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?

[postingid7659]

I have a store and run auctions besides.

Typical average fees are around $100 a month.  

I just sold one piece for $100, so May is covered. Finally.  

It's funded via automatic credit card payment.  If a month is short, it's okay.   Almost anyone with even lousy credit can get a card with a low limit ($500) that would handle a couple months worth of fees when you're short, and as long as you pay it each month and develop a credit history you can always get higher limits.    Even if you don't, it's a handy way to build a history.  

[tunicaslot]

I guess I'm stupid as I don't see what variables you are dealing with. If a person is going to list over 120 items - with only 50 of them being free with your monthly allotment - you are going to pay in listing fees what the price of a store is.

None of us are guarenteed additional free listings - store owner or not. Your monthly bill should be lower as you are paying a decrease in FVF's. My break even is after my first $20 profit - whether it a sale of 1 item or 4.

[llllady]

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@nowthatsjustducky wrote:

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

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Yeah, but everybody knows those supplies are about 50% overpriced.  You better make that $4.17.  😉

[garymi6]

Makes a huge difference having a store if you sell electronics like me. It make the fee 6.15 percent on many things I sell. I also sell pro audio equipment which the fee just dropped down to 3 percent. Thats a HUGE difference. I did 88g here last alone last year. That means I would have paid 8,800 in fees from ebay last year. I only paid around 6500.

Thats worth 20 bucks a month anyday.

[thatsallfolks]

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@tev4all wrote:

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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.   

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Gee, no kidding. But the decision on whether to use a store should be based on whether your profit would be higher with the store. The cost of acquiring the item is the same no matter which decision you make, so it's not necessary to include it in the analysis. The cost of the item is relevant when you are trying to decide whether it makes sense to try to sell it, regardless of whether you have a store.

[luckythewinner]

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@tunicaslot wrote:

I guess I'm stupid as I don't see what variables you are dealing with. If a person is going to list over 120 items - with only 50 of them being free with your monthly allotment - you are going to pay in listing fees what the price of a store is.

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Part of the problem is that the OP asked how much you have to make in sales to break even with a store.

That question is impossible to answer without know howing much net revenue the seller sees from his sales, because selling costs can differ wildly from seller to seller. The correct answer for one seller will be of little use to another seller.

Now this topic is starting to veer away from the question of what it takes to cover the cost of adding a store sunbscription, and starting to veer toward whether it makes sense to add a store - and those are two entirely different questions.

[tellmemama]

It took me a lonnnnnnnng time to come around but I finally opened a store.  I usually have 250 to 500 or so active listings.  I was paying 30 cents for every one after the first 50.  I was paying the higher FVFs.  I had to manually revise anything that needed a price reduction.  But I was doing ok so why give ebay extra money fur nuthin?

Then I had to go to Florida for a family issue.  I dreaded the thought of canceling all of my listings and repaying to put them up again.  For the sole reason of having the vacation setting, I got the basic store on a month to month basis.  You can't imagine how vital this one little setting can be until life happens.  Meanwhile, the store ended up being free for the first three months and I also got a quarterly coupon for shipping supplies.  I readily admit that I am now a convert and will likely switch to a yearly plan after the free period.

I didn't even mess with the math because you know, math is hard. 

[papermoneyforme]

I am going to stick my neck out and say many posters need to go to business school.

You need to calculate the difference between the sales at 10% for no store and the discounted store rate + the store fee.

To keep it simple, $100 in sales with no store costs 10% or $10.00 in FVF's.

With a basic store on annual and if you pay 6%, you pay $6 in FVF's plus the cost of $20 for the store or $26. You are still $16.00 in the hole money wise.

At 200, it is 20 vs 32

At 300 it is 30 vs 38

At 400 it is 40 vs 46

At 500 it is 50 vs 50

So 500 is your break even with a basic store and 1500 is the break even with a premium store

These numbers would of course change depending on the actual rate you pay in FVF's with a store.

Listings do not pay for your store. If you listed 2000 items and sold $300 worth, you are still losing money with a store as far as sales are concerned. Saying you saved so much in listings fees is not the way to look at it as that puts nothing back in your pocket, only sales do.

You may have other reasons for a store, more listings, vacation, specials, etc but it is still only the $ sales that determine the financial benefit of a store.

You can also add what I call goodwill financial benefits that are perceived only. You may also need to list thousands of cheap items with marginal profits to get a return, but that can be very scarry financially.

[papermoneyforme]

correction - at 400 it would be 44, not 46, my apologies

[papermoneyforme]

Sorry, you pay paypal and shipping with or without a store.

See my long post

[thatsallfolks]

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@papermoneyforme wrote:

Listings do not pay for your store. If you listed 2000 items and sold $300 worth, you are still losing money with a store as far as sales are concerned. Saying you saved so much in listings fees is not the way to look at it as that puts nothing back in your pocket, only sales do.

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You did fine with the obvious calculation (i.e. $500 in sales at 6% covers the store fee). But you went off the rails here. The number of items you want/need to list is absolutely a factor in deciding whether to open a store. If I only want to list 50, then your basic calculation answers the question. But if I need to list 200 in order to get the level of sales I want, then I have to include the listing fees for those extra 150 items in my calculations.

[papermoneyforme]

Please read the OP's original post which I answered. You are not reading his post or answering his question.

[thatsallfolks]

"Break-even" is affected by ALL costs that vary between the options, not just the obvious FVF%.

Would you really tell someone who has to list 200 items a month to achieve $400 in sales (at 6% FVF) that they shouldn't open a store because they won't hit your magic $500 figure?

[papermoneyforme]

Read the OP's question please especially level of sales $

[thatsallfolks]

I did. Please answer mine.

OP clearly asks if it's "more cost effective to simply list items". Obviously that depends on FVF savings AND on how many items you intend to list. As I stated, if you only need 50, your calculation is correct. If you need more than 50, those listing fees have to be taken into account.