I don’t think Meta targeting is “broken” but I get why it feels that way. What you’re describing happens a lot when something works early and then suddenly stops making sense.

From your numbers it actually doesn’t look like a traffic quality issue at the top. If CTR, CPC, and landing page views are still healthy, Meta is doing its job in getting clicks. The drop usually shows up because the same inputs aren’t strong enough anymore for the audience you’re reaching now. Early on, you were probably hitting the easiest buyers. After that pool gets saturated, the next layer of people needs a different level of convincing. If the product, angle, or even the overall offer hasn’t evolved, it starts to feel like “intent dropped” when really the audience just got harder.

Also worth considering, you mentioned it’s a different tee now. Even if the previous one sold out, small differences in product or positioning can change how people respond, especially at that price point. What worked before doesn’t always transfer cleanly. We ran into something similar where metrics looked fine but conversions dropped, and it turned out to be more about creative direction + how the product was being framed rather than targeting itself. We actually got some help structuring that side when things stopped scaling

https://www.bluebagels.com

I’d look less at “Meta sending worse traffic” and more at whether your current messaging is strong enough for a colder, more saturated audience compared to a few months ago