Is It Worth Paying $25 A Month For An Ebay Store?

jub,
What did you decide to do in the end?

No decision yet. I rush into things very slowly

I think the initial setup, scanning and listing to get a lot of items up will need an amount of time that I don't have at the moment, so I may just sit on my hands for a while

It's to be noted that no-one has jumped in with "setting up an ebay store was the best thing I ever did!:......

I occassionally sell on ebay but their fees are a little excessive in my opinion. I can say that just about everything that I listed there sold the first week, but that is a pricing and presentation issue rather than where it is listed. Their fees and those collected by PayPal pretty much excludes low valued items.

BidStart is a little too much like ebay for my liking, and the few items I listed there did not sell well, as they were higher priced items.

I guess the real question is:

Are you a dealer trying to make a living selling or are you a collector trying to unload what you don't need?

A dealer can handle the fees if the volume is there, so ebay, BidStart, or delcampe may work for you.

I am a collector who dabbles in selling, so I have a online store, a blog, and a storefront on Stamphead Auctions.

I like the Stamphead option because of the reasons listed below:

1. It is free for up to 100 items (the fees for a larger store is not out-of sight).
2. You can automatically relist your lots not sold for as many times as needed.
3. There are no seller fees associated with selling there.
4. Their interface makes it simple to list smaller numbers of items.
5. It is owned by a collector and not a nameless entity.

It is true that they do not get nearly the traffic that BidStart, delcampe & ebay does but it does fit well with what I want. If I sell, great! If it doesn't, then I may at least get some exposure that could steer a collector to my online store or blog.

Your question is not very easy to answer jubilee.

The way you are going to use ebay is very personal to the way you want things to work and I do not have the experience on ebay the way you want to set thing up and I also believe that many others are in the same boat.
I am sure everyone wishes you the very best for you whatever you decide but the way my store works will definitely not work for you. It is tailor made for me after a great deal of trial and error.

Always Happy Stamping KGV

Thanks stampdays, a great post. I work, but I also buy and sell, and want to at least semi-retire. Most of what I sell consists of purchased lots that I break down. Per my signature, I have a blog, and a Facebook page (both as Global Philately). I can mitigate the lack of traffic on other auction outlets compared to ebay by cross-promoting, but only when the blog and FB pages are roaring successes!

Thanks KGV, as you can see, I'm trying very hard to avoid the trial and error!

Thanks jubilee!

I just wish I could help more!

I must add I am still trying to avoid trail and error myself as I am only half way through my 2nd year apprenticeship on ebay.

Sometimes think I am getting somewhere and the next thing I am starting all over again.

I am a bit worried about the hidden cost of extended "Buy Now" it still is the most expensive way to list.

With your time limits maybe you would be better off with no store and have 50 free listings per month and have something in the description area to get the feel for what you want out of a store.

And from this starting point work your way into a store if you need one. All you free listings can go straight into your store if you go that way.

Which ebay you use is your biggest decision to make in my opinion. For me a .com store is definitely the only one for me and I only sell Australia. Try and make sense with that decision I have made the hard way through trial and error.

And how crazy sounding is this one? I love to use free mailing and have never regretted making that decision. Try and make sense of that decision. For me to say to you that this is the way for you to go would be just so wrong.

Keep us in touch. You are in ground breaking stuff. Very interesting!

Thanks KGV. I've been listing on UK as that's the best market for most of what I sell . I haven't had free listings for a while, but I've been so confident of my material that I've been starting all listings at 99p and selling for up to a few hundred pounds. The 99p listings are 9p each, first pic free. Much cheaper than regular Oz listings. As for free postage, I may struggle with that when 95% of my sales are overseas!

I can see an argument for that decision, KGV.
Firstly I think there's always a small psychological boost to the buyer that comes from seeing the word "FREE"
Secondly, it cut out part of the feedback score, as you automatically get "full marks" for shipping costs. I have been selling on ebay on and off for a while (Not stamps, just the usual domestic junk erm pre-loved items ). I have always taken the actual cost of the postage (always reuse old envelopes so I don't factor that in) and just rounded up by a few pennies to get a postage charge - so actual postage of £2.48 becomes £2.50 and so on. Despite offering this cheap-as-possible postage, I still got marked down quite often for my postage charges - I got quite disheartened. Adding free postage cuts out all that hassle, as long as you can be sure to cover you costs in the asking price.
The downside is that your ebay fees are calculated on the final selling price, even if postage is included in that price. I do wonder if that is why ebay encourage the free shipping option - their cut from the final selling price is higher that way than when postage is charged separately...

jubilee
Sorry i'm back. About shipping charge an extra too cover most of your ebay fees. Forget about KGV, he is selling bulk. He's on another planet. I don't know what you have exactly to sell but prepare slowly and attack ferociously to grab a piece of the market. But again I don't know what you have to sell and that is the key. You might attract me! KGV I feel safe. Australia is far enough. Like you too. Daniel

Yes?