opening an ebay shop:what are the benefits?

[hk78]

for those of you that have an ebay shop:
what are the benefits compared to just a normal selling account?
and of course, what are the drawbacks?
i'm thinking of doing that, but not sure. i'm thinking how will it affect the fees, mainly.

I have a shop. I sell mainly books.
When I research a book (look at the others already listed on ebay) if it is a book that is popular: gets more than one bid, then I will put mine in auction. If it's a not such a popular book then there is no point in it going to auction because i will be lucky to get even one bidder (within the max 10days) therefor the shop is the best place. It can sit there for a few months if need be for just a few pence per month until an interested buyer comes along.

The other side is: check the keywords that will send a buyer to your item. If there are already a lot of items in auction with those keywords, shop items no longer show on the landing page.

A lot depends on what you sell, but you get the first month free so it is worth giving it a try.

A plus point for me is the sales are spread throughout the week so I don't have the manic packing/posting day after the auctions end. I always have my auctions end on a Sunday evening (the time when most people are sitting looking at eBay) (but not when Top Gear is on)

I have an ebay shop selling DD to J cup bras that has only been running for 11 months.
The advantage for me is that it's a cheaper way to have a fairly unique item that may take a while to find it's buyer ie a 32J size bra.
The max that I can list it for on the Core site is 10 days - then I have to relist and pay for gallery all over again. On a shop I can list it for 90 days - saving me time and fees.
You will have less exposure on shop items thatn core (auctions and BIN) so you do need to have some auctions and BIn listings to drive traffic into your shop.
Another advantage is that all of your items are listed in one place and you can categorise them. I have over 500 listings going at a time but people can just look at bras in their specific size using a search box in my shop.
It's also useful for building up a brand & getting those reprat customers. I just had a logo designed for me by another ebayer for £17 including some business cards. Remember all of this costs only £6 per month.
Many people go on from having an ebay shop to opening their own website or 'real' shop. That's a step to far for me right now..
My ebay id is the same as the one on here so take a look at my shop to get an idea of what you can do. If you have any more questions feel free to asq me through ebay.

thanks for the advice
nikkid21, when you say 'all this is £6 per month' surely that's not including listing fees? if it is, i'm definitely having a shop as i'm spending loads more than that at the mo.
why is a shop 'less exposure'? don't understand it all really, i will have a look on ebay see if there's a tutorial about having a shop.
would i be able to have a shop and then BIN+auctions all under one username?
i will def. have a look at your shop, it would suit me as i'm quite gifted in the chest area lol
thanks