Ebay Store?

skyeandeviesmummy

Hi, does anyone have any experience of running an ebay store. I would be grateful if you could let me know the pro's and con's as I am thinking of starting to sell some of my products on there as well. Thanks in advance.

fatscamp

Hi, I have no experience of setting up an Ebay store (although I do find it increasing difficult to actually find anything to buy there!) but I would recommend looking into trading on Amazon if you can. 12m members, your own storefront and although they take 15% there is no quicker way to get up and running and selling online. It will depend however what the products are etc etc, best of luck.

skyeandeviesmummy

Thanks, I will head over there now and have a look. I never thought of Amazon before.

blue_monkey_2

I have had an eBay store for about 3 years now and I am selling through my stock and not bothering anymore. I will list the items I have in stock but I am doing most of my stuff on my website to order, it works better for me it seems judging by sales this month.

You do not get any exposure if you list in shop format unless the buyer clicks in the 'see additional items from shop sellers' and not many people do - oh, and all this for higher sellers fees (up to 10% depending on value - but less on listing fees, got for the 6p GTC and don't bother with gallery) still, there is no exposure unless you have an item to sell that there is very few of on eBay. If you have a store and have new items they will appear on eBay express though. If you only want to list in the 'core' section, save your money on the shop, it makes no difference really, I think the shop helps if you have lots of items and want to get them all listed for a longer period.

I am getting more and more sales via my website these days depsite adverising the same items on both my website and eBay, I don't think it is what it was, it is swamped with carp. Do your research on the items you are selling, if everyone else has them then the products in your store will not be seen and won't sell. The only people selling are those selling in high volumes and for little profit. Frankly, the sooner I shift this stock the better as I am tired of it and I would like my evenings back, the narky buyers who moan at you if your parcel is one day later than the 'postage 1-2 days' that eBay sticks on there if you use 1st class mail (then in small letters, seller is not responsible for delivery times) and people trying to get things for less than cost by mailing to tell you that Joe Bloggs has said item for £5 cheaper (yes, but I have to pay VAT and TAX, Joe Bloggs might not) and the like. Joe Bloggs selling the same items for 50p profit. The list is endless.

The Pros - Errrrr...... you might sell some stuff!! Possibly!! If you are lucky!!

This is just my opinion though. If I was starting up right now, seriously, I wouldn't bother unless I had high value items I know I could sell - I would want to be making £40+ profit per item so that when others sell for £30 profit you can add the make an offer feature and at least offer a competitive price if you can. Everyone else wants to do the same thing these days, I did this so I could stay at home with my kids, not so I would have to sell 100 items just to make £50 a day after taxes and the like and spend hours in front of the PC - that is less time for MSE of course!!

skyeandeviesmummy

Thanks Blue-Monkey it does sound like it might not be the route for me. I do have my own website as well and thought that it might be worth selling a few items on ebay as well. I think that I will probably just stick to selling the odd one or two as a private seller. I currently use Google Ad words to generate traffic to my site but I dont think its working. May I ask how you generate traffic to your site and what is most successful.

windswept

I'm much of the same opinion as blue monkey, ebay is not what it was, I became a powerseller recently and my sales have ground to a full stop, nothing has sold in over a week!
My website is doing well and I would rather throw the money at adwords and my site in general than carry on paying ebay fees, my fees this month are a third of normal, I've also started to get questions such as "so and so sells this item for £5 less, why don't you"? I'm sorely tempted to say that so and so isn't making any proft then is he?:rolleyes:

I will be cutting down my ebay listings after xmas, just using it as a 'sale' outlet to get rid of underperforming stock, that's if I don't shut the shop altogether - it's not even bringing much traffic to the website anymore.
It's a bit worrying that some ebay buyers think that the ebay shop IS your website, there has been many a confused phone conversation about that!

Unless you are selling something unique but that people want, forget it basically.

didi_nodebt

I think blue_monkey has pretty much described what ebay is like today. I wanted to open a store, but since I had heard so much about ebay I decided to just try selling stuff I had at home and some stock just to see what it would be like. The first couple of months were great but very recently there is just so much cr*p on ebay your listings appear hours later than they are supposed to. And unless you spend loads of money advertising and highlighting your item no one will see it (literally).

I am glad I tested the water before taking the plunge, I am sick of ebay and the buyers. I recently sold an item and after 5 days of not hearing from the buyer I send a polite reminder only to be told, "computer down will sort you out when the tech peeps have fixed it". After a few choice words at my computer I sent another email saying just sent me postal orders for the amoint. No reply, 3 days later she paid through paypal. 2 days later she wanted to know when she would get the dress....

Its really unfortunate ebay has become what it is today people selling junk misdescribing stuff and Lord help you on the cheap listing days.....it's really not the same anymore.

If you are still interested I would say just try selling a little on your own and see how it goes before taking a major plunge with the store...goodluck

blue_monkey_2

Windswept - we have the same thing, it has got busier than it was, but people buying low value items and not wanting to pay the same price as in a shop. I have something listed for £21.50 that costs £25 everywhere else and I am getting offers of £12-£14 - that is less than my cost. I spend somedays thinking I should change my business but I do enjoy what I do - I just wish I made more money

I will be doing the same as you windswpt, using to advertise the products I want to get rid of and for stuff I have that is unique to the market.

The thing is, it used to be OK even with the competition but now people are going to the sales buying it for XX price adding a few quid on and selling it on eBay - of course, they do this 'on the side' so to speak and while we have to pay VAT and Tax on profit (by being honest about what we do!) those who are not make it seem like the rest of us are overpriced. And don;t get me started on seconds and 2nd grade stuff. The number of people who mail me saying I bought xx off so and so and it fitted great and this one doesn't and then I have a look at what they bought and it is a 'brand new without tags' because it is a reject or second and then they wonder why they can't get their sizings right (really important with what I sell). i could go on but I won't bore you. My website is great, I don;t know how in all honesty, it comes out at the top of Google so the people we have our site with musy use good meta tags or whatever they are. I put it on the website and people buy from it, what else does a girl need to know, LOL. My husband tells me but 'whoosh' it goes right over my head, I stare blankly at him while trying to decide what's for dinner tomorrow and make it look like I am interested. I wish I could explain more about how but if you want to know what we have for dinner I can tell you that!! :rotfl:

I wonder what will happen in years to come with eBay. I have been looking for clothes but after the price of postage it is easier to go buy it new in a store and pay a few pounds more and get the right size, right colour and you know it looks OK - at least that gives me somehing to do this weekend now that nothing fit me (whoo hoo). You can get some bargains on there granted, and there are things that are not readily available around here that I find it useful to be able to buy on eBay but that is it really (LOL, snail and freshwater mussels of all things). I have been looking to buy some Thomas Road & Rail for my sons collection as he has realley gotten into it and it is selling for around £18 plus postage of £5-7 depending on how much. I really don't get it, you can buy a new set for £25-30, why buy 2nd hand?? I have to confess, if I can get it from the US then i will, I just bought a BNWT Disney Belle Velvet Dress that is not available in the UK for $30 including the shipping. It would cost me £15 for one of those rubbish nylon things from Woolworths. I have to admit, I asked the seller for a BIN price and she told me $60 plus shipping. Ouch, I know it retailed at $75 so fair enough - I ended up winning it for...... $19!! I bet the seller was gutted. But this is eBay the world over now.

Anyway, that has set me up for the day!! Deep breath....... and smile..... it'll soon be Xmas and men don't care how much they spend on the wife & kids for Xmas as long as they buy something.......... :xmassign:

skyeandeviesmummy

Thanks for all the replies it has definetly put me off an ebay shop!! :eek: I dont know a lot about meta tags either and I certainley couldnt ask my husband he wouldnt even be able to turn my computer on let alone anything else! I host my site with mr site and I think I can change mine so I better start having a read. I use only Paypal on my website do you think that might put some buyers off?

P.S. blue_monkey what are you having for dinner? :rotfl:

blue_monkey_2

LOL, I was having jacket potato and salad but it has been peeing down all day so I need a rethink!! Mmmmm, chicken casserole!!

Glad it is not just me though, you want to find a site that is quite thorough in what they are offering you, one that is easy to use as well. I am sure tht my daughter is more than capable to do mine and she is 4 it is that easy. I have a friend who pays around £6,000 a year for his site to have someone just add pictures and the like I keep on telling him to do it himself but I think it is all about confidence, have a play around, we have ours with www.ekmpowershops.co.uk and you can have a play around with the site before you buy, set a few items up and see if it is for you. that is the best way to do it. You can transfer your domain name to them so that they host your site... hold on... whoosh..... there it goes again, I am sure someone will come over and explain it in more detail or go post on the technical board. I have to wonder what will become of eBay in 10 years time though - I think it has seen it's time, it'll have it's place but it won;t be as big as it is, or was.

Oh and as for Paypal - I used to take it but I don;t anymore unless someone asks for it, see if you can get yourself a Business/Merchant account and either an online credit card account or handheld terminal as you'll pay les fees. I process all payments myself and it costs me much less than Paypal - if someone spends £100 then it costs me around £5 with paypal in fees, with a debit card I pay around £1.50 - it all mounts up at the end of the day.

Join the National Market Traders Federation (www.NMTF.co.uk) and tell the bank as you'll get special rates with no minimum monthly charge (usually £20 a month) and lower set up fees - plus you'll get Public Liability in case you ever want to branch out, or have someone hurt themselves on items you are selling. I could go on forever but have to get the kids from school so ask any questions you need to and I'll check back later. Good luck.

skyeandeviesmummy

Definetly the weather for something warmer to eat!

How do you go about getting a hand held terminal and how do you get your customers to enter the CC/DC details I have seen forms on other websites that you fill in with your card details like Tescos. I suppose you just get that in email form and then enter the details in to the machine? All this is new to me as you can tell! Paypal fees do seem to be a bit OTT.

Thanks for all your help.