Ebay Store

One of my readers, Kim, from Moms Paycheck asked me to do a blog about the pros and cons of opening an Ebay store. From my understanding she does mostly auctions and is on the fence about a store.


So is an Ebay store the right choice for you? If you list more than 50 items a month at a fixed price, then a store is a more economical choice. Here is the math. 50 FP without store 50 x .50 = $25 With a basic store 50 x .20 = $10 + monthly fee $15.95 = $25.95. You would need to list more than 50 items to see the savings. If you want to do just auctions, then a store is not a good choice because you no longer get the 50 free auctions each month.

click pic to view store

Now on to the pros and cons of a store. I asked some other store owners and here is what they came up with.

PROS:

* Organization  You can organize your store by specific catergories such as clothes, toys, house hold goods etc. You can than organize each catergory by size, brand, woman's etc. You get the point. Buyers can search your store much easier by catergories.

* insertion fees are less with a store

* 12 free pictures per listing

*  Sales reports

* Mark down manager You can put your items on sale and a red line will cross off your old price and show the buyer how much they are saving

* Newsletters You can send newsletters to your buyers showing your new items or what is on sale.

* Promotion boxes You can promote certain items in your store or show when you are having a sale.

* Ability to put your store on vacation

* A store makes your business more professional and established.

* You can price your item for what you want

An eBay store allows impatient consumers, who are looking for a bargain but want it now, to purchase quickly without having to bid and wait for an auction to close.

click pic to see my feedback profile

I could only come up with a few cons. I love my store and would never go back to not having one.

CONS:

* set monthly fee in addition to insertion fee For a basic store it is $15.95 per month with a .20 per listing insertion fee. You need to list more than 50 items per month to see the savings. If you list more than 250, you will want to upgrade to a premium store. This is $49.95 per month but the insertion fee is only .05 per listing.

* You need to earn enough profit to cover the cost of your subscription.

* You no longer get the free 50 auctions but you still qualify when ebay runs their specials.

* Inventory may sit for awhile waiting for the right buyer to come along.

* You need to promote your store. Not sure if this is a con but promoting your store (making a fan page on Ebay, adding it to your email signature, using twitter) will bring you more business.

So that is it. I hope I answered your questions. If not, leave them here in the comments or come on over to Ebays underground discussion board. and start a new thread.