eBay online store

Should you open an eBay store?

Everyone has heard of eBay, and many people use eBay as a way to sell items that they no longer want or use to make some money on unwanted items.  For regular sellers on eBay who use it occasionally as a way to keep clutter to a minimum, then there is no need for you to think about an eBay store.

If, on the other hand, you are wanting to turn your eBay selling into a more robust business to help you replace income ot generate a second income, then opening an eBay store is something you should strongly consider.

An eBay Store is an online business solution for sellers to get more out of the eBay marketplace amongst the millions of buyers that exist.  eBay Stores create a central shopping destination where buyers can learn more about you and your merchandise.

Opening your own eBay store does give you some marketing and merchandising tools, plus customisation features to build a brand that keeps customers coming back.

First, let’s have a look at what is available to everyday eBay sellers.

 

The normal everyday eBay seller offering

Unfortunately, there are differences between countries in how many free listings you get, and the insertion fees thereafter.  So I will focus on two countries here – Australia and the United States.

United States

For those of you in the US using ebay.com, you have access to 50 free listings in a month.

Once you have used your 50 free listings, insertion fees apply.  Every listing beyond your free 50 will cost you $0.30.  Whilst that isn’t much, if you planning on high volume sales, this will add up quickly.

Australia

For us here in Australia using ebay.com.au, we get up to 40 free listings in a month. You can automatically reslist 3 times for free without it counting towards your monthly free listings. Once you have reached your 40 free listings, insertion fees apply.

If the starting price of your item to be sold is less than $100, the standard insertion fee is $1.65.

For any item over $100, the standard insertion fee is $3.85. Again, if you planning on high volume sales, this is going to add up very quickly.

 

Reasons to open an eBay store

If you are a higher volume seller and it’s your intention to keep selling, then an eBay store will save you money in the long run.  You will need to determine which package is best for you.

The US have 3 types of store – basic, premium and anchor

Basic is appropriate for sellers listing at least 250 items a month or those who list high-value items and wish to take advantage of lower final value fees.

Premium is best for sellers listing at least 1,000 items a month.

Anchor is best for sellers listing at least 10,000 items a month and those who want complete selling support.

Summary of the Basic package

• 500 free listings – 250 fixed price (buy it now) and 250 auctions
• Additional fixed price (buy it now) listings are $0.20
• Additional auction listings are $0.25
• $25 credit for supplies on a quarterly basis
• Final value fees are lowered to 3.5%-9.15% rather than the standard final value fees of 10%

Summary of the Premium package

• 1,500 free listings – 1,000 fixed price (buy it now) and 500 auctions
• Additional fixed price (buy it now) listings are $0.10
• Additional auction listings are $0.15
• $50 credit for supplies on a quarterly basis

Summary of the Anchor package

• 11,000 free listings – 10,000 fixed price (buy it now) and 1,000 auctions
• Additional fixed price (buy it now) listings are $0.05
• Additional auction listings are $0.10
• $150 credit for supplies on a quarterly basis

For all of the packages, you get a store home page, a customised web address, ability to promote 4 featured items on your store homepage, ability to create up to 300 store categories, branding, and subscriber discounts.

The prices and features are listed below:

 

Australia also have 3 types of store – basic, featured and anchor

The basic package offers 600 free fixed price listings; the featured package offers 1,500 free fixed price listings, and the anchor offers unlimited free fixed price listings.

All packages have auction insertion fees of $3.00.

 

If you are going to open an eBay store, you will need to commit to it and provide it the attention it deserves in order for it to be worth your while.  If you are just wanting to sell a few things here and there, then an eBay store probably isn’t for you.  It will depend on how much time and effort you are willing to put into it.

How to open an eBay store

It’s very easy to open an eBay store.

For those in the US, if you meet the requirements to open an eBay Store, sign in to My eBay. Click “Subscriptions” under the Account tab. Click “Subscribe” next to eBay Stores. After you subscribe, choose “Subscriptions” and then click Manage My Store on the left. Choose “Design My Store” or “Quick Store Tuneup” to begin.

 

For the Aussies, Step 1 is subscribing to the store that best suits you – basic, featured or anchor.

Go to My eBay  > Account > Subscriptions > Subscribe to an eBay store.

Step 2 is to customise. You can upload your logo, set up a billboard image, write your store description, choose your featured listings.

Step 3 is to preview what you’ve just set up. You have the ability to edit and review before your launch your store.

There is a YouTube video here that shows you step by step how to set up your eBay store.

 

Selling products without a store

Remember that you don’t always have to physically have a product before you can sell it.  You can still sell products via afilliate marketing and dropshipping.  These are great, low risk options.

My preferred option is affiliate marketing but everyone is different, and there are many people who have success with dropshipping and with eBay stores.

Here is a real live example of affiliate marketing.

I don’t own this LG 55″ OLED55B7T B7 OLED Smart TV.  However, if you click on it, you will be taken to eBay. If you purchase it, I will receive a commission for the sale.  It is that easy.  You can fill a site with products you love, that you can talk about to encourage purchasing behaviour.  I’ve just used the TV as an example to show that if there is an item out there with an affiliate program, you can sell it.  Click on the image of the TV and see what happens!

 

Anybody, including you, can sign up to the thousands upon thousands of affiliate programs out there and start selling products.

An easy way to get into affiliate marketing and learning it from the ground up, for free, is right here:

 

 

If you have any comments or questions, please be sure to leave me a note below and I’ll be happy to help.