eBay

altimateoutlet · ‎07-30-2014

Can anyone say that by opening a store, their sales went up? Does ebay give preferential treatment to store owners regardless what their seller status is?

pierrelebel · ‎07-30-2014

Sales going up or down has little to do with having an eBay store and paying eBay a monthly fee for the privilege.

It is strictly a number game.

For a seller who wants to try a store and does not want to commit to an annual contract, it costs $20.

What do you get for $20?

Much depends on what you list, how you list and how many you list. You have to work the numbers based on your circumstances.

Advantages of having an eBay store: branding (it may or may not be relevant to you), additional links in listings, access to "vacation settings", access to "Markdown Manager" (great if you list at fixed price; meaningless if you list at auction), access to Traffic Reports, lower Final Value Fees (FVF), etc...

Disadvantages: cost $20 month over and above all other fees (listing, FVF, etc...)

So yes your sales may increase IF having a store allows you to list more items. Based on your experience of the last three months (309 completed listings, 37 sales, 12% "sell thru" rate) it may be worth spending a few dollars and try it for a few months.

Good Luck.

cumos55 · ‎07-30-2014

A Basic store also gives 150 free listings each month... This increases with each store level.

Good Till Cancelled, GTC listings..... 30 days each listing

If auction listings are set up they will show up in the store

A store can have unique categories... or use eBay's categories...

Multiple purchases by a buyer will occur more often... usually a lower cost for shipping.

The store fee may appear "high"... but the free listings and other advances over having no store add up very quickly.

Sellers with a store can list hundreds... thousands ... or ... millions of items at GTC.

mr.elmwood · ‎07-30-2014

A store reduces my working month by many hours. How many hours a month do you have to work to earn $20?

A store is not about money. It is a different life style.

With my store, my prices went up, oh, about double. One sale a month pays for my store, one (1).

A store allows access to most of eBay's perks. Non-store sellers are finding that their options are constantly being eroded. You never hear store owners complaining about all the features they get. Non-store sellers complain a lot about what they do not get.

Friend of mine is in a similar business to mine. His average listing to sale period is about 7 months. List it and forget it until it sells. One listing takes a few minutes and never has to be attended to again.

If yer worried about the 67¢ a day, well, .......

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rose-dee · ‎07-30-2014

"Can anyone say that by opening a store, their sales went up? Does ebay give preferential treatment to store owners regardless what their seller status is?" I can't answer your first question, because I've had a store since I started selling, so I have no personal comparison, but I agree with Pierre that if the features available in a store are of value to you, and permit you to list more items than you normally would, the cost may be worth it and you may see more sales. Don't forget that after you try a store on a monthly basis for a while (without commitment) you can decide whether to commit to a yearly subscription at a reduced cost per month. Personally I find that having a basic store, with the 150+150 free listings available actually saves me the time and trouble of having to keep track of how much I'm paying to list. From my own perspective, all the other "perks" that go with a store are well worth it. Now, your second question is a good one. There has been a lot of speculation and discussion about eBay "herding" sellers toward store ownership, and whether that means preferential treatment, or whether eBay is ultimately hoping to phase out casual or non-store sellers. Certainly the move to offering store subscriptions was a signal in this direction. Some people argue that recent changes to non-store listing fees are another indicator. It depends how you define preferential. If you mean preference in seaches, selling policies and rules, etc., I doubt it. If you mean preference in features provided to store owners, well, yes, although you pay for the privileges. However, I wouldn't make a decision on store ownership based on whether eBay might or might not be leaning toward preferential treatment in the future, but on whether the value is there for you and what you sell. For me, it always has been a no-brainer, but I see lots of sellers who have been happily selling for years without a store.

rose-dee · ‎07-30-2014

Sorry about the run-on paragraph above. I'm using my old, stupid PC at the moment, and apparently a lot of the features of the boards aren't supported.

mr.elmwood · ‎07-30-2014

@rose-dee wrote:
"Can anyone say that by opening a store, their sales went up? Does ebay give preferential treatment to store owners regardless what their seller status is?" I can't answer your first question, because I've had a store since I started selling, so I have no personal comparison, but I agree with Pierre that if the features available in a store are of value to you, and permit you to list more items than you normally would, the cost may be worth it and you may see more sales. Don't forget that after you try a store on a monthly basis for a while (without commitment) you can decide whether to commit to a yearly subscription at a reduced cost per month. Personally I find that having a basic store, with the 150+150 free listings available actually saves me the time and trouble of having to keep track of how much I'm paying to list. From my own perspective, all the other "perks" that go with a store are well worth it. Now, your second question is a good one. There has been a lot of speculation and discussion about eBay "herding" sellers toward store ownership, and whether that means preferential treatment, or whether eBay is ultimately hoping to phase out casual or non-store sellers. Certainly the move to offering store subscriptions was a signal in this direction. Some people argue that recent changes to non-store listing fees are another indicator. It depends how you define preferential. If you mean preference in seaches, selling policies and rules, etc., I doubt it. If you mean preference in features provided to store owners, well, yes, although you pay for the privileges. However, I wouldn't make a decision on store ownership based on whether eBay might or might not be leaning toward preferential treatment in the future, but on whether the value is there for you and what you sell. For me, it always has been a no-brainer, but I see lots of sellers who have been happily selling for years without a store.

At Femme's rate of 17¢ per minute, to justify an acitivity, how many minutes a day does a seller have to save? A basic store costs 67¢ a day. That is four (4) minutes a day and you are making a profit on time, energy, and money.

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rose-dee · ‎07-30-2014

"A store allows access to most of eBay's perks. Non-store sellers are finding that their options are constantly being eroded. You never hear store owners complaining about all the features they get. Non-store sellers complain a lot about what they do not get." That's a really good point! I can't recall the last time I heard a store owner griping about losing features or options. I wouldn't be surprised if eBay ultimately created a completely separate 2-tier selling system, one for it's permanent "stable" of sellers, and one for it's drop-in sellers. I think one could argue that process is already underway little by little.

altimateoutlet · ‎07-30-2014

interesting points. ill give it a lash and try the store. I need a life, Elmwood makes a good point

mr.elmwood · ‎07-30-2014

@altimateoutlet wrote:
interesting points. ill give it a lash and try the store. I need a life, Elmwood makes a good point

I do? What! Since when? All I ever do is parrot Pierre, Rose, and Femme-Stamps. Me? Have an original idea? What? Is the Pope Jewish?

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cumos55 · ‎07-30-2014

A store needs constant care.....

As the store gets larger it has to be worked.

Setting up categories is critical.

When eBay put stores and auctions in the same search....sellers were not sure what would happen.

My approach.... Sellers find the stores with what they want... and will visit there looking for something to buy... even before they might look elsewhere..

pjcdn2005 · ‎07-30-2014

@mr.elmwood wrote:
A store reduces my working month by many hours. How many hours a month do you have to work to earn $20?

A store is not about money. It is a different life style.

With my store, my prices went up, oh, about double. One sale a month pays for my store, one (1).

A store allows access to most of eBay's perks. Non-store sellers are finding that their options are constantly being eroded. You never hear store owners complaining about all the features they get. Non-store sellers complain a lot about what they do not get.

Friend of mine is in a similar business to mine. His average listing to sale period is about 7 months. List it and forget it until it sells. One listing takes a few minutes and never has to be attended to again.

If yer worried about the 67¢ a day, well, .......

Obviously I have a store but I've never thought about it in terms that you've described. What am I missing? I'm most curious about how it saves you hours of work and allows you to charge more for your product. Obviously you do get some free listings with a store which is why I think of it in terms of saving money...not in saving time or as a lifestyle.

mypaperstuff · ‎11-16-2018

"Much depends on what you list, how you list and how many you list. You have to work the numbers based on your circumstances."

This is an amazingly true statement. What I have found is that the most important thing is to find your niche/own way to sell, by thinking a lot about the "what", the "How" (exactly) and the "how many", and experiment with it. And in these, I would say that the "What" and the "How" are the most important bits. Once you've experimented a lot, you start to see more clearly what works best given you situation. Another point that we don't tell enough : RESEARCH similar products in Ebay is absolutely critical . I can't tell how many hours I spent searching for similar products that I sell. And this is time so well spent, sellingwise.

My advice to new sellers : pin this statement on the fridge (or in your office), and start thinking more deeply about it. Over time and experimentation, you will find the options that are the most productive and fits best with you situation.