Websites

[precioustreasures18]

I am looking for pros and cons of starting a website store to integrate with eBay since watching eBay open a few days ago.  I am considering Shopify or Wix. I would appreciate comments from other sellers.  The price between the two for our level store is comparable, $23 per month vs $29 per month, so to clarify, I guess I would like comments on the best integration, as I prefer to only post on eBay's platform.

Thank You.

[coastaltechsolution]

well I would start by asking what was they hype exactly of eBay open that got you interested in opening your own website retail? 

[natoman777]

Besides eBay (depending on what you sell) Facebook marketplace is pretty amazing

[downunder-61]

I have a web site store powered by Shopify, easy to use and set up, offer awesome layouts but I pay more than the lowest basic amount offered as I like to get all the additional perks (and is well worth it)

The support from Shopify is amazing, the only issue with a new website is the SEO optimization and getting traffic to your store if you are an unbranded seller.

My site is about 18 months old and I have about 75% of the traffic I get from eBay (sell in Australia only) so another 12 months hopefully I can say bye bye eBay.

[ittybitnot]

@precioustreasures18 

I started my own stand alone website a year or so ago.  I am not sure what you mean by "integrate" with eBay.  The point for me was to be "in lieu" of.  I did a lot of research prior to choosing a hosting service and webpage builder.  I am not sure what you want to accomplish, but as far as a stand alone, I found Shopify to be the most expensive.  Just about everything that you need to run an ecommerce site is an "extra" charge with them.  

I pay about $2.99 a month (payable a year in advance).  The only thing I have to renew otherwise is my domain registration (about $15?) and one plug in that I purchased the "pro" version for.  The only fees per sale I have is my merchant services account, which I believe is 2.3%.  

I may be misunderstanding your question, but I don't see the point in having a website that directs clients to ebay to pay more fees. 

There are a lot of incidental things that you may want to consider, too.  These may include what happens if you want to change your hosting service.  Some allow it, some want a hefty fee.  If you know nothing about website building, I would suggest you start out with one that gives you a "free thirty day trial".  You can learn and at the same time shop around for the best price.  Mine did not have a free trial per se, but had a money back program if I closed it prior to thirty days or something (minus the portion that was the domain name fee).  My site went live on day 28, and my only previous experience was with wysiwyg simple html programs that used on eBay.  Google will be your friend for sure. 

[precioustreasures18]

From my understanding, it was a means to increase social media presence, thereby increasing rankings.

[precioustreasures18]

Thank you very much.  I appreciate your time and comments.

[precioustreasures18]

By integrate, I meant that if I listed an item on eBay,  it would also be listed on Shopify.  Thank you very much for your thoughtful advice.

[ittybitnot]

By integrate, I meant that if I listed an item on eBay,  it would also be listed on Shopify.

@precioustreasures18 

You may wish to look into some sort of "listing" program.  There are some that will list a product on various platforms, and automatically remove them from all the rest when it sells on one.   Some are limited as to what sites they will include, so if you open an ecommerce site, you will have to make sure it works.  I am sorry, but I have never used one.  The only thing that comes to mind this late in the day is 'sixbit' but I am sure others here use that sort of thing.   Good luck with what you want to do!  

[kensgiftshop]

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@precioustreasures18 wrote:

By integrate, I meant that if I listed an item on eBay,  it would also be listed on Shopify.  Thank you very much for your thoughtful advice.

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I use https://www.auctionnudge.com right now to display my Ebay items on my web site.

[vintagecraze50]

I looked into this several years ago. Shopify is a very costly platform. You pay many monthly service fees because unlike Ebay where everything is integrated, on Shopify you must pay for plug ins for all kinds of services to get the site up and running on top of what your basic fee is to Shopify. Then, you must be somewhat unique or you will have to find out how to market your items to be actually seen in search engines. My brother-in law and an associate started WEBFIRE, which can help with getting seen in the search engines. 

[ittybitnot]

 on Shopify you must pay for plug ins for all kinds of services to get the site up and running on top of what your basic fee is to Shopify

@vintagecraze50 

That is why I picked one with everything included.  It certainly wasn't "plug and play" but included everything necessary even an SEO optimizer.    

[slippinjimmy]

I'm not using Shopify but if I was looking for what you describe that is the way I would go.

I don't think the comparison of rates for an eBay Store vs Shopify is relevant at all. If an eBay Store works for you know (increases sales and/or saves money) you would still need it even with a Shopify account/website.

[farmalljr · Accepted solution]

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@precioustreasures18 wrote:

By integrate, I meant that if I listed an item on eBay,  it would also be listed on Shopify.  Thank you very much for your thoughtful advice.

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Doesn't work that way. You will need another lister like InkFrog to get listings on both sites. Unless you find a competing platform that pulls from your listings here (and there are not many that do).

You will build listings through a service like inkfrog, then send them out to the platforms/websites you sell on. This isn't cheap to do all this, and there is a BIG learning curve and much "keeping an eye" on everything to make sure everything is working like it's supposed to. What you want to do, only works for full time resellers who have a LOT of inventory to sell/move. 

IMO, unless you have more stores, your sales are not at a level to do what you plan on, and NOT go bankrupt. You don't have enough sales or products to make this worth your while. Not meant to be mean or poop on dreams, you just don't appear to be in a place to make any benefit from what you plan to do. Unless you are looking for a LOT more work and no money, anyway. 

That plan works great for people who sells tons of stuff and only work in very few categories. You just simply don't have enough inventory or sales for that to make sense. 

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

I believe Shopify can send Shopify created listings to ebay, and import ebay listings to Shopify. Not sure, but I think Wix can also import from ebay. List Perfectly is one tool that also allows you to send listings to a number of sites by creating just one listing. Pretty sure it includes ebay and Shopify (along with a number of others, although I don't think Wix is one of them---not really sure) 

Agree with your general point....I'm not sure the OP is a prime candidate for Shopify or Wix, given what she sells....if the OP wants to use Social Media primarily to increase traffic to ebay, I'd say focus on using the social media tools and not worry about Shopify and Wix at this point. And once ebay goes live with its Social Media Store Referral FVF discount, well, if the OP has already built a following and traffic by that time, she will be able to not only increase sales but lower her ebay fees as well.