Successful eBay Store Book

Disregard the grumbling over recent eBay Store rate hikes. Stores can actually reduce your Final Values fees by 75% in some cases. A well-run eBay Store is worth every penny, and can add considerably to your profitability! Recent enhancements to eBay's Store features make running a Store an essential part of successful eBay selling. The trick is knowing what to sell in your store, how to organize your inventory and how to drive buyers to it.

Stores offer so many new ways to cross-promote your eBay items that operating a Store gives you an almost unfair advantage over sellers without one. My latest book, Launching a Successful eBay Store (ISBN 078973575X) spells it all out for you. Order your copy today.

What's the Big Deal?

When shoppers enter your eBay Store they visit your own private eBay. They see only your items, organized in a way that makes it easier for buyers to shop; and when they use your Store's search feature only your items appear.

Click the screenshot below to see an example. Use my Store's search tool to search for Eveready or click on any of the other photos or links on my Store's "landing page."

How Can a Store Improve My Marketing?

Stores let you organize, showcase and catalog all of your items, (including auctions) in ways that make it easier for shoppers to find and purchase your items. And cross-promotion drives shoppers from your auctions to your Store and from your Store back to your auctions.

Visit my store and click the NEW ITEMS! link to see another example of how Stores can cross promote. You will see my latest Store inventory, my Buy it Now items and my current auctions. And you'll only see mine, not my competitors'.

eBay Stores have come a very long way in the past few years, and integrate such powerful tools as eBay Express, RSS feeds, reviews, listing feeds for comparison shopping sites, search engine keyword generating tools, (that will get your eBay items seen on MSN, Google, Froogle, Yahoo and elsewhere). Stores are tightly integrated with Selling Manager Pro, Blackthorne, PayPal's shipping features and so much more. It's all discussed in the book.

You can also build a loyal following by creating extremely carefully targeted "opt-in" Store newsletters highlighting products of interest to specific buyers.

If you are not onboard yet, it's time to get moving. You need a well-run eBay Store. My book will help you launch and run a great one or bring your existing Store up-to-date. I promise.

Learn:

Part I Store Basics

1 Why You Need an eBay Store

Control and Monitor Your Inventory

Showcase Your Merchandise

Get Your Own Private Search Engine

Cross-promote Your Items on eBay

Reduce eBay Selling Fees

Become Visible to Search Engines

Learn from Store Reports

Save Time Listing and Relisting

Get Marketing Help from eBay

Improve Your Image

2 Examples of Stores, Plain and Fancy

A No-frills Store

Easy, Popular Store Features

Advanced Store Features

Design and Window Options

Turning Landing Pages into Catalog Covers

Store Listing and Final Value Fees

Saving Final Value Fees with Your Store

3 Types of Store Selling Formats

The Importance of Mixing Selling Formats

Auction Items

Fixed-price Items

Store Inventory Format

Good ’Til Cancelled

4 Sources of Items to Sell

Traditional eBay Auctions

Buy It Now, Especially in Lots

eBay’s Wholesale Lots Categories

eBay’s New Reseller Marketplace

Direct from the Manufacturer

Local Retail Stores

Wholesale Lots Warehouses

Online Wholesale Lot Sellers

Local Auctions

Storage Company Auctions

Law Enforcement Auctions

With a Little Help from Your Friends

Direct Solicitation

Want It Now

5 Designing and Building a Brand

Your Company Name

Your eBay ID(s)

Don’t Get Sued!

Do a URL Search

The “Look and Feel” of Your Store

Use Color and Style to Identify Your Store

Pay for a Logo

Follow Through

Your Store Has Its Own URL–Use It!

Your Reputation Is Part of Your Brand

Consider Opening More Than One Store

6 Setting Up Your Store

Store Prerequisites

Opening a Seller’s Account

Be Sure You Have a Store Plan

Creating Your Store

Choose a Theme and Color Scheme

Store Header

Navigation Bar

Custom Page Navigation

Store Footers

Predesigned vs. Customizable Themes

Store Name, Description, and Logo

Store Name

Store Description

Logo

Picking a Subscription Level

Custom Headers

Creating and Editing Listing Headers

Header Options

7 Defining Store Categories

Departments, Aisles, and Shelves

Organizing Narrow Inventories

Organizing Diverse Inventories

What’s Right for You?

Setting Up Your Store Categories

Rearranging Categories

Only Stocked Categories Show

Store Category Referrals in New Listings

Listings Can Appear in Two Store Categories

Changing a Listing’s Category

Modifying Category Names

Overcoming Category Limits

8 Custom Store Pages

Why Use Custom Store Pages?

Elements of a Custom Page

Creating a Custom Page

Providing Custom Page Content

Managing Custom Pages

Editing Custom Pages

Deactivating Custom Pages

Activating Custom Pages

Reordering Custom Pages

Deleting Custom Pages

Creating a “Landing” or Home Page

Creating a “Category Pointer” Page

Using Fancy Search Filters

Consider Hidden Search Codes

Part II Managing Your Store

9 Automating with Selling Manager Pro (SMP)

Selling Manager Pro Features

Your Store at a Glance

Inventory Wrangling

Inventory and Template Creation

Automation Preferences

eBay Stores are Too Expensive Now, Right?

What's the Big Deal?

How Can a Store Improve My Marketing?

Learn:

Table of Contents