May 2005 - eBay has issued the following fact sheet to aid new users:

Are you an eBay Seller who wants to instantly maximize your presence online? Open an eBay Store!

An eBay Store is an online selling platform tied to eBay, The World's Online Marketplace™. As the most popular storefront solution on the web with 158,000 stores in the U.S., an eBay Store is the most cost-effective way to build a business online. Plus, with eBay's step-by-step set-up, anyone can open a professional-looking Store - with no technical knowledge required - and boost their eBay collectibles sales to a whole new level.

Advantages of an eBay Collectibles Store

• Gain credibility and polish. eBay Stores provide instant credibility as an online retailer.
• Create a unique shopping experience. Sellers control the look, feel and design of their eBay Collectibles Store. Plus, they can organize and display items in their own custom categories.
• Sellers get their very own search engine! With their very own Search box within their Store, buyers can search through a Store's items to find exactly what they want.
• Receive listings in the eBay Store Directory. The eBay Store Directory is a one-stop Directory that lists all eBay Stores. The seller's Store will automatically appear in every Category Directory where they have items listed.
• Cross-promote Store products. eBay Stores' Cross Promotion tool helps to sell more because it enables a seller to prominently display the other items they are offering and show the right product at the right time to the right buyer.
• Use less expensive and longer duration listings. eBay's Store Inventory Format listings are an additional listing format available only to Store sellers. Insertion fees are lower when compared to other eBay listings and can be listed up to 120 days or more. Items can be sold without any bidding - the price a collectible item is listed at will be the final price when the item is sold.
• Market to customers via email. Use eBay's Email Marketing tool to send weekly emails to interested collectible buyers who have opted-in to Store mailing lists.
• Receive monthly Store Seller Reports. Plan a business strategy using eBay's Store Seller Report. The free Report is emailed to Store Sellers every month and provides comprehensive sales data, including sales and visitor traffic, by listing format and category.

• To open an eBay Store, a seller must be a registered eBay Seller - and have customer feedback of 20 or higher, be ID Verified or have a PayPal account in good standing.
• A seller can try an eBay Store risk-free for 30 days.