Is it worth having a shop? Anyone got rid of theirs?

I had basic one for about 14 months, the only good it had for me was being able to group items when I was selling a variety of items.

Searchability dissolved as GreedBay made SIF items virtually invisible by reducing when they would appear attached to auction searches and buried the option too deep for buyers to find.

Last autumn there was cheap SIF listing fees so I put out a large quantity of items, sales remained good with auction items but less than 1 in 200 sold in SIF I even had to point a buyer to my store via a GreedBay item # when they asked if I had a certain issue.

So in November binned it and now use a UK based site which specialises in collectables and that is looking promising. Most sales are the equivalent of BIN format as not enough buyers yet to auction much, but costs less and is proving a cost effective alternative to a GreedBay store

Hooray another sale on a minimum FVF fee only little 'ol UK site !!

And another today, now I have had more store type sales in a few weeks on a local UK site than I did with my store in months for much higher cost on GreedBay

quote:

can I reopen the shop later if I change my mind?

Yes you can open it again later on. In fact when I closed mine a message said if I reopened it wihin about 30 days my store categories and customisations would be reinstated.

Very unlikely to ever reopen

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Originally posted by ChooChooGuy:
And another today, now I have had more store type sales in a few weeks on a local UK site than I did with my store in months for much higher cost on GreedBay

So what is this site you are selling on?
This is not an ebay forum so surely Auctiva won't object if you tell us

Hi, not always the case so just replace the 'dot' in SpecialistAuctionsdotcom

Thanks ChooChooGuy. I'm looking at the reasons I opened a shop in the first place and trying to find viable alternatives, then I think I'll give it a try. I worked out that on the rare occasion I do sell something listed in SIF, after paying the higher rate of FVF I've only saved pennies, so taking the shop fees into account, I'm probably on a loser.

On the subject of other sites, I tried Ebid about a year ago, lured in by free listing fees, etc. I didn't sell anything at all. It seemed at the time that sellers were attracted by the low fees, but buyers hadn't yet discovered the site.

Hi Julie, this is why we need to tell our customers and particularly the regulars about the other sites we sell on to help them discover the alternatives.

Customer loyalty is a potent force for any business, large or small, and once created should be protected and encouraged to grow like a camp fire on a cold windy night to keep you warm and fend off the wild animals

quote:

Originally posted by ChooChooGuy:

quote:

can I reopen the shop later if I change my mind?

Yes you can open it again later on. In fact when I closed mine a message said if I reopened it wihin about 30 days my store categories and customisations would be reinstated.

Very unlikely to ever reopen

One of my eBay shops was closed for at least 6 months. When I reopened it, nothing had changed, except that my header was gone, because I had deleted all my photos. The categories remained.

Seems they live in hope that sellers will reopen them again, thanks for that info

Specialist Auctions is a great site. I closed my store quite awhile ago (and had been using other site/ my own website) because at that point my profit margin would have been too little after listing and fvf fees.

I quickly realized that with the work I was having to do with "promoting" vs. the support that ebay was giving storeowners (aka bend over and take it) I was much better off going "off ebay"

I have an ebay shop, it costs me about $15 month. I have about 70 items at 100 pieces each available. I also have about 10/12 auctions spread across 7 days. I call these lead in auctions. I generate just short of bronze seller with these lead in auctions that then get people to go to my ebay store.

I also have a retail website with 200 pages published and a wholesale website. I have another retail website with about 35 pages. I also have an ecrater store with 60 pages. I also keep 30 pages on amazon at all times. I make the most money off my 200 page website. I make the next most from my ebay operations and the rest from the other souces. During Christmas season, I make more at amazon than at ebay.

Ebay costs me the most per $1 income, Amazon next, then my websites since they only cost me the cost of hosting. Websites take years to build, but are worth the constant effort over ebay. Amazon makes it easy, but the competition is intense sometimes. I plan on starting up pages again on the next biggest venue behind ebay. 50 or so pages should do it.

I saw all this coming in 2001 when the monster sales started dropping.

I would recommend an ebay store if the category you are selling in has at least a 1000 items in it. That means there is a lot of traffic and potential sales. A lot of my sales are people trying to build their feedback and so they buy some cheap thing for around $10/15 shipped to get the feedback. I hope this helps for anyone that is looking.

I always wondered what the catch was the shop.

Although tbh I never looked into it much, just started out myself and it is (was) an in the future thought.

The only good thing I can see is the lower listing fee and the 30 days auction. But is that all worth it if people can't actually search for your items.

Not many of my items fail unsold (atm I don't have much stock so we'll see for the future) But with Auctiva offering their services free for photos etc, I can't see the point.

I can list a 10 day auction with a gallery photo for 25p. Thats good enough for me, and if I could just get my inventory sorted, I could have Auctiva relist for me.

After reading this post, a shop is definately out of question.

I have an ebay shop and 35-40% of my sales are from there but that is because I advertise it in all my auction listings.
I think you need to be selling different variations of the same item to make it worthwhile. Just opening a shop and throwing a few items in it then hoping for the best would be a waste of time.
I sell cushion covers and have about 120 different designs so I list say 25 as auctions with a link to the shop telling buyers there are loads more to see. The shop is also handy for buyers who want more than one of any item as they can specify quantities plus make offers on the price.

I sell mens designer clothes, Ralph lauren, Diesel, etc different styles, colours and sizes.

The odd time I dabble in other things (ipods etc) but my main focus is men's clothes.

its not a viable option for me at the moment, as I am only just starting up, and my first big order is coming soon (was hoping to have it last week)

I've just been listing everything in a buy it now 10 day aution, and when one sells I replace it with another of same style, colour and size (assuming I have some left)

quote:

I sell mens designer clothes, Ralph lauren, Diesel, etc different styles, colours and sizes.

I assume you're aware that eBay has just changed policy allowing you to have an item listed with "choice" on size and color. That does open possibilities for both "floor" visibility (standard listing with auction or fixed price)and "store inventory" (and I know you're considering using inventory to track and relist). If you're using Fixed Price and have a moderate to low STR, Store might be a viable alternative to 100% floor for better fees. Reduced or Free Shipping with combined minimum purchase is one PROMOTION method to get them looking.

Danno