After a few dozen sales completed, new eBay sellers often start looking for ways to improve and grow their business. Prepared for this exact scenario, eBay has many different selling tools to make life easier for sellers. Here are six ways new sellers can take their eBay selling business to the next level.

1. Use Seller Hub

Upgrading to Seller Hub is the easiest and most straightforward level up method for any new seller to make. Seller Hub is eBay’s free professional selling dashboard, available to all US sellers since 2016. It is a centralised place for listing, order, feedback, returns and shipping activities. In this way, Seller Hub is intended as a way to simplify selling on eBay. The other purpose of Seller Hub is to provide sellers with insights into the performance and growth of their eBay business. In addition to this, Seller Hub provides recommendations for sales growth and suggests promotions that may work best for specific items.

How to level up: eBay.com users should head directly to the Seller Hub opt-in page. Seller Hub is also linked from the ‘Start Selling’ page. As mentioned, Seller Hub is completely free to use.

2. Try out Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro

Seller Manager was long considered the essential tool for professional eBay sellers with the features to create listings, leave feedback, print shipping labels and send emails to buyers in bulk. These tasks can now be completed in Seller Hub, though Seller Manager still exists for sellers who do not wish to opt-in to Seller Hub.

Seller Manager Pro is a subscription-based tool with the features of Seller Manager plus additional reporting, inventory management and the ability to automatically schedule listings and relist sold items.

How to level up: It is free for sellers not using Seller Hub to sign up to Selling Manager. Seller Manager Pro is free for Premium, Anchor or Enterprise Store subscribers. Starter or Basic Store subscribers can pay an additional monthly fee to sign up for Seller Manager Pro.  To sign up for either tool, go to Subscriptions in Account.

3. Open an eBay Store

One of the most popular ways to ‘level up’ as a seller is to open a Store. A subscription-based service, having an eBay Store allows a seller to have a customisable and branded ‘storefront’ on eBay, presenting all of a seller’s listed items together. This offers a more traditional online shopping experience to buyers. The other features and benefits of having an eBay store include:

• A discount on insertion and final value fees
• Vacation mode 
• Access to the Promoted Listings feature
• Dedicated customer service support at the highest subscription levels

How to level up: Sellers wishing to open a Store must have an automatic payment method on file. The next step is to decide on a Store subscription using the subscription fee and benefits comparison chart. Once decided, go to Account in My eBay, select Subscriptions and then Choose a Store. It is straightforward to upgrade or downgrade the level of Store later if needed.

4. Download the eBay app

Whether your eBay business is a side hustle or a full-time job, most sellers appreciate the need for having access to eBay on the go. This is most easily possible through the eBay app. The eBay app allows sellers to create, edit and monitor listings. Items can also be relisted and tracking information provided. The eBay app has some exclusive features such as the ability to turn on mobile notifications for updates and also scan an item’s barcode to add product details automatically.

How to level up: The eBay app is free to download and available for Android, iPad and iPhone. Note that sellers using the eBay app must accept PayPal as a payment method for listings created on it. If you have any difficulties launching the app, uninstall and then reinstall. Another fairly common issue is the inability to upload photos. If this happens, restart your mobile device and try again.

5. Simplify selling with listing templates

Templates can be created in both Seller Hub and Selling Manager Pro. It is possible to save 10 different templates in Seller Hub, while in Selling Manager Pro the maximum is a little higher at 20.

How to level up: In Seller Hub, go to Listing templates and select Create new template. In Selling Manager Pro, navigate to Inventory and then the name of an item. In the Listings Templates section, select Create New. If desired, sellers can also create templates from active or pending listings using Selling Manager Pro.

6. Start a Promotion

It is a well-known fact that buyers love to find a bargain. This is especially true on eBay. Running a sale or discounting items can not only attract more buyers but is a good way to clear old stock and increase the number of items sold per order. The Promotions Manager tool provides an undemanding way to offer special offers (think: buy one, get one free), markdowns, coupons and discounted shipping.

How to level up: To be able to use eBay’s Promotions Manager, a seller must have opted into Seller Hub and have a Store subscription. In addition, for listings to be eligible for Promotions Manager, they must have a fixed price format (with Buy It Now) and offer PayPal as a payment method.

What is your preferred way to ‘level-up’ your burgeoning eBay business?