I have heard the question floating around “How is ProStores different from eBay Stores?” and having both, I wanted to shed some light on the situation. I am going to work under the basic assumption that most people know what an eBay Store is or where to find the information (eBay Help files under eBay Stores).

In the ProStores FAQ it states:

“ProStores offers a fully-featured Web store that can be customized specifically for each online seller. Unlike an eBay Store, ProStores sites are accessed through a URL unique to the seller and have no eBay branding. ProStores sellers are also responsible for driving their own traffic. While items on ProStores sites will sell at fixed prices only, they can also be easily listed onto the eBay marketplace in either the auction or fixed price formats.”

In other words, a ProStores is your own personal ecommerce website. You have your own .com address, your own email addresses and everything is listed at fixed price. An eBay Store is a store within eBay.com. I will address the Pros and Cons of each later in the article.

From the ProStores FAQ:

“How is eBay integrated with ProStores?

ProStores integrates with the eBay marketplace in the following ways. It allows sellers to:

• Copy their eBay listings directly into their ProStores product catalog
• List items directly from their ProStores Web store to eBay, and also lets them
• Choose their listing format (Buy It Now, Store Inventory Format or Auction), duration, product type, and description, and save this for future listings.
• Schedule listings to post to eBay at a specific time and date.
• View eBay's category structure within their ProStores website

• Display eBay listings on their ProStores Web store
• -Manage eBay listings from their ProStores Web store, including the ability to
• Review eBay listing details from within their store administration area.
• Get an at-a-glance view of their live, closed and completed listings.
• Manage payment, shipping and inventory for eBay transactions.”
  

I would also like to add that ProStores has a Checkout Redirect feature. This feature is optional, and when turned on will direct an eBay buyer to checkout and pay in your ProStores website, giving them the opportunity to continue shopping or bookmark your ProStores website.

Pros:

• Your own website, once a customer is there you have their complete attention
• No listing fees, no picture fees, final value fee is 0.5-1.5% depending on store level
• Personalized domain name that looks good on business cards, store receipts and in emails
• 30% discount on monthly ProStores subscription if you have an eBay Store
• Ability to use Store Referral Credit to refer customers back to your eBay Store
  

Cons

• Necessary to drive your own traffic via SEO, shopping comparison sites, etc
• More setup required than an eBay Store
  

 The two stores, eBay Stores and ProStores, work extremely well together if you have the inventory and resources to manage both. If you are a beginning business, just getting started, it may be best to contact either eBay or ProStores representative’s and discuss your business with them (eBay Business Consulting or the number located on the ProStores website).

 Thank you for taking the time to read my Guide, I hope that you have had some questions answered from it. I also have general tips  and things that I have found helpful on my About Me page.