Ebay Experts: To Open A Store Or Not To?

[tarheelmjfan]

As I've mentioned several times, we're fairly new to eBay. We do have quite a bit to sell & plan to continue selling indefinitely. We've talked about maybe opening an eBay store. I've thought of a few pros & 1 con to opening a store. I'm hoping you guys will share your opinions to help us make a decision.

Pros:
-Listing when it's convenient, rather than waiting for Sun. or Mon. evening.
-Not having to worry so much about whether or not the item is "in season".
-Having all items available. You never know. Someone may want shorts in December or a winter coat in June.

Con: The one con I can think of is having to list all items as BIN. That means you have to predetermine the value of the item & have no chance of getting more for it. To this point, we've listed about 1/2 our items as BIN & 1/2 for bid. It just depends on what we list.

I'm sure there's others. Please, share your pros & cons to help us decide. TIA

 

[comicguy]

Also remember that you need to run auctions to drive traffic to your store. I have had my store for about 2 years and I think I am going to close(I have been slowly getting rid of the cheaper merchadise because of the increase in store fees. In August the store listing fee went from .02 a month to .05 per month not a big increase according to ebay but when you have 600 items in your store that really adds up. my average daily store count now is about 300 items and shrinking. You really need to think this through, I don't want to sound like I am trying to discourage you from opening a store(because I have had great success in the past with mine) but think about the monthly fee(17.95) plus the listing fees(.05 per item) and final value fees(variable) and then of course the paypal fees(.35 plus 3%) It all adds up.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks I think we'll hold off awhile, until we're a little more comfortable with the process. I'm thinking jumping into a decision won't be the best idea, if eBay vets are questioning themselves on having a store.

 

[DMRick]

but think about the monthly fee(17.95) plus the listing fees(.05 per item) and final value fees(variable) and then of course the paypal fees(.35 plus 3%) It all adds up.

Do you know something I don't know? I'm paying $15.95 a month for my store. As for the fvf and paypal fees..I'd be paying fees in a regular auction anyway, but I save a fortune in listing fees.

I think the only way to find out if a store will work for you is to try it. eBay used to give you the first month free (just the actual store). If they still do, I would try it. It's been very profitable for us, although as mentioned, we still have to run auctions to get people there.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

DMRick,
How was your trip? I'd love to go to Hawaii. We'd probably take a cruise from the West Coast though. I know it wouldn't be the same, but my DH & I aren't big fans of long flights. Actually, our nonstop flight to San Diego was pushing it for us.

I haven't seen an offer for a free month for opening an eBay store. Where would I find that info, if they're still offering it? Do you have any pros &/or cons to add for us to consider? Thanks

 

[DMRick]

Our trip was wonderful, thanks for asking. The flight was long, from NYS, but we stopped for a few days in CA (see the redwoods, Yosemite, SF, etc), so that broke it up. Spent time in Oahu before our cruise, so we were well rested..just did site seeing by car there. A cruise is a perfect way to see the islands! Talking with others who cruised over from CA though, several seemed to have seasickness once way out in the ocean, and more than a few said next time they would fly, then cruise, so so much time wasn't taken up on sea days, so we're glad we did it this way. I've already booked an 8 night cruise out of Tampa on Holland America in January (our usual Disney trip time..but we will be there for a few days after, so maybe we'll come over for a couple days)..I think I have the cruise bite and I'm afraid our many trips a year to Disney are going to drop way down. Wow, there is another life out there and I loved it LOL!

As for our store, because we sell the same thing over and over, I think it's a lot easier. I can tell what doesn't sell after a few months, and I just drop it if I think that will continue. eBay has something where they reward you if you send people to your ebay store from your own website, and so that is getting me some of my fees back too.
You should also look under opening a store and see if they are still giving the free month..I would try it with just a few dozen things before I sunk time into it.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Our trip was wonderful, thanks for asking. The flight was long, from NYS, but we stopped for a few days in CA (see the redwoods, Yosemite, SF, etc), so that broke it up. Spent time in Oahu before our cruise, so we were well rested..just did site seeing by car there. A cruise is a perfect way to see the islands! Talking with others who cruised over from CA though, several seemed to have seasickness once way out in the ocean, and more than a few said next time they would fly, then cruise, so so much time wasn't taken up on sea days, so we're glad we did it this way. I've already booked an 8 night cruise out of Tampa on Holland America in January (our usual Disney trip time..but we will be there for a few days after, so maybe we'll come over for a couple days)..I think I have the cruise bite and I'm afraid our many trips a year to Disney are going to drop way down. Wow, there is another life out there and I loved it LOL!

My DH & I love cruising. Was that you're 1st cruise? If so, your in trouble. Those cruise bugs really bite hard. Unfortunately, our DS isn't as big of a cruise fan as we are. We had one booked for Thanksgiving & he really didn't want to go, so we cancelled. When it's just the 2 of us, most of our vacations will probably be cruises. We'd love a 14 day cruise to nowhere. We've been on (2) 10 night cruises & (1) 9 night cruise, since 06/05. We don't currently have one booked & we're both having serious withdrawals. We cruise on Celebrity, but HAL would probably be our 2nd choice. Cruising from Tampa would be even better. I can't wait to hear what you thought about that one!

As for our store, because we sell the same thing over and over, I think it's a lot easier. I can tell what doesn't sell after a few months, and I just drop it if I think that will continue. eBay has something where they reward you if you send people to your ebay store from your own website, and so that is getting me some of my fees back too.
You should also look under opening a store and see if they are still giving the free month..I would try it with just a few dozen things before I sunk time into it.

I'll look for the store info on eBay. To me, finding what sells & what doesn't is a challenge. I'm hoping it will get easier with time. It doesn't help that I'm not a big shopper, so I don't automatically know whether or not something is a deal.

 

[DMRick]

Yes, Hawaii was our first cruise. To keep this budget related..our eBay store paid for it LOL!

January will be our second..and that is an 8 night cruise from Tampa, as I mentioned (I used Cia at vacationstogo.com. The cruise before taxes and air was only $599..pretty good for Holland America and 8 nights. The food alone is worth it!). I plan on signing up for the cooking class, a few excursions, and doing more relaxing than we did in Hawaii.

We are hooked, and Disney is being replaced LOL. What is there to not like on a cruise? We will prob try a Celebrity Cruise at some point.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Yes, Hawaii was our first cruise. To keep this budget related..our eBay store paid for it LOL!

I think it's okay to go OT, if you're hijacking your own thread.

January will be our second..and that is an 8 night cruise from Tampa, as I mentioned (I used Cia at vacationstogo.com. The cruise before taxes and air was only $599..pretty good for Holland America and 8 nights. The food alone is worth it!). I plan on signing up for the cooking class, a few excursions, and doing more relaxing than we did in Hawaii.

We are hooked, and Disney is being replaced LOL. What is there to not like on a cruise? We will prob try a Celebrity Cruise at some point.

I've heard Celebrity (X) & Holland America (HAL) are pretty close in what they offer. We like the fact that X has more of an ocean liner of yesterday feel. They still have traditional dining & practically everyone adheres to the dress code. We love informal & formal nights!!! The food is fantastic, especially in the specialty restaurants. You can't beat breakfast on your balcony. Let's not forget the martini bar. I think HAL should be very similar. If you drink wine, see if there's a wine pairing class. The food & beverage classes on X are all great! I'm looking forward to your review. That is a great price & we'd only have a 15 min. drive. Looks like our TA's going to love you. You've convinced me to start looking for our next ocean adventure.

 

[bord1niowa]

Remember that on store items the final value fee is significantly higher too. They raised that when they raised the insertion fees. I believe it's like 10% now, keep that in mind when pricing. And yes you mosr definitely need to have items in regular auction to drive people to your store. I closed everything down because of a wedding, which we had yesterday for our daughter...wheww! I will be getting back into but not with 700 + items again. That was a lot to track, and oh boy did I have the fees!!! I find lots of items are easier to deal with than small ones individually, with all the paypal and insertion fees etc.

 

[DMRick]

Yes, HAL people are big on dress up (we'll prob only go to one formal night, and hubby will wear a suit, but won't have on a tux), and their ships (according to the people on cruise critic) are like the ocean liners of yesterday. I think the two lines are very similar. I know I'll have chocolate covered strawberries awaiting me thanks to Cia at vacationstogo, and the cruise line starts you off with fresh fruit in your room. I'm told there are fresh flowers everywhere. Of course the average age of those sailing is a lot older than, for instance the Carnival age, but that's ok..we'll fit right in LOL!

There is room on the Jan 6 cruise..I know because a friend is now joining us, if you are looking for a bargain. We don't drink, but we do hope to get into the cooking wine pairing class, for the cooking part. I figured I can pass the wine over to my friend LOL.

I think it's okay to go OT, if you're hijacking your own thread.


I've heard Celebrity (X) & Holland America (HAL) are pretty close in what they offer. We like the fact that X has more of an ocean liner of yesterday feel. They still have traditional dining & practically everyone adheres to the dress code. We love informal & formal nights!!! The food is fantastic, especially in the specialty restaurants. You can't beat breakfast on your balcony. Let's not forget the martini bar. I think HAL should be very similar. If you drink wine, see if there's a wine pairing class. The food & beverage classes on X are all great! I'm looking forward to your review. That is a great price & we'd only have a 15 min. drive. Looks like our TA's going to love you. You've convinced me to start looking for our next ocean adventure.

 

[DMRick]

But the good part is, the listing fees are so low, and of course you don't pay the final fees until the item is sold..so even if it sits there for a few months and I pay a higher ending fee, it's so much less than listing it a few times.
You are right though..you do need to have some auction running.

The better part is, if you had a lot to track, and high fees, that means you had a lot of sales!!

Remember that on store items the final value fee is significantly higher too. They raised that when they raised the insertion fees. I believe it's like 10% now, keep that in mind when pricing. And yes you mosr definitely need to have items in regular auction to drive people to your store. I closed everything down because of a wedding, which we had yesterday for our daughter...wheww! I will be getting back into but not with 700 + items again. That was a lot to track, and oh boy did I have the fees!!! I find lots of items are easier to deal with than small ones individually, with all the paypal and insertion fees etc.