Benefits of Having Your Own eBay Shop Over Mainly Using Auction and Buy It Now Listings

Many people think opening an eBay Shop is primarily a way to save on expensive auctions and Buy It Now listings, but in reality there are many other reasons to opt for Shop trading over exclusive auction or Buy It Now listings, such as:

*  Credibility.  The fact you opened a Shop, designed it so well, packed it with products, shows you are a serious, long term seller and, by implication, well conversed with consumer laws regarding refunds, fair play, and offering good customer care.  eBay buyers feel more comfortable buying from Shop owners than others with short term listings.

*  No constant relisting of new and untested products.  Once created and tested the same template can be used time and again for similar products.

*  Longer listing times,  ranging from thirty days to forever, providing maximum exposure for your products.

*  Customisable categories inside your Shop make it easy for people to find exactly what they want and possibly also buy additional items shown alongside. 

*  More chance to brand your business and attract regular, repeat buyers.  The fact your products are permanently available inside your Shop attracts lazy buyers who prefer to buy regularly and in bulk from one supplier than work their way through potentially thousands of listings from hundreds of sellers: some new, some long-standing; some with good feedback, others of questionable pedigree. 

Most people, lazy or not, prefer buying from someone they know and trust, someone they’ve brought from already and enjoyed the experience, someone they know offers quality products and treats customers well.  Having your own Shop and having products constantly on view is the best way to attract this type of customer loyalty.

*  More back-end selling potential for Shop owners stocking related and supplementary products than for eBayers listing one off items in traditional auctions and no idea what they’ll be selling days from now.  eBay provides flyers, business card and stationery templates for PowerSellers and Shop owners to highlight their permanent stock and distribute in fulfilment packages or promote by email and newsletter to current and past customers. 

*  Shop owners get their own unique Shop web address.  One of the very best ways to promote your Shop is by highlighting your eBay Shop url – web site address  - wherever possible, both on and off the Internet.  You can also link the Shop url to another web site address of your own choosing hosted outside of eBay and promote other products, even eBay's affiliate program, alongside your eBay Shop.

*  Auction and Buy In Now listings also appear inside your Shop and can be viewed in specific Product Categories alongside permanent Shop inventory, making it even easier for visitors to find exactly what they want and maybe buy several items from your virtual One-Stop-Shop.   Without the Shop, auction and Buy It Now listings show up higgledy-piggledy within the 'View Seller's Other Items' link; with the Shop they show up in specific categories, saving visitors time and frustration when confronted with potentially thousands of products.

*  Shop owners receive monthly sales reports outlining sales activity by category and showing which are their best sellers, number of buyers, monthly sales totals. Sales totals can be viewed to highlight most profitable times of year, best converting products, average profit per sale, and more. 

Featured and Anchor Shops include additional data showing how your Shop, Products and Profits compare to other sellers across the entire eBay marketplace.