what level of sales $ do you need to break even when opening a basic level ebay store"

[pipilo02]

Not too good at math but it seems like you would have to sell at least $20,000 a year to just break even with paying the basic level fees.....otherwise it's more cost effective to simply list items....is my thinking straight?

[tev4all · Accepted solution]

Too many variables to give you an accurate total.

 IF you can consistantly list 120 plus items a month and have gross sales each month of at least $1500 with free shipping, IT is an option.  If you can't, I would stick with the basic 50 free plan.  

[keziak]

Other useful features of a store include vacation settings and store categories which may sometimes facilitate combined orders. 

The main thing that annoys me about my store is that I'm at the Premium level but don't manage using all 1000 listings. I've come close a few times but now I'm down again. I do have merchandise to list but I'm a slow lister, and the problems with the book catalog just make it worse.

[lwl_sales]

Where in the hell are you people getting the math that you need to make like 2000 a month in sales to justify a $20 store?

I'm not a math major, but i'm sure if you only made $500 a month in sales you'd more than break even on a $20 basic store.

[partial*eclipse]

The original question was about where you'd break even with having  a Store vs not having one (i.e., getting only 50 free insertions per month and paying 10% FVF).

[tamaralea]

The other thing that many of us "non-store owners" can vouch for, is that we usually get free listings.  I got 50 to 100 addtional listings during 11 of the past 12 months.  It's not a guarantee, but it's very likely.

[nowthatsjustducky]

Don't forget the quarterly $25 coupon for shipping supplies.  That technically slices another $8.33 off the monthly cost.

[yuzuha]

As far as I'm concerned, a store just makes sense once you get above 120 items listed at a time.  If you're already going to be paying $20 a month to keep those items up and you make more than $20 per month selling them, might as well just get a store and get the FVF discount, the shipping supplies coupon, the ability to put your store on vacation, and Markdown Manager as well as the 250 fixed price/250 auction listings.

[tev4all]

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@lwl_sales wrote:

Where in the hell are you people getting the math that you need to make like 2000 a month in sales to justify a $20 store?

I'm not a math major, but i'm sure if you only made $500 a month in sales you'd more than break even on a $20 basic store.

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@Okay let's say You have a basic store on the monthly plan, list 250 items, sell 1 item @ $500 with FS

Cost Of Item $400

-$24.95 subscription fee

@-$45.75 @ FVF of 9.15%

-$14.80 paypal fee

-$15.00 estimated shipping cost

Assuming no other expenses or sales you paid ebay 50 cent to sell your item with a store.  Of course you did get all the perks that come with a store, but made no profit having one. 

[fern*wood]

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@tev4all wrote:

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@lwl_sales wrote:

Where in the hell are you people getting the math that you need to make like 2000 a month in sales to justify a $20 store?

I'm not a math major, but i'm sure if you only made $500 a month in sales you'd more than break even on a $20 basic store.

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@Okay let's say You have a basic store on the monthly plan, list 250 items, sell 1 item @ $500 with FS

Cost Of Item $400

-$24.95 subscription fee

@-$45.75 @ FVF of 9.15%

-$14.80 paypal fee

-$15.00 estimated shipping cost

Assuming no other expenses or sales you paid ebay 50 cent to sell your item with a store.  Of course you did get all the perks that come with a store, but made no profit having one. 

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Sorry, but if this were the OP's true situation, then whether to get a store or not is the least of their problems.

It's not too difficult to put out an example like that, but all that shows is how not to sell on ebay.

[tev4all]

fernwood:

 It's not too difficult to put out an example like that, but all that shows is how not to sell on ebay.

Maybe IT shows where/when a seller makes their profit. 

 Maybe IT shows just 1 example, care to provide another,  broke down with a simpler explaination.

[thatsallfolks]

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@tev4all wrote:

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@lwl_sales wrote:

Where in the hell are you people getting the math that you need to make like 2000 a month in sales to justify a $20 store?

I'm not a math major, but i'm sure if you only made $500 a month in sales you'd more than break even on a $20 basic store.

---

@Okay let's say You have a basic store on the monthly plan, list 250 items, sell 1 item @ $500 with FS

Cost Of Item $400

-$24.95 subscription fee

@-$45.75 @ FVF of 9.15%

-$14.80 paypal fee

-$15.00 estimated shipping cost

Assuming no other expenses or sales you paid ebay 50 cent to sell your item with a store.  Of course you did get all the perks that come with a store, but made no profit having one. 

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The cost of the item is irrelevant. The question is whether you'd pay more fees with or without a store.

[femmefan1946]

From another point of view:

You don' get any Free Listings with a Store.

Since you are paying rent on the Store, your listings cost not 30 cents each but Store Fee divided by number of 'free' listings equals actual (discounted) listing fee.

And Free Shipping is not free either. It just means that the seller has included the cost of shipping in her asking price.

Good Til Cancelled listings are cheaper than 30 day listings because the seller doesn't have to put any more labour into them (even the few seconds for relisting once a month). And time is money. (18 cents a minute here in British Columbia.)

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@tamaralea wrote:

The other thing that many of us "non-store owners" can vouch for, is that we usually get free listings.  I got 50 to 100 addtional listings during 11 of the past 12 months.  It's not a guarantee, but it's very likely.

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Over the past two years, I can count on one hand the number of free listing promos my non-store accounts have gotten. Not everyone gets them. This account gets three or four a year normally. So no, non-store sellers can't count on freebies.

[tev4all]

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@thatsallfolks wrote:

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The cost of the item is irrelevant. The question is whether you'd pay more fees with or without a store.

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The cost of aquired goods is completely relevant that is where the profit is made when a sale is completed.  

OP....
pipilo02
Thrill-Seeker
05-21-2017 10:47:48 AM
Not too good at math but it seems like you would have to sell at least $20,000 a year to just break even with paying the basic level fees.....otherwise it's more cost effective to simply list items....is my thinking straight?

Basically, yes, you are thinking straight.

There are to many variables to give you an accurate answer about using a store subscription without more information.  

[xgoblazersx]

I used to love those too when I was selling under 200 items.  At over 500, that's not feasible anymore.  With a store, your lower FVF, reduced cost (let's be honest here, not free) listings, and promotion tools all make it worthwhile.