Starter Store

[lindac871]

I have paid $4.95 for a Starter Store & will be billed monthly.  I sold on eBay two years ago but took a rest until now.  I'm reading through Community posts that as a new seller, I don't need a store, just list & sell. As I made a template for an item, there was no mention of my store name.  I need your advice on whether to try & stop monthly payments through eBay somehow (probably complicated as this whole process has been with so many new things) or continue. Also, I don't remember reading how many free listings I get with this subscription, if I decide to continue with it. I need your advice please!

[eunster1313]

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@katzrul15 wrote:

Yes and to make this even weirder............

If you look at all the linked pages to the last link I placed above (not confusing at all...lol)

It says the following, which based on the table shown applies to all stores:

Sellers can use the additional allocation of fixed price listings in the following 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

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Nothing I read confuses me.

[katzrul15]

@wastingtime101 

When I click on this ID I am posting with and go to add a store to this Buying ID, this is the landing page to explain the fees to me - it is the Auctions that are limited in the "free"  (you can replicate this by having your posting ID work to sign up for a Store)

[nobody*s_perfect]

I sure hope that little "i" in a circle goes to a note which explains 'You don't really get 250 free insertions in both auctions and fixed price."

[katzrul15]

It does not have to - see post 32.

That is the screen shot from my posting ID signing up today for a Store Subscription.  It takes you to that graphic landing page to confirm you understand the fees.  The 1st column is a Starter Store @ $4.95 annual/$7.95 monthly and it shows the Auction listings that are free are only in Collectibles and Fashion.  It is the auction listings that are limited to certain categories as I had stated originally.

We have a Basic store for our main selling account that we downgraded when they added all the store changes from Premium last year and our 2nd Selling account is a Starter store and we stopped doing any auctions on that ID more than a year ago, as it kept resulting in fees.

It is unfortunate that e-Bay has several references on the site that are not consistent.  That is why I went to add a store to my Buying ID to see what a Starter Store would give this ID in real-time (April 2022).

Thanks for pointing out that it is different in about 5-6 spots in e-Bay policy.  Let's hope this can get tidied up soon!

[katzrul15]

Hopefully, this will link you to what I can see when I try to set up a Store on a posting ID:

Choose your subscription level (ebay.com)

[wastingtime101]

OK, so that page to choose your subscription level (LINK) is the most confusing of them all. It's another page eBay should address velvet@ebay.

Here's what happens when you go to that page:

• When you're not signed in, it forces you to sign in to see the contents

• When you're signed in to an account that doesn't have payment details on file (like my posting ID) you're shown OLD info. Really old. Check out the Fees section - everything is wrong. So forget my selling experience and pretend I'm new. if I was was considering setting up a selling account and was previously a buyer exclusively, and I went to that page to evaluate if eBay was the right platform for building up an online sales presence, I'd see all wrong info before committing to registering with managed payments.

• When you're signed in to an eBay account that is already registered with managed payments, you'll see this chart:

There are several problems with that chart. First, it appears that Starter stores get 250 fixed and 250 auction (500 total) and you have to click on the info box to see the truth. It's very misleading if you don't see the info box. eBay should merge those 2 cells into 1.

Second, if you click the info box next to "free fixed price insertions" it shows an info pop-up that says "Restrictions apply. Click here for more info." What's the problem with that? Starter stores don't have category restrictions on fixed price listings unless you get into B&I equipment, cars, etc.

Third, the section below says "free auctions in collectibles and fashion" indicating that there are category restrictions. Click on the info pop-up and it says "Restrictions apply. Click here for more info." What's the problem with that? The click here for more info link takes you to this page (LINK) to see which restrictions apply. That page has the white chart from the fees page we've been discussing above that shows there are no auction category restrictions for Starter stores.

Every single eBay Stores page shows different info. Before this thread started I was confident in my knowledge about store subscriptions, but after reviewing all of these pages in detail I have questions (exclusively about Starter stores).

What is a seller brand new to eBay stores going to come away with? eBay appears to be making an attempt at simplifying the charts, but since Starter stores are so different from the other levels, all eBay did was make things a confusing jumble of conflicting information in the way they presented it.

[jasmen@ebay]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention @wastingtime101 I'll make sure to get it in the right hands! 

[lindac871]

I agree! The entire process of listing has become such a headache that I'm considering just listing on Facebook or Amazon. I've always been able to speak to a live person at Amazon! Not so with eBay unless I'm the victim of fraud!!??

[lindac871]

OK now I need to figure out adding a banner to my store. I don't know how to apply text, the name of my store.

[lindac871]

YES.  A TOTAL MAZE WHICH PRODUCES HEADACHES!  It was much simpler to list 3 years ago. Plus, it is frustrating that I can't talk by phone to a live customer service person.  SO VERY FRUSTRATING!!!

[d-k_treasures]

So for those who signed up for a started store without knowing the correct info, do they still have to pay a penalty if they want to get out of the starter store?

[wastingtime101]

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jasmen@ebay wrote:

Thanks for bringing this to our attention @wastingtime101 I'll make sure to get it in the right hands! 

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Thanks jasmen@ebay. I know there is a lot to unpack in posts 23, 26 and especially post 36. I hope you're able to get all of that to the Stores team.

In addition to getting the Stores team that info and asking for them to correct the pages, I did ask a specific question in post 23 about whether or not Starter stores 250 free insertions are category-limited to Fashion & Collectibles when used in auction-format. If the stores team hasn't gotten back to you yet, could you please push for a response tomorrow? This should be really easy question for them to answer. 🙂

[inhawaii]

I just thought i would throw this in...

Having a store does in fact increase sales.

I can't give you a percentage or a dollar amount

but people will browse my store and buy 2 (or more)  TOTALLY DIFFERENT items.

Some socks, some candy and a lawnmower part.

[nobody*s_perfect]

That could just as easily happen when a buyer clicks on the "See other items" link in a non store seller's listing.

[inhawaii]

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@lindac871 wrote:

OK now I need to figure out adding a banner to my store. I don't know how to apply text, the name of my store.

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Contact me if you need help with that. You can send me the image. I can Photoshop whatever you want and send it back to you.