Looking for new ways to grow your Shopify business? Increasing the number of channels you sell on might be just what you need.
Expanding into multiple sales channels has become increasingly valuable for online retailers. While Shopify lets you connect a host of sales channels to your online store, we're dedicating this post to the global ecommerce giant eBay. Selling on eBay can get your products in front of 134 million active buyers worldwide, giving you access to a massive built-in customer base.
So how do you start selling on eBay via Shopify? In this post, we're going to cover all the steps needed to set up the eBay sales channel for your storefront.
How to Sell on eBay as a Beginner
1. Choose Your Business Model
When you're just starting out on eBay, it helps to select a business model. This is the approach you'll take to provide value to your customers and make money in the process.
There are a few different types of business models:
- Private label: You can work with manufacturers to design your own private label items to sell on eBay.
- Wholesale: This involves buying large numbers of products for a discount and reselling them for a profit.
- Reselling: With arbitrage, you can buy discounted products from in-store or online retailers and resell them on eBay.
- Dropshipping: Purchase products directly from vendors who can package and ship them directly to your customers.
When choosing your business model, think carefully about how you're going to fulfil your orders. With certain options, like dropshipping, fulfillment is handled for you. With others, like wholesale, you'll need to figure out shipping and packaging yourself.
2. Decide What You Want to Sell
You can sell almost anything you can think of on eBay. However, most retailers start with items that fall within the ecommerce site's top-performing categories:
- Health and beauty: Makeup, hair dye, nail polish, and tools.
- Home and garden: Cleaning supplies, small appliances, and lawnmowers.
- Toys and hobbies: Model-making kits, board games, and video games.
- Crafts: Sewing supplies, model-making materials, and jewelry making.
- Sporting goods: Weights, fitness equipment, bicycles.
- Computer and networking: Webcams, printers, and wireless routers.
- Pet supplies: Feeding bowls, grooming tools, and toys.
- Automotive: Vehicle parts, accessories, and performance gear.
- Collectibles: Vintage items, memorabilia, and rare finds.
Choosing a category you're knowledgeable or passionate about is a good way to improve your chances of success.
You can also use eBay’s research tools to check sales trends, analyze competitor pricing, and identify the most profitable categories before you list your items.
3. Create an eBay Account
After choosing your business model and products, the next step is to open an account. You'll need to provide eBay with your business name, type of business, and address to register successfully.
- Visit the registration page.
- Type your name and email address.
- Enter a password and choose Create an account.
After you set up your account, eBay will ask you to verify your identity by clicking on a link sent to your email address. After verification, you'll be able to start listing your items.
Note: If you're registered as a business (LLC, sole proprietor, etc.), you can set up a business account with eBay through the registration page. A business account gives you enhanced tools, higher selling limits, and custom branding options that can help you scale faster.
4. Subscribe to a Store Plan
Subscribing to an eBay Store package gives you discounted fees and additional free listings per month. Also, you get bonus tools to promote your business to potential buyers.
You'll need to connect a checking account for payouts to sign up. But before you subscribe, you'll want to understand the Store features you'll need to compare plans.
If you can get by with up to 250 products per month, an eBay Store subscription will cost you only $4.95 per month. The next subscription plan starts at $21.95 per month and includes up to 1,000 product listings and lower final value fees. eBay also has plans for high-volume merchants, with subscriptions starting at $59.95 per month.
After you subscribe, you'll get the opportunity to name your eBay storefront. Ideally, your store name should match your brand and reflect the type of products you're selling. If you still need a brand name, find ideas with Shopify's business name generator.
5. Connect Your Shopify Store to Your eBay Account
Linking your Shopify store to eBay helps merchants manage their business through one cloud-based dashboard. You can consolidate your inventory, manage your orders, and increase sales, seamlessly.
The best way to integrate these platforms is through the Shopify Marketplace Connect app. This tool centralizes order and inventory management, and includes features like bulk editing and attribute mapping for a tailored product experience.
Plus, the integration lets you:
- Communicate with customers using built-in messaging
- Expand your visibility on eBay's global marketplaces
- Showcase your products to millions of shoppers on mobile and the web
- Connect to other leading marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, Etsy, and Target
Merging your eBay and Shopify solutions is easier than you'd think. Here are the steps:
- Install Shopify Marketplace Connect from the Shopify App Store.
- Log in with your Shopify store information and follow the prompts.
- Click Add channel in your Shopify dashboard and you're done.
Next, set up the eBay sales channel for your online store. This requires you to configure the eBay app settings, which you can do through the eBay channel under the Sales Channels menu.
Click eBay and select Account > Business Policies. Next, click Create Policy to build shipping, payment, and return policies. If you have existing policies, select Force Sync from eBay to add them to Shopify.
Next, Click the Sync Settings option under the eBay Sales channel menu to sync settings.
Then configure them by defining your default package size, inventory location, primary categories, eBay tax table, and inventory sync preferences.Then click Save settings to finish.
6. Start Listing
To list your products on eBay, click the Sell button on the top of any eBay page and complete the form details provided. eBay allows sellers to create templates for their listings using the "Save this listing as template" checkbox.
You can also list products from Shopify directly. Click the Listings option under the eBay Sales Channel menu, then click Add Listing. Next, configure the following for each listing:
- Title and description
- Details and category
- Quantity, weight, and price
- Package settings
- Product photos and videos
- Item condition and specifications
It's possible to leave the last two settings blank in order to use Shopify product values.
When you're done, click Save and Publish.
7. Set Up Shipping and Returns
These days, buyers expect cheap or free shipping. You'll definitely want to offer attractive delivery prices, no matter which carrier you use. Think about tossing in a free or rush delivery option sometimes—it's a great way to get people to hit that "Buy Now" button.
Pro tip: eBay makes shipping super easy because you can print out your shipping labels right on their platform!
If you want to look good to buyers, offering a 30-day return window is considered the standard and is what most eBay shoppers expect. Even better? Offer free returns. This builds a ton of trust and can definitely boost your sales, since people feel safer buying from you. Since eBay actually shows your return policy in the search results, having buyer-friendly terms can really set you apart from the competition.
How to Be Successful on eBay
Prospective customers will first experience your brand through your listings, so it's crucial to put your best foot forward. Here are some key best practices you can leverage to drive purchases on eBay:
1. Optimize Your Listings
Customers search for products on eBay just like they do on Google: using keywords. eBay's algorithm assists people in finding products that meet their search criteria so they can quickly make a purchase.
Adding product identifiers and relevant keywords to your listings ensures your listings will appear whenever shoppers enter queries relevant to the products you sell.
You can edit the title and description of each eBay listing from within Shopify. Be careful as you do this as searches on eBay commonly take the following shapes:
- "64gb iPhone 12 pro max unlocked"
- "women's under armor sneakers red"
- "boba tea bottle medium size 12 oz"
To ensure shoppers see your listings, include long-tail phrases in your listing titles. Then set them as identifiers in the Publish view:
- Brand ("Samsung," "Puma")
- Product description ("flip flop," "waterproof smartphone case")
- Size ("men's size 11," "medium")
- Color ("holographic," "blue")
- Model ("Pro Max," "Air Yeezy")
It's also a good idea to think about the questions your customers might ask when looking for a product like yours:
- Which size is right for me?
- What are the dimensions of this product?
- Is this product new?
- What accessories are included?
The more questions you answer, the less your buyers will hesitate. Plus, you'll be able to reduce the number of messages you get from shoppers. Use proper punctuation and capitalization to make your listings look more professional, and make product information digestible using bulleted lists instead of long paragraphs.
2. Offer a Branded Shipping Experience
One of the best ways to make your brand memorable for buyers is to offer a professionally branded fulfillment experience. Keep the following tips in mind to become the go-to merchant for your customers:
- Deliver orders promptly.
- Avoid cancelling orders whenever you can.
- Invest in branded shipping supplies to make your packages look professional.
- Provide a clean and organized fulfillment experience, with duty information and shipment tracking.
Implementing these tips will reward you with shoppers that see your listings first in their search results or even bookmark your store and visit you directly for future purchases.
3. Price Yourself Competitively
eBay's marketplace is vast, with merchants offering similar items across a range of prices. eBay shoppers make buying decisions based on a variety of factors, like sale terms and shipping costs, but a competitive price is still the most appealing factor.
You can select one of two selling options on eBay:
- Buy it now. This refers to the fixed-price listings that let your customer pay for something and have it shipped immediately. It can be ideal for shoppers who don't want to wait for an auction to end. Buy it now can also encourage more people to buy on impulse.
- The auction. Auctions last from one to 10 days and sometimes encourage people to pay more for your product. Auctions motivate buyers to compete with each other, but you'll need to ensure your listing gets people excited. Auction-style listings are valuable for items in high demand, with limited supply, like rare collectibles. They're also ideal if you don't know what price to sell at.
When choosing a starting price for your auction or a Buy it now price, it's a good idea to check the listings created by other sellers to get an idea of what your item can go for while ensuring your pricing is in line with the ongoing price on the eBay marketplace.
Start Growing Your Sales with eBay
With over 134 million users and prominent brands selling on its platform, it's clear that eBay is a good place to build awareness for your products. The low barrier to entry for Shopify store owners makes it an ideal channel for selling products beyond your main store.
Start by installing Shopify Marketplace Connect, then connect the two platforms together to start selling your Shopify products on the eBay marketplace. Taking an omnichannel approach helps you reach more shoppers and seize new opportunities for growth.
How to Sell on eBay FAQ
How Do I Link My Shopify Store to eBay?
The best way is to use the Shopify Marketplace Connect app. This tool centralizes your inventory and orders, allowing you to manage both platforms from your Shopify dashboard.
What Are the Top-Selling Categories on eBay?
Top-performing categories often include Health and Beauty, Home and Garden, Toys and Hobbies, and Sporting Goods. You should also check eBay’s research tools for current trends.
What Return Policy Is Considered Best Practice on eBay?
Offering a 30-day return window is considered best practice and aligns with buyer expectations. Offering free returns can further boost customer trust and sales.