Stores change in May - find out if yours is affected.

[shipscript]

@abfabvintage  asks:

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Is there someplace where a store owner knows what their store is called, i.e. old legacy, billboard, custom, ultra custom lol?

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There are really only three types of stores, as defined for the store conversion timeline:

• Billboard
• Legacy
• Custom

Both the newer Billboard store and the older simple Legacy store will automatically be converted by eBay to the new store format in May 2018.

Stores that contain any sort of custom HTML will be deferred until next Fall. They will not be affected at this time.

All Custom stores began life in the Legacy format (the billboard format never allowed any custom HTML). Custom HTML could have been included in a custom header, a custom store page, or a custom promo box to change from Legacy to Custom.

So how do you know which you have? If you don't know what you have, then you probably have the Billboard store because most stores are now in the Billboard format.  After the conversion, your Billboard store will probably not look much different than it does today.

Billboard Store

Billboard stores allow the seller to upload a logo icon (1)  and a banner image (2) , as illustrated in the graphic below. Some sellers upload both, as shown in the next store image, and some sellers upload neither, as shown below that.  But you can still tell it is a Billboard store because of the location of the logo icon, the store name, and the store search box (3).  Additionally, the store category list is identically formatted on all Billboard stores.  You will also notice at the very top of the page that eBay's standard search bar is available.

Billboard Store

Legacy Store

Simple Legacy stores have been around for more than a decade and have not been available to new subscribers since January. eBay offered various solid colors and some stock textures for the banner area to help with individualization, but the layout is unmistakable for its boxy elements and rigid format. The seller also had the option to upload a logo (3) to display in the header area (2).

In the first Legacy store example below, we see a stock header area, seller logo, and then a search box and store category list (store navigation). In the second store, the same basic elements exist, but the seller has turned on two standard promo boxes for "new arrivals" and "ending soon".

Notice that eBay's general search box is missing from the top of the page on these Legacy store pages.

Legacy Stores 

Custom Store

Custom stores were created by adding HTML, CSS, or Scripts to the Legacy store Header using the "customize" feature available in store management, as shown in these images from a tutorial by store designer Sally Milo.

A simple customization might have included basic HTML to change the header image and shape, and nothing more, whereas more complex customization could change the entire page appearance and layout.

Custom store pages and custom promo boxes could also have been created using HTML:

Because of the extra work involving either a designer or a knowledge of HTML, most  sellers with custom headers, custom pages, or custom promo boxes know they have a Custom store.  Custom stores will be bypassed in May.  eBay will ask Custom store owners to begin the conversion process sometime after August 2018 and will probably allow them to work on the conversion through early 2019.

Of course, store owners with customization could choose to abandon all customization and make the transition on their own at any time.

[ymeagainlord]

So basically those of us who opted out of the "new store format" because of it's lack of functionality are now going to be dumped into this NEW new store format whether we like it or not, right?

Gosh, is there any OTHER change they'd like to add all at once?

Rather than going about the business of actually LISTING & SELLING, we're stuck with having to cope with new store formats, being opted into GD in May and THEN in June changing everything because of the TRS Plus free returns thing.

I've never had to deal with any other site which LOVES to change stuff ALL the freaking time like this one does.

[ymeagainlord]

Well, apparently I've already BEEN dumped into new format without any notice.

I've lost my promo boxes etc

[abfabvintage]

@shipscript

Thanks Ship for your research & reply to help me try and make sense of all of these upcoming Store changes.  I needed to open my own Pandora's box to get some direction on what is to be expected for the future considering my "banner."

@ymeagainlord

I don't don't promos, am small change here, but hope Ship's info at least made it clearer how the Store changes would affect me. 

[ymeagainlord]

By promo boxes, I mean the choice of showing both "newly arrived" and "ending soon" at the top. Now it just has so called "featured listings"

[abfabvintage]

Help me out here: what do you mean by lack of functionality? I just list when I can and hope stuff sells. I don't use the Store MM, Vacation, or whatever else if offers, and really nothing related to a Store except for my Banner.  I am sure I would sell more if I used all the functions of a Store, but for me, it works just as a store front. I plan to downgrade to Starter from Basic as of May 1-31 and just want to be sure everything I now have will work after May 1.  

[ymeagainlord]

Things like being able to insert a link to show on sale items, or to sign up for a newsletter etc etc.

[abfabvintage]

My "Billboard" store front does have the add for a newsletter, but I guess since I don't use MM or sales I am not sure about that. I do know when my friend set up this Store for me I had her opt out to not show featured items. 

[ymeagainlord]

All my stores are/were the Legacy stores as I opted out of the "new" format.

We're all getting shoved into their little cookie cutter boxes.

Too bad they don't do something about the China seller stores with their 'goes on forever' store pages.