How to start an eBay store in 6 easy steps (2025)

1. Identify your niche market

Have you ever tried searching for a product but received no results? Maybe there were a few, but none quite matched what you were looking for.

Many would’ve had this same experience, which shows a gap in the market – one you can fill with your eBay business.

To become a successful eBay seller, it’s important to find a market niche to serve. Determine what type of products to sell and who you’ll sell them to by creating buyer personas.

If you don’t have a clear niche in mind, take some time to reflect on your interests and values – the right niche will come to you naturally.

2. Define your objectives

Once you’ve identified your niche, it’s time to set out clear objectives for your eBay store. Consider both short and long-term goals to grow your small business into a strong brand.

Even though each new online business has its own set of unique objectives, most are regarding:

Finance.

• Set profit margins and reachable revenue targets.
• Plan and manage your expenses to ensure profitability.
• Work out competitive pricing strategies by evaluating other sellers.

Brand awareness.

• Offer high-quality products and excellent customer service.
• Build a strong online presence through various digital marketing channels.
• Develop a brand identity that resonates with your target audience.
• Create a consistent image and tone of voice.
• Gain the position as a leader within your industry.

3. Prepare research questions

Create a list of relevant questions to simplify decision-making and gain leverage on the eBay marketplace through strategic preparation. For example:

• What are people from my niche audience searching for?
• Who are my main competitors?
• What are my competitors offering?
• What are my competitors doing to attract potential customers?
• How can I differentiate myself from competitors?

4. Collect and organize information

Now that you’ve found your niche, worked out business objectives, and developed relevant questions, it’s time to gather information to answer them.

Where to start?

• Go through online materials, join communities and forums related to your niche market.
• Research what your future buyers are talking about and looking for. Don’t be afraid to engage in conversations.
• Find your competitors and evaluate what they’re doing to meet the needs of your target audience.

Most importantly – sort your findings in a way that’s organized and easy to reference.

5. Draw conclusions and adjust your strategy

Now, it’s time to analyze your collected data. See if you notice any clear patterns and trends through your materials. Use your findings to create a list of products to sell that your future customers would appreciate.

Remember that an effective strategy requires continuous adjustments to be sure you’re meeting the needs of your target audience.

Register an eBay seller account

Sign up to create a personal or business account. You can get by with a personal account if your intent is casual selling, but it’s important to consider the benefits of a business account.

Aside from having a branded page with your company name on eBay, a business account offers lower fees, marketing tools, and additional features specifically designed to help you sell.

Pick an eBay store subscription level

After you’ve created an eBay business account, you’ll need to choose a store subscription.

From a basic store or expert to zero product insertion fee and a dedicated customer support team, each subscription plan comes with its benefits and pricing.

Find the subscription that fits your needs → Select and review → Choose the monthly or annual subscription plan → Enter a name for your eBay Store → Submit order to purchase the eBay Store subscription.

You’ll receive more free listings per month if you upgrade your subscription. Otherwise, you can add more product listings for an insertion fee.

Design your store

In addition to a memorable business name, create a visually appealing and intuitive online storefront that showcases your products and brand to your liking.

With the eBay business account, you’ll get a custom store’s home page. Here, you can change your store name, add a thorough description, and adjust page elements like your banner, videos, and featured categories.

Customize your store design and layout to reflect your brand’s aesthetic and style – eBay provides a range of options to achieve just that.

Set up payment and shipping

Register your credit card or bank account as a payment method to cover the eBay business subscription and selling fees.

From Payments in My eBay → Add payment option → Credit card or Bank account → Continue → Preferred for selling costs → Add.

The shipping methods you offer customers differ depending on whether you’re using the quick listing or new listing tool – follow eBay’s guide for more information.

If your orders are fulfilled by Printify, we’ll automatically apply our Print Provider flat shipping rates with every product added to your United States eBay store.

Publish all items

It’s important to offer a diverse selection of goods to increase customer engagement and loyalty to your eBay business. 

To improve your chances of selling on eBay – prioritize visually appealing products with high-quality photos and detailed descriptions.

Use tools like Ahrefs or Google Ads Keyword Planner to find relevant and popular keywords to add to your eBay store. This will help lead potential buyers to your listings.

Sell custom products with Printify

If you’re worried about finding quality products, design tools, and a reliable Print Partner – it doesn’t get better than selling on eBay with Printify.

You’ll gain access to a vast product catalog with high-quality, customizable goods offered by trusted Print Providers in all parts of the world.

We’ve created automated integrations with some of the most popular eCommerce platforms and marketplaces, which makes creating and adding products to your store a breeze.

Focus on promotion

The eBay business account enables you to create promotions and markdowns to attract more business, increase sales conversions, and sell more items per visit.

Gaining traffic is key to increasing sales – optimize your eBay product listings for search engines.

Use various promotional tools offered by eBay, such as the Promoted Listings Standard feature, which allows you to pay for increased visibility in search results.

Establish a presence on social media, and consider the benefits of email marketing.

1. Sign up

Create a Printify account in a matter of minutes, and gain access to all of our services. Enter an email, create a password, or sign in with Gmail.

2. Connect your store

From the top left of your Printify Dashboard, click on My new store → Add new store → Choose eBay and proceed to Create your store.

If you don’t have an eBay account yet, you’ll need to create one first. Set up a payment method, confirm eBay business policies, then connect it to your Printify account.

3. Start adding products

Go through our Product Catalog and choose what to add to your eBay store from more than 900 customizable items in various categories, ranging from apparel to home decor.

Create products by adding unique designs on our Mockup Generator, or use our free tools to create new ones. There’s also an option to add premade professional patterns through our integration with Shutterstock.