Welcoming Visitors to Your EBay Shop by Allison Whitehead

Opening an eBay store is a big step for most sellers. You’ve probably enjoyed a reasonable level of sales and now you want to take your eBay business to the next level.

People can find your shop any number of ways – they may find it through one of your auctions, through a search for one of your products on Google or another search engine, or a search on eBay itself. But however they find it, you need to make sure that once they’re there, they stay for a while. The longer they stay in your shop, the more likely they are to buy something – or at least bookmark it as a favourite, or maybe sign up to receive your shop newsletter.

If you’re thinking of opening your own shop, it pays to have a look round at other sellers’ shops before you do so. You can learn a lot from them. Pay special attention to shops run by Power Sellers, or those who have exceptional amounts of feedback (although of course, the two often go hand in hand). These people know how to sell on eBay, and you can bet their shops are among the easiest to navigate, and the most pleasant to browse.

You can of course learn a lot from every shop you come across; I recently looked at one whose background looked like a hideous 1970’s wallpaper, and who insisted on having every piece of information in a different luminous colour. Presumably the seller thought it would catch the eye – it certainly caught mine, but all it made me do was click away in a hurry… away from the shop and away from any chance of buying anything. I wonder how a colour blind customer would react?

Presumably not exactly the reaction the seller had in mind.





The colours you choose for your shop can have a dramatic impact on how people view it. Red, for example, may be an attention grabbing colour, but red also means danger, and can actually make people hesitate. Is that how you want people to react to your shop homepage?

The colours you choose will also brand your shop, whether consciously or not. Think about famous brands and products – many are associated with certain colours. This could happen to your shop too. Be consistent and choose a colour scheme that complements your shop logo.

Your brand can also be related to the products you sell. Try if you can to create a U.S.P. – a unique selling proposition – for your shop. Why should someone buy from you rather than from anyone else? What in particular do you sell? If you sell the same items as a lot of other eBay sellers, what makes you different? If you can create a short sentence that encapsulates what you sell, you will place yourself more firmly in the mind of your customers.

So if you’re thinking of opening an eBay shop, think carefully about the image and message it will present to potential buyers. It could make a bigger difference to your sales than you might think.

Welcoming Visitors to your Ebay Shop / Allison Whitehead

About the author:
Allison Whitehead is a freelance writer and copywriter, and runs an eBay shop, Shop Smoo, with her partner, selling toys, gifts, gadgets and curiosities for all ages. Visit http://stores.ebay.co.uk/shop-smoo for further details and to sign up for their free newsletter.