Downgrading My Store is A Tough Decision That I Will Have to Do

[houseofblair]

I sell in a niche market.  I know that not everyone will buy what I am selling but I got started selling what was available to me.  Majority of the time, for the past 7 years, I have worked solidly 8 hours a day, 7 days a week to build up my store.  I saw periods of growth and more recently some sharp nosedives.  All the while, I have not deviated from a rigorous work schedule to make it grow.  This past month, my selling fees were 63% of my total sales.  This included using promotional advertising and cutting in half some prices.  I realize that I cannot continue this as my efforts have not paid off.  I was faced with the decision to lower my store from the $349.95 per month level to the $74.95 per month store.  It was a gut wrenching decision.  My ebay store subscription is on a monthly basis and not a yearly subscription.  I now have to reduce my store listings of over 18,000 down to 10,000 (close to half my store) to adjust to the new reality.  I'm heartbroken, to say the least, as I have worked so hard on this putting everything that I had into it.  I worked thru a recent battle with cancer (I'm on the mend after surgery) and am facing more surgery for another complicated issue which will result in stents being placed in my brain.  My income has helped with the medical bills and medications.  Has anyone else had to make this gut wrenching decision?  If so, please let me know and how the process worked for you.  I am planning on deleting listings starting this week.  Again, this is a gut wrenching decision for me.  Thank you for taking the time to read and respond if you have had to do the same thing.  Many blessings to each of you.

[topnotchtomes]

It looks like you have a lot of listings in the collectibles category. With the premium store you do get the additional 50k listings in collectibles, so depending on how many of your items are in that category, you may be okay with just 10K everything listings and 50K collectible listings and not have to delist anything. 

[ten_o_nine]

How about subscribing to 2 stores at $74.95, that $150 instead of paying $349.95.

[4pawsup*]

Hello, No i have never come close to having to give up on something i worked so hard at to build. I have had more experience than i would like with cancer and the procedures that go with it. The mental part will be much harder to deal with than losing the income. I urge you to talk to someone like you are now. You sound to me like you have the mental strength to get thru this. I wish you well and a continued success in both your business and recovery from your illness. Best of luck and reach out anytime were here.

[vintagecraze50]

The holidays are coming up soon. The sales may pick up greatly during that time and you may be able to hang on. If we do not see sales ramping up within the next few months after the holidays we may have to do something else for additional income. I understand this has been one helluva year on here.

[1786davycrockett]

@houseofblair 

Rather than be charged a month-to-month Premium store fee of $74.95, why not just "bite the bullet" for an annual Premium store fee, which will only cost you $59.95 a month?  It's only a small savings, natch -- but $15.00 each month adds up fast!

And, as @topnotchtomes  mentioned, if you sell a large number of collectibles, you won't have to eliminate ANY of your current listings: my Premium store permits me to list 10,000 items, PLUS 50,000 additional items in "select categories" -- and most months, the only new items that I list are from those "select" categories -- 

• Sports Mem, Cards & Fan Shop > Sports Trading Cards
• Toys & Hobbies > Collectible Card Games
• Collectibles
• Music
• Books & Magazines
• Movies & TV
• Video Games & Consoles > Video Games
• Stamps
• Crafts
• Home & Garden > Greeting Cards & Party Supply > Party Supplies

Good luck -- and get well!

[fern*wood]

Many sellers were able to downgrade their store level a year or so ago when eBay greatly expanded the freebies. Are you familiar with that list of categories that fall under the expansion which was just posted for you?

[richard1rst]

There is an old adage:

This too shall pass.

Like you, I have an anchor store. By the way why are you paying $349.99 when I am only paying $299.99? Which is further partially offset by a $150.00 quarterly free supplies coupon.

Like you (and apparently scads of others) sales are down.  But then I remember what happened almost instantly once Jimmy Carter was bounced out of office. History does indeed repeat itself. One more year and then the sun'll come out again. (Assuming the U S population dislikes living in Rome circa 420).

In the mean time I am using the extra free time to significantly remodel my house. Do you have an interest outside of eBay that has been getting short shrift?

WHAT do you gain by deleting a listing? If you delete a listing it will never sell. As an anchor store it is costing nothing to list them. An anchor store gets 25,000 listings automatically PLUS an additional 75,000 in selected categories.

[isaiah53-57]

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@houseofblair wrote:

I sell in a niche market.  I know that not everyone will buy what I am selling but I got started selling what was available to me.  Majority of the time, for the past 7 years, I have worked solidly 8 hours a day, 7 days a week to build up my store.  I saw periods of growth and more recently some sharp nosedives.  All the while, I have not deviated from a rigorous work schedule to make it grow.  This past month, my selling fees were 63% of my total sales.  This included using promotional advertising and cutting in half some prices.  I realize that I cannot continue this as my efforts have not paid off.  I was faced with the decision to lower my store from the $349.95 per month level to the $74.95 per month store.  It was a gut wrenching decision.  My ebay store subscription is on a monthly basis and not a yearly subscription.  I now have to reduce my store listings of over 18,000 down to 10,000 (close to half my store) to adjust to the new reality.  I'm heartbroken, to say the least, as I have worked so hard on this putting everything that I had into it.  I worked thru a recent battle with cancer (I'm on the mend after surgery) and am facing more surgery for another complicated issue which will result in stents being placed in my brain.  My income has helped with the medical bills and medications.  Has anyone else had to make this gut wrenching decision?  If so, please let me know and how the process worked for you.  I am planning on deleting listings starting this week.  Again, this is a gut wrenching decision for me.  Thank you for taking the time to read and respond if you have had to do the same thing.  Many blessings to each of you.

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Sad to hear - Sounds like a lot of blood, sweat and tears - I feel for you and the many other souls that have had to tone down or call it quits here - You are not alone and I'm sure you will find there are many great options available to you with a bit of research.

[houseofblair]

Thank you everyone.  I had spoken with a customer service representative yesterday and she told me that if I was to downgrade my store, I would only be allowed 10,000 free listings and the rest would be .10 a piece.  If you multiply 8,000 additional listings over the limit, you come up with an exorbitant amount.  She did not mention the collectibles which is a category I highly list in.  On just the breakdown chart on ebay, it just showed me a comparison of what you get for each level of store.  I will look for a further breakdown so that I can see if I would be a fit.  I'm hesitant to downgrade my store, not delete any listings and then be charged some crazy amount in the end.  It's a trust issue with ebay for me.  The reason why I paid $349 per month for a store is that I did not do the yearly subscription.  I did not want to be caught in a circumstance where I could not get a quick exit in case the need arised.  Medically, I can tell you that I take things one day at a time.  The thought of being locked in a contract for anything doesn't really appeal to me.  I'm not entirely opposed to it but it is something that I would have to ponder quite a bit on.  As far as shipping supplies and the credit of $150 each quarter, it appears that we are getting less and less each quarter insofar as the quantity is concerned.  The type of mailers I use, they no longer sell so I have had to go elsewhere to find those supplies.  

I greatly appreciate all these wonderful suggestions and ideas.   I need lower fees as the store cost is eating everything while sales are at a standstill.  

[fern*wood]

Check out the chart for the store subscriptions. I see you have lots of listings in crafts & collectible categories which are in the expansion list.  Phone reps aren’t the best on information.

[houseofblair]

Thank you for the suggestion.  I thought about 2 stores but as I age, it is just easier to stay with one at the moment.  Hope your evening is a good one.

[houseofblair]

Thank you!  I will look for more in depth information with regard to stores.  I just can't be stuck in a situation where I change store subscriptions and end up owing more than what I was paying before.  I was skeptical with what the customer representative told me and was at a moment of extreme frustration when I called them.  I'll keep everyone posted on what I decide to do after researching more.  I have until the end of the month to change my subscription since I'm currently on a month-to-month subscription.

[rugerskick]

Could you have 2 stores at $75/mo each and 10,000 listings each, and save $200 monthly?

Make a logical item split, keep certain items split between the two stores that make sense to separate.

[1786davycrockett · Accepted solution]

@houseofblair 

"I had spoken with a customer service representative yesterday and she told me that if I was to downgrade my store, I would only be allowed 10,000 free listings and the rest would be .10 a piece. "

Technically, what the eBay rep told you is on the nose -- EXCEPT that she did NOT mention to you the part about the EXTRA 50,000 FREE listings from "select categories" -- which is already a huge percentage of your 18,000 listings.

So at the end of the month, drop down to a Premium store (like mine), and save $275.00 a month on monthly store fees -- that's $3300.00 bucks a year!  And you won't have to delete even ONE item!

Here's what is stated on my Seller Hub page:

Premium Store Subscription – 10,000 Fixed Price Listings

Pay no insertion fees for 10,000 listings.

Start:Oct 1, 2023 at 12:00am PDT

End:End:Nov 1, 2023 at 12:00am PDT

Used/Left:7 / 9,993

ebay.com

Additional Fixed Price Free Insertions in Select Categories

Additional fixed price insertions in select categories.

Start:Oct 1, 2023 at 12:00am PDT

End:End:Nov 1, 2023 at 12:00am PDT

Used/Left:885 / 49,115

ebay.com

Two plus two still equals four -- and this sounds like just the deal for you!

Good luck!