Wondering if I should open an Ebay Store

[chrissyscrafts1]

I'm experiencing low sales right now. As a result, I'm considering paying a monthly subscription to have an eBay store. Has this helped anyone else?

[reallynicestamps]

NO.

The reason to have a Store is the larger number of listings, not thegreater number of sales.
I have read that if you have regularly over 300 listings, the Store subscription is cheaper than 250 Free Listings plus 35c for each extra listing.
But you will be paying $25 a month for those 300+ listings  even if you can't use all 1000 available.

The selling fee is slightly lower.
You may get promotional listings which are also Free in addition to the subscribed listings.
There is a discount coupon available quarterly for branded shipping supplies.

But no promise of  more sales.

[funfactorychannel]

low sales is normal during this time. Online sales still are cyclical as Brick and Mortar.

[mam98031]

You can, but why would you want to?  Until you are going to regularly have about 300 active listings, paying for a store [Basic] is a waste of your money.  

You should take this time to learn how to sell and how to list things on the site.  There are lots of rules here you need to learn.  Concentrate on that and then grow your little business.

Here are some important links to areas you should really take the time to learn about as a new seller.

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/selling/selling?id=4081

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/get-started/seller-fees.html

https://pages.ebay.com/seller-center/service-and-payments/funds-availability.html

https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/getting-paid-items-youve-sold/pending-payments?id=415...

https://www.ebay.com/help/listings/creating-managing-listings/creating-listing?id=4105


And make sure you know this policy extremely well.

https://www.ebay.com/help/policies/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy/ebay-money-back-guarantee-policy...

[kensgiftshop]

Having a store subscription won't really help any with increasing sales.

[lb23cavaliersmvp]

Respectfully, you are currently  listing less than 200 items all with a similar theme that is likely to appeal to a small demographic.  A store will not increase sales based on your current business model. My assumption is that ebay is a better venue than on-line sites that cater to the crafting community or local in-person outlets simply based on the number of potential buyers. Good luck.

[meme6253]

This is a very slow time of year for many sellers, Summertime people are out & about doing other things, You may want to consider opening a store in the fall before the Holiday season, But still keep in mind that opening a store does not necessarily bring you more sales.

[jonathanbrightlight]

I'm glad you came here first and asked, because we've gotten some sellers that come here complaining that they opened a store and didn't see increased sales, and they were upset about it.  As you've been told by a couple other people, a store subscription does not and is not advertised to increase your sales.  It's to allow you to list more without a significant increase in costs, and it does allow you access to tools such as markdown sales that can help you sell more, but it does not at all guarantee any increase in sales at all.

[sakic92710]

I am a 24-year seller on eBay & online.  For the first 20 years, I had a basic store.  When my sales hit a wall in fall of 2021, I kept trying to make it work.  After 14-15 months of dismal sales, I closed my store & just keep well under the 250 free listings.  I would not open another store until I was certain my 3 sales a month would more than cover the fee.  Please do not open a store until you feel confident that the fee will be a small % of what you are earning.   Your visibility/potential is not increased due to having a store.  If you feel you want the bonus of 'free' listings to post several 100 items & this almost guarantees an increase in sales, then you should do it.  If I wanted to try 700 listings, I would open a store.  It is easy enough to close if it you are not satisfied.  Good luck to all.  🙂  

[stainlessenginecovers]

You ALSO get a discount on Final Value Fees for most categories- so even if you only use 300 of the 1000 listings, you could save $50 if you sell $5000 worth of items a month, so just that alone pays for the store and then some. 

Plus, you can do 'sales' of all types, across the board, chosen items, different amounts, or 'free shipping if you buy 2 or 3 or 5 or $?? spent etc.

AND you can 'put your stuff' (not auctions) on 'Time Away' (used to be 'vacation') and you can choose to 'block sales' during your time off. 

[powell-collectibles]

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@stainlessenginecovers wrote:

You ALSO get a discount on Final Value Fees for most categories- so even if you only use 300 of the 1000 listings, you could save $50 if you sell $5000 worth of items a month, so just that alone pays for the store and then some. 

Plus, you can do 'sales' of all types, across the board, chosen items, different amounts, or 'free shipping if you buy 2 or 3 or 5 or $?? spent etc.

AND you can 'put your stuff' (not auctions) on 'Time Away' (used to be 'vacation') and you can choose to 'block sales' during your time off. 

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There has to be some sales lift, on average, right?  I mean, they do provide the link to the seller store in the listings.  Sure, having a store likely will not double sales, but it certainly will provide some extra visibility.  AND, if seller has all similar items that appeal to a niche group, and those potential buyers like to browse, maybe not a bad idea to have a store with different store-based categories.  Would I recommend a store for a relatively small and new seller?  Nope.  

Wait a minute - if you go to the OP's seller page, looks like she already has a store, or am I confused???

[sakic92710]

On her listings' page, there is "seller's other items."  Nothing about visiting their store.

[powell-collectibles]

So, I was confused :). Thanks 

[12345jamesstamps]

I remember when I was doing 20 auctions every week with a store.

And now here I am with 4000+ items for sale. 

Something gave me that push to list more and receive more sales.

Some say it is a slow time...'hogwash'...

One has to think about ways of increasing sales...like the guys who make commercials on TV to sell other people's products.

Some sellers list items for sale and hope for sales without doing something to increase sales.

[simba6]

Are you always running out of free listings?  If not, then the extra cost of a store might not be worth it.