One of the biggest changes I’ve documented on Steve Flips is structural, not tactical: splitting one eBay store into three.
That decision wasn’t about growth.
It was about friction.
Scale Amplifies Problems
As inventory grows, small issues get louder:
- mixed categories become harder to evaluate
- pricing logic overlaps
- sourcing decisions blur together
- it becomes unclear what deserves attention
Adding more volume doesn’t fix this. It makes it worse.
Structure Creates Clarity
Separating the business into:
- vintage & second-hand clothing
- prints & postcards
- golf clothing & equipment
didn’t immediately increase revenue.
What it did was:
- make decisions easier
- reduce context switching
- clarify sourcing priorities
- turn each store into a discrete asset
That clarity is worth more than scale.
Structure Is Reversible
This isn’t a permanent choice.
If the structure stops making sense, it can change again.
The goal isn’t to “get it right forever”, it’s to reduce friction now.
Closing
Growth gets most of the attention.
Structure does most of the work.
