Is an eBay store worth it?

I've been stepping up my eBay activity in the past week, and I have been looking at the store option. I would only need the entry level store at this point I think, but I'm wondering if the $20/mo. is worth it... Any thoughts?

it depends on how much business your doing on ebay. i was selling several hundred items a month before i opened a store but kinda wish i had done it sooner. there are slight breaks on shipping and fvf and listing fees but not enough to add up to anything significant, especially if your not doing volume and if i remember corectly in some cases not having a store is better in that  sometimes regular ebayers get 500 free listings and things like that where as you dont get that in stores.

in my opinion the biggest reason to have a store is for repeat business and to market to your customers. when you have a store you get all your customers contact info so you can contact them outside of ebay and try to sell to them outside of ebay without the ebay fees. also you can send out newsletters and notify people when you have new product, you can set it up so your customers get reminders to leave you feedback after a week if they havn't done so alreayd, there's a lot of cool ways to automate your ebay business and market to your ebay customers. one other feature i like is there's added search functions as opposed to have to look page by page through your sales for stuff.

for me a store works great because i have a consistant product so i am always selling the same thing, my buyers are return buyers. selling random stuff from storage auctions note quite as worthwhile in my opinion unless you have a niche of things you tend to get because your buyer who buys the stereo you found in a unit probably won't be interested in the legos you found in another unit.

i would say if your doing 50plus items a month a store is probably a good idea

I'm currently not doing 50 items a month, but I have a ton of Hot Wheels that can go up (100 or so). I'd like to be able to get my customers info and do newsletters.. I'd only put up collectible type stuff that I find from lockers and maybe some name brand clothes. I just can't justify the expense now that they're giving away listings each month.

if you can consistantly get new product of hot wheels a store could be very worthwhile, i dont kknow too much about them but i know they have a big collectors network following them and having the ability to let customers know about new product gets return customers. the biggest advantage is you can get people to buy from you off ebay which saves you 10% or more in fees that adds up quickly.

For 7 day auction listings a store is not as important. But for buy it now type of listings, having a store is virtually a necessary money saver.

Depends what you have to sell compared to what the other has to sell

I do basically all buy it now listings and every penny I can save helps but the savings from having a store aren't that worthwhile. The big savings come from being a power seller and a top rated seller. The biggest thing in my opinion is hte extra info you get, extra marketing your ablee to do off ebay and I personally really like the ability to search for previous sales and things more easily when people have issue or inquire about previous orders.

I do basically all buy it now listings and every penny I can save helps but the savings from having a store aren't that worthwhile.

  Huh? Without a store a 7 day listing costs something like $2.50 doesn't it? With a store a 30 day listing is 20 cents. That's 20 cents a month versus $10 a month for that one listing. Multiply those figures by all of your listings against the monthly fee for a basic store of like $15 and I see a significant savings.

Huh? Without a store a 7 day listing costs something like $2.50 doesn't it? With a store a 30 day listing is 20 cents. That's 20 cents a month versus $10 a month for that one listing. Multiply those figures by all of your listings against the monthly fee for a basic store of like $15 and I see a significant savings.

eBay must have many algorithims for what they charge people. I've been selling for 10 years there and the last "x" years have not been charged for listings. I usually put border around my listings and that is 10 cents.  If it is a buy it now I think they charge me 30 cents.  Other than that, no listing charges.

Oh, and Alloro...here's another smite for you...not random at all !

Oh, and Alloro...here's another smite for you...not random at all !

Child.

Child.

I had a good teacher....you are my idol. 

I had a good teacher....you are my idol.

What next from you..."I'm rubber and you're glue..."

What next from you..."I'm rubber and you're glue..."

No, that would be childish, so I'll leave it to you...maybe you have learned from Travis too !

maybe you have learned from Travis too !

What I see is that you keep trying to throw blame for your actions on every one but yourself.

What I see is that you keep trying to throw blame for your actions on every one but yourself.

Really? And I thought I was quite open and honest about my adventures in locker buying, etc.

I take full responsibility for what I do here and elsewhere. Why I even admit I drive above the speed limit, not just to "maintain the flow of traffic" as you do.