Finding the best eBay stores

It's an urban myth that eBay started as a Pez container exchange for the founder's girlfriend, but the online marketplace still serves collectors. This group of Pez containers is part of a set that recently sold for over $600 on eBay.

In 2018, shopping on eBay is a whole different animal than when the online marketplace first opened its doors in 1995. Pierre Omidyar started eBay in his living room on a whim, as a way to enable person-to-person trading arrangements. (The tall tale that Omidyar did it to sell his girlfriend's Pez containers has since been dismissed as marketing fiction.) The site grew quickly but took a few years to become the magnificent beast it is today.

With millions of merchants vying for customers, even the very best eBayer stores can get lost among the masses.

Fast forward to 2018 and there are more than 25 million sellers on eBay and 175 million shoppers at any given time. In recent years, eBay has modified its search algorithms in mysterious ways that affect search results and seem to limit how often a seller's items are viewed (presumably to keep more sellers alive). 

The sky's the limit on eBay, making it hard to choose where to shop. (Img source: Pixabay.com)

As owners of an eBay store, we're often challenged to get eyeballs on our merchandise, and we know shoppers on eBay can be similarly frustrated when trying to find what they want, particularly in collectibles, where availability is often limited. That's the reason behind The Best eBay Stores directory: we want to help quality eBay stores get in front of more customers AND help eBay customers find these sellers so they will have the very best experience possible and return again and again!

All of the eBays stores listed in The Best eBay Stores directory meet criteria to ensure you're dealing with trusted, proven sellers offering a phenomenal variety of merchandise. (Image source: rawpixel.com)

To create the directory (which is an independent entity, not endorsed by eBay or its affiliates, by the way), we've established criteria that help ensure a good shopping experience. That means limiting the list to sellers who've been around for at least 5 years, own an eBay store and have had at least 500 transactions. We also look at feedback ratings and require that it be 98% or higher. Lastly, we've decided to focus this directory on sellers who specialize in vintage and antique collectibles and clothing (new merchandise merchants are left to their own devices).

Browse and shop with confidence on eBay, with guidance from our directory of trusted eBay stores.

So that's the scoop! Go ahead and check out our directory now. Share it on your social platforms if you feel inspired. Contact us to recommend yourself or a qualified eBay store owner. We hope our directory will prove useful to everyone involved. Thanks for reading!