starting a store ?

[valpelc-0]

long ago when I was here selling I had a store but ebay was different then, now there are so many options for buyers and thousands of listing to choose from, my question is will I have better chances of selling with a store front? I know that I would be able to have sales and discounts and be able to promote my listings.

[12345jamesstamps]

Yes...the $22.95 store works for me.

What if you get lucky and have a cargo of items for sale?...and want to list 250+?...now and not tomorrow?

And if you want to make changes all the times to your items up for sale already.

I do can just about anything without any worries.

I started out doing 50 auctions every week. Now I don't even do them.

I just list and list items.

I don't do discounts...I do promote all new listings at 2% to get my items for sale on similar other seller's items for sale....usually the lowest price wins of course.

And free shipping draws a crowd.

The key is 'repeat buyers' who help you through the slow periods of the month...and you will have those no sales day...

Happy Selling.

[valpelc-0]

hers's another question ,can you hold store hours like a brick and mortar store, could I have it open like 3 days a week or on weekends? how about having it closed during the winter months when the roads get bad and I might not be able to get to post office

[ebooksdiva]

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@valpelc-0 wrote:

hers's another question ,can you hold store hours like a brick and mortar store, could I have it open like 3 days a week or on weekends? how about having it closed during the winter months when the roads get bad and I might not be able to get to post office

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No your store is active 24/7 the only time you can "close" is when you use time away like for vacations and such.

When you can't get to the post office you can schedule a pickup for your postal carrier to pick up your packages. 
I rarely use scheduling a pickup I just stuff my mailbox with packages and my mail carrier collects them and scans them when she delivers my mail.

[kensgiftshop]

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@valpelc-0 wrote:

hers's another question ,can you hold store hours like a brick and mortar store, could I have it open like 3 days a week or on weekends? how about having it closed during the winter months when the roads get bad and I might not be able to get to post office

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No, it's open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

You could use Time Away or end your listings, but you still pay the store subscription.

Do you sell enough each month to make it worth paying for a store?

[valpelc-0]

I just started selling again after a long time away and already I have sold around 22 to 23 items in about a month so it's pretty good, I am hoping to build it up again to where it was before, sourcing vintage jewelry and clothing is getting hard for me though because I only have access  to a few thrift stores in my area but so far I have been finding some pretty good  items ,I try to find unique and different things to list because there's  lots of other sellers  in this catagory

[valpelc-0]

I don't have a  printer so that's why I make trips to the post office, if I start selling  a lot then maybe a printer will be an option but for now I have to  see how well I do here

[12345jamesstamps]

You can do "time away" a day before the big snow storm...just keep track of your weather....I did two weeks without a problem going on a vacation and keeping my store open for sales but no deliveries for 2 weeks. I did have to mail out 75+ orders when I returned from vacation...plus I got the money from the sales even though I didn't have to mail anything out for 2 weeks. I did notify everyone by email I am on vacation and my return date your item is in the mail. I think I got a lot of sales the day I got back also. Nice eBay gave me the money before shipping items out. No bad feedbacks and a lot of buyers told me to enjoy my vacation!

You can also do extended shipping...I think I have 3-5 business days when money clears for shipping items out on all my items(Saturday, Sunday & Holidays are not business days). These sellers who do next day shipping...sorry but I have a life...I am not going out in the pouring rain in the winter time. That's just crazy.

[slyders_finds]

If you start selling after a long break, it's not rare for Ebay to push visibility and you will get sales for a while. Then after a few months it usually slows down. It happened when I opened a new account because my veteran account crawling along at a snails pace. 

[slyders_finds]

In my experience I never had better sales in the 2 years I paid for a store. And you have to make a sale or 3 to pay for the store fee and THEN you start making profit. The only good thing was the quarterly supplies. But after the tax law kicked in the $25 coupon didn't even cover the supplies cost. To memory the EBay tape went up to like $26.75 plus tax. The 250 vs. 50 listings per month was nice, but then they gave everybody 250 free BIN listings a month. It just wasn't worth the extra cost for me. 

[12345jamesstamps]

I do not use my printer...I use my post office...Heck, everyone knows me there.

Clerks give me tips on shipping and what to do and this and that.

I do certified as well as registered mail and priority mail.

I bring forms home early to fill them out.

I feel like it's an episode from 'Cheers' where everyone knows my name.

I like using the post office and not getting from eBay shipping sources I owe more and get billed.

I buy my face value USA stamps from USA sellers on eBay at about 75%...sometimes under if I am lucky.

I buy my supplies at CVS with club membership...tape & envelopes.

Secret: certain old post cards sell very well. I sold all I listed...LOL...and used a forever stamp to mail each one out.

[mam98031]

@valpelc-0 

If you are regularly have 300+ listings posted, then the Basic store is a good choice.  But if you get a store before you are ready to have this many listings, then it is a waste of your money. 

Having a store or not having a store doesn't increase your chances of a sale in an of itself.  But once you have a store you have access to things like the Markdown manager so you can rule sales.

[valpelc-0]

I have around 136 listings right now so 

I might have to wait a while to get it built up, another question , how do you pay for the store? does ebay take the money out of your funds or do you have to pay for it with a credit card? also would it be better to have your payouts monthly ? I am still getting used to this new system with the payouts and funds.

[chapeau-noir]

I'm a huge stores fan, but my advice to you would be to keep going with the 250 free listings and not worry about a store right now. Acquaint yourself with the options but leave it for the future. eBay Stores overview. 

Right now just work on optimizing your listings, increasing them, work on product photography, etc., and take it slow. I used to have a premium store but I'm only starter store now because I'm just a little part-timer - I still have a store because I had one for so many years that I have a small footprint here - my customers tend to shop my store and not just my listings, so it works for me. You'll find something that works for you. 

[valpelc-0]

well I took the plunge and started a bare bones store basically so I could manage my listings better, I think it looks pretty good for right now, I even put one of my items on sale to see if I could do it so yeah ,we'll see how it goes