Is it really worth it to have an EBAY store?

[percgrabbe-0]

I had one once and even thought about opening another basic store but given sales are super slow even though I have hundreds of items listed I dont think its worth it--- slightly less FVF fees dont justify the cost of monthly store fees even for just a basic store. Especially when the only benefit is markdown manager. 

[losangelesniceguy]

I think you answered your own question quite well.

The pros of a store are minimal, unless you have a ton of valuable merch to sell. The 10% discount is hardly worth mentioning. You do get free coupon for ebay boxes and packing supplies. Vacation mode is a marginal if not questionable tool. Sale events we have seen very little success with.

The cons are very considerable. Monthly fee eats away money from profits, if you are a small seller you will feel it more than larger sellers. Taking away your ability to list items as you see fit, they dictate which ones can be auction. Lose the ability to add a buy-it-now (to auctions), etc

We have been closing basic store accounts, just could not justify it anymore. eBay is no longer a numbers game, you have to be a lot more selective as to what you list.

[luckythewinner]

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@percgrabbe-0wrote:

I had one once and even thought about opening another basic store but given sales are super slow even though I have hundreds of items listed I dont think its worth it--- slightly less FVF fees dont justify the cost of monthly store fees even for just a basic store. Especially when the only benefit is markdown manager. 

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A store subscription buys you a different fee structure and a few features.

The only thing that really matters for a given seller is whether that store subscription would make sense for that seller.

For some sellers it might make a lot of sense, for some sellers it might make no sense, and for some sellers it might make no difference.

For instance, someone who sells one item a month for $7,500 would pay $750 in finval value fees without a store, but only $250 in final value fees with a store. That's a savings of $500 per month by paying less than $25 a month for a store.

[livadia]

@percgrabbe-0

A Basic Store also includes the opportunity to put your store on Vacation which many find more useful than the Markdown Manager feature that also comes with.

Whether a Store is right for you depends on a number of variables.  From eBay's Store FAQ:

Is eBay Store right for me?

In evaluating the benefits of an eBay Store, you should consider your listing volume and most frequently used listing format. If you're an existing eBay seller, enter your selling activity into the Fee Illustrator to determine which eBay Stores subscription may best fit your needs. For many sellers, an eBay Store subscription can reduce overall fees significantly. eBay Stores is also one of the best ways to establish your brand with a custom Store home page and custom header and logo that appear in your listings.

Fee Illustrator is located here:  https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/run-your-store/subscriptions-and-fees.html

Keep in mind, this pricing info will change beginning May 1.   In May, a cheaper "Starter Store" option will also be available, but the "perks" associated with it are less.   There's also a new "Enterprise" store level at the top end that will debut in May.  Here's a summary of the new store line-up and fees for your info:

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/seller-updates/2018-spring/ebay-stores.html

If you already have a store and wish to down- or up-grade given these new options and you have a yearly subscription, during the month of May you can do either without having to pay the usual early contract termination fee/penalty.

All that aside, whether to go the store route is a personal decision.  You need to run the numbers and figure out if it will be advantageous to you.

HTH

[ripcityresell]

$60.00 compared to $285.00 in just listing fees for 1000 items? I'd say it's definitely worth it.

[kathieskorner]

I've closed both my stores in favor of opening two additional accounts for specific types of items.   The account that closed a basic store on Dec. 31st has been doing as well in terms of sales as it did with the store, and I save $20+ per month.  

Closed my second store on Mar 31st - too soon to tell how sales will be affected - but my two new accounts were items originally in this store.  

If as I suspect all free listing promos disappear with the advent of starter stores in May - I may convert two accounts to starter stores at $4.95 per month each in the fall after my summer overhaul of inventory and listings. 

[percgrabbe-0]

The thing is a DO have a ton of stuff to sell.

The problem is its cost prohibitive to sell it here on EBAY even with a store.

I have a few hundred items for sale listed on my selling account. If there was no listing fee I could actually try to sell the 1500 items that I have to sell here.   

Because its not cost effective I simply dont list all 1500 and I do list and sell them elsewhere where they dont charge a listing fee and more frequently albeit not as expensively. 

[lewisburggold]

Its worked out pretty good for us.   It has seemed to help a few others we know also.  Best regards

[southern*sweet*tea]

On this account, without a store, using only 50 free listings I would sell $100-$300/mo.

WITH a store and the ability to list 250 fixed price items monthly I sell $300-$600+/mo.

So yes, it is worth it for me.

[percgrabbe-0]

You see its great if you sit here and sell jewelery at $200-2000 a sale but not for the little guy with under $20 items no matter how many. 

I am starting to think the more expensive your items are for sale--- the more ebay should charge a seller in fees. 

[ripcityresell]

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@percgrabbe-0 wrote:

You see its great if you sit here and sell jewelery at $200-2000 a sale but not for the little guy with under $20 items no matter how many. 

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Pretty sure I invalidate that claim.

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@percgrabbe-0 wrote:

You see its great if you sit here and sell jewelery at $200-2000 a sale but not for the little guy with under $20 items no matter how many. 

I am starting to think the more expensive your items are for sale--- the more ebay should charge a seller in fees. 

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My average item price is around $9 on this account.  I can list my 50, sit on my hands whining and moaning and waiting for freebie listings that probably won't come, and clear a $1-200 a month, or I can pay $25/mo for a store, have 250 fixed and 250 auction to work with, and clean upwards of $3-400+. My store is paid for every month after the first few sales. After that it's all gravy -FVF. Sure, I could juggle yet another account for extra freebie listings (I have three already) but I don't want to.

Sometimes you have to spend money to make money.

[michaelruggier0]

I guess I was dis-allusioned about a store. Maybe confused would be a better term. I thought $20 a month was just about it with minimal fees. So I get charged $49.19 with $137.38 in sales? Maybe I'm missing something and I know it's taken me a long time to fill the store, hardly making a dent so far. But I took an Ebay class last month and from what the class said and what I've read online Ebay is not what it used to be to make money. I guess I can see that now because of people that just want to get rid of stuff no matter the value. Granted it's their right, but when I have items (I've been in the business for over 30 years with shops) that I know are worth a certain price and there are others selling the same item at practically a  give-away price it's disturbing and not worth listing. There was a time that this was THE outlet to get your price, but now with so many online auction and buy-now websites maybe that's the problem. I think my next move will be to go back to selling without a store, despite losing some freebees that I could never use up anyway.

[candd205]

Dollars and Cents. If the monthly charge for a subscription for a basic store is $22. At what point does the 20% discount break even with the monthly charge of the store. So just dollars and cents, a basic store breaks even just north of $1000 worth of sales each month. However, there are also perks of the store, such as the $25 quarterly for shipping supplies, ability to do bulk listing and editing, vacation settings, other perks I probably can't think of right off the top of my head right now.

If you sell $500 worth of stuff each month (including shipping),

     without a store you pay $50 in FVF

     with a store you pay $40 in FVF

If you sell $1000 worth of stuff each month

     without a store you pay $100 in FVF

     with a store you pay $80 in FVF

[jennieaa]

For each seller, there are pros and cons.  There is no 'right' answer to your question.

I have an anchor store.  I have 6000+ listings.  It didn't happen overnight but the listing numbers grew in bursts.  What I had planned was to add 500 to 600 listings per month.  Instead, I work anyplace from 35-50 hours a week off eBay.  A store allows me to list everything I have ready to sell, list it for 30 days and sell.   I can relist.  But I don't have to decide which items to list each month, I can list them all.  That saves time.   I haven't kept up with listing. That's on me, not eBay.  And yes, I love those free shipping supplies allowances.  That $150 a quarter mutliplies out to $170 dollars in supply savings.   Then there is the lower FVF (collectibles).  So an anchor store is right for me.

Only each seller can sit and do the math, consider all advantages and disadvantages, and decide if a store is right for them, and which store level is right for them.