Ebay store Who has one and is it worth it?

[parrothead]

Like the title says. I have been looking into it and using the calculater to figure if I need one or not. So far the sales I do are less than needed to warrant getting one, but are there other benefits? I have not used more than 50 listings in a month in a long time, but may do so soon. According to the calculator, it takes a good 100 sales averaging $20 each to warrant the cost.

I guess my main question is, is there a benefit that I am missing other than fees, listings, etc? (basically benefits other than the few dollars I may eventually save per month?)

[MattInTheHat]

Probably boosts your credibility with the buyers

[PartTimeScrapper]

did you use the new caculator for the new store rules and fees that start May 1st? Depending on the category you sell in it could make a huge difference. I know for me the diference between a store and non store is 6% just in final value fees. Thats huge considering im pushing $20k in sales so far for the year. Thats $1200 difference just in fees.

[parrothead]

did you use the new caculator for the new store rules and fees that start May 1st? Depending on the category you sell in it could make a huge difference. I know for me the diference between a store and non store is 6% just in final value fees. Thats huge considering im pushing $20k in sales so far for the year. Thats $1200 difference just in fees.

Yes, I did use the calculater that has the upcoming figures.

I am pretty sure that I can figure when I need to switch to a store, just wanting to know if there are more benefits besides the cost savings.

[PartTimeScrapper]

THere are some things that you get from a store. I Just got my store so I am still learning about all the differences. One I have found so far is there are a lot of automated features you can set up for a store. Like feedback. Another cool thing I like is say you list something on a 30 day listing and it hasnt sold. You can put it on sale and try to sell it so you dont have to pay listing fee again. There seem to be alot more reports and stuff that can be done with a store as well for tracking sales and the like. Your pages with a store look different as well. Still learning all the new stuff.

Hope that helps some.

[Jeremiah]

The automated features are worth a lot. I do about $700 a month in eBay selling and the automated features make leaving feedback, relisting and dealing with complaints very easy. You also get to boost your eBay store through other outlets such as your personal website. I think a store gives your potential customers a piece of mind. Also, if you develop some contacts who subscribe to your store you can increase your marketing for both scrap collection and sales by email and newsletters.

It might also be noted that having a per month fee gives you an extra incentive to list items as opposed to scrapping them. I personally need this.

[parrothead]

Thanks guys, that is some good info.

[sean7278]

I have been selling on eBay for a long time and just recently started using the Store. I can't say why but the amount of traffic I get has more than doubled with the store. The more people see it the more likely it is to sell. The final value discount pays for the store fee pretty quickly.
Good luck

[junkerjake]

I have been selling on ebay for 14 years and have had a store for several years. I like better than auctions that don't sell.

[LifecyclesLLC]

If you are moving volume anything over the 50 free monthly listings I would say go for it. Before I got into E-waste I did surplus Kitchen accessories and the store was wonderful addition. Still have people sending me emails about the products I had 3 years ago.

[twmart]

did you use the new caculator for the new store rules and fees that start May 1st? Depending on the category you sell in it could make a huge difference. I know for me the diference between a store and non store is 6% just in final value fees. Thats huge considering im pushing $20k in sales so far for the year. Thats $1200 difference just in fees.

I was just looking at the new fee calculator and it is a little confusing or miss leading... Their quick chart shows with a store computers are 4% but if you dig down into the Computer parts and accessories EBAY bumps the price or those catagories to 6% ????

Am I reading that wrong or does anybody else see the same???
I know with volume it does not really matter you will save with a store, but to me that is miss leading

Update
After digging more I see computer parts are split between Computer, Consumer Electronics and Camera accessories... Interesting way of confusing people Live and Learn lol

[PartTimeScrapper]

I was just looking at the new fee calculator and it is a little confusing or miss leading... Their quick chart shows with a store computers are 4% but if you dig down into the Computer parts and accessories EBAY bumps the price or those catagories to 6% ????

Am I reading that wrong or does anybody else see the same???
I know with volume it does not really matter you will save with a store, but to me that is miss leading

Update
After digging more I see computer parts are split between Computer, Consumer Electronics and Camera accessories... Interesting way of confusing people Live and Learn lol

even at 6% your saving a ton because without a store your paying 10%. So you only need to sell $500 worth of stuff on ebay to make up the cost of the store.

[jghilino]

I have been selling on ebay for 10 years now. I have an ebay store with 600 items in it. Yes it is worth it. The basic store is $16 month with the yearly contract and includes 150 free listings. So its definetly worth it if you have over 100 items. The premium store is $40 month and includes 500 free listings. I still run auctions from time to time, but i prefer the 30 day auto renewing store listings. Its much less work than running 7 day auctions. I spend about 10 hours a week doing listings and shipping. I use a dymo 4x6 label printer, it really cuts shipping time down.

[ryanw]

Are you able to use that dymo printer to print shipping through ebay, or do you use a service?

[jghilino]

yes it is a printer and will print labels thru any website, it has good drivers and software that can be downloaded for it

DYMO LabelWriter 4XL, 4" x 6" Label Printer, they are not cheap but are worth it if your planning on running alot of labels, they do not use toner/ink so no extra expense there or trips to the store, the label paper they take costs 2 cents per label which is about the lowest in the industry

my store is doing 80k-100k year in sales, i shoot for the lowest price with free shipping to maximize volume, i do not price items high and sit on them waiting for a top dollar sale

[ryanw]

That's good to know...I will be getting one of those then. It is a pain printing shipping labels for USPS off of ebay and having to trim them down.

[jghilino]

yea i think regular sheets of label paper are like 10 cents sheet and you get 2 labels out of it, they are a pain to peel and jam up the printer half the time, never again

if your printing labels its best to get a label printer, just throwing my 2 zinc cents out there

[drozenski]

I have a free ebay store. I've been a member of ebay since October 7 1998. Was one of the first to get the ebay store and it's been free for my account since.

[drozenski]

yes it is a printer and will print labels thru any website, it has good drivers and software that can be downloaded for it

DYMO LabelWriter 4XL, 4" x 6" Label Printer, they are not cheap but are worth it if your planning on running alot of labels, they do not use toner/ink so no extra expense there or trips to the store, the label paper they take costs 2 cents per label which is about the lowest in the industry

my store is doing 80k-100k year in sales, i shoot for the lowest price with free shipping to maximize volume, i do not price items high and sit on them waiting for a top dollar sale

If you are shipping with Fedex or UPS they will give you the label printer and all the labels you will ever need for free. You will need a business account with the carrier.

[pcscrapper]

IT's well worth it, especially if you're in the scrap business and you come across some good equipment especially if its new. sold two items wireless access controllers one for 1500.00 and the other for 1250.00 and it cost me nothing.. so I'm ahead of the game