about to open a store, any help please or advice

[uniqe_in_au]

I was just wondering, how do store owners get there pages to look so good, like with all the borders and images about pricing or discounts etc,  i was told that ebay has seller tools.  Have been doing a bit of researching and also found that you could get a web designer maybe.

Any other pointers anybody could help me with please.

[bargainsurprises]

I subscribe to sellersourcebook they have hundreds of templates and it is really easy to work.  there are some cheap templates on ebay you can get 1 or 2 to start.  that is what i did first before sellersourcebook.

[roxy.fox204]

I personally wouldn't pay for a template. Certainly wouldn't pay a web designer hundreds of dollars, it's hard enough to make a profit with eBay fees, PayPal fees etc. Not worth it.

I use Auctiva for a lot of my listings,you get free templates for your listing pages, lots of good choices & colours. It has sections where you just type in your terms & conditions etc

And you can have all your listings ready & scheduled for listing. Especially good if you need to go out etc and can't be at the computer when you need to list items at the best time.

They have a free trial & then it's low as $5 per month.

And you get a scroll bar showing all your listings and all your photos are super sized down the listing page.

Or just google something like - 'free online selling templates' or free ebay selling templates'

Just make sure it really is free, not a free trial which could end up being expensive.

I would only open a store which costs around $50 a month now if you have lots of different items to put in catorgories.

Hope that helps.

[davewil1964]

And you get a scroll bar showing all your listings

Don't do it. Or if you do, put it at the bottom. Buyers tend to detest the scrolling Auctiva bar.

[wishuponastarcelebrationsandgifts]

If you are looking for something basic for your store front, I used a great graphic designer I found on facebook that also does facebook pages, logo design, business cards etc. I paid less than $100 for my store front.

Message me if you would like her details. She may also be able to design a listing template for you.

Lots of good advice hs been given already. Don't invest too much money in your store design to start off with, and don't go for anything with too many bells and whisteles as it detracts from what you are selling and can also look a bit tacky.

I use Auctiva for listing templates simply because that is what I started with when I initially was selling off odds and ends around the house and it was then free. It comes with a lot of free templates. It now costs around $10 per month.

[digital-freedom-1]

Not to be too negative about Stores they work great if you have a fast selling product that everyone likes. If you are going to have a Store - don't be tempted as I was to become a 'Business Seller'. I did this without reading all of eBay's fine print. I later found out that there are no free listing fees for business account Sellers and once you opt in there is no going back. I lost a feedback score of over 300 by becoming a Business Seller - not one of my best moves.

[flipper333333]

Hi

I was in a store called the house of philipe and it was supposed to be a featured store but did not get any notification as to how it was giong to be featured and then they put the price up from 25 dollars a month to 49 dollars a month

now that is close to 50 so I figure it this way they are going up 100 percent that is from 25 to 50 big increase hey

And then no featuress abnd then no notice of the increase by email

directly to me so I have closed my store

the point here is this

You can list on your own web site and have it hosted cheaper than the cost of the store so I will go this way

And then just network my store my own store that is through friends and tihings

and that should cost only 200 a year max which is about 15 dollars a month and no listing fees on my own site with the social media this will work I think

They are taking a stupid approach to this increase and I could not tolerate such a move

I hope this helps

flipper333333

[davewil1964]

Featured stores are the lowest level now, so everybody who has a store has one.

Good luck with your selling elsewhere. Unfortunately the customers are here.

[bede3823]

if your starting small just use the free page templates in ebay or Auctiva.

Make sure you put plenty of good pics in your listing.

I host pics on auctiva and put extra pics in listings whenever i can.

I think pics are better vlaue than facy gifs and flashing bars etc.

If you want a template page different to whats on offer free or want to learn to do your own you could google some free HTML editors.

Theres some ok WYSWIG (what you see is what you get) editors similar to what the ebay listing tools do that basically turn what you type into HTML code.

Better to get hold of a copy of dreamweaver or similar and a photo editing program and your ready to go.

[phorum_junkie*]

You have to pay for Auctiva and there is nothing they provide that you cannot get free elsewhere except for scheduling your listings.

I am with DG on this one although I haven't got my head round Robs newer version and still use the original robshelp.com

You can use the site free and store a limited number of templates, 10 from memory, or you can pay US$8 a month for the companion eaph hosting site where you can store unlimited pictures and templates.

Also agree that you should avoid a scrolling gallery as they are loved by sellers but hated by a LOT of buyers. If you must have one (and there are better ones than Auctiva's) put it at the bottom of your listing page not the top.

[syrupsmummy]

Not to be too negative about Stores they work great if you have a fast selling product that everyone likes. If you are going to have a Store - don't be tempted as I was to become a 'Business Seller'. I did this without reading all of eBay's fine print. I later found out that there are no free listing fees for business account Sellers and once you opt in there is no going back. I lost a feedback score of over 300 by becoming a Business Seller - not one of my best moves.

30 free listings are not available for store owners regardless private account or business account.

Store owners, Powersellers and Business sellers don't get 30 free listings per month.