When the phone rings here at PRO-Webs, many times there is an eBay seller on the other end. Ebay’s restrictions, fees and other changes have forced many a eBay Power seller to move in to the ecommerce arena. These mostly successful eBay merchants have recognized the need to move, at least part of their eggs to a new, safer basket.

The biggest issues with an eBay merchant starting up an online store is that they really have the wrong mentality for “normal” shoppers. You see, your average or normal shoppers, shop in online stores because they seek service, professionalism and ease of use…. Very unlike the eBay experience.

Fact is, if these online shoppers wanted to be shopping on eBay… they would not be in our online stores. Not every battle in your merchant career is about price. Quite frequently, having the lowest price will give the shopper the impression that your service is equally low. Perception is everything.

Common eBay Merchant Ecommerce Mistakes

1. Linking out to your eBay store or listings… “Visit our eBay Store”. This shows a complete lack of professionalism and once again, if they wanted to be shopping on eBay they would not be at your shop.
2. Advertising your eBay success… “Successful Power seller for 5 years”. This just screams to the shopper that you will gouge them on shipping and that this is an unreliable home based business.
3. eBay styled product descriptions… “All new, hottest thing lowest price”. People shopping in your online store are not looking to be bothered by reading through half a page of hard selling language, they are looking for the product description! Shop owners will find that a much softer selling approach is most effect in your online stores.
4. Unprofessional looking stores… Yep, you have seen these too, like a squeeze page with add to cart buttons everywhere. Online shoppers are looking for a “real” and professional online business to shop from.
5. Categorization & navigation… eBayers seem to lack the proper and logical navigation in their online stores. This likely stems from their eBay experience and the whole auction mentality, however, this is not the same arena and ecommerce shoppers want to find the products in a logical and intuitive navigation.
6. Trust factors… Many eBay merchants lack the trust metrics in their online stores. Not only the ones mentioned above, but things like advertising their GMAIL or Yahoo email address, no visible means of calling the business, no physical address listed and the biggest of all a PayPal only checkout with a GMAIL or other free address and a personal name instead of a company name. Shoppers need these and many other trust building metrics to feel like they “know” this company and can trust us.

My best advice to eBay merchants looking to move some of their business to the more stable ecommerce platform is to completely “unthink” the eBay and get some help. Find a professional ecommerce developer and listen to everything they tell you…. Even if it goes against your eBay grain. You really need a very professional presence to be a successful online shop owner.