eBay Seller Hub

eBay Seller Hub: Find out What it Takes to be a Successful eBay Seller

3Dsellers
August 24, 2022

When you begin selling on eBay, or need to manage certain aspects of your eBay store and marketing promotions, you may find yourself using Seller Hub. Seller Hub also gathers insightful information about your business and provides valuable tools that you’ll need. 

Take a look into the main features of eBay Seller hub and what you need to know about using it for eCommerce on eBay.

What is eBay's Seller Hub?

eBay "Seller Hub" is an eCommerce workstation to manage products, sales, and business operations on eBay. Seller Hub provides online sellers tools that make it easy and affordable to publish eBay listings, manage an eBay Store, create sales promotions, and process orders. 

Why do you need eBay Seller Hub?

For secure eBay account access (and a better workstation,) your employees can manage listings and orders with Third Party eBay Tools. In contrast, administrators and managers need eBay Seller Hub to obtain and edit particular store details, eBay promotion settings, and transaction information.  

How does eBay Seller Hub help sellers?

Seller Hub is frequently the primary selling tool for hobby listers and home garage sellers. If you're developing a business on eBay, a valuable advantage of Seller Hub is that it familiarizes you with eBay's features and selling abilities. If you utilize advanced listing tools, your background in eBay Seller Hub will be a solid prerequisite for further working with eBay's marketplace.

What does eBay Seller Hub do?

Seller Hub is a software platform on eBay's website used to publish eBay listings, manage orders, and create stores, promotions, and sales. 

Top of eBay Seller Overview page
Pro Tip: Seller Hub also includes sub-services such as an “eBay Store” for advanced brand promotion and "Resolution Center," where sellers resolve return cases and cancellations with buyers.

How to Use the eBay Seller Hub

Use eBay Seller Hub to publish eBay listings, create an eBay Store, and market your products to more eBay buyers.

How to access eBay Seller Hub?

Locate eBay Seller Hub on a desktop by selecting My eBay (top right of the page) and choosing Selling from the menu.

My eBay Menu, Selling
Pro Tip: When you activate your eBay account to sell products, eBay Seller Hub is available to you immediately.
Pro Tip: eBay may restrict some features until they receive the required information about your account and finances.

How to Use the eBay Seller Hub to List Your Items

Navigate to the Seller Hub Listings tab. Click the Create Listing button or hover the Reports menu to begin listing. 

Seller Hub Listings Tab, Create Listing

We will review the options Single Listing, Multiple Listing, and Uploads below.

Create Single Listing on eBay

Step 1: Search the title of your item in eBay’s “Listing library.” Select the suggestion that is the closest match to your item. 

Create eBay listing and search title

Step 2: eBay will then guide you to select a category. 

Step 3: If your exact item appears, select it to link the product with eBay Catalog and pre-fill many of the listing details.

Choose eBay listing from eBay Catalog

Pro Tip: eBay Catalog maximizes trust with buyers by legitimizing sellers' listings, providing assurance to buyers that they are ordering the correct product. When eBay recognizes the item and connects it to eBay Catalog, your listing becomes eligible for reviews (not just feedback) from your buyers. Moreover, eBay will list you as one of this product's dealers and allegedly favors promoting eBay Catalog items. However, it is worth noting that your store may appear among other sellers for the item, not as the primary dealer to some buyers. 

Step 4: Didn’t find your item in the search? If eBay can't find the item, or you don't want to use eBay Catalog, you can use the “Continue without match” option to manually enter the listing information.

Opt out of eBay Catalog with Continue without match button

eBay Multi Listing and Reports Uploads

eBay offers the ability to enter information into a table of listings (like Excel for eBay) to publish multiple items at the same time. Additionally, you can upload a CSV file to eBay’s Reports feature to import items in bulk. These advanced features are worth exploring, on eBay and in third-party software. But we will not cover them here due to time and space constraints.

Advanced eBay Listing Pro Tips:

Pro Tip: Opt-in to eBay Business Policies to save shipping, returns, and payment settings, making it possible to apply order-fulfillment details to listings quickly. Warning: If you choose not to use Business Policies, eBay will automatically create them, which may produce hundreds of policies to organize later.
Pro Tip: Consider using SKUs (eBay custom labels) to identify products and variations. You may need SKUs for 
- eBay inventory automation tools, 
- locating products in your warehouse, 
- sync selling the same item with multiple listings,
- update variations in bulk with CSV files, and more.
Pro Tip: Include as many Item Specifics in each listing as possible. Item Specifics not only assure the buyer that the product is correct but search engines use Item Specific values when deciding whether to show your eBay listing. For example, a buyer might search eBay or Google for the product's MPN, Color, and Manufacturer. If your Item Specifics values include all of this info, you'll have a higher chance of being included in the search results. 
Pro Tip: Enter primary Item Specifics in your Title text that a buyer might search for; MPNs and Manufacturer or Brand names are typical examples of important Item Specifics to include in a listing's title.

How to Use the eBay Seller Hub to Manage Your Store

If subscribed to an eBay Store, Seller Hub includes options to create a storefront and manage your store on eBay. 

Pro tip: eBay Store subscribers receive discounted listing Insertion Fees and Final Value Fees, saving eBay sellers thousands of dollars every month.  

How to find Manage My Store on eBay

From the Seller Hub Overview tab, find the Selling Tools section and click the Manage Store link. (Note: this link is only available to eBay Store Subscribers)

What are custom eBay Store categories?

eBay Seller Hub, Manage Store Categories page

Organize eBay listings with custom eBay Store Categories. When creating promotions and discounts, you will have additional options for marketing items in Store Categories. Also, custom categories make a shopping experience for shoppers that identifies your niche so they can easily explore your products.  

How to set up an eBay Store

If you are not an eBay Store subscriber yet, visit eBay’s Store help page and click the “Choose a Store Subscription” link. After signing up, the features below will be available on your account.

In the Store tab, eBay neatly organizes the steps to design and customize your eBay storefront. 

Edit eBay Store Page

Click the Tasks Completed link to reveal which sections you need to complete for your eBay Store. Include as much content as possible to retain visitors and get traffic to your items.

What are the design options for an eBay Store?

Billboard: Upload a captivating header image for the top of your eBay Store (1280x290 pixels; 12 MB or less)

Logo: Upload your store's logo (300x300 pixels; 12 MB or less)

Featured Categories: Display six particular categories (eBay or custom Store categories) as clickable buttons and assign an image to each button.  

Feature your listings: Add up to four rows of listings to your eBay storefront. Each row includes options to show specific types of listings dynamically.

Marketing Banner: Include a banner that displays your current eBay Promotions, categories, or listings, along with a custom image (640x640 pixels; 12MB or less).

About this store: Add a captivating description of your business to your storefront to build shoppers’ confidence and excitement.

Pro Tip: Use numerous searchable keywords in your store's description to increase your chance of being displayed in Google Search results.

Store Video: Upload a compelling video to convince shoppers that your store is worth exploring. 

Store Policies: Apply the same eBay Business Policies to all your listings. Using the same policies for each listing provides needed consistency to your shoppers, possibly gaining your store favor in eBay's algorithms.

How to Use the eBay Seller Hub to Promote Your Items

eBay Seller Hub offers post-publishing opportunities to increase your traffic and eBay conversion rates. 

Included in Seller Hub are several ways for merchants to promote listings. 

Note: Some promotion options below are only available to eBay Store subscribers. 

Use the Seller Hub Marketing tab to create discounts, coupons, and sales

In eBay Seller Hub, select the Marketing tab (near the top of the page).

eBay Seller Hub, Marketing Tab

From here, you'll be able to 

  • create promotion discounts and coupons, 
  • markdown product prices as "on sale," 
  • and engage with your shoppers. 

Promotions: Create discounts for listings and groups of products, and even apply discounts to items in custom Store Categories. Seller Hub promotions include the following.

  • Order Discount: Discount product prices in particular categories or single or all items. 
  • Shipping Discount: Provide discounted shipping for particular categories or single or all items. 
  • Volume Pricing: Set discounts for multi-purchases of the same product (e.g., buy two and get 10% off)
  • Coupon: Create coupons to send to buyers via eBay messages and share on social media.  
  • Sale + Markdown: Markdown product pricing by a percentage to create "on-sale" eBay listings in specific categories or particular listings.  
Pro Tip: Include eBay Promotions in newsletters to your store followers.

Use eBay Store Newsletters to promote items and discounts

When editing your eBay Store, you can also manage: 

  • Newsletters: Create and send marketing newsletters to shoppers who subscribe to/ follow your store.
  • Subscriber Discounts: Provide subscribers with discounts when they shop with you.

How buyers follow your eBay store: Buyers subscribe to your store by clicking the Heart button on your storefront (or eBay account profile), opting to receive updates about your products.

Pro Tip: Repeat buyers often create up to 40% of a store's total revenue, which is substantial. eBay's Store Subscriber Discounts and Newsletters help keep buyers engaged with your inventory, increasing consistent sales flow.

What the eBay Seller Hub has to offer: A overview of tools and features

eBay supports sellers with loads of free software within Seller Hub to help maximize revenues for everyone. The number and level of options and features that eBay provides in Seller Hub are unmatched in many marketplaces today. Noteworthy primary features that attract sellers worldwide include:

  • eBay Catalog Lister (automatically fill item details and enable product reviews).
  • Print Shipping Labels and sell with calculated shipping costs.
  • Create templates for Shipping and Return settings called "Business Policies."
  • Use data tables to filter, search, and manage listings and orders.
  • Promote listings through eBay to Google Ads and other shopping sites.

If you subscribe to an eBay Store plan, you will open new abilities on Seller Hub for product and brand marketing; such as: 

  • Advanced eBay promotions manager and statistics.
  • eBay Store with customizable shopping categories.
  • Send sales newsletters to buyers who "save" your store or seller profile.
  • Create coupons and discount codes
  • Advanced analytics
  • Listing fee discounts

The eBay Seller Hub Overview Tab provides an overview of your account

eBay Seller Hub Overview, Tasks, Sales, and Orders

Status Bar (Account Summary Section): See a quick summary of everyday tasks and sales analytics, giving you fast insight into your current workload and performance.

Tasks Section: Take action on required or suggested tasks from eBay. Notifications here might include needing to update your eBay account or listings and steps you can take to improve your store. 

Sales Section: Analyze a bar chart of your previous 30-day sales history with sales totals for typical periods.

Orders Section: Quickly know your current position on completing order processing. Click to jump to each order type to manage orders waiting for shipment, cancellations and returns, combined purchase orders, and orders awaiting payment or feedback. 

eBay Seller Hub Overview, Listings, Traffic, Shortcuts

Listings Section: Know where your listings stand and the actions you need to take to sell them. Quickly jump to products with open questions and offers, and manage auctions and scheduled listings. 

Traffic Section: Gain insight into your listing performance with statistics such as impressions, CTR, views, and conversion rate. Use the links to access more data quickly.

Shortcuts Section: eBay's Shortcuts provide you with links to eBay account settings and features that admins commonly use.

eBay Seller Hub Overview, Selling Tools, Seller Level, Promotional Offers

Selling Tools Section: Quickly access everyday eBay selling features and settings.  

Seller Levels Section: View your current and projected Seller Rating and the statistics contributing to it.

Promotional Offers Section: Take advantage of offers from eBay that apply to your store. 

eBay Seller Hub Overview, Monthly Limits, Feedback, Selling announcements

Monthly Limits Section: Know how much more inventory you can publish to eBay, staying within your store's selling limits. (More info on Selling Limits below)

Feedback Section: Review recently received feedback and access links to manage feedback.  

Selling Announcements Section: Browse the newest official updates for selling products and conducting business on eBay.

The eBay Seller Hub Orders Tab is an easy way to keep track of your sales

Use the Orders tab to filter and manage your past 90 days' sales. You can access shipping addresses, add and edit shipping tracking, leave feedback, contact buyers, and more. 

eBay's order-managing abilities work well for smaller stores and garage sellers who process and manage orders individually. Stores with employees or needing bulk actions and custom organization may use advanced eBay orders managers instead.

The eBay Seller Hub Listings Tab is a great tool to manage your listings

Filter and manage your active, ended, and scheduled listings and access eBay listing drafts. You can take action on listings as well as edit individual products quickly.

Seller Hub’s Listings tab is a good choice for beginning sellers, garage or home sellers, and for admin use while accessing eBay Seller Hub. Many sellers also choose to use other eBay listing software for more editing capabilities, bulk actions, and for employee access. 

The Marketing Tab on the eBay Seller Hub can help you boost your sales

Seller Hub’s Marketing tab offers ways to create and view the performance of promotions, sales discounts, and coupons, helping you sell more items. You can include promotions you create with the Marketing in eBay newsletters to send to store subscribers. 

Check out the “How to Use the eBay Seller Hub to Promote Your Items” section above for an overview of the Marketing Tab features.

The eBay Seller Hub Performance Tab provides you with information on your recent sales and seller level.

View eBay’s full statistics for your eBay seller account:

eBay Seller Levels: Monitor the quality of your listings and customer service to become a Top Rated Seller.

Sales: Review and download daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly sale summary reports, including visitor activity times on your eBay Store. 

Traffic: Analyze the popularity of products and offers among shoppers. 

Service metrics: Compare your customer service with competitors.

eBay's Seller Levels Overview

eBay Seller Level Overview

On the 20th of each month, eBay automatically reviews your selling statistics and assigns your eBay account a "Seller Level." Seller Levels can determine whether you receive benefits or penalties. 

eBay Seller Level: Below standard

The seller is not meeting eBay's minimum selling requirements, which means the seller:

  • Canceled over 2% of transactions because the item was out of stock or not deliverable
  • Was found to be at fault by eBay in more than 0.3% of "item not received" or "item not as described" cases with buyers

What happens if an eBay seller is Below Standard?

If a seller is Below Standard, penalties will be placed on the seller's account, such as listings shown lower in search results, withheld funds, blocked access to promotional tools, restrictions on linked accounts, and higher selling fees. 

Can buyers see who is a Below Standard seller?

Buyers cannot determine who Below Standard sellers are; this process stays exclusive between eBay and the seller. 

eBay Seller Level: Above Standard

The seller meets eBay's requirements and is in good standing with eBay.

eBay Seller Level: Top-rated

The seller consistently delivers excellent customer service and meets eBay's top-rated requirements in a specific region, which means the seller: 

  • Has an account at least 90 days old with 100 or more transactions in 12 months, totaling at least $1,000 in sales
  • Canceled less than three unique buyers' orders (less than 0.5% of transactions)
  • Was at fault in eBay cases less than two times (less than 0.3% of transactions)
  • Shipped orders late less than five times (less than 3% of transactions)
  • Uploaded validated tracking numbers for more than 95% of all transactions

What benefits do Top Rated eBay sellers get?

If the seller offers same-day or one-day handling on a listing with free returns of at least 30 days, an additional 10% off the Final Value Fee (less fixed fees) is applied to each sale, and the listing itself displays a "Top Rated Seller" badge.

eBay Selling Limits Explained

eBay Monthly Sales Limits Overview

To prevent bad sellers from saturating the marketplace with less-than-par listings, eBay restricts how much an eBay can list and sell. As the business grows, eBay raises Selling Limits to allow for more sales and items in stock.

What are eBay selling limits

eBay Selling Limits restrict how many items a seller can have published, and the total possible sales amount the eBay account can sell with the current inventory.

eBay calculates the total number of listings and possible sales with the quantity of each listing in stock. For example, if a seller has one listing selling for $5 and holds 3 of the item in stock, three items and $15 are added to the Selling Limits tally. 

How to increase eBay selling limits

Subscribing to an eBay Store will raise selling limits, but in practicality, running a good-performing eBay account is the primary way to increase selling limits. If you must raise selling limits for your business, gather your business info and logistics data and contact eBay. The eBay team will review your business and can approve increasing your Selling Limits. 

Pro Tip: Merchants often hide their inventory with advanced eBay listing software while waiting for higher selling limits. Showing a low number on eBay can also generate more sales through better search results and demand buying.

More tools that can be used by eBay sellers to increase sales

As mentioned at the start of this overview, eBay Seller Hub is a wonderful tool for administrators and sellers with smaller eBay accounts; but eBay sellers have a plethora of other selling features at their disposal with third party eBay software. 

The ability to use third party tools to automate workflows and customer service, as well as modify and manage listings and offers (tasks that are normally not possible without a team of people) can substantially grow an eBay business.

eBay listing software

Advanced eBay listing software starts saving time on your first bulk action. These are a few common uses for a good third-party eBay listing tool:

  • Update prices dynamically in bulk by percent
  • Change multiple listings' attributes in a few clicks
  • Add SEO code to listings and bulk update Mobile Descriptions
  • Apply advanced filters and internal tags to find, organize, and edit the correct listings
  • Copy eBay listings and eBay Business policies to other eBay Accounts and eBay sites
  • Backup product images, listing, drafts, and templates permanently
  • Update and import listings easier with CSV upload features 
  • Schedule online CSVs to process automatically

eBay research tools

Tools to research which products to sell on eBay are not new. But, with the power of artificial intelligence, they are much more effective than they used to be.

eBay offers a product-research tool called "Terapeak Product Research," which is wise to use considering eBay's exclusive look into their platform and that your success contributes to theirs.

Beyond eBay's analytics, you can also gain more insight into the global eBay eCommerce market with other advanced product research software, such as ShelfTrend and AutoPix.

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