was two days ago that is a different thing than a month ago.
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BCOutlet



Posts: 12

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 7:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So, if I go to google shopping and type in:
Acne cream Skinoren 20% 30g Azelaic Acid. acne

I get nothing even if I google your exact product name. Seems like your item is not being shown, and perhaps that might be because it requires a prescription?
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BCOutlet



Posts: 12

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 7:52 pm    Post subject: I checked your store Reply with quote

So, if I go to google shopping and type in:
Acne cream Skinoren 20% 30g Azelaic Acid. acne

I get nothing even if I google your exact product name. Seems like your item is not being shown, and perhaps that might be because it requires a prescription?
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MoonwishesStore
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Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 9:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I don't think that eCRATER has a way to keep some of the inventory from not showing, but I suspect after seeing what they have available that many of the products would need a prescription. One in searching for it showed it was discontinued in Israel and the other the article about was in Bulgarian.

Nothing against the seller, but for the life of me I don't know why someone would buy medication from Bulgaria without speaking to their doctor about it especially when it is something that is a prescription medication here. Perhaps cheaper than here, but to buy something online, means you are self-diagnosing and self-prescribing and as a nurse, I tend to shake my head at that. Not the best way to get treatment. On Amazon the other day, I followed a listing and I saw so many items that you could see clearly on the label RX Only, which means you have to have a prescription to get it. For some reasons Amazon lets people sell that. But when it comes to my health, I want to buy Made in the USA!
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pickychicky



Posts: 1552

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 9:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The U.S. has restrictions for selling any type of medication, especially for things that we can only get via a doctor (prescription). In many cases, you're required to have some sort of certification (government approval). In the States, it is illegal to buy or sell such medications across borders and is pretty much equated to drug trafficking across national borders (a federal offense, which is the worst). Last I heard, you can't even buy vitamins from Canada. I know people have been getting away with it via the internet, but it's still illegal.

So, it could very well be that Google has found you out and shut you down -- meaning that they have removed all of your links from their search engine. Sellers really should educate themselves about what they are and are NOT allowed to sell to U.S. consumers. What might be okay in your country is most likely not okay here because we tend to have much stricter regulations. No offense, but that's the way it is.
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BCOutlet



Posts: 12

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was speculating that perhaps Google is blocking that listing because it requires a prescription. Anyway, I just checked a few of my listings and I didn’t see them in Google shopping either and I am on the highest 12.9% plan. About an hour ago I did accidentally click to place my store on hold but then quickly activated it again but I don’t think that has anything to do with it. Anyway, i have observed that lately it seems as though google has placed Ecrater on the lowest listing display priority, lower than bonanza and even Mercari. And Even though I follow google’s strict rules about white background photos, adding all of the Google attributes, SEO, no caps lock in the title etc. that makes no difference.
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pickychicky



Posts: 1552

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I haven't checked how my listings are doing in Google Shopping, but they usually place rather well there. GS and EC's marketplace are my two biggest traffic producers and my traffic is normal.

ETA: One thing I have noticed of late is that my listings are being lumped in with other GS listings rather than being its own listing like it usually is. My Etsy listings are now all they see by themselves. It used to be my eCrater listings that got more GS love because I actually pay to be listed there, unlike on Etsy.
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BCOutlet



Posts: 12

PostPosted: Wed Jun 05, 2019 10:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes so I checked your Mirrorball Sarah McLachlan CD and it does appear that you lined up under the main listing in Google shopping. So unfortunately it’s a battle for who is the cheapest, and it seems that there are people that don’t understand their costs by listing a CD for a couple of dollars. I was thinking of promoting my listings through Pinterest but that’s a huge time commitment and I’d rather spend my time listing my backlog on Amazon to get ready for prime day selling. I generally only list in ecrater items that cannot be listed on Amazon. Up until recently eBay always required re-listing but they recently changed their policy on that.

Do you sell in Australia or the UK and if yes how on earth do you set up proper shipping templates for that in ecrater? Is it worth it to open up your selling to Australia and the UK?
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pickychicky



Posts: 1552

PostPosted: Thu Jun 06, 2019 1:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

BCOutlet wrote:
Do you sell in Australia or the UK and if yes how on earth do you set up proper shipping templates for that in ecrater? Is it worth it to open up your selling to Australia and the UK?


Miss Sheila is the expert on that, but let's see if I can answer this...

In the admin, under:

ACCOUNT > OPTIONS: If using calculated shipping, at the bottom, check 'enable USPS calculated shipping' and select your domestic and international shipping methods.

SHIPPING & TAXES > SHIPPING ZONES: Select the countries you wish to ship to.

SHIPPING & TAXES > FLAT SHIPPING ZONES: You can set up to 7 flat rate zones choosing from the countries you selected above. US-Mainland, Alaska and Hawaii are required by default.

As for rates, you have three options:

1. USPS calculated shipping (weight-based only -- no dimensions) with either the Matrix or flat rates as your backup (in case the USPS site is down, which is rare). If you don't have a backup and the USPS site is down while a customer is checking out, they will get free shipping.

2. The Weight Matrix allows you to set up a flat rate table according to your needs for all shipping zones chosen in the second step.

3. Individual Flat Rates are set within listings, but only for the flat shipping zones selected in the third step, including US, AK and HI.

#2 & 3 do not require backup shipping rates since they are not pulled from the USPS site. You can also use these two in conjunction with one another. For example, Priority rates in the Matrix and First-Class rates within listings or vice versa.

Okay, that's the short of it. If you have more questions, you should ask in a separate thread because it can get involved. LOL SheilaDee's and Moonwishes are quite knowledgeable on the subject. They taught me everything I know about it. LOL
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Thu Jun 06, 2019 9:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Do you sell in Australia or the UK and if yes how on earth do you set up proper shipping templates for that in ecrater? Is it worth it to open up your selling to Australia and the UK?


Miss Sheila, unless she has changed something, doesn't sell internationally, but that doesn't mean she doesn't know the shipping stuff.

I wanted to answer this as I was doing international sales here until the last really lousy PO rate hike for both the US and international. I found that I could no longer give a correct amount on my matrix (the only shipping I use) ahead of time for international. On a decent international order, if I have to 'pay' $1-2 out of pocket for shipping, no big deal. But lots of dollars - no way! Patterns, which is the bulk of what I ship, can vary in weight from less than 2 oz to over 6 oz sometimes as much as 8 oz!!!! If I goof when listing and don't take into account the higher weight and have it programmed into the shipping ahead of time I can lose my proverbial shirt. We are not allowed to charge more after a sale. I have had customers ask if I would ship to their country which usually gets answered with a yes (some countries I refuse to ship to) and I send them a PP invoice with the charges. Someone asked for the shipping cost to the UK a couple of weeks ago. Apparently, the shipping was too high and I have never heard back from them.

At one point 20% of my sales were international. In 20116, I had 33 international orders. So far this year, I have had 4. I don't count Puerto Rico as international as items ship to them at the same price that I can ship across the street, or at least could before the zones came into effect.

Just thought you might want to hear from someone that did it via the matrix for many years since I have been here with no problems. I can't figure out how to do the matrix any more, but it could be just because I have a bit of a fuzzy head! Who knows. Hope this helped.

Incidentally, Pinterest is an amazing place to get orders from, but then I don't know what you sell.
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pickychicky



Posts: 1552

PostPosted: Thu Jun 06, 2019 6:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry I didn't answer the opinion part of your question...I quit selling internationally to countries within the EU because Etsy was trying to force their laws down our throats. I live in the States and by the laws of my own country -- no one else's. It's not like I'm shipping things that aren't allowed. The EU is requiring much too much that puts individual sellers' security at risk.

I do not publish my home address or phone number online...period. I have an 800 number, a business email address and the messaging system on Etsy for customers to reach me and that's more than enough. When they buy from me and get their package, then they will have my return address, which is the only time they need it.

Then, of course, international shipping rates went through the roof. It's absolutely ridiculous what Americans have to pay to ship internationally -- even for a small item, which is mostly what I sell. Does anyone know what the latest news is about the renegotiating of our agreement with other countries? Did Trump pull us out of the IPU?

Anywho, so I quit selling internationally altogether due to the ridiculous rates. I recently started to add a few countries back to my eCrater shop (none from the EU), but I'm not entirely decided that I should continue. At least the UK is no longer a part of the EU.
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MoonwishesStore
moderator


Posts: 17389

PostPosted: Thu Jun 06, 2019 6:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

When I had the opportunity to sign up to sell into Canada with Amazon, I couldn't believe the rules that they wanted us to follow. I think one of them was collecting the VAT and GST, and so on. No way. If Canada wants their taxes they are set up to collect them themselves, not me. When I was in college my mom sent me 5 dresses she had made me. I had to pay around $25 duty then in the '70s. When she sent me my grandmas ruby ring for a graduated present I sent I had them send it back as I still wasn't paid off for my school and I actually wanted the piece of paper I worked so hard for they wanted half the value of the ring when just by going home I could get it for free. Dresses, yes I needed. Rings not so much. I'm sure they still know how to charge folks for that sort of thing, but expecting sellers in another country to collect the money is ludicrous. Probably illegal as well. Or at least parts of it. I passed on selling into Canada which for me is sad as it is my second home in my heart.
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