There seems to be a number of new or semi-new sellers opening stores lately.  The all seem to come to the eBay Stores board and ask the same questions we answer over and over.  Here is a "cheat sheet" to get you started.

Before you list, do your research!  Check completed listings to see what other items you are wishing to list have sold for.  Many new sellers can have an unrealistic view on what they think the item should sell for.  Don't feel alone since many veteran sellers can have the same issue!  The less you purchase it for the greater profit margin.

1.  What should I sell?  It is always best to sell what you know and have knowledge in.  Starting out, some sellers suggest to newbies to just grab the nice stuff out of the house that you no longer need or want as a training ground for auctions.  Unless you are familiar with sales and marketing trends it would not be wise to run out to a wholesaler and purchase thousands of dollars worth of inventory.  If however you have that type of income, go for it.

2.  Where do you guys get the stuff you sell?  There is NO seller that will give you that information so do not waste time asking for it.   The government does not have secrets that well guarded.  It is akin to asking a celebrity for their home address and phone number.  One thing you can do is a search for wholesalers but you need a wholesale license to purchase from them.

3.  Should I open a store or not?  That depends on why you are selling, what you are selling, how much you plan on selling and if you have the income and time to support it.  There are generally two types of eBay sellers, the hobby seller and the person who does this as a full time job to pay their bills. 

The hobby seller who only does this to supplement income does not have as much stress and worry about all the fees associated with selling on eBay and the cost of the store that a person who does this as a real job.  If you only plan on selling part-time, only about 30 items in your store, it might not be worthwhile.

If you plan on ding this as a full time job as many do, there is a lot more to it than people might think.  Where hobby sellers can afford mistakes in purchasing judgment and market trends, full time sellers do not have that luxury.

Most importantly, if you have 0 to low feedback it can hurt your chances for sales.  Most veteran buyers do not feel comfortable with new sellers for many reasons.  IT is always suggested on the boards to buy a few things first, gather some positive feedback before investing time, money and effort in opening a store.

4.  Is there a benefit to a store?  Yes and no.  Since eBay changed the way stores come up in search, there is not much exposure.  You need to run core auctions in many cases to drive traffic to your store.  There are many suggestions tacked at the top of the eBay Stores board that can help show you how to do that.  If you have many items to sell, it will cost you less in fees.  Some sellers have found that when their store has less than 200 items, sales tend to go down.  The more items in the store, the more core auctions, the higher the odds of sales if you take the steps to drive the traffic to that store.

5.  How should I design my store?  Take a look around other seller's stores and get an idea of what attracts your attention, what you like, don't like.  There are as many store designs as there are store owners and no two have the same look.  Make use of the promotional boxes, custom pages, keywords and RSS feed.  Make certain that you have a logo for your store header.  You can purchase them from some very talented designers here on eBay.  A logo is akin to your signature.  It helps define what you are selling.  Always make use of your ME page.  You can put either additional information about your shipping/payment/insurance/return policies.  You can also tell people how you get your items.  You will always notice under the store name on the right side a description of the store.  Those are additional keywords that describe what you sell which is very important to include.

6.  Where do I get those nice templates you all have?  Some people use the eBay templates when listing but they cost you more money.  You can either make your own or just like logo designs purchase them here from sellers who specialize in making auction templates.   There are also many free templates you can get or hosting auction services that for a small monthly fee supply them.

One of the most helpful to all of us is the Photo/HTML board.  There are two links locked at the top written by two fellow eBayers.

7.  Where do I host my pictures?   The Photo/HTML board has many links and suggestions.  Also some ISP's will give free image hosting up to a certain amount, others you can pay for additional hosting.  If you already have a web site and it is a reasonable price, find out how much space you are allowed before you are bumped up into the next6 price range. 

8.  Spelling, Auction Titles, Terms & Descriptions:  Every seller no matter how long they have been selling has made a typo they did not catch.  It is very important to make certain that you SPELL CHECK your auction titles and descriptions!  No one is going to search for Beauteful Blu Sweater or Digittal Camaera.  Spelling in the auction description itself is also important.  Nothing can turn a buyer off faster than seeing a description with many misspelled words.  One, maybe two can slide but after that it looks very unprofessional, make the seller lool that they did not care to take the time needed and can also give the impression that if they cannot take the time to proofread correctly, is the item described correctly and how will it be shipped?  Refrain in the title using words like COOL, NEAT or STUFF.  You are paying for the space in that line.  Use every bit of it describing the item.  When you are starting out and uncertain how the store will do, leave out the subtitles.  you can add the money hogging bells and whistles once you are seeing the profit if you wish.

Descriptions:  Along with other factors, how you describe your auction can increase the ability so sell over someone else that has the identical item.  Describe the item as if the person was blind and having it read to them.  Photos do not do many items justice and since the buyer cannot feel the item, you have to be their hands.  Make certain that all measurements, especially if they are clothes are accurate.  Check with the Clothing Board if you need help.  What is the item made out of, where was it made, are there any flaws, what color is is.  The more information you can give the buyer the better the odds of a sale.

Leave all personal stories out of the description!   No one cares how attached you are to it because your great-grandmother gave you the thing when you were 5.  You will never see an online store give you anything other than the facts.  Also leave out the sob stories how you are trying to raise money for your relation's surgery, your dog, your 6th grade teacher and anyone else.

Your Terms of Service (TOS) tells a great deal about you as a seller and store owner.  Every seller, as every store has a right to have whatever policies they want.  However, when you have just opened a store and your TOS is longer than your description of your item that could present a problem.  Be cautious of the size type you use since you do not want your TOS standing out more than what you area selling.  Refrain completely from threatening people with a negative since most buyers will hit the back button.  Not having any information about your policies can open you and the buyer up from problems down the road.

Be Cautious of Type Face!   TYPING IN ALL CAPS IS VERY DIFFICULT TO READ ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU THINK PEOPLE WANT TO SEE COLORED WORDS THAT MANY NEW SELLERS ARE PRONE TO DO.  It is also considered yelling. 

9.  Auction Pictures:  A picture is worth a thousand words. Do NOT take a photo on the garage floor!  Do NOT take a photo of something such as a vase if you are wearing no clothes.  Many of sellers have shown more than they might have wished in the reflection.  Do NOT have your feet showing in the photo.  Avoid all background stuff like your bed pillows, blinds, toilet, doorknobs and all other things that distract from what you are selling.  Do NOT put a picture in the auction that is out of focus or blurry.  Put your item in front of a clean sheet or some other type of plain backdrop.  Once again, the Photo/HTML board has some very helpful information.

Photo Do and Don't:  Try not to do the below.  Why?  Unless you are listing your shoes it does not do much for the phone.  For all we know your dog peed on the carpet in that spot.


We really do not want to see heavens knows what in the the upper corner or that you did not sweep your carpet.


There is no excuse for a blurred photo.  Buyers will bid on the exact same thing that is a quality picture than yours that is blury.


DO: Eliminate all background noise and focus on the object you are trying to sell.


10.  Clothes models vs. naked shell models vs. people models:  A debated issue.  Some buyers will not purchase an item if they see it on the seller.  Some sellers think that using a model can be confusing to the buyer, the naked models can be distracting.  Whatever direction you go refrain from giving your own measurements and including your face in the photo.  Too much info, too dangerous, if someone wants more info they can email you.

11.  Shipping charges:   This is a very hot debated topic and many sellers and buyers alike have started many threads on it.  There are many new store owners and sellers who inflate shipping charges for many reasons.  eBay has a fee avoidance policy that can penalize sellers for doing that if they are reported.  If you have a $9.99 item listed and your shipping is $74.85 as it is becoming rampant, that is not a good thing.  This will turn off most veteran buyers.  Stop and think if you were a buyer and saw something like that would you purchase it?  If you get reported is it worth being suspended from eBay or having your auctions pulled?

12.  Shipping out of the US:  The biggest difficulty is the language barrier.  If a buyer asks a question and they are not fluent in English, the possibility of the online language translator comes into play.  Usually a problem since they are not accurate.  You have to take into account that you might get a negative due to not being able to communicate very well.  There are also difficulties in getting tracking and insurance in some countries and how do you cover your backside with a charge back from Paypal. 

There are many more drawbacks but if you want to take the extra time with the custom forms and other paperwork, you open up many more potential buyers!

When in doubt, pop over to the Shipping and Packaging board.  Those folks can answer just about anything.

13.  Can you recommend a site cheaper than eBay?  No, not on the eBay boards since they will not allow you to mention another auction venue by name. eBay will pull the thread.

14.  Should I open my own e-commerce site?  Only you can answer that question.   Having had my own it can be much more work that eBay ever could be.  Although there are pros and cons to both, it requires much more time and dedication than eBay does.  Most suggest using eBay as training wheels before you take that step.  Many store owners here have their own off eBay stores and do very well.  Are you doing it for a "fun" thing to do?  Do you have the finances to keep up the stock?  Do you want to be a real player in the e-commerce field? 

15.  Leave professional feedback no matter what!  We all have had difficult buyers and some of us have had the misfortune no matter how hard we tried to resolve the issue we just knew a negative was coming.  Although unpleasant and the first one stings, it is by far not the worst thing that can happen on eBay.  What can look worse than a negative is how you respond to it.  Keep it professional and state the facts.  Do we all really want to say you swine, rate, weenie head?  Yes!  However, we refrain and depending on the situation respond something like...offered buyer a refund but refused.

16.  How does my store look?  How do my auctions look?  Why am I not selling anything?  Check the above and all the suggestions on the other boards.  You also have to take into account the economy, market changes and other factors.  However, if you follow some simple guidelines and try to avoid some of the new store owner mistakes, listen to the advice you are given you have a better chance of suggess.

Remember when asking questions on the eBay boards.  Most of the people here are very helpful and experienced.  You will more than likely get responses you are afraid of the answer or it is not the answer you want to hear.  Criticism can be a tough pill to swallow especially when we think we have put so much time and effort into our stores.  There in lies the problem of being too close since we take it so personally.  Everyone has a technique that works for them but might not work for you.  Take the suggestions and mix and match and find the combination that works for you.  Every store owner was new to a store before and every store owner has made mistakes.  More importantly, everyone has learned from others on this board how to make their store better.

If any store owners have additional input, please contact me so I can add additional helpful information.