Second Account

[zorro38-2]

Is it considered okay to contact buyers who are following me to let them know that I opened a second account with a different seller name ??

[richard1rst]

I have always wondered why sellers would want more than one store.

As a buyer my first question would be WHY are you opening a second account with a different seller name?

The second concern would be that if a buyer is looking through your store and you have other things in a different store then they are probably not going to see those. Which means they won’t buy them.

[iwaroaddog]

I use my second eBay ID as an overflow.   Since I haven't gotten  any promos lately I've almost run out of listings.  But I only put my older items and stuff that doesn't move fast.    I would never direct someone to that ID though.  Also, I think that would be considered solicitation.

[mr_lincoln]

@zorro38-2  Its a good question but I do not know of a correct policy compliant answer.  What I do know is if you have a Store there are Flyers and Emails you can send to buyers ... here's a pic of those titles from Selling Manager.  Drilling deeper in to them I am sure they offer guidelines on what is and is not acceptable to publicize.  If you are on the Everyday Rate plan with 50 Free listings per month and constantly max it out and augment with Promotions (if you get them) then it may be time for a Store. 

[pantlandia]

---

@richard1rst wrote:

I have always wondered why sellers would want more than one store.

As a buyer my first question would be WHY are you opening a second account with a different seller name?

The second concern would be that if a buyer is looking through your store and you have other things in a different store then they are probably not going to see those. Which means they won’t buy them.

---

My second store is for lower end CDs and DVDs that I ship without tracking. I don't sell them on my main account because I would lose my TRS status. I sell almost the same amount on each account (usually less than 10 item difference).

[sg51]

Is it considered okay to contact buyers who are following me to let them know that I opened a second account with a different seller name ??

No.

[richard1rst]

---

@iwaroaddog wrote:

I use my second eBay ID as an overflow.   Since I haven't gotten  any promos lately I've almost run out of listings.  But I only put my older items and stuff that doesn't move fast.    I would never direct someone to that ID though.  Also, I think that would be considered solicitation.

---

I understand your point. I have seen others make the same argument.

If you don’t mind a couple of rebuttals.

When I have items that have not sold for a while I delete the listing and make a new listing, maybe with a couple of tweaks in the title. As a new listing it automatically gets a bit of exposure that it wouldn’t get as an old listing. On your active listings summary page you can click on a link that shows all listings that have not had a sale in a while. I do that regularly. I occasionally find that something that had been sitting there for a while suddenly sells.  

Secondly, if you split inventory into 2 stores then someone browsing your main store does not see the other listing which further contributes to them not selling.

I would rather spend the extra nickel to list the items in my main store rather then shunt them off to a second store. By the way, the second store is costing you a monthly fee. If you compare that monthly fee to the cost of the listings themselves where exactly are the savings?

[pantlandia]

---

@richard1rst wrote:

---

@iwaroaddog wrote:

I use my second eBay ID as an overflow.   Since I haven't gotten  any promos lately I've almost run out of listings.  But I only put my older items and stuff that doesn't move fast.    I would never direct someone to that ID though.  Also, I think that would be considered solicitation.

---

I understand your point. I have seen others make the same argument.

If you don’t mind a couple of rebuttals.

When I have items that have not sold for a while I delete the listing and make a new listing, maybe with a couple of tweaks in the title. As a new listing it automatically gets a bit of exposure that it wouldn’t get as an old listing. On your active listings summary page you can click on a link that shows all listings that have not had a sale in a while. I do that regularly. I occasionally find that something that had been sitting there for a while suddenly sells.  

Secondly, if you split inventory into 2 stores then someone browsing your main store does not see the other listing which further contributes to them not selling.

I would rather spend the extra nickel to list the items in my main store rather then shunt them off to a second store. By the way, the second store is costing you a monthly fee. If you compare that monthly fee to the cost of the listings themselves where exactly are the savings?

---

2000 listings in a premium store = $100.00 extra per month (2000 - 1000 included x $0.10 list).

A second store is $74.95 at the monthly rate for another 1000 listings. It's cheaper to have a second store.

I get what you're saying about not finding something in the main store if it's not listed there. That's when the buyers move on to search and find your second store. 

And in my case, it doesn't have anyting to do with inventory listings. My second store ships without tracking, so it would cost me more to have this stuff in my main store because I would lose my TRS discount.

[mistwomandancing]

---

richard1rst wrote:

I have always wondered why sellers would want more than one store.

As a buyer my first question would be WHY are you opening a second account with a different seller name?

The second concern would be that if a buyer is looking through your store and you have other things in a different store then they are probably not going to see those. Which means they won’t buy them.

---

Many of us have more than one store or at least more than one selling account, and it's often because we deal in merchandise that is so varied it doesn't *go together* in any palatable way.  

People buying bibles and religious icons, rosaries, prayer cards, etc. likely would be offended if they were also having to sift past your listings for Adult Bedroom Toys, aides, and lotions.    Those looking through your listings of fine seasonings, flavored vinegars and fine olive oils for gourmet cooking might get turned off from making purchases from YOU when they see all your listings for livestock feed supplements, wormers, and  bloat meds and animal flea & tick control products.

Some people may not even want to be as big as a store (nor have to pay a monthly fee to have that store)... they just want an additional 50 free listings each month from another account or two. 

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with letting your past customers know you are opening a second store to bring them even more wonderful merchandise from the four corners of the world.  BUT, unless you know that you actually have a number of repeat customers, it likely won't make much difference to your sales numbers, one way or the other.  Most of our customers do brand new searches whenever they're looking for their Next Thing, so your listings will or won't show up for them in those searches, as always. 

[pantlandia]

---

@mistwomandancing wrote:

---

@richard1rst wrote:

I have always wondered why sellers would want more than one store.

As a buyer my first question would be WHY are you opening a second account with a different seller name?

The second concern would be that if a buyer is looking through your store and you have other things in a different store then they are probably not going to see those. Which means they won’t buy them.

---

Many of us have more than one store or at least more than one selling account, and it's often because we deal in merchandise that is so varied it doesn't *go together* in any palatable way.  

People buying bibles and religious icons, rosaries, prayer cards, etc. likely would be offended if they were also having to sift past your listings for Adult Bedroom Toys, aides, and lotions.    Those looking through your listings of fine seasonings, flavored vinegars and fine olive oils for gourmet cooking might get turned off from making purchases from YOU when they see all your listings for livestock feed supplements, wormers, and  bloat meds and animal flea & tick control products.

Some people may not even want to be as big as a store (nor have to pay a monthly fee to have that store)... they just want an additional 50 free listings each month from another account or two. 

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with letting your past customers know you are opening a second store to bring them even more wonderful merchandise from the four corners of the world.  BUT, unless you know that you actually have a number of repeat customers, it likely won't make much difference to your sales numbers, one way or the other.  Most of our customers do brand new searches whenever they're looking for their Next Thing, so your listings will or won't show up for them in those searches, as always. 

---

Personally, I hate mixing up my items. I have thousands of postcards that I don't want to list with my CDs. I don't know why. I'm just weird like that 🙂

[zorro38-1]

Thanks everyone for your input. I have a second account because I am selling all my personal belongings and believe me, it is a lot. I don't want to pay for a store. And I list majority of my stuff when I get my free listings and pay to add more listings, but I try not to go over a certain amount of $$. I started a second account so I can get more free listings. Don't know if that is forbidden. Any one out there know? Because if it is, I will certainly close it.

[zorro38-1]

I also wanted to state that the reason I don't want to pay for a store is that I don't make enough $$ to justify the cost.

[mr_lincoln · Accepted solution]

@zorro38-1

---

@zorro38 wrote:
Thanks everyone for your input. I have a second account because I am selling all my personal belongings and believe me, it is a lot. I don't want to pay for a store. And I list majority of my stuff when I get my free listings and pay to add more listings, but I try not to go over a certain amount of $$. I started a second account so I can get more free listings. Don't know if that is forbidden. Any one out there know? Because if it is, I will certainly close it.

---

You are fine ... I believe you can have up to 8 accounts sharing one PayPal account but each needs its own email address ... sell on my friend.