Running a successful eBay account and selling directly through your own website can be a headache if you don’t have a two-way data flow between your eBay account and Shopify web store.
Linking your eBay and Shopify accounts has the potential to save you huge amounts of time, help you list your stock for sale across all channels without risking stock outages, and enable you to quickly start and stop listings.
How do you link eBay with Shopify?
The only really effective way to link eBay with Shopify is to use multichannel management software. Multichannel management software essentially centralises the administration of your Shopify and eBay account to a single browser window.
The benefits of centralising your administrative activities like this cannot be overestimated. Fundamentally it means that you no longer have to operate within your separate eBay and Shopify browser windows. You can see all your orders from both channels listed in a single location. You can process these orders as if they came from the same place meaning you can bulk print your shipping paperwork and bulk update your orders on despatch.
Isn’t it crazy expensive for Small Businesses to link eBay and Shopify?
Up until recently good multichannel management software was pretty expensive and was out of reach for most small businesses. However in the last year or so it has become possible for small businesses to access multichannel software with good functionality at extremely low prices. Expandly’s Standard package, for example, starts from only £150 per month (based on a 2-year contract billed annually).
The first step to solving your multichannel problems is to find a couple of pieces of software that are within your price range and have the capability you need to run your business. This free guide can help you to understand more about what to look for when choosing multichannel software.
Once you have chosen a couple to look at, download the free trials and begin linking your eBay account and your Shopify account to it and put the software through its paces. Software trials should generally allow you to fully test your shopping cart and eBay integration.
Can I connect other shopping carts or marketplaces?
All decent multichannel software connects to eBay and to a range of shopping cart software. Most software will connect to Shopify. If you are also looking to connect other shopping carts you will need to check in detail to see if your web store software is supported. Expandly, for example, will link to eBay and more than 25+ shopping carts including Shopify.
How easy is it to link eBay with Shopify using a multichannel tool?
It is actually way easier than it sounds to get up and running. Setting up an account with a good tool is pretty much instantaneous and most solutions allow you a trial period to try out the software and see how you get on with it. A 7-day trial is long enough for most smaller customers to get their existing sales channels connected, import their data from their sales channels and to begin handling orders through the platform.
Do I have to do it alone?
No. Good multichannel solutions offer telephone and online chat style support. You can expect to be able to phone up and ask for help if you get stuck. Some software providers offer a setup service that carries an additional charge where they will log on to your system and do your setup for you.
Can I see how it works?
Again good software companies will provide youtube videos that show how the system actually works. They will also be prepared to spend time demonstrating the system’s capability to you and make the demonstration relevant to you.
About Expandly
Expandly are a provider of multichannel management software for small eCommerce businesses. The Expandly platform was built with the small business in mind, right from the start. It is simple, easy to use and focussed on helping small eCommerce businesses go from home-office or unit to warehouse and beyond.