Open a store and get 2,500 free listings

[skylarstuff]

Got this today.........

Get more free Listings*

When you open an eBay Store. Open an eBay Store and list by March 31, and get 2,500 free listings for this month.

[rose-dee]

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@pjcdn2005 wrote:

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The wording is always similar to that and we always have had the maximum amount of listings on each site.

Also, since I have listed on both sites since the promotion started, my selling manager page is showing me that I have that many listings available on each site. I currently have 2496 listings available on .com and 2498 available on .ca and not a chance in heck that I will be able to list even close to that amount.

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Thanks 'pj' -- I was thinking that might be the case, i.e. that the count would show up for each site as soon as you listed something on it through this promotion. 

I just wanted to check with someone who may actually have listed some items on more than one site, since this promotion was a bit different from the others, being for stores only. 

[rose-dee]

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@jt-libra wrote:

I guess this means that those of us without a store shouldn't expect to see a listing promotion during March?

I notice that the cost of a basic store is $19.95, so it really isn't worth my while because I usually only have around 100 listings at any given time, and many of those are 30-day fixed price.

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Hi 'jt' -- I hope it's warmed up a bit where you are! 

I was going to say when I saw your post that I'm basically in the same boat (around 100 - 150 listings/month), but I regard the store as more than an economic equation.  For me it buys a sort of permanent branding and recognition beyond only my ID, and there are other features I really like (such as the Omniture statistics, the customizable store banner, the vacation settings and the promotional boxes) that I use a lot.  For me, those features are worth the $19.95 per month in themselves. 

I thought I'd mention this, because I think for a lot of non-store owners the store/non-store discussion is often focused primarily on dollars and cents, whereas I believe (having been in marketing in the real world for a number of years) that having recognizable frontage is worth a lot.  Just something to consider...

[jt-libra]

Hi rose-dee!

A little warmer, yes 🙂  But, then again, the thermometer had bottomed out and only had one direction left to go!  Hope your winter has been better.

You raise good points about having a store but, unfortunately, it didn't prove very beneficial to me.  I had one for about six months and spent a lot of time making it attractive and directing people to it.  I had cards and brochures printed up.  But traffic didn't increase and neither did sales, so I closed it.  I felt that I was further ahead by just taking advantage of promotions, as they came along.

When a person is shopping for a Lancôme mascara or an Estee Lauder blush, for example, I think they just go with the lowest priced item -- make-up is such a competitive category.  I rarely have repeat buyers and that's not because people are unhappy .... I do receive a lot of nice notes of appreciation from buyers and I have good feedback (although I agree with you that fewer and fewer people leave feedback). But my items are not unique.

You, on the other hand, sell these beautiful, unique patterns.  I often look through your listings because your pictures and descriptions are so lovely.   So if I had a need for these patterns, and had discovered your store, I would no doubt come back again and again.  I think a store probably serves you, and others who sell distinctive items, very well.

[pocomocomputing]

Call me skeptical but I think eBay is offering this store only promo to keep store owners from cancelling their store.

Last year in March 2013 eBay announced free listing with stores. Each store level had a different amount of free listings. eBay offered two plans. Monthly with ability to end the plan each month or a yearly plan with penalties if you ended the store early. You paid less store fees per month with the yearly plan.

The change in plans took effect May 1, 2013. Sellers who signed up for yearly plans could no cancel or lower their store plan without penalty (amount depending on the number of months left). Starting April 1, 2014 many of these yearly plan sellers (who signed May 1 2013 year) can change or cancel their plans without penalty.

Some store sellers with a yearly plan felt their stores were costing too much because of all the free promos for non-store sellers that happened all through the past year. Recently some non-store sellers had so many free listing promos in a month that they could not even use up their monthly allotment of the 50 free.

So I suspect eBay is trying to slow down the cancellation of a lot of stores in March (some sellers will pay the small penalty left) or in April (no penalty).

I suspect the new eBay seller updates might offer a different amount of free listings for store. The spring seller update is coming soon. In the coming month, usually on a Tuesday morning early. So maybe next week or the week after.

[jt-libra]

"Call me skeptical but I think eBay is offering this store only promo to keep store owners from cancelling their store"

I think you're on to something Sherlock !!

[brandeentertainment]

I would say you hit ther nail on the head there ...

I am very torn as to what to do with my store but  think I will do monthly starting in april and if the promos keep up I will drop to basic store ....

[tobyshitzu]

it doesn't take very much for the fvf  discount to pay for the store subscription so I doubt they are worried about anyone cancelling.  the only ones who would have an incentive to do so over the free listings would be sellers with piles of listings but few low value sales, which aren't desirable for ebay to have here anyway

[rose-dee]

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@jt-libra wrote:

You raise good points about having a store but, unfortunately, it didn't prove very beneficial to me. 

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Yes, I can understand that in your categories, product pricing is probably the biggest draw, and you need to do everything possible to reduce your costs to be able to continue to offer competitive pricing. 

And you are right about my area of selling being different -- I have quite a few customers who keep coming back, and the store helps to define my little "boutique". 

I always find it interesting how we sellers have such different perspectives and different challenges to deal with! 

By the way, although we moaned and groaned about the winter here, and all the snow, every time I looked at the weather in the prairies, I felt more than a little sheepish about complaining.  We're normally in a balmy Zone 6b here in S.W. Nova Scotia, so having a lot of nights around -15 or so was a bit of a shock.  It was more like a regular Ontario-style winter here this year, which is really not normal for this area.  I'm hoping some of my more tender roses are going to make it!