Quick Poll--Advice for Ebay Store

[2ndtimearound]

Hi guys! I am looking to get my store back up and running again on ebay. In the past, I operated a quite successful business selling doilies only. Now that I am a homeschooling mom, though, I have need to be able to get rid of books/games/toys/clothes, etc. that we accumulate around the house, in order to fund the homeschooling.

What I would like to do is keep my current user id, use my old store name (Lazy Daze), but try to have everything I have to sell all in one store. Current categories/inventory I have is this:

 

Hand-Crocheted Doilies

Toddler Boy Clothes

Boy Clothes

Books

Unit Studies (Digital delivery)

Toys

My feeling is this right now: If I list up my other "personal" items in the same store as my doilies, it will cheapen the selling price of my doilies/handcrafted items, and customers wouldn't feel like they were shopping a "quality" boutique, but instead a "Wal-mart" sort of store. Would I be better to operate under two different ids, one for my handcrafted items, then one for our homeschool stuff?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks :)

[GinaPQueen]

Jan. 12, 2008 at 8:32 AM

I don't know.  That's a hard one.  If your heart tells you to sell under 2 different names-that is probably what you should do.  If you have 2 stores though, that is the problem with costs.  I just closed my eBay store.  It just wasn't cost-effective.  I am active on the BigCrumbs website forum and we talk often about eBay and how someone said that it was really only cost- effective if you have 100 items of more in the store.  I just didn't like that it didn't show up in the normal search.  I guess there are going to be some changes to eBay stores in the future-hope so!

[sunmoonstars]

Jan. 12, 2008 at 8:34 AM

yes i absolutely agree with you.  i did exactly what you are saying with my bow store and i HATED it like that.  *IF* you changed the categories so there are a few doily options and one "other" you could get away with it.  then it would be a doily store with a little bit of "other", they way you have it written, it is all the stuff, plus a little doily......  and also - dont let the "stuff" come up in the ads, suggested other products, kwim??? that makes it like walmart.  hth!  good luck!

tonya

[2ndtimearound]

Jan. 12, 2008 at 8:41 AM Thank you!  In the past, I had just started getting my name out there to the point that I was able to start asking a little more for my items.  Matter of fact, a lot who had purchased from other handcrafters on there, had told me that my items were the best by far in quality and they started giving me all their business, including making "trinkets/additions" for items they were crafting and selling.  I even had one woman  in New York City who wanted me to make 12 of a certain doily to place on a quilt that was to be placed in a gallery there!  Unfortunately, I could not do it at the time, as I was almost ready to have my second son, so i had to pass on the deal.  I started tracking my doilies, to see like what states I had at least one doily in, and by the time I had to shut down my store, I had doilies all over the world!  Japan, Australia, Canada, quite a few states in the US too!  I loved it and I would love to get back into it!

(Original Poster)

[2ndtimearound]

Jan. 12, 2008 at 8:44 AM

What I plan on adding to this is the following:

Bridal Gifts/Items (trinket boxes, etc.)

Baby shower items

Qualtiy Doll Clothes (for the collector)

Would also love to dip off to the sewing side of it some, as time does not permit for a lot of crocheting right now, with a 2 year old, and my first year homeschooling my 7 year old! LOL 

(Original Poster)