Where are the buyers??

The first thing to do when you notice a sudden drop in sales is to check yourself that your items are visible. So logout and do some searches.

Is there a new competitor?

Are you being undercut?

Are your items first or high on the list via a Trade Me (or google) search?

Are they in the correct categories so "snap to" search includes your items?

I find searches via google are especially important in driving sales recently, so make sure you take on board the advice to get your items featured there. Then there is the overall decline in sales everywhere. It's global. It's online, and bricks n mortar. 2025/26 has seen the largest number of liquidations here for 15 years since the GFC.

Thanks Callum. I'm definitely not getting undercut, as I sell my items for way cheaper that other sellers do.

I see people are looking at my items (they could be just those who have saved me as a seller), but no one is buying.

There is only 3 pages of one particular type of product I sell, and they are scattered, although they were all listed at the same time.

Maybe I should try paying, to see if I get more viewers/buyers?? Is that worth it?

All you can do is try. Personally I found the promoted listings didn't do anything for me, but it's cheap enough to experiment on a couple to see what happens for you. 

It's worth a try with some promoted listings I think.

Surely not all my regulars have gone broke/watching their pennies etc, at the same time. Something doesn't feel right, but can't really know how others are doing, who are selling similar products to me, unless something can be garnered from their feedbacks.

If you have regulars you are friendly with, there is also no harm in sending a polite question to say you are struggling to understand why your sales have fallen off a cliff. They might have some more insights for you. If they have you saved as a fav seller for example you might want to confirm that they are getting the daily or weekly email of your listings. 

I have noticed a slight drop in sales in Feb compared with previous months. Feb was quiet last year too. Possibly a combination of things including tightening belt after Christmas and holiday spending over summer, lighter evenings meaning possibly less time browsing. It may pick up later March / April. I have played with gallery listings and have generated some sales. It’s a bit slower than usual atm.

Ive noticed the same as you crafters_corner. I went on a 2 month overseas holiday and returned end of October. All my auctions were paused. Since my return and relisting, sales have been very low

I was wondering whether the 2 month break had any impact. Maybe, but maybe just as the same reasons yours have

Its been declining for ages with Trade Me's changes and test weekends.
I have tried all the things Callum has suggested, it helped a little but not great. These changes that are for casual sellers/buyers may just be the nail in the coffin even though many casual sellers/buyers are not reading the changes correctly.

Trade Me has been going downhill for sometime now, unfortunately it is as simple as that. Hard to believe that Trade Me managed to make such a mess of a successful & loved site but they have done so.  

As they say the horse has well and truly bolted, now they are trying to get members back, I am afraid it is far too late, the damage is now done, now removing success fees, from casual sellers and enforcing Ping, removing Bank deposit, is just chasing more away, It is no longer the happy place it once was for people to sell off their unwanted stuff for some pocket money, they are turning it all into a business model?, 

It's time someone started a website solely for smaller NZ 'in-trade' sellers. I do wonder if something along the lines of a co-op could possible work?

shortsbandy, instagram seems to work really well for selling homewares, but these are the ones that I personally follow.

Etsy for selling vintage/collectables and the likes, seems to be doing well, but they have fees.

FB's specific groups for selling crafting stuff, seems to be doing pretty well, though I haven't tried selling myself there.

I would join a co-op, but wasn't that tried a few years back? While the old messageboards were going?

I'm not too sure if it has been tried. However, with the way that Trade Me has been going and their blatant dislike of small NZ 'in-trade' sellers I do wonder if it could work. I for one are sick of being treated as the 'smelly kids' by Trade Me who really couldn't give a damn. I agree that there are other websites out there, but none of the them run an auction system. 

I have seen people run an auction on IG. No reason why you couldn't.

On there, if you can follow anyone and everyone who is in NZ, and they can follow you back, then you have an audience. That is what I did, although I decided that TM was enough for me to deal with, so haven't followed through.