As an advanced eBay seller, you understand the importance of selling a product efficiently and effectively at a high listing volume. But maybe you’ve never thought of yourself as a brand. Subscriptions allow sellers to utilize the marketplace via exclusive tools and customization features not granted to non-store users. Ebay stores are chocked with benefits to boost an already successful seller’s revenue and visibility that non-subscribers cannot match. In this post we are going to detail how they help eBay sellers build themselves as a brand.

Why It’s Important to Build Yourself As A Brand

The end goal in creating a brand for yourself is to eventually sell beyond the realm of eBay and build recognition on other selling platforms, and maybe even your own website. eBay stores aid in this quest through a number of advantages. Stores allow sellers to create a profile for their products in one singular place, making it simple for buyers to find them and put a face or personality to the seller instead of just a username. Stores are offered at three price levels: basic, premium, and anchor. To configure which store will best accommodate your needs use the Fee Illustrator.

[Also read: The Importance of Selling Internationally on eBay]

The Key Advantages

Designing your store essentially looks like a Facebook page layout. Sellers can customize the entire look of their page, including:

• A billboard image, or cover photo as it’s called on Facebook, to highlight the personality of your brand or as a surface to promote listings
• A store logo to exemplify what you sell, or something like the motto of your company
• A concise store description detailing what exactly your company sells
• Featured items display under the billboard image to highlight certain listings
• Create up to 300 custom categories listed on the left of your store page to organize item listings
• The search box at the top allows buyers to search for your products

What’s really effective about the store page is that it provides three ways for sellers to promote their listings outside their eBay store. Buyers can subscribe to your newsletter and receive updates from your listings regular buyers wouldn’t otherwise have access to. Attract buyers to revisit your page with the follow button next to the store logo and promote your listings with share buttons located in the top right corner to various social media sites.

Types of Stores

Overall, when considering an eBay store it’s important to configure listing volume and your most frequently used listing format. Again, use the fee illustrator tool to calculate which price level store is best for you. Besides setting up your listings as a brand, stores offer an array of other advantages for sellers, including:

• Reduced upfront costs compared to standard fees
• List in Fixed Price with full search exposure at a low fee of 3¢ or more
• List in Auction-style with additional discounted Final Value Fees
• A red “store” tag indicating to buyers that you are a seller with an eBay store
• eBay Store Directory directs buyers to your store among everything else
• Your own personalized web address, making it easy for buyers (or family/friends) to find your store
• Coupons for eBay-branded shipping supplies
• Store subscriber discounts

Basic, premium, and anchor stores all include unlimited insertion fee credits for auction-style listings that end in a sale, and final value fees up to 60% off non-eBay stores subscriber rates. Anchor stores, however, offer a few more advantages to push your selling to the next level. Anchor Stores, at either $349.95 per month for a monthly subscription fee or $299.95 per month for a yearly subscription fee, offer the following perks:

• A toll-free phone number and email access to experienced customer service agents
• Quick support for many account-related topics available in one place
• Policy consultation that could include advance notification on potential violations
• Coaching and webinars on the best eBay practices

Below we have built a table to get a closer comparison of the benefits in each eBay store tier.

Premium Store vs. Anchor Store

Basic Store vs. Anchor Store

Selling successful products is indeed an accomplishment, but creating a brand story around those products takes a seller’s journey to the next level. Invest in a store subscription to boost benefits for yourself and your buyers, which will only enhance the chances of them returning to your page over and over. Buyers want convenience and quality, and with stores, building your brand eases a buyer’s mind by delivering to them a seller’s vision and credibility.