Starting another store/ new account

[forward-motion]

I'm looking for advice if anyone has started another store or multiple stores. 

I have been selling on ebay about 20 years. It's been small time, this year being the best year. But still small at 300 items and 20K. 

I am close to landing a deal to have a large inventory of a totally different item than I currently sell. I would like to set up a new account and store for this product. Since I have never really done this from the start I've just kind of grown with ebay. I don't know if there will be restrictions as a new seller or can I use my current credentials as an established seller. I want to list about 750 items / $3000.00 per month in sales. 

Just looking to see what it's going to take to get this one started. Thanks in advance for your advice.  

[chapeau-noir]

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@forward-motion wrote:

I'm looking for advice if anyone has started another store or multiple stores. 

I have been selling on ebay about 20 years. It's been small time, this year being the best year. But still small at 300 items and 20K. 

I am close to landing a deal to have a large inventory of a totally different item than I currently sell. I would like to set up a new account and store for this product. Since I have never really done this from the start I've just kind of grown with ebay. I don't know if there will be restrictions as a new seller or can I use my current credentials as an established seller. I want to list about 750 items / $3000.00 per month in sales. 

Just looking to see what it's going to take to get this one started. Thanks in advance for your advice.  

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Even as an established account-holder, with starting a new account/store I had to go through the rigamarole of starting with a low ceiling of sales and working my way up.  If you're willing to start out slowly, then this probably would work.  If you want to get going quickly, you can always start listing in your regular store and have other product in your new store until enough time passes/enough sales are processed to raise the ceiling where you can switch everything to the new store.

[powell-memorabilia]

@chapeau-noir 

With the two-store strategy, would you price

a bit higher in the established store, just so you drive sales, when stock is available, to the new store?

[forward-motion]

I would be dealing with a all together new product and would not want to mix the two. I don't know if it will work or not, but there does not seem to be much competition on ebay for the new product, thus why I'm excited about getting going on it. The established store will be totally separate from this account.  

[forward-motion]

That is what I am asking, I assumed I would not be able to go full in with a new account, and yes I am willing to start slow. How long until it is established? 

[chapeau-noir]

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@powell-memorabilia wrote:

@chapeau-noir 

With the two-store strategy, would you price

a bit higher in the established store, just so you drive sales, when stock is available, to the new store?

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I did something a bit like that - all my stuff is OOAK, but even though I sell anything and everything in my main store, my second store was clearance - I would transfer the items from my main store to this store when I wanted to clear them out, and I ran it at a much lower price point because the two markets tend to be subtly different. That way each store could have its own scheme of sales, discounts, pricing, etc.

Your idea would be a good way to get eyes into the new store.

[duncanvr]

Starting another store will result in the new store having selling limits. However if you speak to ebay and show them your main store you can ask for a higher limit straight off the bat. Worked for me. Now do remember your going to be managing two different stores so it becomes twice the work and twice the fees. Downside is your new store will have zero feedback so I recommend you buy some stuff on the new ebay store id when its set up and build the feedback a little. It helps when buyers see you have some sort of feedback score. Plus side is you get a who lot of different buyers you don't get on your main store. Unless you have 24 hours a day for ebay you may need to hire a helper its very hard to run two stores on your own especially if it gets busy. Just remember one thing if new store gets negs or bad metrics it will affect your main store two as all are tied in together. Unless you separate them at the start. Maybe with a business name you could do that. You'll probably need an accountant to handle all the figures and tax.

[eunster1313]

(I would be dealing with a all together new product and would not want to mix the two. I don't know if it will work or not, but there does not seem to be much competition on ebay for the new product, thus why I'm excited about getting going on it. The established store will be totally separate from this account.)

You are not allowed to list the same items in different stores anyway.
You would just be shooting yourself in the foot search engine wise

and might effect your sales in both both stores.

Duplicate listings policy

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/listing-policies/duplicate-listings-policy?id=4255&st=12&pos=1&qu... 

[coolections]

@eunster1313 

The OP never said, and it was never suggested, they would list the same item in different stores. The advice given was to list some of the items from the new store in the existing account, not in BOTH accounts.

[eunster1313]

(The OP never said, and it was never suggested, they would list the same item in different stores. The advice given was to list some of the items from the new store in the existing account, not in BOTH accounts.)

I thought that it was clear that I was agreeing with their decision not to do so.

And then gave a link to the policy so people could see why.

[moondogblues]

When I was a seller here I had 3 selling accounts, for different categories of items.  You just need a different email for each account.  It was easy and kept buyers focused.  Good luck to you.

[chapeau-noir]

Agree about seeing if you can get the limits raised on the new store, and also buying a few things just to get some history.

However, insofar as management goes, I managed two stores here and three other selling sites and actually didn't find the management side nor the bookkeeping particularly difficult, just more of the same.  It's just me and TurboTax.  What I DID find tough is keeping everything stocked so I had new items and activity on all five outlets most days of the week.  I do everything myself, from inventory acquisition through prepping, product photography, listing, packing and everything else, and that's where I was busiest.  Inventory acquisition for me is the hardest, and if you've already got a large source coming in, that takes that mostly out of the equation.

My strong advice is to establish your bookkeeping for both stores and any additional procedures dealing with this new resource NOW and keep up with it.  All the complications with multiple stores and/or sites comes in when people (like myself) let stuff go for a few months, then it's an evening of bad language while I clean it all up.

[ekmadonna]

I personally opened a new store other than this account maybe 4 years ago and I had no set selling limits per say. It was full bore as soon as I opened it. I mean there was a selling limit but it was a very high amount. It was not like I was a brand new seller opening a new account. This may have changed but my personal experience was that I had a tack record with this account and was allowed to have a very high selling limit right off the rip.

[toysaver]

I say sell it all in one store.  Less paperwork.  Having an eBay store is for the seller's benefit,  IMO for appearances only.   People search for specific items they want to buy.  Rarely do they search a store's inventory hoping to get lucky. 

[katzrul15]

The advice about (2) stores = 2 xtimes the work, is spot on.

We sell here and have a store on the river.  Totally different products.  It can be a lot of work, especially at peak selling times (i.e. the holidays).

1 store would really streamline things for you, especially initially.  If the "new" product really takes off, perhaps later you open a 2nd store for the stuff you're selling now.  A Seller's FB for me is pretty important, but I do purchase from lower FB sellers....just not expensive stuff(s).  Newly created stores/IDs....I usually pass.  I know its' wrong, but I usually think they're "new/new", not like you would be.

Exciting, either way.  Congrats!