I think I will let go of my store on eCrater...

[MoonwishesStore]

[thelivesandlovesofmaggiethecat]

I have five stores on eCRATER and I got no invoice this month so I guess none of my few sales were marketplace. I haven't been having many sales here for close to a year but most of those were marketplace sales. This month they seem to have come from other search engines (not Google).

Since Google is making all its money from ads and pay to play, I wonder just how long people will keep feeding the kitty before they wake up to the fact that they "ain't gettin nuttin fur da money."

[MoonwishesStore]

I knew I had market place orders last month, but if this keeps on, ecrater won't be getting anything from me next month. If everyone's marketplace sales and adsense money (for those that have it) is down, then it has to be for the team as well and that will make for a sad Christmas.

[elpereles]

http://community.ecrater.com/viewtopic.php?t=35222

Interesting comments from the OP.

We know sales and traffic are down. But we can make the difference with some little steps. The days of sit back and wait for a sale are gone.

[A-Better-Way]

No matter what I have done, other than list, it still feels like I am still sitting back and wait for a sale.

But then, I have sold some things here that would NEVER have a chance of selling without the internet

it's all good

[MoonwishesStore]

I am so thankful for the ability to sell on line. My step-father had the same chronic disease I had and the same severity. I watched him deparately try to find ways to make money to help out that meager SS check--but nothing worked. I watched him shrivel up to a bored, tired man in a lot of pain with nothing to take his mind off of it all. I at least have a reason to get up every morning. I feel like I am contributing vastly to the family income. I am never bored. I'm still tired and in pain, but there is at least things I can do to keep my mind occupied thinking of other things and so I don't feel as bad. Works like bio-feedback.

It would take a lot for me to give up my selling activities.

[artinsilk]

Moonwishes, if your health issue is related to inflammation you might want to try curcumin.

I have been taking it for two months and I do feel a difference. I feel limber and pain free. It could be a coincidence but other people talk very positively about the effect of curcumin for inflammation.

[thecheapskirt]

I took my busiest store off ecrater about 18 months ago. My sales have skyrocketed. I had to hire employees. In the past 12 months I've had close to a million pageviews... half a million last December alone (my business is seasonal). I did not get that with ecrater, mostly because I was unable to manage my SEO.

I found I can just do so much more having my own webstore. Better marketing, better looking, unlimited customization. Ecrater was a nice place to learn after leaving ebay (I used it for that store from 2009-2013) but it is very limited so I'm glad I moved on.

Don't let people scare you away from moving on to something that suits your needs just because they are too afraid to do it themselves.

[elpereles]

thecheapskirt, thanks for your comments. You are great example of a successful seller. You reached that point because I'm sure you picked up and implemented some comments and suggestions.

[MoonwishesStore]

[thecheapskirt]

[thecheapskirt]

I should add over a year later I see the same old faces complaining the same old tired story about how they are getting no sales. Those were the same people who told me I would be a failure.

[MoonwishesStore]

I've seen way too many 'sellers' refuse to promote their goods because they never had to before so why should they now. Apparently they got good sales without promoting years ago and as the ecrater/google connection (or whatever it was) has fallen apart and google makes rules to control sellers that they have no business doing, a seller has to do things differently and hopefully better. "But they never did it that way before" - so they don't and then wonder why nothing sells.

I work hard, I keep all sorts of sales records so I can see what and where things sell best, etc. and promote in an habitual way so I don't forget all the things I want to do so that I make sales. We depend highly on the money we make selling on line. Perhaps some just wanted to sell on line to say they were, but it is those that really need the money and are floundering that are really in need of help. Sad to see them refuse to do even the simplest things like running their listing through a spell check.

Kudos to you for your good success with the ugly sweaters. Are you expecting as good of sales this Christmastime as well? I wanted my own website, but the thought of moving all listings to yet another place and the cost of a site that would allow the thousands of listings I need to have was prohibitive, so I had to find other ways to make a profit. This year I discovered a new source of inventory that flies out the door on Amazon. Just got another box in on Friday and got half of it listed and have already sold enough to recoup 1/3 of my cost--in 4 DAYS! That has never happened before. Sometimes you just have to take a chance!

[elpereles]

[A-Better-Way]