This post goes alongside a video where I explain why I split one eBay store into three separate shops.
The decision wasn’t driven by sales figures or short-term optimisation. It came from noticing growing friction in how the business was structured and how difficult it had become to think clearly about what was actually working.
The Starting Point
Originally, everything I sold went through a single eBay store.
That included:
- vintage and second-hand clothing
- prints and postcards
- golf clothing and equipment
On the surface, this worked. Items sold, and there was no immediate reason to change anything. But over time, the mix of categories started to make the business harder to operate rather than easier.
What Started to Feel Off
As inventory grew, a few things became less clear:
- performance by category was harder to see
- sourcing decisions became less focused
- listing and pricing required more context switching
- it was difficult to tell which parts of the business deserved more attention
None of these were critical problems on their own, but together they added friction.
The store was doing too many different things at once.
The Decision to Split
Rather than trying to manage this complexity inside a single store, I decided to separate the business into three focused shops:
- Vintage, second-hand & clothing resale
- Prints & postcards
- Golf clothing & equipment
The goal wasn’t scale or optimisation. It was clarity.
Each store could now:
- serve a more specific buyer
- have its own pricing logic
- be sourced and listed with a clearer brief
- be evaluated on its own terms
What Changed Immediately
The biggest change wasn’t financial — it was operational.
Splitting the stores made it easier to:
- think about each niche independently
- decide what to source and what to stop sourcing
- understand where time was actually being spent
- treat each store as its own asset rather than part of a blur
Even before any long-term results showed up, the structure itself felt easier to work with.
What I’m Watching Now
After making the split, I’m paying attention to:
- whether focus improves decision-making
- how much time each store realistically requires
- which stores justify more attention and which don’t
- whether this structure continues to reduce friction over time
This isn’t a permanent decision — it’s simply the structure that makes the most sense right now.
Closing
Splitting one eBay store into three wasn’t about doing more.
It was about making the business easier to run.
Whether this structure stays in place long-term will depend on what happens next.
This post documents a structural decision made while running resale businesses. Outcomes and follow-on decisions are recorded separately over time.
