posted on October 30, 2001 08:23:02 AM
Does anyone have good luck with thier own storefronts? I am looking to do more than just auctions but don't know where to go. I hope this doesn't violate any AW rules in asking this question but what is a good storefront to use that gets results. Thanx in advance.
posted on October 30, 2001 10:04:27 AM
i closed my ebay store as it is a waste of time,dont know if i will be missing any xmas sales ?
you can have an amzn zshop for 39.99 up to 40,000 items.
or a yahoo shop for 49.95 plus 10 cents per item,when item is sold,it is 1/2% transaction fee and 3 1/2 % if the lead comes from yahoo shopping network.
sales is slow everywhere,you may want to just open shops on amzn and yahoo to anticipate xmas sales along with ebay auctions.
ebay has its flops-butterfield and butterfield and great collections;ebay storefront and auction for charity 100 millions dollar target.ebay seems to be so out of touch with its dealers,it is pathetic,may be meg should go the same way as nasser of ford motor company!!!!!!
posted on October 30, 2001 10:38:05 AM
I never tried an ebay store, I heard they were a waste of time. I just want to diversify, not have all my eggs in one ebay basket.
posted on October 30, 2001 06:01:44 PM
I am putting alot of stuff in my E-Bay store that I just wouldn't spend the money to list as auctions.I am doing fair, as I do sell alot of T-Shirts and Sweatshirts at Christmas.This gives me a place to put pictures of my shirts.I do have people that are bidding in auctions, going to the store and buying as well.I think it will be worth it for Christmas.
posted on October 30, 2001 08:37:11 PM
If you're going to go through with setting up your own storefront, why bother with ebay at all? I started setting up my website this summer, now have it up and running pretty well and have exceeded my ebay sales. The best thing is that now that it's up and running, and my promotions are ongoing, it's FAR EASIER to run than it is to deal with ebay. Not to mention how much cheaper it is. I'm paying about the same per month for my website as I would for an ebay storefront (when the start charging), but with no listing fees, and no final value fees, and nobody to tell me how to run my shop. I have a shopping cart that actually works for multiple purchases, and customers DO buy multiples. The customers at my website are much more pleasant to deal with than ebay bidders. Not saying ebay bidders are a pain, but they ARE more work than the customers I get at my website. The service I use is the first link on my links page: http://newenglandcoinco.com/links_page.html and the only complaint I'd have about them is don't sign up for the web mail, either use the pop account or forwarding. And do get your own domain name. What I figure is that if ebay isn't going to bother bringing the customer to my ebay storefront, then I have to do it. If I have to do it, why should ebay get a commission on the sale? The only one taking a commission on my sales is my merchant account now.
posted on October 30, 2001 09:19:35 PM
Petertdavis: I really must thankyou for the info about the store hosting site - My present site server is more of a non store format and this one blows it out of the water - It looks like you get pretty much everything for 40 - Are there any sneaky extras that they hit you with ? Im going to transfer my domain name. Thanks again !
Ed
posted on October 30, 2001 09:39:56 PM
I've been with them a few months now, and they have not charged me anything other than the regular monthly fee. Their software can run a bit slow at times.
One thing I did't mention is that this site pretty much allows you to build the whole thing by yourself. No hiring a web developer, no learning html, just click and enter the text and images, and you're ready to go. There's a number of templates, with a good number of color choices, plus you can create your own template and colors. I'm using a ready made template and color selection. The site has always worked fast, never a problem with loading. I've almost never seen the site down, maybe an hour or two that I recall. The web mail was down big time, and that's why I don't recommend it. Support is decent, usually an answer by the next day, and other than the web mail stuff gets fixed quickly.
It's been very liberating to be running my own shop.
posted on October 30, 2001 09:51:43 PM
Sounds like youve made a nice go of it - The do it yourself mode is a necessary evil these days - Im going to try it out - Its too late for me to do much for the holidays but I can plan for Next season and have plenty of time. Thanks a bunch !
posted on October 30, 2001 10:07:42 PM
Yea, it does help to have products that people are actually willing to give you money for.
But, if the sell well on ebay, they might sell even better at your own shop. It all depends on whether you can get the customers or not, and get them to order. The site I mention will help you create a good store that will allow you to sell, you still have to bring in the customer, though. I've found that to be more difficult than actually building the site. But, it's still easier than dealing with ebay.
