Stores need modding? or is there a workaround?

[BackIssuesOnline]

Hi all. Wanted to discuss a specific shortcoming about eBid stores - not sure if here is the right place for the discussion but I thought it may be worth starting a thread here, and if required restarting in Site Suggestions forum.

Ok, you get five stores (free). Most sellers will use one or two, maybe three or four. But if you sell a broad range of items, you soon run out of stores. Two choices: buy more, or use the last of the free stores as a 'catch-all'. The latter is my preference at the moment, and I want to give it a general name to cover the 'bric-a-brac, all-sorts' style of the contents.

However, each store needs to be assigned a top-level category and a sub-category, specifically so it can be placed in the right position in the stores listing page. But this doesn't fit into the 'everything else' style of the store. Ok, you say, put it into the 'Whatever's Left' top-level category and probably into the 'Other' sub-category.

I have had a quick look round at other seller's stores and seen two techniques used: either the store is put into the seller's primary sales category, or put into Whatever's Left - in both cases subdividing the shop by creating their own shop-specific categories there. Neither seems an ideal solution.

What do you all think? What is the best compromise? Should we pester Gazza et al for a new top-level category specifically for what I can best describe as 'virtual bric-a-brac' stores? Anyone have any better ideas?

Or is it just that I don't have a clue what I am talking about?

[astral276]

My personal view? Whatever's Left - Other would cover what you are selling.

I would have thought that the majority of people coming to buy will be after something specific. So what category your store falls under will be immaterial, as their search will find it whatever store category contains it.

[BackIssuesOnline]

My personal view? Whatever's Left - Other would cover what you are selling.

I would have thought that the majority of people coming to buy will be after something specific. So what category your store falls under will be immaterial, as their search will find it whatever store category contains it.

That's true. But I was looking at it from the store front viewpoint. This would allow buyers with time on their hands but no specific purchase in mind to browse a virtual second-hand or flea market, or craft stalls, or pawn-brokers, or general hardware store etc etc. Very much on par with wandering along a town's high-street and browsing in shops.

Would it be a benefit to have a unique top-level category just for this purpose?

[redmerlin777]

I had that dilemma when I first joined. I sell such a wide range of stuff..often I don't know what will be coming in month by month...it depends on what bargains I can pick up.

I just chose home & garden category as most of my stuff will end up in someones home or garden.!!
I then divided the store into categories that I can maintain myself.

I have set up my defaults eg pottery, comics, Clothes so that most of the listing is already formatted in a general sort of way and this makes listing easier

I do think a category of general, miscellaneous or some such word to describe a category of store would be useful to such as myself, then each item can be put into it's correct category from there

I am very envious of people who have specialist stores, easy to keep tabs on stock, a wide knowledge of the field.... I have wracked my brain to find something to specialise in but as yet I haven't found suppliers or enough markets that can cater for my small needs at a sensible price...so a general store it has to be. Hence the name!

So I concentrate on buying at bargain prices and passing that low price on to customers. Sooooooooo Allsorts it will be for some time.
At least here on ebid it is easy to have a go at specialising by opening a specialist store to see how it goes...

But till then...yes I would like to see a Miscellaneous category...
"Whatever's left" sounds rather like the dregs of a barrel...I really don't think it gives the right impression...and OTHER sounds too indecisive, again it sounds like items here would be obscure and are an after thought

I am more like a Department Store, General Store, Mixed category Store..... something like that would be really useful.

[Trinakarenmille]

I had that dilemma when I first joined. I sell such a wide range of stuff..often I don't know what will be coming in month by month...it depends on what bargains I can pick up.

I just chose home & garden category as most of my stuff will end up in someones home or garden.!!
I then divided the store into categories that I can maintain myself.

I have set up my defaults eg pottery, comics, Clothes so that most of the listing is already formatted in a general sort of way and this makes listing easier

I do think a category of general, miscellaneous or some such word to describe a category of store would be useful to such as myself, then each item can be put into it's correct category from there

I am very envious of people who have specialist stores, easy to keep tabs on stock, a wide knowledge of the field.... I have wracked my brain to find something to specialise in but as yet I haven't found suppliers or enough markets that can cater for my small needs at a sensible price...so a general store it has to be. Hence the name!

So I concentrate on buying at bargain prices and passing that low price on to customers. Sooooooooo Allsorts it will be for some time.
At least here on ebid it is easy to have a go at specialising by opening a specialist store to see how it goes...

But till then...yes I would like to see a Miscellaneous category...
"Whatever's left" sounds rather like the dregs of a barrel...I really don't think it gives the right impression...and OTHER sounds too indecisive, again it sounds like items here would be obscure and are an after thought

I am more like a Department Store, General Store, Mixed category Store..... something like that would be really useful.

Mixed category store sounds good.

I also have a mixture of items I sell, used up all my 5 stores already.


http://uk.ebid.net/stores/Trina-Kare...igner-Auctions

http://uk.ebid.net/stores/Trina-Kare...ntage-clothing

http://uk.ebid.net/stores/Trina-Kare...e-Collectibles

http://uk.ebid.net/stores/Trina-Kare...tage-Bookstore

http://uk.ebid.net/stores/Trina-Kare...Vintage-Crafts