eBay Store Design Frequently Asked Questions
- How does your eBay Store Design process work?
- Do I need anything special to have a custom eBay Store?
- Will a basic level eBay Store subscription work for a custom design?
- What will I have to do before the job starts?
- How long will it take to build my eBay Store?
- What design elements can go into an eBay Store?
- Will I need to know HTML to use your templates?
- Can I make adjustments to my eBay Store Design after you finish?
- Are moving pictures and flash good for eBay Stores?
- Do you accept credit cards and how will I pay you?
- Will I be able to see the design in progress?
- Do I need to send you images?
- I use an auction listing service. Will my listing template work with it?
- Can you list my items on eBay for me?
How does your eBay Store Design process work?
After we receive your deposit you will be added to the work queue. You will then be added into our project management system where you can communicate with us during the project, post notes/questions and upload photos.
We will send you a design questionnaire and ask you to fill it out and upload it back to the project manager along with any graphics/pictures and/or logo that you want us to use in your design.
Once you project starts, you will communicate one on one with your designer through the project management area (and sometimes by phone if necessary) with input on your project and any changes that need to be made to the design.
When each section has been approved (logo, header, pages, etc, your designer will continue to the next until the project is completed.
Once your project has been completed you will receive an invoice for the balance due and your new eBay Store design will be installed in your eBay Store after your payment has been received.
Do I need anything special to have a custom eBay Store?
You must be able to host all of your eBay Store design elements (graphics and images) that we create for you in a permanent place once the design work is finished:
- You can host these on your own website if you have FTP access
- You can host these on an image hosting service if they allow you to have both .jpg and .gif images.
- We can provide image hosting for you (just for your design) for a $4 per month fee.
If you use an image hosting service it is very important that your files can be uploaded without the name, size or compression being changed and they must be able to be stored in a unique directory. Please contact us first if you are not sure about the image hosting service.
You do not have to open your eBay Store before we start but we will need ALL of your category names before we can start the design process.
Will a basic level eBay Store subscription work for a custom design?
Yes! A lot of the eBay Stores that we have created are running on a basic subscription level, with just a custom store homepage however we do strongly advise that you take advantage of the other custom pages for SEO purposes.
Different eBay Store subscription levels will determine the amount of custom pages you have:
- Basic: 5 pages
- Featured: 10 pages
- Anchor: 15 pages
What will I have to do before the job starts?
We will need the following:
Your eBay Store address (full address – http://stores.ebay.com/your-store-name)
All your category names - If some categories do not show up on your store home page you will need to list at least one item in this category to have it displayed in your left navigation bar.
If you would like us to use your images in the design please upload them when you have access to the project management area.
About Me Page Text and Policies (If we are setting these pages up for you) We will not need these at the very beginning but would like for you to work on them so we will have them before we finish your design.
How long will it take to build my eBay Store?
It usually takes 1 to 2 weeks to finish your eBay Store but a lot of this depends on you. The quicker you get back to us during the design process to approve design drafts or changes the quicker we can finish.
We strongly request that you take no longer than 48 hours to approve designs or changes.
What design elements can go into an eBay Store?
Store Header: This consists of your logo and things like tag lines, other images, your feedback and main navigation links to About Me, Feedback, Policies, Contact, etc.
Custom Left Navigation Bar: this is the column on the left that contains the names of your categories. We can install more than 20 categories here but not everyone will need or want this feature because it is hard coded and requires HTML knowledge if you plan to add more categories often.
Custom Home Page: This is the front page of your store where by default eBay displays up to 30 products in random order. Our goal is to use this custom home page to make your eBay Store more easy to navigate and to make your eBay Store look more like an eCommerce Website rather than an ordinary eBay Store.
Listing template: This is what displays your items for sale with the "Place Bid" or "Buy it Now" buttons. Most eBay Store owners just need one listing template that matches their eBay Store. On occasion there is a need for more than one template if you sell items requiring a different layout because you are selling in different industries (for example you sell women’s clothing and iPods).
Our goal with your listing template is to brand it to match your eBay Store and to use it to drive visitors back into your eBay Store to make purchases there.
Will I need to know HTML to use your listing templates?
You will only need to know HTML if you plan to use your listing template directly on eBay instead of listing your items through a 3rd party listing system such as InkFrog or Auctivia.
We highly recommend that you use InkFrog if you are not currently using a listing tool.
If you use InkFrog we can set your template up there for you so all you will have to do is enter your basic product info, description, select the photos and then upload your listing to eBay via InkFrog. (It is extremely easy even for the newest eBay user)
Can I make adjustments to my eBay Store Design after you finish?
Once your store is launched, we provide free support for up to one week which includes minor tweaks to the design like link changes, image replacement, etc. We will not change the general layout and switch to a different design because this was approved before we installed it.
We charge a minimum $20.00 fee for any changes after this point.
You will be able to make any changes yourself to your eBay Store if you are comfortable with HTML.
It is possible that we may charge a fee if you ask to fix some damages you made to your eBay Store if you modify the HTML/store settings after we install it (this also applies during the one week free support).
Are moving pictures and flash good for eBay Stores?
We highly recommend that you do not use moving graphics or flash in your eBay Store because they can cause your eBay Store to load slower or not display at all for some people.
Remember, people are coming to your eBay Store to buy from you, not to see flashing logos or pictures.
Because of issues with Internet Explorer 7 and flash we are currently not doing any flash work for eBay Stores.
Do you accept credit cards and how will I pay you?
Yes, we accept Visa, Master Card, AMEX and Discover.
After we discuss the details of your project we will send you a detailed proposal/agreement explaining what we will be providing for you.
At the bottom of this proposal will be a link to our secure payment form where you can pay your deposit online.
We require 50% deposit to start all projects unless they are $300 or less then we require full payment.
Once your project is completed and you give is your approval we will invoice your credit card for the balance, if you need to pay the balance with a different credit card than you used for the deposit that is fine also.
Will I be able to see the design in progress?
Yes! As stated above we work in a project management area so as we work on different elements of your eBay Store we will post a link to our development server where you can view it.
Remember, the quicker you get back to us with changes the quicker your new eBay Store will be up and running.
The answer is Yes and No.
You will need to send us images you want us to use in your overall design but not images you will you will use in your store and auction listings.
I use an auction listing service. Will my listing template work with it?
There are several eBay listing services available but the ones we have found that work best with custom listing templates are InkFrog, Auctiva and MarketWorks.
We recommend if you don’t currently use a listing service that you look at InkFrog.
Can you list my items on eBay for me?
No, once your eBay Store has been set up you will be responsible for listing your items.
