How To Open An eBay Store: The 2023 Guide

Born in 1995 as an auction site, eBay is today an actual marketplace, second perhaps only to Amazon, now a global giant in the sector. Anyone can sell on eBay, but in this article, we would like to focus on the most suitable choice for a company that can find the opportunity to increase its visibility and expand its customer base precisely on this platform, moreover with numerous advantages in terms of safety and reliability. We will then talk about opening an eBay Store.

Table of Contents

How To Register And Open An Account On eBay

To start selling on eBay, you must register and create an account. The procedure is straightforward: enter the eBay registration page, enter your data (name, surname, email address, and password), and confirm your registration. Alternatively, you can register using your Facebook, Google, or Apple profile. You can also sign up for eBay from mobile, using the App for Android and iOS devices.

Choose The eBay Account: Private Or Professional

When you sign up, determine the type of account you want to sign up with on eBay.

Private Seller Account: Fees And Rates

Creating a private eBay account will suffice if you intend to sell on eBay infrequently, such as homemade or used items. In this case, eBay will allow you to sell up to 150 listings per month for free without any subscription fee.

Instead, a final value fee will be charged when an item is sold, calculated as a percentage of the total sale, plus a fixed amount of €0.35 per order. The commission on the final variable value equals 5% of the total sale amount up to €2,000 and 2 % of the portion exceeding the threshold of €2,000.

Total amount means the total amount paid by the buyer, including packing charges, charges for the shipping service selected by the buyer, VAT, and any other applicable tariffs. Instead, eBay will bear the costs associated with third-party payment processing. Advertisements created in the car, motorcycle, and other vehicle categories are subject to different rates, depending on the type of vehicle sold, namely:

Cars, motorcycles, and other vehicles, motor boats, and sailboats

Insertion fee EUR 9.00
Final value fee EUR 35.00

Motorcycles and scooters: Mini motorcycles, Dinghies, Boarding, Crew, and regattas, Rental, Charters, and schools

Insertion fee EUR 6.00
Final value fee EUR 19.00

Professional Seller Account: Registration, Commission, And Rates

On the other hand, if you want to sell items with a certain continuity and you are a VAT number holder, then you will have to opt for a professional eBay account by clicking on the Professional Account button during registration.

eBay allows you to switch from a personal account to a professional account simply by changing the type of account from your profile settings. If the account has already been activated for the use of payment services, further information may be requested to verify one’s data, namely:

name listed on the bank account;
name of the bank;
IBAN.

At this point, it will be necessary to wait for eBay to verify the data, particularly those of the bank account, possibly requesting further confirmations via micro-credits (as PayPal does, for example) or requesting access to the bank account using one’s credentials. eBay also allows registering more than one account, provided that each user uses different email addresses and usernames.

Again, eBay applies a fixed amount of 0.35 euros per order. On the other hand, the commission on the final value is subject to variations based on the category to which the object sold belongs, from 6.5% to 12%. Please refer to the official website for more details on commissions by product category. Professional sellers who achieve Top Trusted seller status are also eligible for a 10% discount on the variable portion of the Final Value Fee for listings that meet all of these criteria:

free shipping within the country;
minimum 30 days for return;
packing times from 0 to 1 day;
Shipping with tracking for items of value equal to or greater than 25.00 euros.

eBay Shop: What It Is, How To Open It, And How Much It Costs

An eBay Shop is a solution reserved for professional sellers based on a monthly subscription, which provides an actual store with a brand name, logo, cover banner, and a unique link to reach it. The showcase function allows you to highlight the products you want to make more visible and, thanks to the seller’s console, manage various features, such as closing the shop during periods of absence or holidays, activating automatic responses during the closure, changing the name of the shop, etc. at any time.

Furthermore, compared to professional sellers, opening a shop offers several advantages, such as reduced listing fees and, depending on the Shop level, unlimited access to tools to manage your listings and monitor the performance of your business. All eBay Stores are also available and optimized for the dedicated app.

Open An eBay Shop

To open an eBay shop, you must have an eBay seller account linked to an incoming payment bank account. Next, you need to identify the shop level you want to open based on the features you want to use. We elaborate on the discussion in the next paragraph. Finally, once you have selected the membership level, you need to identify the type of eBay shop you want to register, set the shop name and send the request.

eBay Shop: Types And Rates

eBay has three levels of a shop, each characterized by specific prices and features.

Base Store

It’s a simple solution with low fees and practical tools to grow your business. It is suitable for those who want to enter the world of selling on eBay. Installments: 24.95 euros/month.

Premium Store

Take it up a notch by getting more free listings, free listing quotes for other sites, and custom performance reports to optimize your listings. Installments: 49.95 euros/month.

Shop Premium Plus

It is the solution aimed at professionals who rely most on e-commerce. Includes unlimited Buy It Now format listings and 250 Online Auction format listings. Installments: 179.95 euros/month.

Manage An eBay Store

An eBay Shop allows the seller to build a diversified offer of products, which are divided by product category, just like in a physical store. Running a shop, however, requires a specific commitment. However, it is good to follow some best practices, such as:

FAQ

A potential online buyer may need clarification before deciding to finalize the purchase. Preparing a list of frequently asked questions with their answers will increase the buyer’s confidence and, consequently, the purchase possibilities.

Feedback

Mutual trust is essential in online commerce: buyers must be able to trust sellers and vice versa. For this, a feedback system is used, where buyers and sellers can leave a rating on the sale. The seller can then give positive feedback to the customer or report appropriate behavior, such as non-payments, returns in terrible condition, etc.

Responding To Contact Requests

eBay provides the contact the seller function, through which a potential customer can send specific questions and requests before deciding to purchase. Additional information, shipping clarifications, etc. It needs to say how necessary it is to respond promptly, politely, and comprehensively.

eBay Sponsored Listings

Above Standard or Top Reliability level sellers with enough activity on their account can use Sponsored Placements standard, using the Advertising Console, the listing tools, or the Running Listings page of the Seller Hub. The seller will decide how much to pay through the sponsored rate, while the sponsored listings system will choose which Listings to show based on the sponsorship rate, the relevance to buyer search, and the quality of the listing.

The seller can choose an ad percentage between 2% and 100% of the item’s sale price. A higher percentage of sponsorship corresponds to a higher probability of ad placement and, consequently, more significant opportunities for visibility and promotion.

The Ads System’s recommended ad rates are calculated based on several factors, such as subject attributes, seasonality, past performance, and current competition for each ad. The fee will only be charged when a buyer clicks on one of your ads and purchases the item within 30 days.