Site has dried up

So after making a mistake by dropping off one of the subscription services i lost all my item references, then my auctions started dropping off because i had not made the upgrade, so i paid the fee and since have had no sales, wonder whether i should of just let them all fall off as any sales will only go towards my fee so working for nothing

Sales are getting fewer and fewer as more buyers realise the additional costs imposed by Delcampe on them ( not all realistic but perception is a major factor), and are voting with their feet. There are many comments on various threads here which attest to that.
It was noticeable that in another recent thread, Dimitri said that Delcampe were considering introducing some form of discount or something on multiple purchases in November. This reads to me like a tacit admission that Delcampe knows that things are bad and are going to have to try to do something to improve matters.
Whether that will happen or not remains to be seen, one thing that everyone knows is that once buyers go, it’s very difficult to get them back again.
Hang in and see what happens, I suspect many sellers have a time limit on their continuing Delcampe membership, and again I reckon Delcampe is well aware of that!

and then i get this message whatever it means ????
Hello Derek Marjoram (crazyrebel),

We have great news for you!

Following a meeting with several very active sellers on Delcampe, we have decided to reduce the price of the renewal feature for your items!
This will give you the opportunity to boost your sales at the end of the year.

From November 1st, the new price will be 1.4 cents per item, all taxes included (with a minimum of 14€).

For Store Plus subscribers, the price will be even cheaper! It is only 1.3 cents per item (including VAT) (with a minimum of €13).

I dropped that one as well this month as it no longer gave discounts on any worthwhile fees or functions. Personal references are now on the end of the titles on my new listings and I downloaded a copy of all my listings as a csv (you can only do this while still subscriped to club + or whatever it is called now) that I now use as a lookup for the old personal references. will be a bit of a pain for the odd larger order, but has worked on the couple of orders I've had since cancelling.

I'd be really surprised if the actual data has been deleted, its probably just not being displayed. If you subscribe again they may well reappear if useful for you. I'd check with the helpdesk first.

I collect old passports and keep track of the ones that have been sold. It's definitely a niche interest, but it also provides some insight into the overall trend of declining sales. I’ve reduced the price of my listings significantly, and only now, as a private seller, I’m seeing a small increase in sales.

What’s keeping me here right now is that the American competitor is heavily removing these types of listings. As a result, for vintage passport collectors, DC is currently the only platform with a reasonable policy on these items, allowing collectors to sell their duplicates.

Hi
I have found the same thing with only minimal sales this last 2 months.
I have circa 2,500 items listed.
The site is good for this kind of listing BUt if there are no sales then whats the point.
EBay still has the buyers and 300 free listings a month times 8 relists equals 2400 relists.
If they are set at 5 days auction then thats 8 x 5 days equals 40 days if you do about 10 a day then you will start to get the ROLLOVER EFFECT.
Anyone good at maths ? after 3 months how many listings would be active ?

I do not like this new monthly fee from DelCampe when they do nothing to increase traffic.

your maths are better than mine, best to list for 10 days . 10 a day will give you 300, the following month do the same , eventually you will have all of them in your auction then when the next months roll on buy just list 300 from the unsold , we have a bigger problem nearly 18.000 , how do i work that one out ?

Well I think that’s it… my only sale in two weeks (£7.25) cancelled by the buyer because of high charges…. I will stay til January 1st and unless I see a return to sales I’m off to concentrate on my own site (which incidentally is flourishing!).

What a complete disaster, similar Coca Cola’s recipe change in 1985, and the new Jaguar cars abysmal decision to rebrand last week (google it!)…..how to kill a brand by blindness.

costs me more to run than sales, any sales are not profit, they just pay towards the bill which is not covered i will also give it till january then its curtains, cant afford to line mr delcampes pocket for no return

My issue is this and it was the same as with ebay. You cannot add 0.30p to sales of 0.50p - £2.50 it just does not work, Small turn over sales are the literal life blood of stamp selling Yes the big sales are brilliant, But there is no bread and butter, Small sales are just that, They Accumulate into the overall sales target for the month, Generate interest in the site/shop Bring people in to look which can often lead to the bigger sales. That has absolutely been killed since the change, The new collector who just wants to get into it lightly has no chance of getting a good start with 0.30p extra Per stamp,

The light collector today could well be tomorrows big sale, But if there is no incentive for the collector and they can just pop to another site and get the same low value stamp 30p cheaper, They are not coming back and all future sales lost, Due to a stupid buyers tax as that it how it is seen,

a buyer expects the seller to have had all the fees / Cost priced in to the sale price, So the buyer sees one prices,

How is this not obvious to the leadership teams at Delcampe.

Found some have come in asking for 50% lower offers, that is the start of the silly season for sure

I have today formally closed my store and have departed Delcampe. One sale in three weeks, then cancelled because of high charges....it is no longer worth my time....I will be concentrating on my own website from now on.

Farewell everyone!

Hello,

We're sorry to see you go, but we respect your decision.

It appears that your buyer cancelled the purchase due to the import tax. Please note that this tax is applicable on all marketplaces when customers buy goods from outside the EU. Had he not paid them through the Delcampe website, he would have paid them upon receiving his package through the postal services.

@Dimitri,

It’s becoming increasingly evident that administrators engage primarily to refute members' concerns, which is both disappointing and unproductive.

When a buyer drops their purchase, it is often due to multiple factors. While import taxes may play a role, the combined impact of Delcampe’s fees and those taxes inflating the final invoice total is likely a major deterrent.

Weeks ago, in a thread discussing buyer commissions, you compared me with an "apples and oranges" comparison, particularly concerning the VAT-free agreement for professional cross-border transactions within the EU. I found your response out of line. As you know, EU professionals under this agreement are exempt from paying VAT across member states. However, I still fulfill my tax obligations quarterly to the Spanish government for every online sale—a responsibility that private sellers on the platform do not share. Your remark appeared to overlook these crucial distinctions.

Additionally, I raised several direct questions to you and the Delcampe Team on another thread weeks ago. Unfortunately, none of them received a response. This lack of communication gives the impression that responses are reserved for situations where you feel a defensive or dismissive reply suffices.

Many of us are now scaling back the time and effort we dedicate to Delcampe as our primary marketplace. This shift should be a serious concern for you and your team. Time is ticking as we prepare ourselves for a successful 2025, and unfortunately, it seems increasingly unlikely that Delcampe will play a central role in those plans.

Thank you for respecting our decision and for considering the feedback from your professional seller community.

EDIT: I forgot to add... considering the feedback from your professional seller and private community.

Whatever the case, my sales have dropped from 30/40 sales per month to 2 or 3. This is because of very high costs, part of which are platform fees. I am sorry that Delcampe cannot acknowledge that but it is no longer a problem for me.

If Delcampe revert to sellers paying fees than I will be delighted to rejoin, but there seems very little chance of that happening.

I couldnt make it to the Tuesday meeting. If anyone here attended could you share a little bit about what was said? I am very keen to understand if Delcampe will try to fix this site or if it is just to give up and move somewhere else.

Just stopped by to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy & Prosperous New Year.

I used to sell here years ago but never as well as on other sites but I decided to give it another go here on DelCampe. I'm really impressed with how smooth and easy it is to list new items and make changes. I've listed over 400 items. After reading the comments about slower sales, we experienced the same for the past few years. I'm not sure what the answer is other than the general world economy. We are still waiting for our first sale. As an APS member I like to review each month's membership numbers. While there are millions of stamp collectors in the world, it is sad to see every month APS has a 4-5% decline from the prior years membership. Hopefully sales will pick up for everyone next year.