Ready to open shop online? Sellers and experts share their secrets to succeeding in eBay's brand of e-commerce.

Online auction powerhouse eBay currently boasts more than 2 million sellers, and nearly 800,000 of them consider eBay sales their primary or secondary source of income. Many of these sellers took advantage when the site introduced the debut of individualized storefronts - called eBay Stores - in 2001. It offered a new platform for frequent users to house all of their wares at one online location, and provided a more familiar, retail-like shopping experience for buyers. Thousands of eBay sellers credit their eBay store with being crucial to their success. So whether you're a first-timer or already a full-fledged eBay addict, check out what experts have told Inc.com about the best ways to launch and manage a successful eBay storefront.

Building an Ebay Storefront: Find a Niche

Successful eBay storeowners stress the importance of focusing on a specific product or genre. Mark and Robin Le Vine of Chicago-based Bubblefast, launched their business by selling a rather unlikely product – bubble wrap. When eBay rose to popularity in the late 1990s, Robin Le Vine knew many eBay sellers who were shipping from their homes, and recognized their need for bubble wrap to ensure safe delivery of the products. She began purchasing rolls of bubble wrap in bulk, selling them, and establishing a loyal customer base in the process. Soon, customers started requesting other products, and Bubblefast was born.

Her husband and business partner, Mark, says that truly successful eBay stores rely on one type of product. "If you're searching in your garage for a few random items to sell, the buyer can sense that," he says. "People are more likely to trust a seller who has an established presence on eBay. We know how to work with the customer and understand how important customer service is."

Sarah Davis, owner of the Beverly Hills-based Fashionphile, started as a so-called "garage seller" 10 years ago. She was in law school, hoping to make a little extra cash, and never intended to launch a full-blown business. "I was literally selling everything in our house that wasn't nailed down – that's how I learned," Davis says. "I began gauging what was selling well, and what wasn't, and I honed down to women's handbags."

When Davis started selling on eBay, the site didn't offer the option of eBay stores. However, as soon as the opportunity presented itself, she felt she was ready to take her hobby to the next level. She already had an established following, so Davis was confident that a store was the right move for her. Nonetheless, Davis cautions others to make the transition slowly.

Building an Ebay Storefront: Ease Your Way in by Testing the Market

Even eBay itself encourages sellers to take their time and familiarize themselves with the process before opening a store. Jim "Griff" Griffith, eBay's senior manager of seller advocacy, always tells sellers, "If you've never bought on the site, it's very important to understand the buyer's experience as well. Research is critical if you're going to survive in e-commerce."

And Griffith probably knows better than anyone – he joined eBay as the company's first customer support representative in 1996 and is eBay's longest running employee. "My advice is to never jump in with both feet at once," he says. "Only when you reach the point where you're constantly listing and selling, and your inventory is between 50 and 100 items, that's when you'd want to investigate starting an eBay store."

Mark and Robin Le Vine agree. "The market is ever-changing, the platform is ever-changing, and you need to know what you're doing before you start making major financial investments – talk to other sellers – listen to the voices of experience," Mark says. Both Mark and Robin have seen competitors' businesses fail as the result of what Mark calls the "my eyes are too wide syndrome." Mark says people tend to get overzealous spending money on things like e-mail marketers and third-party applications before they've taken the time to establish a solid foundation and customer-base for their store.

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