Should I start an eBay store?

[suns_193]

To preface I have about 350 items with a bunch more to list. This is my first year with eBay and I get usually anywhere from $200-$400 per month so far. However my income each month has been increasing each month. I made over $500 in August. 

should I open a basic store? Is it worth it at this point? 

[chapeau-noir]

It doesn't have anything to do with amount of revenue per month, but the number of items you have.

With your number of items, I would strongly suggest opening the basic store, yes. You can try month-to-month at first, and if it looks like a go, save yourself about three months of store fees by signing up for a yearly subscription.

To my mind the basic store is one of the best deals going.

[inhawaii]

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@suns_193 wrote:

However my income each month has been increasing each month. 

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Are you sure?

According to some, this platform sucks.

Nothing but glitches.

They throttle your listings.

The search is broken.

But i'm glad things are going well for you.

[bonanza125]

Yes you should. You will save in the long run and get more exposure. 

[mamacassidy]

Yes, it's worth it.

I got the basic store at the annual cost of $21.95 per month. So basically, if I make one $25 sale that I wouldn't have made before, it pays for itself.

And with 1,000 listings you're allowed in the basic store, you're almost guaranteed to make that one extra sale that you wouldn't have made if you only had 250 items listed.

Although I do see people on these boards who just have 3 or 4 accounts where they each get the 250 free listings so they don't have to pay. But that would be too much of a headache for me 🙂

[chapeau-noir]

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@mamacassidy wrote:

Yes, it's worth it.

I got the basic store at the annual cost of $21.95 per month. So basically, if I make one $25 sale that I wouldn't have made before, it pays for itself.

And with 1,000 listings you're allowed in the basic store, you're almost guaranteed to make that one extra sale that you wouldn't have made if you only had 250 items listed.

Although I do see people on these boards who just have 3 or 4 accounts where they each get the 250 free listings so they don't have to pay. But that would be too much of a headache for me 🙂

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Yes. I also see the value of having a larger store with more items on offer - one of the things I noticed when I had a larger variety of items in a larger store, was that people shopped in several of my departments - they would see a couple of books, but then a shirt they wanted, for example, and purchase all three, or shoes and a pair of pants, etc. I'm a huge stores fan.

[mam98031]

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@inhawaii wrote:

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@suns_193 wrote:

However my income each month has been increasing each month. 

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Are you sure?

According to some, this platform sucks.

Nothing but glitches.

They throttle your listings.

The search is broken.

But i'm glad things are going well for you.

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Stop scaring the  newer sellers, PLEASE!!!!

@suns_193  He is just being sarcastic.  It is his sense of humor. 

[mam98031]

Normally I don't suggest newer sellers start a store.  But you are running so many listings, it is likely in your best interest to get a Basic Store.  Anytime a seller is running 300+ listings regularly every month, it is time for a store.

Good luck.

[johnrj1226]

Agree with chapeau-noir a store doesn't throttle up your  sales  but it allows you to list more items with hopes you will sell more items w/o incurring listing costs and increase in sales.    Walk into the store program with a basic store rather than jumping in the pool head first.

When I sold on  eBay I estimated I would  sell about 10% of my average active monthly listings.   Of course one can receive  less  income with more  listing sales depending on the average price mix sold and  the reverse is  also true  i.e. selling fewer items but the average  price sold was  higher price stuff..

GL

[jg.mason]

Yes to the store. With the amount of listings you have and plans to add more, it won't take long for listing fees to start costing more than the store fee.

As for month to month or yearly, my opinion is if you're happy selling here and plan to stay with it go straight to the yearly plan, it's cheaper, no reason to pay more than you have to.

[brightlightbookseller]

One thing to check before you open a store is if your listing limits (which won't increase just because you pay for a store) would limit you from listing everything you want.  If not, then I agree with others that a store makes sense.  If you won't be able to add more listings for a little while, it might make sense to wait.

Having a store generally doesn't increase sales, it just reduces your costs when you have enough listings for that to matter.  The exception is if you use store-only features like sales, that can of course increase sales.

[ckimodog]

@suns_193 

With over 350 listings I would give it a shot.  However, it does not increase your sales & it does cost some money monthly.  You've got some cute stuff, however if you're going to open a store, I would really work on your photos.  Taking pictures with a random blanket as your background doesn't look good & they look sloppy.  Customers will consider your presentation.  Think about purchasing a poster board from the dollar store and shoot your photos on something that looks a bit cleaner and to where your photos don't blend into your background.  Just a suggestion.

Best of luck

[suns_193]

I’m terrible with pictures like not just for eBay but in general. Like no matter how hard I try, I can’t actually do a good photo 

[suns_193]

Are running sales a good thing for the most part? I started one for a week to see how it goes. 

[mam98031]

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@brightlightbookseller wrote:

One thing to check before you open a store is if your listing limits (which won't increase just because you pay for a store) would limit you from listing everything you want.  If not, then I agree with others that a store makes sense.  If you won't be able to add more listings for a little while, it might make sense to wait.

Having a store generally doesn't increase sales, it just reduces your costs when you have enough listings for that to matter.  The exception is if you use store-only features like sales, that can of course increase sales.

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EXCELLENT point.  @suns_193 , you need to look in your Seller Hub and see what your Selling Limit is set for your account.  That will limit what you can post.  

When a seller desires to increase their selling limits, they are allowed to request an increase once every 30 days. Mark your calendar and every 30 days request an increase until you have your selling limit well above anything you think you will ever need. Below is a link to where you can go to ask for a selling limit increase. It is the third option in the link below.

https://www.ebay.com/sellerhelp/sl