Opening an eBay Store: Why Set Up an eBay Store?

Why Set Up an eBay Store?
Should you set up an eBay store? Maybe. Let’s consider some of the reasons merchants do
just that.
■ They want a web site. Many merchants begin by selling through the auction listings,
doing well, and then expanding. Selling online is more than just selling in auctions: they
want to create a web site that they can direct buyers to, a site that can be promoted in
many ways (see Chapters 22 to 29).
■ It’s fast and cheap. Merchants can set up a web site through eBay very quickly and
affordably.
■ Merchants want to sell accessories. A merchant may sell digital cameras through the
auctions, then direct people toward their store where they can sell them accessories such
as batteries, memory cards, camera cases, and so on.
■ They want to sell many fixed-price items. A merchant who sells mostly fixed-price
items may find it easier to do so through a store.
■ Merchants can sell multiples. More like a regular store; merchants attempt to sell as
many of each product as they can. Thus, they’re not just selling “one off” products.
■ Insertion fees are very low. A merchant could list a thousand products for a month for
just $20.
■ Final Value Fees are much lower. As long as the buyer comes directly to a merchant’s
store and not through eBay, Final Value Fees are considerably lower.
■ Merchants end up selling to repeat customers. Why should a merchant pay high
Insertion Fees and Final Value Fees if they’ve done a good job of bringing customers
back to their site?
■ eBay Stores is turning into a destination. More people now know about eBay Stores,
and eBay is doing more to educate people about it. So having a store provides another
way to reach people.
■ eBay pays 25 percent of a merchant’s advertising. If a merchant owns a store, eBay
will pay up to 25 percent of the cost of placing ads in newspapers and magazines.
Of course, there are always disadvantages to any choice in this world. Take, for example,
the following:
■ Final Value Fees are higher. If the buyer gets to a merchant’s site after arriving at either
the main eBay or eBay Stores site, the Final Value Fees are higher.
■ Store listings are not found in the main eBay site as easily. Searches through eBay.com
mostly find listings in the auctions. eBay Stores listings are only included if there aren’t
enough matches.