Ebay has been a fantastic way for a great many people to dip their toe in the business of ecommerce.

After all, you don’t have to worry about getting traffic. You don’t have to worry that much about payment, now that Ebay owns Paypal and has seamlessly integrated it. All you really need to do is find stock to sell and deliver it!

And Ebay has produced thousands and thousands of success stories – I have come across many people who’s entire livelihood depends on Ebay. But I have also heard a lot of complaints – and the rising charges is one. There comes a time when you need to decide when it’s time to “fly the nest” and go into Ecommerce properly.

But just how do you decide if it’s the right time to take the plunge.Let’s take a look at the factors:

1) Do you get a large percentage of repeat business? If so, after the initial purchase you should be keeping in touch with customers direct, and directing them to your ecommerce site for future purchases.

2) Is your product range searched for on Google in a reasonable volume? Chances are if it was searched for on Ebay, it will be searched for on Google – and visitors via Google won’t cost you in Ebay commissions. Search for the Google Adwords tool, and do some research on search volumes, just to check.

3) What are your monthly charges paid to Ebay? If they are getting towards 4 figures, you’d definitely want to explore getting a stand alone ecommerce site to supplement your Ebay sales, in order to cut some of those commission charges.

That should help you decide if it’s time to go it alone with your own ecommerce site. However, don’t abandon Ebay completely. It’s been good to you – and still has a part to play in your ecommerce strategy.

Rob Parker designs and builds ecommerce stores and specialises in ebay ecommerce stores for those Ebayers ready to take the next step.