How to open an eBay store: from site selection to cost analysis
eBay’s four main site features
eBay is a global service platform. Currently, the four major sales markets include the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia. In addition, there are Canada, France, Italy, and Spain for Chinese sellers to choose from.
US website
The US website is the most mature and trafficked website on eBay, with the most active buyers and listings. Electronics and clothing categories are popular categories on US websites, so US websites are often called the first choice for sellers who first contact the eBay platform.
UK website
The British website is the first choice for most sellers to enter the European market. British online consumer spending reaches 1.1 billion pounds every week, and the online shopping penetration rate reaches 90%, which is suitable for the sales of clothing and sporting goods. However, sellers need to pay attention to the fact that goods sold on British websites in the UK must pay and apply for compliant VAT on time.
Australian website
Australia is the tenth largest e-commerce market in the world, and eBay dominates the local market. Fashion products occupy a large share of the Australian market, but due to Australia’s sparse population and high logistics costs in some areas, sellers need to consider these factors when selecting products.
German website
Germany’s population and consumption rank first in the EU. In recent years, the German market has grown rapidly on the eBay platform and is known as Europe’s new blue ocean. German is a major challenge for sellers entering the German market, but eBay has launched AI intelligent translation to help sellers solve this problem. In addition, sellers selling items on German websites that are published in Germany must also apply for and pay compliant VAT on time.
Analysis of store opening costs
There is no fee to register on eBay. You only need to submit the information required for registration certification. eBay does not set a minimum spending limit, and all fees depend on the actual use of the store.
Publication fee
If a merchant chooses a second category when creating a product listing on eBay, eBay will charge the merchant a fee for each listing category. If a store has products with multiple attributes, eBay will only charge one listing fee for each listing. eBay will give away 50 free product listings to platform merchants every month. If the merchant orders an eBay store or participates in platform activities, eBay will also give away free listings.
Transaction fee
Each e-commerce platform will extract part of the transaction fee from the products successfully sold by the merchant. This fee is based on a certain percentage of the total payment amount of the buyer, including the product price and product shipping cost. If the merchant is not operating well and the store rating is reduced to below standard, the proportion of transaction fees charged by eBay will increase to 4%. It is worth noting that if the buyer of the sold product does not pay or subsequently returns the product, the platform will return the transaction fee collected to the merchant.
In addition to basic fees, stores may also incur optional fees such as store subscription fees, function upgrade fees, and advertising fees during the operation process.
How to deal with opening an eBay store without a landline phone?
eBay does not have a landline phone, so you will encounter a lot of trouble during the certification process. In order to ensure that the certification is passed smoothly, sellers can ask friends for help and submit a landline phone certification. You can also go to the business hall to apply for a landline in person. This is a once-and-for-all method that can avoid many risks.
eBay US site product disappearance event
Recently, there was a phenomenon of no products on the US eBay site. The reason was that a key data file was damaged during processing, resulting in the loss of all product information. eBay’s technical team is working urgently to fix this problem and try to retrieve all product data.
Does I need to prepare inventory when opening a personal eBay store?
Preparing inventory can ensure adequate product supply, avoid product out-of-stocks and delayed shipments, and improve customer satisfaction. Fast order processing means orders can be processed immediately without having to wait for shipment from the supplier. Preparing inventory enables sellers to better manage inventory and inventory levels.
Advantages and disadvantages of opening a store on eBay
A major feature of the eBay platform is that the threshold for entry is low, the review is not strict, and individual merchants can also apply for entry. In addition to the two sales models of auction and fixed price, eBay also has a sales model that combines the two. The platform will also provide professional customer service to merchants, and merchants can communicate directly with customer service through telephone communication or online communication. The ranking mechanism of the platform is also very fair. The ranking of products is not based on sales volume.
How is the eBay store business now?
The latest data survey shows that cross-border buyers’ demand for domestic products is on the rise, especially in Europe, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and other places, where market share is also increasing significantly. The eBay platform has relatively low thresholds for cross-border sellers to enter and open stores. It is also one of the main channels for domestic sellers to choose to go overseas.
Shop opening tips for newbies: How to apply for eBay green channel?
In order to help qualified corporate sellers quickly open stores, the eBay platform has opened a green channel. Novice sellers need to be legally registered corporate users and be able to provide all relevant documents required by eBay and register as a business account, and each seller can only apply for one corporate channel account.
What should I do if I can’t read English when opening an eBay store?
In the field of cross-border e-commerce, sellers’ English proficiency requirements are not very high. Sellers can take help from translation software or third-party platforms, or learn some related English words to better understand and operate the backend.
Is it better to open a store on eBay or AliExpress?
AliExpress focuses on emerging markets, especially the Russian and Brazilian markets, and is suitable for junior sellers to get started. The threshold for opening a store on eBay is relatively low, but requires many things and procedures, making it suitable for experienced sellers.