Many of us come to eBay to sell a couple of items and earn a little bit of extra cash. Some see it as more of a ‘spare time ‘ pursuit, while others turn their eBay selling into a business and open up an eBay store.

Ok, so what is an eBay Store?

An eBay Store is a complete e-commerce solution that can help you in getting more out of the eBay market. Not only do you want to have access to the uncountable millions of customers from all over the world who shop on eBay, you also get get exclusive selling and merchandising tools. Additionally, an eBay store offers a large number of customization features that help you to build a strong and sticky brand.

How do I recognise an eBay Store?

Just look for an image of a red door next to their user ID.

Why Should You Open An eBay Store?

Here are a couple of significant reasons:

1. An eBay store is a great way to boost your offline business by tapping into a ‘thirsty crowd’ of potential buyers that may not have come across your product/s before.

2. Customers will have more of a chance to start to know you when you run a store because you have got the capability to add much more info to a store than an ordinary profile.

3. When you open an eBay store you are allowed access to a selection of powerful selling, marketing and reporting features the go over and above the ordinary auction features.

4. By showing your products in one location, an eBay Store creates a central shopping destination where consumers can discover more about you, your products, and your policies.

So what about the eBay store support?

Another great reason to open an eBay store is the education and support that you receive from eBay. They offer a great number of software tools and educational articles to everyone who opens a store. They really want to see you prosper for obvious reasons… the better you do, the better they do!

How much does it cost?

There are three subscription levels for eBay stores: Basic, Premium and Anchor. Each features a different monthly charge: $15.95, $49.95 and $299.95 respectively ( eBay US pricing shown here ).

BASIC Features

* twenty cent fixed price insertion fees * reduced fees for auction style * free pictures * free advanced reporting

Consider this level if you list more than 50 items a month or primarily a high volume of Auction-style listings

Requirements: Have a PayPal account and be PayPal Verified

PREMIUM Features

* 5 cent fixed price insertion fees * reduced fees for auction style * free ‘selling manager pro’ * free pictures * free basic reporting

Think about this level if you list more than 250 items a month in fixed price or list both in fixed price and auction-style

Requirements: Must have a PayPal account and be PayPal Verified PLUS must have an “Above Standard” performance rating as defined by seller performance standards

ANCHOR Features

* three cent fixed price insertion fees * reduced fees for auction style * free ‘selling manager pro’ * free pictures * free advanced reporting * Extensive marketing & customization tools

Think about this level if you list a high volume of items per and want the highest level of savings and support for high volume sales

Requirements: Must have a PayPal account and be PayPal Verified PLUS must have an “Above Standard” performance rating as defined by seller performance standards

Special Consideration…

It should be noted that Premium and Anchor Store members who don’t meet eBay’s performance eligibility requirements will receive an e-mail notification informing them they have 60 days from the time of the notice to improve before their subscription will be revised downward to the Basic subscription.

The nuts and bolts

For many sellers, an eBay Store subscription can seriously reduce overall costs. eBay Stores are also a terrific way to improve branding as you’re able to build a custom store default page, header and logo to appear in your lists. The added tools and features makes it well worth considering if you are ready to move beyond normal listings and satisfy the requirements mentioned above.

Considering an eBay store? Make sure you check out Jack Goldstein’s powerful free reports on ebaytips.net, and ebay selling tips Also published at EBay Stores.