Free Listings?

[kja1961]

Having just opened a starter store a month ago, I've listed my 250 items this month. While my dashboard shows I have another 237 left (the promotional package everyone gets), I'm being charged per listing. Ebay representatives have been very kind and sympathetic, however in the past 48 hours, the issue hasn't been resolved. I'm told that I'm not the only one impacted. So I'm curious... is this a widespread glitch as I'm told? And, be sure to check your payments and see if you are being charged as well. It's very frustrating to be so motivated and not be able to "work"!

[lacemaker3 · Accepted solution]

@kja1961 

I'm sorry, but you have misunderstood. If you have a starter store package, then you only have 250 free-insertion-fee listings each month. The ones with the store package are not additional to the 250 that non-store owners get. You only get one or the other, not both.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/listings/listing-tips/free-listings?id=4163#section1

Store package	Zero insertion fee listings per month
No Store package	Up to 250 listings
Starter Store package	Up to 250 listings
Basic Store package	Up to 1,000 fixed price + up to 250 auction-style in specific categories + an additional 10,000 fixed pricing listings in select categories
Premium Store package	Up to 10,000 fixed price + up to 500 auction-style in specific categories + an additional 50,000 fixed pricing listings in select categories
Anchor Store package	Up to 25,000 fixed price + up to 1,000 auction-style in specific categories + an additional 75,000 fixed pricing listings in select categories
Enterprise Store package	Up to 100,000 fixed price + up to 2,500 auction-style in specific categories + an additional 100,000 fixed pricing listings in select categories

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@kja1961 wrote: ... my dashboard shows I have another 237 left (the promotional package everyone gets), ...

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The answer is the same as when you posted this issue two days ago.  This is not a glitch.  When you signed up for a store, you were no longer eligible to use the 237 free insertions from the allocation that is given to non-stores.

Sellers who don't have a Store get 250 free insertions per month. Any unused free insertions are forfeited when you sign up for a Store subscription.  You are seeing the counter for the non-store free insertions that you got for August, which expired at the moment when you signed up for the Store. You no longer have access to those free insertions; that counter won't show up on September 1.

A better strategy would have been to use them up before you signed up for the Store subscription.

You can see more details at the link below in the seller store subscription terms of service.

http://pages.ebay.com/stores/subscriptionterms.html

[kja1961]

Thank you, and I apologize for the redundant post. I am very new to this and learning. I wonder why the representatives I’ve talked to didn’t explain this to me. I wonder why they told me differently? I appreciate your answer, clarification and most of all, patience. Had I known this, I wouldn’t have opened a store as I see no reason to support the monthly fee. 

[kja1961]

Thank you for this explanation. Obviously, I made a mistake in opening a store 😩 It makes no sense to me to pay the fee if I’m only allowed the same amount of listings as everyone else. I’m also curious as to why the representatives told me differently. Very frustrating, for sure. Again, thank you!

[nobody*s_perfect]

eBay representatives are undertrained, they work off of scripts and often cannot deal with unusual situations.

When the "Starter" level of store subscription was introduced, non-stores were getting only 200 free insertions per month (or maybe fewer), so the matching numbers of free insertions wasn't an issue yet.   IMHO when eBay increased the non-store allotment to 250, they should have also increased the Starter allotment.

There are other reasons to sign up for a store subscription besides the free insertions, so the Starter store does still appeal to some sellers. 

[kja1961]

Once again, thank you for the clarity and patience you provide. For certain, this is a learning experience and I am learning. Our of curiosity, what advice (regarding listings) would you give to a person who only strives to have fun, sell part time and make $1,000 a month? My goal was 500 listings, but it appears that in order for that to happen (and me not be charged fees), I either need to go up a level in my store or monitor my listings very closely. And, yes... I totally agree... Ebay should have raised the starter store listings to at least 300. I sincerely appreciate any thoughts!

[soh.maryl]

If you plan to sell on eBay or buy on eBay, you need to understand that the CS reps read from a script and generally will agree with anything you say just to get you off the phone and go on to the next caller.  

Also, in order to net $1,000 per month, you will probably need to be more than a part time seller, will need to sell some high dollar items and quite possibly will need to branch out into other categories.  Used clothing is one of the most saturated categories on eBay, maybe the MOST saturated.  

And, finally, there is almost NO return situation where the buyer pays for return shipping.  All she has to do is open an item not as described case and the seller is required to send her a prepaid return label as well as to refund when the item is received back.  Have you read the Money Back Guarantee.

As I look over this message, I can see that I've been pretty negative and it wasn't meant to be that way.  All eBayers, both buyers and sellers need to understand exactly how it works and what can happen.  

[kja1961]

I do not hear negativity. I hear excellent advice. I'm sitting in front of my computer looking at an overcast sky (which I love) and thinking about decisions I need to make. Every ounce of advice I get helps me to make educated decisions. As a retired teacher, I started this journey in earnest January 2022. I've given myself 1 year to decide if it is truly for me. It has been a joy, most of the time, yet oh so frustrating other times to learn and understand Ebay! I had a fellow on a social media platform comment the other day something like this: "good luck on mastering Ebay 101". I've also heard that if you can sell on Ebay, you can sell anywhere! My goals are fun first and money second. You've given me much to think about and I'm grateful. I actually am involved in my second return. It is a purse that is in excellent condition, however, that is not how the buyer described it when she asked for a return. So, I think I truly understand your comment regarding money back guarantee. I'm very grateful for your thoughts!

[nobody*s_perfect]

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@kja1961 wrote: ... what advice (regarding listings) would you give to a person who only strives to have fun, sell part time and make $1,000 a month? My goal was 500 listings, but ...

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Don't think in terms of number of listings; think in terms of profit per listing or per hour of effort.  You can make $1000 by selling 100 items that net you $10 each, OR 10 items that net you $100 each. Or somewhere in between.  

IMHO you should just work your way up to the 250 listings for now, but think carefully about which items will net you the most profit for the amount of effort you put in -- listing clothing takes  a lot of time to photograph, measure, etc., with a higher risk of returns compared to most Collectibles or household type items. Most items that will sell for under $10 or $20 aren't worth listing unless they are very easy to list and ship; focus on the items with higher returns, for now.

[kja1961]

This. This is helpful. Thank you!

[monroe67]

". . . make $1,000 a month" ??

I've been selling off and on for over 10 years, and I hope to earn only $100.00 a month!  

This month so far I have earned only about $32.00. 
But I'm not giving up hope because there are still three days left in August!