So you’ve been selling on eBay for a few months and found success in it but are unsure of the next step to take. That’s normal – eBay has a variety of seller account types, and it can be difficult to understand which one is right for you.
A casual personal seller who only occasionally sells a handful of items certainly isn’t going to benefit with an eBay Anchor Store that allows for up to 10,000 fixed fee insertion listings. However a major brand like Calvin Klein probably will.
If it’s time to upgrade your eBay account to start ramping up sales and focusing on generating more revenue, this is the guide for you.
Business Accounts vs eBay Stores
Now don’t get confused – a business account on eBay is not the same thing as an eBay Store. Business accounts can operate without a store, and personal accounts can open one. However, there are tax implications and other factors to take into consideration between business and personal, one of which is volume of sales, which is also a major consideration when deciding whether or not to open a store.
According to eBay, a business account should be selected over a personal account if you sell items you’ve bought to resell, product yourself, or new items you bought but don’t use personally. You should also chose a business account if you sell a large amount of items on a regular basis or buy items for your business.
In registering a business account, you can register your company name, which is displayed on buyer invoices and emails. It provides a value-added tax percentage for users outside the U.S. and Canada (along with specific tax advantages your accountant will need to explain for your situation), and a net invoice for eBay fees.
Business accounts will still operate and function like personal accounts in every other way, however. To really gain power user options, you’ll need to create an eBay store.
Building an eBay Store
There are three types of eBay stores: Basic, Premium, and Anchor. Each provides different levels of services (and associated fees) that users can take advantage of. They do have similarities though.
Regardless of the store type, you’ll enjoy a store home page with personalized branding, customizable URL, featured items on your home page, a vacation hold, downloadable templates, HTML support, exclusive sales management tools, and final value fees of 4-9%.
Here’s a breakdown of differences between each store type:
Basic – A Basic eBay store has a monthly subscription fee of $24.95/month, which drops to $19.95 with a one-year payment. Fixed-price listing insertion fees (after the first 250, which are free) are $0.20, and auction-style insertion fees (after the first 250 free) are $0.25.
Basic stores receive a $25 coupon for eBay-branded shipping supplies every three months and up to 5,000 offsite marketing emails or newsletters.
Premium – A Premium eBay store has a monthly subscription fee of $74.95/month, which drops to $59.95 with a one-year payment. Fixed-price listing insertion fees (after the first 1000, which are free) are $0.10, and auction-style insertion fees (after the first 500 free) are $0.15.
Basic stores receive a $50 coupon for eBay-branded shipping supplies every three months and up to 7,500 offsite marketing emails or newsletters. In addition, Premium stores include Selling Manager Pro.
Anchor – An Anchor eBay store has a monthly subscription fee of $349.95/month, which drops to $299.95 with a one-year payment. Fixed-price listing insertion fees (after the first 10,000, which are free) are $0.05, and auction-style insertion fees (after the first 1000 free) are $0.10.
Basic stores receive a $150 coupon for eBay-branded shipping supplies every three months and up to 10,000 offsite marketing emails or newsletters. In addition, Anchor stores include Selling Manager Pro, a $25 quarterly credit for promoted listings, and dedicated customer support.
Keep in mind that the subscription fees will be charged every month, so if you’re not selling above the threshold of a Basic account, you’re unlikely to benefit from the Premium or Anchor store. Also remember that third-party tools like Rebuyers provide power-user options above and beyond even the highest tier of eBay store.