💡Quick Answer: The best alternative to eBay is Facebook Marketplace. Although there are tons of other online selling sites that are very similar to eBay such as Walmart, Wish, Bonanza, and more, many of them specialize in particular niches or locations. Read the list below to find out which eBay alternative is best for your business.
So you're in a funk with eBay, or maybe you're just looking out into the big wide world of platforms to sell online, to see what opportunities lay yonder. Either way, you've ended up here, and you wonder about the top alternatives to eBay and which ones will suit you most.
Where there's a will there's a way, and this rise in need for other platforms has produced more options than you can shake the proverbial stick at. So what are these eBay competitors?
Below you'll find a description of each site, some information about who that marketplace is best suited to and a direct comparison to eBay.
Online Selling Sites like eBay: Try the Best Alternative Places to Sell in 2023
Amazon: A Major Marketplace like eBay, but Cheaper
It's almost hard to believe that once upon a time Amazon was simply an online bookstore that dropshipped much of its inventory. It has since exploded into one of the world's most visited websites, which offers millions of products across a range of product categories.
Amazon is similar to eBay in that you're opting into a large marketplace that a lot of buyers trust, but the massive customer base comes at the price of higher fees and more competition. On Amazon, this means sellers with the same products are competing to win the Buy Box.
In saying that, the large number of people looking to buy is a definite plus. With larger platforms like these, you need to think of it as getting a smaller slice of a larger pie. Its huge traffic volume is probably the main reason that Amazon's Sellers Choice profitability rating generally isn’t far off eBay’s.
Another advantage to Amazon is its built-in algorithm that will recommend your products to people who might be interested in them based on their search histories.
How Amazon Compares Directly with eBay
Amazon sales are instant with a fixed price, whereas eBay’s auction house setup means it might take a week to sell an item
Amazon charges $0.99 per item sold plus 8%-15% commission of the sale price
eBay charges $0.30 per item sold plus 12.9% commission
Amazon offers various perks to customers, like 2-day shipping for Prime members and an all-around great customer service – both of which draw in more customers. eBay doesn’t provide any extra services to customers and leaves it up to each seller to handle customer service.
Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) lets smaller sellers hand over order fulfillment to the commerce giant, taking advantage of their huge number of warehouses around the world and generally making the process smooth and fast for customers. eBay has no comparable service.
Who is Amazon Best Suited To?
Almost anyone, selling almost anything can run a business on Amazon
Can be challenging for smaller sellers due to competitive pressure that lower prices
Prices need to be competitive enough to be a contender without sacrificing too much of your profit margins
Facebook Marketplace: Selling with High Exposure to Target Audiences
With billions of people using Facebook, it’s a no brainer for the platform to get into eCommerce and online marketplaces. Listing your product on Facebook could get you seen by tons of people in your target market.
Facebook Marketplace is similar to eBay in that most people sell used or second hand items. It’s a convenient place for people to list items that they want to get rid of on the platform and target their local market. In the US, FB Marketplace offers additional features more suited to professional sellers such as Facebook Checkout, making it more like a traditional eCommerce store that mostly runs itself.
Whether in the US or beyond, there are people everywhere who use FB Marketplace to list brand new items, and even those who dropship on there. While it’s not quite like eBay or Amazon, Facebook Marketplace is definitely growing in the eCommerce and marketplace space. Therefore, if you want to take advantage of Facebook’s high traffic, you should consider listing your items there and selling on Marketplace.
How Facebook Marketplace Compares Directly with eBay
Selling on Facebook Marketplace is free, whereas eBay charges listing and success fees
Facebook Marketplace works mainly for localized selling, where eBay has a huge global customer base
Some customer bases, such as those for antiques are more likely to hang out on eBay than on Facebook Marketplace
It can be harder to build a brand on Facebook Marketplace, unless you’re in the US where you can sell as a Facebook Shop
Outside the US, payment negotiations happen through messenger, which can be time-consuming if you’re looking to sell large volumes. eBay has a more automated process and payment system
Who is Facebook Marketplace Best Suited to?
People selling secondhand items to a localized market will be right at home on Facebook Marketplace. Just be ready to stand your ground when customers try to negotiate with you – because they will!
If you’re in the US, you can run listings through a branded Facebook Shop which can complement your home store and increase reach
How to Succeed with Facebook Marketplace
If you have lots of secondhand items you want to profit from, you can really succeed here!
Prices shouldn’t be too high and leave room for negotiation
The quality of photos on people’s listings are often less than average, so putting a little elbow grease into making your photography shine can really set you apart here! Create a list of product photography ideas and snapping away.
Add as many details as you can to listing descriptions, as this will reduce the number of follow-up question you’ll have to answer before people decide to buy
3. Walmart
Walmart: The Cut-Throat Underdog
By now people may have cottoned on that Walmart, one of the largest retail corporations on the planet, has entered the eCommerce marketplace world.
Walmart Marketplace is a platform where select sellers can list and sell products. It’s very similar to Amazon in that you could be competing with Walmart itself, but it’s definitely worth considering as an alternative to selling on eBay.
You get to take advantage of Walmart’s massive reach and customer base, and it’s free and easy to set up. Walmart seems to be taking the eCommerce space quite seriously, so it’s likely to be investing heavily in this area over the coming years. Who knows, maybe in five years everyone will be saying they wish they were on Walmart from the start?
How Walmart Marketplace Compares Directly with eBay
There are no set-up or maintenance fees, but merchants pay a referral fee of between 8% and 20% for successful sales.
There’s no auction option, it’s just fixed-price listings.
Depending on your product and niche, you could be be competing against Walmart-owned brands, which may get priority on the platform
Walmart’s online sales are lagging behind eBay (and Amazon), but it’s still early days
Expect lower margins – Walmart prioritizes competitively-priced products, which means you might get caught in a race to the bottom
Who is Walmart Best Suited to?
Established businesses with solid brands
If you’ve always dreamed of getting your product in Walmart stores, this might be a good way to make an impression
Could also be a good option for new sellers looking to build brand awareness and credibility
Etsy is doing very well as an online selling platform. It started in 2005 as an online community for crafters, artists and vintage enthusiasts, based in an apartment in Brooklyn, New York. Now it has 7.5 million active sellers, and 96 million active buyers. Not bad! It always rates highly in the Sellers' Choice Awards for ease of use, and it was No.2 for profitability after eBay.
Etsy specializes in handmade and vintage goods, as well as craft supplies, but it’s actually branched ou into all sorts of categories in recent years. Yes, it’s limited as to what you can list on the network, but it’s always worth checking if your particular niche fits in – you might be surprised!
You can sell pretty much anything on eBay, whereas Etsy caters in particular to the handmade/ vintage/ boutique niche.
Buyers come to Etsy for the unique nature of the products they're getting, eBay has mass-sold items and big brands
Etsy and eBay both charge fees, however:
You can list up to 350 items for free on eBay; etsy charges $0.20 per listing
eBay listings are up to 30 days, while Etsy's listings last 4 months. This means your listings will last 4 times as long on Etsy before you'll have to renew them.
If you create your own products, go ahead and list them to see how you go
If want to sell wholesale products, you should read Etsy's Seller Guidelines to make sure you’re within the regulations
Stock up on wholesale supplies by searching the SaleHoo Directory for "craft supplies," or search for specific types of supplies such as "fabrics" or "beads" or "clasps."
Selling Platforms Similar to Etsy
We thought it worth mentioning that there are a few other sites like Etsy now, claiming to have more unique goods than marketplaces like eBay and Amazon. Two in particular are doing very well. If you are interested in tapping into this market, it could be worth trying your luck with:
Bonanza: This platform's slogan is "Find everything but the ordinary": Any quirky or unique-style items are great here. You're allowed to sell a wider variety of wholesale goods, and it's becoming a very popular network. We'll talk more about Bonanza in the next section.
Ruby Lane: With a claim like "The world's largest curated marketplace for vintage & antiques," you're better off selling vintage-style goods and actual antiques here. Ruby Lane's strength is customer service, as reflected in their Sellers Choice customer service rating.
Look around these marketplaces to get an idea of the types of products people are selling, and then find suppliers for them to start selling on these networks.
5. Wish
Wish: Target Millenials and Gen Z with Great Deals
If you’ve ever browsed Wish, you’ll know how astoundingly low some of their prices are. With the majority of prices below $10, selling just about everything under the sun (from smartwatches to sneakers), it’s hard to imagine how some of these sellers even make any money.
In the past, Wish has made itself a bit of a (bad?) name with tons of counterfeit products, leading to a trend of ridiculous Wish unboxing videos flooding social media.
Many of the products sold on Wish are produced in China, which partly explains the low prices, and also means that orders take a long time to arrive, some customers waiting for months. But when you’ve only paid $2, lots of people probably just shrug and go ‘oh well’.
In recent years, Wish has gone through a bit of a rebrand and removed a huge number of sellers from their platform in an effort to purge the site of counterfeits. Unfortunately, the platform has also seen a significant dip in active users and revenue, going from 107 to 25 million, and 794 to 125 million respectively.
With their new seller strategy in place, it’s no longer possible to sign up to Wish of your own accord, but you can ask to be invited. Once you receive an invitation, listings on the platform are free.
How Wish Directly Compares with eBay
Anyone can sign up for an eBay seller’s account, at Wish you need to be selected
eBay is an auction site, Wish charges fixed prices that are famously low
While you can sell anything on Wish, you wouldn’t have much luck selling higher-ticket items, as that’s just not the platform’s vibe. eBay is more open than that.
Wish appeals to younger generations in that it serves a personalized feed to its users based on their browsing and purchasing data
Who is Wish Best Suited For
If you’re looking to dropship products, Wish is the perfect platform to do this, as users are well-used to and expect longer shipping times already
Use Wish if you’re expecting to sell a high volume of low-ticket items
If you want to sell products made closer to home (in typically importing countries), Wish may not be the place for you
How to Succeed on Wish
Wish is made for mobile use with 90% of purchases are made on mobile. So it’s vital you optimize your product photos for mobile
Use niche products and product tags to stand out from the crowd
With a a higher than average numer of dodgy sellers, users are on the alert for scams. Good reviews serve as a trusting mechanism, so focus on the customer experience to rack up a good score
Bonanza is headquartered in Seattle and, though it's relatively new to the eCommerce scene (since 2007), it's doing incredibly well. The Bonanza marketplace encompasses more than 22 million items ranging from Godzilla garden gnomes to taxidermy alligators.
A lot of sellers are making good money on Bonanza. The site has merchants and shoppers in nearly every country around the world. More than 40,000 sellers have already created businesses here.
Bonanza is one of the easiest selling platforms to use, and its popularity is on the rise amongst sellers. In the Sellers' Choice awards, Bonanza has taken out the top rating for customer service and communication again, and were voted the most recommended selling venue.
How Bonanza Compares Directly to eBay
Bonanza is similar to eBay in that a huge range of different products are sold
Unlike eBay, many items on Bonanza are quirky and unique - ‘extraordinary products’ do well here
Because Bonanza doesn’t make money until its sellers do, profit margins are higher
It is absolutely free to list an item on Bonanza
Success fees are $0.25 + 3.5% commission (eBay’s are $0.30 +13.5%)
Bonanza is a fixed-price marketplace
Advertising options: Bonanza sends every item listing to Google and Bing, and sellers have the option to get more exposure by advertising their listings in other channels such as Pricegrabber, Nextag, and Bonanza's affiliate advertising program
Easy-to-use import features for listings on eBay, Etsy, and Amazon for those listing on multiple platforms
1,300:1 shoppers-to-sellers-ratio on Bonanza vs. <10:1 on eBay. That means far less competition between sellers, and more chances for buyers to see your products.
Who is Bonanza Best Suited To?
Any merchant selling online
Those with unique items will do well, but a broad range of products is represented, even your Justin Bieber perfumes and Michael Kors handbags
How to Succeed with Bonanza
Bonanza provides a helpful guide for making sales on its platform, so that's definitely worth checking out
Craigslist: The World's Largest Online Classified Website
You can sell almost anything on Craigslist (including yourself, in the "personals" section). It's very "no-frills" in that there are no listing fees or selling fees, but it's super basic both in design and automation of the selling process.
It is, after all, just a forum. This means that you're pretty much on your own as far as selling and disputes go.
How Craigslist Directly Compares to eBay
eBay charges to list and sell items; Craigslist only charges for a small handful of post types, like job listings or vehicles. Products are free to list.
eBay will get involved in disputes if necessary, while you're on your own with Craigslist.
Craigslist requires you to sell locally, and often items will be picked up or dropped off. This limits your market compared to eBay.
Craigslist has a "free" section where people aren't looking to make money, they're just trying to get rid of unwanted items, which could be a business opportunity for you if you’re good at fixing things.
Who is Craigslist Suited To?
Sellers who are selling locally
Sellers who prefer to manage their transactions personally
Can be a good option for selling items that are too big or expensive to ship, such as furniture.
There's a small social element as you get to meet the people you’re selling to
You can get cash-in-hand and you don't have to pay a network or shipping fees
If you're paranoid about getting scammed or don't want to be personally involved with your buyers, then Craigslist isn’t for you.
Transactions can be dodgy here, and if you (e.g.) get handed fake money, then it's basically your loss, so handle sales with care
Be careful (and safe!) when deciding where and how you meet people
If you're good at spotting items that are worth more than their sale price, or you have the skills to freshen up older up items, you could make a neat profit here (e.g. restoring old furniture or spotting antiques)
Pick up some workable free or low-cost items from craigslist (or local garage sales), work your magic, and sell the items for a higher price
Consider buying wholesale goods that will sell well locally, and save on listing and shipping fees
Nextdoor is a social networking platform connecting neighborhoods. To join, you have to enter your address and confirm a phone number for that country. You will then have access to your specific neighborhood and all features of its forum-style discussion platform.
This includes local updates and alerts, pet register and missing pet notices, recommendation requests, giveaways, items and services for sale, and more.
The platform is garnering popularity across the globe, with more than 69 million users in 2021. It’s an invaluable resource for solving all of life’s little problems on a local scale.
How Nextdoor Directly Compares with eBay
Joining and posting on Nextdoor is completely free, whereas eBay charges listing and success fees
Nextdoor only allows you to sell within your direct neighborhood, limiting your audience significantly. eBay is much more flexible than that
Nextdoor listings last 30 days and can be renewed after that
Being a community platform, there’s a lot of trust between users that you wouldn’t get on eBay
Nexdoor isn’t really set up as a money-making platform, so has its limits for commercial purposes
Who is Nextdoor Best Suited For
Sellers with second-hand or unwanted items from their personal stash
Those looking to forge local connections with their neighborhood
Less suited to commercial online retailers looking to make a big profit
How to Succeed on Nextdoor
For item listings, provide clear title of what the item is, a concise description and at least one photo
Marketing jargon or sales talk is less suited to this platform, so keep it conversational and simple
Garner positive ‘recommendations’ through easy and helpful transactions
The more you get involved in your community, the more you will benefit from this platform
9. Varagesale
Varagesale: Virtual Garage Sales Made Secure
Varagesale is relatively new to the eCommerce market. Founded in 2012, the website and app does what it says on the label: virtual garage sales, which places it firmly in the Classified Ads category of marketplaces.
Mostly used in Canada and the US, the platform is doing well, with 35,000+ monthly app downloads and around 1.2 million monthly visitors. So no eBay by any means, but it’s steadily growing and garnering interest from users.
The advantage over other platforms like Craigslist is that it offers online payments for transactions. So while you still have to negotiate prices via the in-built messenger, you can easily receive payments without ever leaving the platform, which is a definite bonus over other classified ads platforms.
Users are also verified and protected through various security mechanisms, which adds a layer of security that other free platforms like this don’t offer.
How Varagesale Directly Compares with eBay
Varagesale has 1.2M monthly visitors, eBay has 109M
Varagesale is completely free of listing or success fees at this stage
Selling on Varagesale is to local communities only, which significantly restricts reach
You can ‘bump’ your listings for free several times an hour
Profiles on Varagesale are connected to Facebook profiles, which means you have a better idea of who you’re selling to
Who is Varagesale Best Suited For
Best suited to people looking to sell second-hand unwanted items to a local audience
Sellers worried about the security concerns of other classified platforms like Craigslits
Could potentially work for selling wholesale items to a local audience too
How to Succeed on Varagesale
As with other classified platforms, it pays to have clear titles, detailed listing descriptions and good photos
Mentioning the condition of items is especially important for second-hand sales
Make use of the free ‘bumping’ feature to get your listing in front of the maximum number of people
10. Mercari
Mercari: The Only Marketplace with Instant Seller Payout
Introducing Mercari, Japan’s largest community-powered marketplace that has been taking big strides to compete globally since its inception in 2013.
This marketplace offers a streamlined and protected commerce experience for both buyers and sellers. You can buy or sell pretty much anything, as long as you can ship it. That’s because the platform is completely contactless, so doesn’t let buyers and sellers meet up to exchange items. Instead, Mercari is partnered with USPS, FedEx, and UPS for easy shipping options.
Once an item is sold, Mercari automatically sends the seller a shipping label to print off, making this process extremely efficient. As a bonus, the company also offers protection for any items shipped this way up to a value of $200. Not bad!
Over 45 million people have downloaded the Mercari app and with 100, 000 new items added each day, this is definitely shaping up to be a big player on the marketplace scene.
How Mercari Directly Compares with eBay
Listings on Mercari are free, but there is a flat 10% commission on sold items, which is less than eBay’s 12.9% + $0.30
Mercari protects shipments up to $200, eBay has no comparable service
Mercari is the only marketplace where sellers are paid within minutes. Money is added to your Mercari account, which you can then transfer to your bank account ($2 fee if amount is under $10) or use to purchase items on Mercari
It takes on average 3 minutes to create a listing on Mercari
Who is Mercari Best Suited For
Currently only available to sellers in Japan and the USA
Most suitable for sellers looking for a cheaper alternative to eBay that offers better support and protection
Works for both new and used products, so lots of flexibility
How to Succeed on Mercari
In-season merchandise always does best, e.g. take advantage of shopping surges around Black Friday or back-to-school are
For sellers of second-hand items, the periods immediately after those big peaks can be lucrative too – almost like retail binge hangovers
On Mercari, items in fair or poor condition often sell faster than new items!
Prioritize clear, well-lit photos from all angles for your listings (no flash, this often does makes things worse)
Share any interesting stories connected to your item, this will make it stand out!
For pricing, search Mercari for similar items and use those as a guide. Many sellers price too high and lose customers that way
Brand names really matter in Mercari search, so make sure to mention those
Offer free shipping, as this will make your item sell faster
11. Poshmark
Poshmark: Posh Second-Hand Apparel with an Eco Twist
Poshmark is a social marketplace that was founded in 2011 in Redwood City, California, and has since risen to fame with millions of users and available listings. The premise was initially to create a place where people could sell their second-hand designer and branded fashion items, but the platform now allows listings in various other categories, such as Pets and Electronics.
With more then 80 million registered users across Canada, Australia, India and the US, and and average of 59.5M monthly visits, Poshmark isn’t far off joining the line-up of online commerce giants a la eBay, Amazon and Etsy. In 2019 alone, it doubled the revenue paid out to its sellers from $1 to $2 billion!
Success fees are a flat $2.95 for all sales under $15 (which equates to 20%+), and 20% commission for any sales above $15; eBay charges slightly less: $0.30 + 12.9% (or lower)
Unlike eBay, Poshmark offers social features such as following, liking, sharing, and commenting on listings
Poshmark sends sellers a shipping label after a successful sale
Sellers receive the sale amount in their Poshmark account only after the buyer has marked the item as delivered
Poshmark’s Reposh tool lets you relist an item using imagery and listing details from the previous seller
Who is Poshmark Best Suited For
Poshmark is the perfect side hustle for fashion lovers
If you have the time and enthusiasm to provide great customer service and nerd out over fashion with your customers, this is the place for you
Also suitable for those wanting to clear out their wardrobe – provided you have some branded and quality items in there
Those looking to make between $300 and $1000 per month
How to Succeed on Poshmark
Use keywords in the title
Be specific with brand names and any design features such as patterns etc
NWT: New with tags
NWOT: New without tags
Research similar products so you can set realistic pricing
Package and ship as soon as you receive the shipping label: fast shipping will get you positive reviews
Make use of Posh Parties: real-time shopping events that let you get in front of a large group of potential customers
12. LightInTheBox
Lightinthebox: The Chinese General Store Gone Global
Lightinthebox is a Chinese marketplace that sells everything from clothing to gardening tools – but it does have a focus on lifestyle products such as those in fashion and beauty. Westerners may find the site a little easier to navigate than some of the country’s flashier counterparts.
They started out catering mainly to the Chinese market, but have since expanded globally, catering for shoppers in 26 different languages, using 48 currencies.
Traffic to Lightinthebox is solid, with 37.78 million monthly users, racking up a total of $270.7M in sales in 2021.
If you’re an international seller looking to join Lightinthebox, you need to set up a Merchant Account and arrange shipping to their warehouse per order placed on the platform. Lightinthebox will the handle shipping to the customer from thereon out.
How LightInTheBox Directly Compares with eBay
Lightinthebox charges 15% commission on the prices set on each product by the merchant. eBay’s fees are 12.9% plus $0.30
Each merchant will also have to cover shipping costs to the nearest Lightinthebox warehouse (at least one available in the US)
Depending on timings, you may have to pay a warehousing fee at Lightinthebox, but the company does try to minimize that through smooth logistics
Selling on Lightinthebox means you get to take advantage of their customer service and returns processes, where on eBay that’s each seller’s responsibility
Who is LightInTheBox Best Suited For
Lightinthebox is not for your average side hustle
Only dedicated commerce professionals should consider selling here, due to the slightly more complex logistics
LITB requires registered merchants to provide various paperwork, including a company business licence and a tax registration certificate
Merchants wanting to expand into the Chinese and Asian markets will find LITB a valuable opportunity
How to Succeed on LightInTheBox
Make sure you have all your ducks in a row before applying to register as a merchant (paperwork in place etc)
Product pics should be square (500x500px), must have a watermark, and no infringement patterns
Products pictures also need to have a white background, unless in the apparels category
13. eWorldTrade
eWorldTrade: B2B portal Connecting Suppliers and Buyers
eWorldTrade is a business to business platform and database where commerce professionals can find wholesale suppliers for their shops. The site has mixed reviews, with some users reporting incredibly bad customer service with inconsistent messaging, while others praise it for ease of use and being able to find great suppliers.
This marketplace currently reports about 500,000 registered users and a constantly expanding database of manufacturers and suppliers.
The pricing structure for buyers is unclear, but suppliers have to pay a hefty yearly fee of $1499 and $7999 to be part of the database.
How eWorldTrade Directly Compares with eBay
eWorld Trade is B2B where eBay is mostly B2C
eWorld Trade lets merchants finds suppliers for the products they want to sell, eBay is a selling platform for merchants
As a supplier wanting to sell on eWorld Trade, you have to cough up a hefty fee of minimum $1499 without any guaranteed sales; on eBay you only pay per item sold
Who is eWorldTrade Best Suited For
Shop owners looking to find wholesale suppliers for their business
Suppliers or manufacturers looking for new buyers
How to Succeed on eWorldTrade
Make sure the terms of your membership with eWorld Trade is clearly defined on paper, as lots of users report communication problems with the reps around pricing and conditions
As a supplier, showcase your best products. On the cheapest plan (= $1499 / year) you only get to display 10 products, so you want to make sure they shine
As a buyer, be wary of shady suppliers and make sure you do your due diligence with all agreements signed and on paper
14. OpenSky
OpenSky: Small Marketplace, Small Prices
OpenSky is a marketplace connecting 1M+ shoppers and over 70,000 vendors, which is now owned by the Aibaba network.
It offers a large range of products, promising discounts up to 80%, and adds items to its clearance section daily.
Customer reviews of the site are mixed, with an average rating of 3.0 (1035 reviews) on Trustpilot, and a rating of 2.63 (2,296 reviews) on sitejabber. Some praise the quality of products, value for money, and fast shipping, While others complain about poor quality products, slow shipping, difficult returns and terrible customer service.
The truth is that products and fulfillment are wholly in the hands of the individual merchants here, with OpenSky taking a very hands-off approach in this area. Even customer service is supposed to be mainly handled by the merchants, so it’s unsurprising that you get a real mix of customer experiences with so many different vendors selling on the platform.
How OpenSky Directly Compares with eBay
Becoming a merchant is easy on OpenSky, with no setup fee and no listing fees, similar to eBay
OpenSky charges 20% commission on successful sales, and 30% on sales resulting from OpenSky promotional marketing. This is high compared to eBay’s 12.9% + $0.30
OpenSky has about 20 million shoppers worldwide, eBay has 147 million
Who is OpenSky Best Suited For
Best suited for vendors wanting to diversify their audience and profit from a smaller marketplace with less competition
Vendors wanting to stay ahead of the curve and be part of one of the fastest-growing eCommerce marketplaces out there
Smaller sellers may struggle to keep up with the low price point and high commission on this platform
How to Succeed on OpenSky
Keep prices low to be able to compete
Professional, varied product photography to stand out
Be aware that OpenSky reserves to right to reshuffle and tweak product content to opimize sales
15. Sears Marketplace
Sears Marketplace: Piggyback off an Established US Institution
Sears Marketplace is an offshoot of the US department store chain Sears. The marketplace was formally launched in 2009 to improve the company’s online presence and keep up with the growing eCommerce sector. It has been running, more or less successfully, ever since.
To become a seller on Sears Marketplace, you have to fill out an application and verify your address and business details (including tax and insurance details). The platform isn’t always accepting new sellers and it’s not entirely clear how to find out if they are – so it’s a matter of submitting an application and hoping for the best.
With 20 major merchandise categories and more than 15 million monthly unique shoppers, it doesn’t look like a bad deal for sellers at all, however, there are mixed reviews from vendors as to how many sales you can actually make from the site.
On the plus side, you get to capitalize on Sears’ established brand and the associated trust from customers, and the platform has easy integration for existing eBay sellers.
How Sears Marketplace Directly Compares with eBay
15M monthly unique visitors on Sears, as opposed to 109M on eBay
Items on Sears marketplace will be shoppable on Sears.com, Kmart.com, Sears & Kmart mobile and in store kiosks
Fees: $39.99 / month to be a part of Sears Marketplace, plus 8%-20% commission on sales. Depending on your products and sales volume, eBay’s 12.9% + $0.30 may be cheaper
Fulfillment by Sears caters to merchants with warehousing concerns. Same price as being a Seller (includes selling account) plus $0.45-$0.60/ cubic foot storage fees per month
Who is Sears Marketplace Best Suited For
Most suited for established sellers with a stable business looking for more sales
Insurance and other business requirements set by Sears for becoming a merchant would make it harder for smaller / new sellers to join
Small sellers may also struggle to make a profit with the fee structure
Vestiaire: Sell Preloved Items to 23 Million Global Fashion Lovers
The Parisian Vestiaire Collective started in 2009 with a small team of six and has since grown to a global platform for reselling pre-loved luxury fashion. Dedicated to creating a more sustainable future through the promotion of the circular fashion movement, the platform is streamlined to make transactions easy and transparent for buyers and sellers alike.
They operate in 80+ countries, offering a catalog of over more than 5 million desirable fashion items from 6000 brands. According to Vestiaire, around 25,000 new products are added daily – to join the catalog of uniquely displayed and expertly curated items. The way the company provides such a unique look to their product listings is through clever use of tech that removes the background from all product photos uploaded by sellers.
All buyers have the option of having their items examined by professional authenticators in one of the global Vestiaire warehouses before the final order is shipped – creating trust and accountability between buyers and sellers. An important component when you’re specialising in a niche that lives on brands and authentic labels.
How Vestiaire Directly Compares with eBay
Listings are free, with a success fee of 12% plus a 3% processing fee. So slightly more than eBay’s 12.9% + $0.30
Vestiaire covers all shipping costs! This includes initial shipping to the authenticating warehouse. Buyers also have the option of having items directly shipped from trusted sellers.
Buyers are served relevant products they’re most likely to buy, which is basically free advertising for your products
Sales are final, with no returns
Items over 1000 Euros are authenticated by default, but buyers have the option to do so for any item
A Buyer Seller chat tool encourages communication on Vestiaire – eBay only offers this through Q+A
Who is Vestiaire Best Suited For
Best suited to those with a genuine passion for high-end fashion
Can be a side hustle, selling unwanted personal items
Vestiaire is strict about their community following the rules and encourages members to report sellers breaking them. If you’re found to be guilty of any breaches, Vestiaire may penalize you by revoking account privileges.
Sell according to the seasons and plan ahead with your products
Classic items or trendsetting styles perform best on Vestiaire
Be detailed in your description, especially when it comes to distinguishing brand and design features
Work to earn positive reviews and badges, and become a ‘trusted seller’. Swift shipping and good communication will go a long way for this.
17. Storenvy
Storenvy: The Store and Marketplace Combo Solution
San Francisco-based company Storenvy is a unique combination of marketplace shopping platform (like Etsy) and individual store creator (a la Spopify).
People wanting to set up their own customized online store, can do so for free (up to 20 products), and also opt-in to be part of its marketplace, which collates all of the stores created on Storenvy in one place.
The company also dubs itself as a ‘social shopping’ platform which means that shoppers have the ability to ‘follow’ each other, ‘watch’ stores, ‘envy’ products, and ‘collect’ lists of want-to-have items.
Storenvy is a self-proclaimed supporter of ‘indie’ emerging brands and ‘one-of-a-kind’ products, although in theory anyone could open a shop through the platform. Its store creator is easy-to-use and doesn’t require any coding knowledge, but has been criticized for its lack of customization options and integrations with other apps and services.
How Storenvy Directly Compares with eBay
Storenvy is a store builder + marketplace, whereas eBay is a marketplace only
There are various pricing options available for store setup, depending on the number of products you want to sell. The cheapest option that includes a custom domain is $9.99/ month
Sales made through Storenvy marketplace are subject to a 15% commission of total sales price; eBay’s fees are 12.9% of sales price + $0.30
Storenvy garners around 4M monthly visits, for eBay it’s 109M, so significantly more!
Who is Storenvy Best Suited For
Those just starting out who want to create a custom store on a budget
Sellers in indie niches that will benefit from the close community of the Storenvy marketplace
Sellers not too worried about ltos of customization features and app integrations: they just want to get off the ground
Sellers not too worried about their unique store’s SEO: your Storenvy profile is likely to be higher in search results than your actual store, due to the platforms more powerful SEO.
How to Succeed on Storenvy
Keep an active and well-performing store (traffic, watchers, sales, ‘envies’) to be included in Editor’s pick, bumped in search results and features on Storenvy social accounts
Tag your posts: When promoting products on socials, be sure to #storenvy and mention @storenvy to link to the official Storency account
Optimize social media captions, products titlese and descriptions: include keywords, special features and eye-catching words to excite potential customers
18. OfferUp
OfferUp: A Mobile Peer-to-Peer Selling Network
Like Craigslist, OfferUp is a peer-to-peer selling network for advertising any second-hand, preloved, or unwanted items to other personal users. A wide range of categories leaves what you can sell wide open
Unlike Craigslist, the service runs mainly on an app (which is more modern-looking than Craigslist) where you can connect with and rate other users. These ratings will help future buyers figure out whether you’re a trustworthy seller.
There are also options to promote listings and pay for a Premium account with additional features. Sellers have 3 days to ship items after the completion of a sale, using a shipping label provided by OfferUp.
How OfferUp Directly Compares with eBay
Listings on OfferUp are free, success fees are 12.9% of the sales price (or $1.99), which is very similar to eBay’s 12.9% + $0.30
You can promote listings from $1.99, eBay offers custom promotional amounts from 2-100% of the sale price of an item
Seller payouts on OfferUp can take a long time: between 10-14 days; on eBay it’s 1-3 business days
A premium plan on OfferUp costs $19.99 / month, eBay offers store options from $21.99 / month
OfferUp is for selling locally, eBay works globally
Who is OfferUp Best Suited For
Perfect for those wanting to turn their clutter into cash
For those wanting to capitalize on local audiences: e.g. local businesses
Sellers looking for more of a community feel than you get with eBay
Those who want a less ‘dodgy’ platform than Craigslist
How to Succeed on OfferUp
Communication is key! Use the in-app messaging feature to respond to buyer queries and offers
Clean up your items and present them nicely in quality photographs: just because it’s preloved doesn’t mean it needs to look like it!
Stick to: First Come First Served. This is a tacit agreement on peer-to-peer platforms and keeps things fair.
Confirm before you go: If you’re meeting someone for an exchange, be sure to communicate when you’re leaving the house to make things smooth and efficient
Use all of the above to garner positive reviews and gain trust from the buyer-base
19. Bookoo
Bookoo: The Craigslist Alternative
Bookoo is very similar to Craigslist, in that it’s a classified ads selling platform that is relatively low-fi and it doesn’t charge any fees.
The platform offers a place for people to list items they want to sell in their local community in a variety of categories.
Sellers and buyers are responsible for organising exchanges and handling payments. This means the platform also doesn’t take any responsibility for exchanges, returns or disputes.
How Bookoo Directly Compares with eBay
Listings are free on Bookoo, as well as eBay. But eBay does charge a success fee, which Bookoo doesn’t
eBay has A LOT more functionality than Bookoo, which is a very basic localised listing tool
eBay offers online payments, which Bookoo doesn’t
eBay has huge traffic, Bookoo is a small player with about 700k monthly visits
Who is Bookoo Best Suited For
Amongst the peer-to-peer platforms, Bookoo doesn’t really stand out aside from the fact that it’s free
Sellers who want to cover all their bases in listing on various platforms, may want to include Bookoo in their line-up too
Those who enjoy a very localised selling experience
How to Succeed on Bookoo
General best practice for product listings apply here too:
Catchy title including key words
Conclusive, but snappy description
A variety of clear photos
People tend to search by category, so make sure you list your items in the right ones
eBid is another marketplace similar to eBay and Amazon in that it is a platform for selling almost anything. Still, it's not as well known, so you'd be selling to a smaller pool of buyers.
It's definitely a lower-cost option than eBay or Amazon, but the profitability rating is also lower, and it didn’t even rank the Top 10 in the latest Seller’s Choice Awards. The absence of listing fees and a low 5% commission charged per sale (on the lowest seller tier) does make this a low-risk market to test out, so if you're looking for a change, you've got little to nothing to lose here.
If you promote your listings effectively through social media or forums, this is a great alternative to eBay
Some more work may be required to get your store off the ground, due to the overall lower traffic volume compared to eBay
Some top selling categories are:
DVDs
Craft supplies
Books
Toys
21. Rakuten
Rakuten: The “Amazon of Japan”
Rakuten (formerly buy.com) is considered the “Amazon of Japan”. Now, Japan’s may not be the first country that comes to mind when you think of eCommerce, but get this: Japan’s population is more than 125 million, and more than 90% of Japan’s internet users are registered on Rakuten. That’s a big market.
One benefit of Rakuten is that you’re not competing with the website itself. Unlike Amazon, which sells dozens of its own brands on its website, Rakuten does not compete with its sellers. You also have more power to customize your store within the platform – something that other major eCommerce websites don’t allow.
There are already some big-name brands like Dell, Lenovo, Office Depot, Airweave, and Dyason that use Rakuten.
How Rakuten compares directly to eBay
Rakuten is more like Amazon than eBay – it’s a more traditional online retail website, not an auction platform.
Rakuten gives merchants more flexibility to build their brand within the platform
You can design your store
Customize products
Publish blog content
Rakuten allows more flexibility for interacting with customers, including pricing, marketing, and promotions. It encourages tailor-made experiences.
Rakuten has expanded to at least 29 countries, including the US, and is planning to serve more countries in the coming years.
Fees are a bit higher than eBay’s: $39 / month seller fee, a $0.99 listing fee per item, plus 8%-20% commission on sales
It has excellent seller tools and support.
Who is Rakuten best suited to?
Best suited to people sick of the intense competition on eBay and Amazon, looking for a different entry point to the world of eCommerce
Especially good for people with experience doing business in Japan, or anyone wanting to break into the Eastern market
While it is now an international marketplace, Rakuten hasn’t quite got the same reach outside Japan as other marketplaces
How to succeed on Rakuten
Choose a niche product with sufficient demand and not too much competition
Utilize the 20,000 characters available to write high-converting product descriptions,
Make the most of the opportunity to be creative with your copy and highlight the unique benefits of your products.
You can add up to 20 shipping options on Rakuten – The more flexible you can be with shipping, the more likely you are to make sales.
22. Newegg
Newegg: A Leading Tech e-Retailer
Newegg is an online marketplace that claims to be the “#1 marketplace for everything tech”. That means electronics, computers and parts, entertainment, smart home and gaming products. Sellers can list products on the marketplace, which reaches up to 42M customers. Newegg is based in California and has distribution facilities across North America and Canada. It has a global reach into more than 50 countries.
How Newegg compares directly to eBay
More restricted in terms of what products you can sell – Newegg is solely for tech products.
HOWEVER, this means a more clearly defined audience and potential customer-base.
Newegg offers a fulfillment service - Shipped By Newegg (SBN) - similar to Amazon’s FBA. eBay doesn’t do fulfillment.
Newegg provides account managers who can help you set up your business and guide you along the journey.
Newegg offers tiered membership options: Free, $29.95 / month, and $99.95 / month. The more you pay, the more support, tools, flexibility and listings you get.
They take a commission of between 8% and 15%
Who is Newegg best suited to?
Best for anyone selling tech products, particularly those operating in the US and Canada markets
Newegg’s audience is mainly men aged from 18 to 35, so if that’s your target market, Newegg could be a good option for you.
How to succeed on Newegg
Simply listing your items and crossing your fingers isn’t going to cut it on Newegg. You need to follow Newegg’s SEO guide to drive more traffic to your listings.
Newegg recommends taking advantage of its promotional tools, such as a daily deal emails and various seller programs.
Make sure you’re not listing any prohibited items
Provide excellent customer service
23. eCrater
eCrater: The “100% free” online marketplace
The main appeal of eCrater is that it’s free to set up a store – it even has templates you can use to easily create an attractive store. It’s also said to be easy to import your listings from eBay, which is good if you’re looking to transition entirely. There’s not a lot of information on eCrater online, but supposedly there are at least 65,000 active stores on the site. The number of customers and the amount of traffic pales in comparison to the larger eCommerce platforms, so it’s probably best used as a complementary marketplace, rather than one that you solely rely on to run your business.
How eCrater compares directly to eBay
It’s 100% free to open and run a store on eCrater. However, if eCrater brings you a sale, it takes between 2.9% and 12.9% of the total. You keep 100% of the sales that you bring to your store through your own SEO and marketing efforts.
Around 1.4M monthly visitors, as opposed to eBay’s 109M
eCrater provides online store templates that help you to get set up quickly.
You can customize your store to include your branding.
Who is eCrater best suited to?
A good option for someone who’s totally over eBay, but it looking at using another marketplace, such as Amazon or Etsy, as their main platform
In our opinion, eCrater doesn’t quite have the numbers to be viable as your sole marketplace, but it could make for an excellent, low-risk and low-cost complementary option.
It’s up to you to drive traffic to your store, almost as though it’s your very own site.
24. Ruby Lane
Ruby Lane: The Marketplace for “Collecting Enthusiasts”
Ruby Lane is a legitimate alternative to selling on eBay. It’s been designed to bring buyers and sellers of antiques, art, vintage collectibles and jewelry together – similar to marketplaces like Etsy and Bonanza. Ruby Lane has 1.1 million unique visitors per month, which is impressive for a niche marketplace. A majority of users are located in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and Germany, but it has global reach.
85% of users are women aged over 40 and almost all describe themselves as a “collecting enthusiast”, so if that’s your target market Ruby Lane might be a great option. It seems to attract more purposeful, educated buyers who might be willing to spend more money than those who are scouring eBay for bargains.
How Ruby Lane compares directly with eBay
Ruby Lane is a fixed-price marketplace and does not provide for auctions.
It’s much more niche than eBay, focussing only on antiques, art, collectibles and jewelry. That means visitors to your store are more highly targeted.
$25 monthly fee which is refunded if you list 15 products that month
Commission of 9.9% on sales, capped at $250
There’s greater quality control on Ruby Lane and sellers are vetted.
Who is Ruby Lane best suited to?
Ruby Lane is best for savvy sellers in the antique, collectibles, art and jewelry markets
Selling on your very own website really is the ultimate option if you want to increase your profits and build a business that will become a long-term asset. If this appeals to you but you have no idea how to get started, don't worry. There's an easy way, which I'll mention a bit further down.
When selling from your own online store, you have to establish your own traffic, which can make it a little slower to get started than selling in a bigger marketplace. But once you're up and running, you don't have to compete with anyone else and your sales are all your own.
With this option, you can build up your own brand, rather than eBay's or Amazon's. When you sell on those platforms, who's really making the sale? They're spreading their brand, not yours. People say "I got it on eBay," or "I got it on Amazon," with no mention of the seller's name! It's ultimately you contributing to their marketplaces and their sales. Why not put that effort into yourself instead?
How Selling on Your Own Site Directly Compares to eBay
You're building your own brand.
You have full control over payment options, your brand, and store design
You're not competing with any other sellers on the same platform, which means you don't lose sales to others
Your prices aren’t driven down by competition, which makes way for larger profit margins.
Who is Best Suited to Owning Their Own Store?
Honestly? Pretty much anyone can get their own website and make a profit.
Setting up your own store isn't nearly as hard as it used to be, and with a little time and effort, you can sell exactly what you want to, and how you want to.
There's also a community forum where you can ask questions and get advice
26. Niche-Specific Sites
Niche-Specific Sites: Smaller Markets but Highly Targeted
Niche-specific websites are marketplaces where people only sell one type of product. So rather than the larger category-based marketplaces like eBay or Amazon, these sites hone in on one of those options and specialize in only that.
For example, if you were specifically interested in selling clothing, you might consider selling on a site like Poshmark. Or if you wanted to sell gear for the outdoors, you might try selling on GearTrade. Heck, if you were in the car market, why not try Cardaddy?
How Niche-Specific Sites Directly Compare to eBay
Much smaller networks with less traffic than eBay.
Highly targeted to buyers of that niche.
You don't have to compete with other categories for attention.
These sites are less obvious options, so some of your competition won't be here.
Who is Best Suited to Selling on Niche-Specific Sites?
Suitable for sellers passionate about a specific niche
Sellers who bulk-order a small range of items will also do well here
This will allow you to really focus on one market, and get to know the selling techniques that work best with that niche's buyer-audience.
How to Succeed with Niche-Specific Sites
Zero in on the type of product you'd like to sell and determine how much demand there is, e.g. do a keyword search with tools like the Keyword Research Module in AffiloTools.
Simply type in the name of the product or niche that you're interested in selling, and look at the monthly search volumes. This will show you how many people are searching for words or phrases to do with that topic, which is a strong indication of how much interest there is. If you're tossing up a few options, then try each one out to see which ones generally have more searches.
Once you have a strong idea of what you'd like to sell, search Google for "Places to sell [product type]."
Look for marketplaces that cater to your specific niche
Be sure to read about other sellers’ reviews first
If these sites come across as genuine and promising, give them a go!
Pongia.com is another online marketplace to sell things or services, that is ACTUALLY FREE. They let you sell anything, including “products, services, vehicles and homes” and you have the ability to list products online or locally, as well as local services or virtual services like web or logo design, or home repair, tutoring, etc. Products can also be digital downloads you sell, like music or designs.
Hello I'm looking for a service similar to eBay valet where you can drop off or mail out items to sell and it will be sold for you. I don't have much time to sell items myself and I was wondering what other services are available to do the storing, selling & shipping for me. Any insightful information will be gladly appreciaed. Thank you in advance.
This is the first time I entered this website and I really appreciate what I have read. I am planning to sell heirlooms (family heritage collections) located here in Manila but I do not know how I can ship items to the USA or other countries because of the import entry concern. Maybe one of your specialists may assist me in this matter.
Thank you.
I sell on Vestiaire Collective. It's a French Company that resell high end and fashionable brand name clothing, accessories, jewelry, and home goods. They will sell brand new or pre-owned in good condition. The seller takes photos and post description. VC decide to list or not on their website. Seller ship it free when it sells to NY office. It is checked and then shipped to seller. After a few weeks money is deposited right into your bank account or you can use the money for credit to buy other items on the website.
I have been selling on Ebay for 11 years,I tried to sell on Amazon because I had a lot of new items. Unfortunately, they refused to let me sell there since I did not have a business licence or the items they preferred on their site. Perhaps this policy has changed to allow more smaller sellers now.
The major problem I have a serious problem with Ebay that popped up a couple of years ago, but NO ONE knows why or how to stop it. The problem is, when I go to Google to search through images to find my own I click on my photo but It doesn't go to my listing, or if it does it is not there. but it goes to a different site,my description is being used too except a few words are changed around. Some of the places they turn up are Terapeak (I don't belong), Ebay India,independant selling sites selling the same things. If it does go to ebay my photo will say it is no longer available so they show a list of same type items, mine is never on that list either.My sales have been waaaaay down but I have a high rate of visits then no watchers sometimes when 150 buyers have clicked on. Ebay just says to end 3 party support and that might help. I spend a lot of time and effort for someone else to divert my listings. Sometimes they have my listing either right after I have listed it but once they were using my photos etc before Ebay even had mine up! No one can help with that either so here I am looking to find somewhere else to sell that is a level playing field. I do hope this problem will not follow me because still no idea how to stop it. If you have any idea why this is happening I would appreciate any help.
OMG, I too, 11 years with eBay. Love hate relationship..They also have locked you into a year on subscriptions... I am stuck until October this year... I'm so sick of them, I have noticed a pattern over the years, besides the crazy changes they keep making. I have a niche market, and the item(s) constantly sell, then I look up and no sales...someone told me they control your search engine hits...there must be some truth to it.. because. It is crazy, I am the only seller of some specific items at the price...and suddenly this year hardly any sales.. Crazy... I seriously need to move.
SHipping is insane....there is a discount on the USPS and other shipper...but EBAy turned around about 3 years ago started charging fees on your shipping fee we charge to our customer...so where di our discount go, right back to Ebay. . What a joke.
I agree with Sandi Polk.
I was suspened by ebay after having to put up with abuse,scammers,an ebayer using threats and the hidden charges where extornionate.i even had an ebayer watching to compare prices and telling others what to charge to undercut me ,as if the charges werent bad enough.im now looking for a site I can trust.ebid played silly games and tried charging me,,facebook took my info then blocked me for no reason,you cant even contact them ,bonanza is wacky.amazon doesn't sell like ebay i.e bid or set price.so I am searching for a site that doesn't charge to join,doesnt just take your details,where I can sell items and know exactly what postage and fees if any.so if anyone has a good site wher I can sell in the UK only please contact.this advice above helps .
I'd suggest using TrueGether - https://www.truegether.com/eBayAlternative.html as I am getting some occasional sales from this platform, The listing is totally free and you can use its multichannel selling feature too at no fee.
Listings are free but I decided to go with the $9/mo. (send items to Google) to try and get some sales. If it doesn't work I will cancel the $9/mo. Otherwise let ride if I get sales!
Karen
on 20:58 19 Apr
Dwanda is similar to etsy but a small EU outfit. I find them very good as I make niche leather goods.
If you talk to me to some websites similar to ebay , then u lost me. Ebay is very bad. Anything similar is very bad also. Ebay has weird policies regarding buyer protection and the seller often get scammed and lose money. It happened to me a few times. They seem to let anyone return any item for any reason and dont protect the sellers much at all.
If a buyer is unhappy with your item or has buyer's remorse all they need to do is break the item you sent them and eBay will make you pay shipping both ways and refund all the money to the buyer. You as the Seller get back a broken item with no recourse. eBay stinks
I stayed away from EBay for a long time, because it’s very time consuming and many consuming. But when I came crawling back, I noticed somenrhings that really upset me. I am not a seller, yet, but the seller fees are terrible! Y’all deserve better than that! And of course the sellers must charge exorbitant amounts for shipping. At times it’s almost laughable, until you realize that they are doing this to make back money they shouldn’t have paid.
The biggest problem I see is in the feedback forum. I don’t think it’s even possible, any longer, to leave a very negative feedback. I’m not completely sure about this, but it seems that way when I was doing feedback. If there are no honest reviews, why in hell are we doing it? I place a whole lot of trust in my fellow humans and their opinions. In fact, I don’t typically buy things that have no feedback.
Etsy is an amazing place, even if you just want a little inspiration to spur your mind and body out of those terrible slumps. (Thus, my non-selling on EBay yet...) But there are some prices there that I really don’t understand. In art school, you learn a little about charging the appropriate for your time and talent. It’s hard to do. But there are lots of things that are hundreds and up for, what I see, are not a good value.
I guess we should just all be very aware and patient when researching all our options. Nothing is ever easy, I suppose.
There are several eBay alternatives, and I do like most of them because they provide several payment options for clients, they have those options available for both merchants and buyers.
but with ebay you must stick only with PayPal.
I dont feel that either Ebay or Amazon are viable options for dropshippers. The TOS on both sites are written so that it makes it impossible to be a dropshipper. You have to be covert in your business. I dont know why these two are ever listed as dropshipping options.
You missed some cons about selling on Amazon such as how they keep your money for a minimum of 2 weeks, sometimes, months on end until the buyer has reported that they got their item. Amazon also doesn't seem to have any person that one can talk to, just voice mails that never seem to get checked. Ebay on the other hand, once you have made a few sales and they have verified you aren't a scammer, gives you your money right away. It's one of the very few pluses to selling on Ebay. I'm here looking for alternatives to both of them. I'm tired of Feebay and I can't stand how Amazon holds onto the money until they feel like releasing it.
Amazon has terrible customer service now, even if you are a Prime member with an account on Amazon for twenty years. They are too big for their britches.
If you have a complaint to escalate, there is one level up, that's it. If you don't get service at that level, well, I had a rep ask me snidely if I wanted Jeff Bezo's email address.
I can't even close account or I will lose access to all of the digital items I PAID FOR over the last twenty years. As far as I am concerned, Amazon now sucks!
Great article - you really know a lot about selling products online, and I think this will be very beneficial for people interested in eCommerce. I think if someone were to go the route of creating their own website, the best platform to use is AmeriCommerce. They are the leading multi-store platform, and they excel at B2B as well.
do i have to pay sales tax if i set up web page to sell garage items. I prefer to sell online instead of having garage sale at my home. On ssd and don't want to loose my income due to selling my personal items and family and friends items. Any help would be most helpful.
SaleHoo has several suppliers that can help you with that :) You can check out products/brands vs the suppliers we have using this demo if you wish: https://www.salehoo.com/find-a-supplier?cid=demo (you need to join for full details obviously but should give you some examples of what our suppliers have). Once you join you can instantly access and contact all suppliers within our directory.
I have owned an Antique shop in the past and I did not like selling that way, because there is alot of effort for very little profit. While a shop owner, I used Ebay several times to auction off high end items. But again, I didn't like selling this way because I seldom could get the true and honest value for my items and antiques sales can have a very limited customer base. I have also had a business as a picker for all semi local antique shops. I really enjoyed doing this and it helped greatly in building my reputation as an antique dealer, appraiser and restorationist! I enjoyed doing that a great deal, but my profit margin was limited greatly and my ability to make purchases was limited to the profits made from the last few sales. I stopped doing antique business completely when I found out I had cancer and focused on the fight of my life!
Now having won that battle and facing massive medical bills, I am back in the business and determined to make it pay off!
I was very shocked and happy when I found that I still had a great reputation in the antiques world. I had began posting some of my personal items on Craigslist and on Letgo. I sold them really fast and I got a fair price for all of them! Then I posted on Craiglist and Letgo, a few items that I had bought at auction and had restored myself. The very next day I was doing some research online and I found that "Chrome" or "Google" had placed my "Craigslist" post on their front page, fourth down from the top under the heading of Antique News! "Google-Chrome" was advertising my return to the business of antiques! I was very shocked to say the least! There it was on their front page, they had reposted my Craigslist post to sell an antique, arched top, beveled, leaded glass, mirror! They reprinted the entire post and then they printed out 27 of my reviews from buyers I had done business with on both, Craigslist and Letgo! I still have no clue as to why, Google Chrome felt that I was News to the world of antiques, but I am very pleased that they do! I guess that I owe my thanks to the fact that I am selling my antiques on both Craigslist and Letgo. I also should mention that I had thought that I would prefer to have my own online store, but I had not yet pursued that route because I thought it would require alot more effort and I did not realize that my talent in restorations was really a marketable thing! I guess that I should also say, Thank you! I now know that it is due to the efforts of sites like this, "SALEHOO" that I am most grateful! Your insight to the best ways to sell goods online, is why I was consider to be News, in the world of antiques. I also owe a, Thank you! to, "Pinterest" and "Etsy", because they also contributed to my, News worthiness. So I am taking this opportunity to say a heart felt,
"I THANK YOU ALL SINCERELY!"
Hi Angela! We're glad that you're back on track with selling antiques online. Your resilience and spirit for life is truly an inspiration. If you put much thought and effort into your endeavors, the rewards are surely promising.
You make a big deal about the listing fees on eBay when in reality, most sellers don't pay any listing fees at all! With a basic store, you get 500 free listings a month; with a premium store, you get 1,000 free listings. With the premium store, if you go over 1,000 your listings still cost only 9 cents each. (I think it's 25 cents for a basic store - not sure. But if you're listing over 500/mo, you shouldn't be using basic, anyway.) Amazon charges a much higher commission fee, then adds another 99 cents, making low-priced products cost-prohibitive.
So on Amazon, you pay 15% plus 99 cents on every sale. Or you pay 15% plus $40 a month for Pro. Then there's the referral fee on TOP of the commission, and the explanation for that one totally escapes me. (I won't even go into the FBA fees; needless to say, az is cleaning up.) Anyway, according to the research, eBay sellers keep an average of 5.13% more of their profit than if they sold the same item on Amazon. And that figure includes the PayPal fee.
Yes, you do have to pay for your store on eBay, but having a store enables you to brand yourself, organize your inventory, and easily create an inviting storefront, all things you can't do on Amazon at any price.
Despite all of the eBay rules, and I'd never begin to defend them all, selling on eBay still teaches you how to run a business and allows you to work for yourself within the eBay framework. With Amazon, you're basically working for Amazon, not for yourself.
As for eBay not offering services like amazon because eBay itself isn't a seller: First, it's a huge plus not to have to compete with your own venue for sales. Second, eBay offers an extensive app center that provides just about any outside service you could ever need to help you run your business, from accounting to multi-channel integration to page design and image hosting.
Is selling on eBay flawless? Nope. Does it have any issues? TONS!!! But what site doesn't? In the final analysis, I find it the easiest - and cheapest - place to sell with significant traffic. It seems like the ones who yell the loudest against eBay are those who weren't very successful, and I get that. Not everyone is going to make a fortune. Is that eBay's fault? Maybe . . . But the fact is, we pay fees for the traffic; what we do with that traffic is entirely up to us.
Come on, putting "Amazon" as alternative to ebay is a bit questionable, you need to be a huge player nowdays to be selling on Amazon where they take a 25% cut of your sales price + other fees.
The best deal I've seen is TradePongo at 2% transaction fee https://www.tradepongo.com
I like Bonanza but their fees are higher plus add fees on shipping... it used to be good though but got greedy like everyone else.
Tradepongo is the place
Has anyone tried Retrophoria? ( https://retrophoria.com ) It's for vintage items only.
I just opened a sellers account. It looks promising and the price is right (free! :) ). Haven't made a sale yet but i am hopefull.
At one time I sold on ebay. No one needs to tell me about the problems with them and now political too.
For decades I have wanted to see a niche specific internet site that has people worldwide looking at only for things they are interested in specifically. And this is done without being intimidated, badgered, browbeaten, asked to donate to something I don't care about, or being politically favored or discriminated against. I personally was on ebay for two decades and I've seen it all!
What I'm talking about is "Everything sporting goods" but to exclude any firearms of course. What I'm referring to is vintage to current sporting goods from duck decoys to water skis, fishing rods to hunting vests. There are truly multi-millions of anything outdoor sports to be traded, purchased, or crafted from gun racks to archery, boats, and motors to waders and choke tubes. I see a lot of small very pricy sites on the net and some for just old rods, some for old lures, some for golf clubs, bags, etc, but if you put them all together on one site it would be very lucrative and ongoing for decades. Sporting people are always wearing things out and people are always having kids that don't stop growing into new stuff.
Gander Mt. is out of business, MC Sporting is out. Dicks Sporting is in trouble, Sports Authority is gone, etc, etc, and this is prime time for All Sports New and Old to be on the internet.
Bonanza is $25 per month to set up a store. When I search Handmade, I find Etsy 10x more than I find anything on Bonanza and Etsy doesn't charge a "monthly" fee for an online shop.
I would like to know how long Tradsey can keep your money made from sells? Legally how long can they? They have kept mine for 4 weeks and finally let me transfer it, but told me the transfer will take another 7 business days. That will be over 5 weeks.
Not sure on that though. PayPal however, can hold payments of up to 21 days (specially for new sellers) so it's nothing new for payment processors to hold. You can find out more about it: https://www.salehoo.com/blog/coping-with-paypal-payment-holds
There's a place I sold years ago ig it is still in business. I intend to go look when I am done here and that is ioffer.com. You could sign up for your own store and I can't remember the fees, it was too many years ago.
So I guess if you're a seller, you also have to put weight on verified online marketplaces to keep a good standing record, specially if you use the same handler when selling at multiple selling sites.
I am truly surprised that no one has mentioned Ecrater. I post here. it is MUCH better than eBay, with some pros and cons of course. Once you get the hang of how to post your items. it is great. there are no variation options at this time and you have to really figure out your shipping options and there is no way to ship through this platform. You will have to use PPal or some other source. They are linked to PayPal and one other payment source. The customer support is awesome. Replies are really fast. They really try to help you use the attributes to make sure your items are in google searches. All eligible products are submitted to Google Shopping. There are NO FEES to LIST and if your buyer comes direct there are NO fees to the seller. If the buyers come via a google search then your fees are like 2-3%. This gives you a better option on your selling prices. I send people to buy from me there quite often.
There are no feedback concerns. There are still guidelines. No outrageous restrictions like eBay. You can import your ebay items, however, if you have a variation listing, don't waste your time, because you will have to recreate the listing all over again in Ecrater.
There is no email conversation database. Your conversation with your buyers will be in your email that you set up to link to the site. They keep it really simple but very user-friendly. You get about 6- 10 pics, FAQ section, and some other options. GO and check it out.
I am still new with it and I have not used it as yet for my custom order. can't wait to try that and see how it works. So my tip of the day is to go and check out Ecrater. they have been around for about since 2004. I think they have an awesome concept going and will expand their platform soon. They only have facebook sharing at this time.
I think ecrater is horrible, they have zero customer service support, I started a store with them and found it to be suspended with no sign, the items I am selling are not on their "banned" list, I have tried to contact them on several occasions with absolutely zero response, I had to find out from members of the community that my store was suspended which was met with some help but also some bitchyness, I could actually go to my storefront add items to my cart and even make it to Paypal when everyone else said when they clicked on my items they got an oops message.
thanx guys, i think i ffound more useful info thru comments...i too used to sell on ebay, still have a perfect 1500 score there..there policies and business procedures are or were not up to par on both sides selling and buying...last thing i sold was in 2015 ...a ps4 that a friend owing me $300 gave me.i did sell it for a decent price and i shined it up and seen there was less than 40 hrs of playtime used on it and nearly flawless...i was asked to have it shipped overnight for $45 more than the one i had and told he was paying for it. 4 days later it came back to me half destroyed... i remembered i forget a disc in it and it wasnt in there and when i took it to the shop it was a $200 fix and the hd was taken and the guy said there was no way it was the one i shipped by looking at the pics i had for ebay...i tried telling ebay it wasnt mine, mine had no problems and the other guy won the case without ever replying again or anything, he only had a 10 rating and i think the account was dropped but the worst part was ebay not only charged me both shipping to and from an extra$90 but also charged me for a sell at $300 and some extra fee to where i was supposed to pay ebay around $200 for having some scmuck send me a bad ps4 back while running off with mine....the buying side i was always messaging sellors in china for thing i bought and needed by the end of their supposed shipping frame and id constantly get messages saying it b there soon til it was too late to actually do anything about it,and the worst ones are the ones u get a real bargain on and they keep saying its on its way then wait til last day to say theyll send your money back because its probly cheaper to give a refund then send u what u won at an awesome price but will act as though they shipped it to you and it must have gotten lost then they want u to give good feedback and make up stories about starving kids or dying spouses....but...ive stayed away from ebay since 2016 and found offer up, let go,5 miles, mercari, and different craigslist apps the best for me.ive found the craigslist apps are different between 3 or 4 of the top cl apps in the selling departments local ads and each of these apps have some bad qualities and good qualities along w bad and goodd people u meet
Anyone know good sites for selling roasted and green coffee beans - we have our own coffee trees and are just getting started - we have arabica and robusta
Best to create your own web store to foster community, and make your site known. Lately, there have been a lot of interest for Arabica and green coffee but sadly, consumers don't know where or how to purchase it - that's where your site comes in.
Was thinking about finding the cheapest used item selling platform with the highest exposure, with low volume of entery.
So basically running eBay store along with Facebook marketplace or my own site with ETH payment support (0.009 usd transaction fee) would be most cost-effective option.
You can find more alternative selling sites here. In the meantime, the Labs will help you find products that are selling well based on sell rate, average selling price, and competition.
I sell on Poshmark and love it! It is a resale app for a wide variety of clothing and accessories for children and adults. The platform is incredibly simple and I've been able to buy sell and print prepaid shipping labels from my phone. For everything else I've been selling on eBay but I'm really looking to expand my options.
I use to sell on poshmark and then a new member stole a diamond engagement ring from me, when I contacted Poshmark about it, they told me my business practices were suspicious and ended up banning me from the app, it wasn't until I filed a complaint with the attorney general, the BBB and the post office that I actually got my money back from the sale, I had a 99% customer satisfaction rating was considered a 5star seller and had sold on that platform for 3 years prior to this happening, the girl who stole my ring had been a user of the app for less then a month, they still allow her to sell on the app also, and she usually tries to send people to mercari since their fees are lower, their authentication process is a joke, Poshmark is a toxic selling environment unless you have no issue possibly losing the item you sold with no recourse to the seller, I use Mercari now, and I find it a lot more friendlier of a selling platform, you can sell just about anything on Mercari, as far as I know Poshmark is limited to Women's clothing and accessories.
Here recently I have had excellent success selling on Facebook Marketplace and collector groups that allow buying and selling. Some groups are only for sharing or information, but it is easy to find the ones who permit selling. For example I found a vintage Christmas group with over 100k members that I sold many items to. I also found groups to sell vintage toys, mid-century decor, glass, and jewelry. And I have had a lot of success with marketplace. I live in Kansas and have sold to collectors all the way in Houston. No listing or selling fees but u do have to do all the invoices and figure your shipping out yourself. I received payments on PayPal with no problems.
"Then, you just have to get traffic to your site to encourage sales". And there's the big fly in the ointment. I haven't found a service yet, including Salehoo, that focuses on getting traffic for their customers. I don't care if you have a website or sell through some of the websites listed in this article. If you have your own website, you're up against millions, yes MILLIONS, of online selling websites. And what they don't tell you is that it costs money - lots of money to advertise and get in front of the public. Success in online retailing is finished for new people. Even if you have the most unique product on the planet, you better be loaded with cash to get it off the ground.
I am also a disgruntled eBay seller. However, I would caution anybody against using EBID. Avoid like the plague. They charge a monthly subscription fee, but do absolutely nothing to help promote you or your products. In the six months I was with them I listed over 500 items and sold precisely NONE. Furthermore, when I aired my concerns on their forums, my comments were removed and I was 'warned' about my behaviour! They are most certainly not a user-friendly lot...
Your fees re Etsy are incorrect. They also take a fee from shipping now and I'm pretty sure there is another fee related to sales. They recently told all sellers that if they don't offer 'free' shipping, their items won't come up as in the search before others that do. Total bullying on their part when we, as the sellers, are the ones providing them with income (from sales).
These are huge changes and the 'free' shipping' stance is ruining people's businesses, especially people who choose to sell internationally, as we can't use blanket costings as each place has a different postage price.
Thanks for the updated info! Yes, Etsy's community manager opened up a forum about this so they can properly handle their seller's concerns, specially those selling internationally.
Yes, you can do dropshipping on these platforms. Their dropshipping terms and conditions are independent of each other so it's best to familiarize or contact their customer support for more info.
Comments (705)
Success Just Ahead on 2:49 4 Feb
This is a great place to sell and buy products with very low fees www.Ordersfly.com Marketplacesellersinfo on 4:38 5 Feb
Pongia.com is another online marketplace to sell things or services, that is ACTUALLY FREE. They let you sell anything, including “products, services, vehicles and homes” and you have the ability to list products online or locally, as well as local services or virtual services like web or logo design, or home repair, tutoring, etc. Products can also be digital downloads you sell, like music or designs.James on 0:25 9 Feb
Hello I'm looking for a service similar to eBay valet where you can drop off or mail out items to sell and it will be sold for you. I don't have much time to sell items myself and I was wondering what other services are available to do the storing, selling & shipping for me. Any insightful information will be gladly appreciaed. Thank you in advance.Raymond Tumao on 3:54 15 Feb
This is the first time I entered this website and I really appreciate what I have read. I am planning to sell heirlooms (family heritage collections) located here in Manila but I do not know how I can ship items to the USA or other countries because of the import entry concern. Maybe one of your specialists may assist me in this matter.Thank you.
Erica Horne on 23:44 15 Feb
I sell on Vestiaire Collective. It's a French Company that resell high end and fashionable brand name clothing, accessories, jewelry, and home goods. They will sell brand new or pre-owned in good condition. The seller takes photos and post description. VC decide to list or not on their website. Seller ship it free when it sells to NY office. It is checked and then shipped to seller. After a few weeks money is deposited right into your bank account or you can use the money for credit to buy other items on the website.Holly on 18:30 18 Feb
I have been selling on Ebay for 11 years,I tried to sell on Amazon because I had a lot of new items. Unfortunately, they refused to let me sell there since I did not have a business licence or the items they preferred on their site. Perhaps this policy has changed to allow more smaller sellers now.The major problem I have a serious problem with Ebay that popped up a couple of years ago, but NO ONE knows why or how to stop it. The problem is, when I go to Google to search through images to find my own I click on my photo but It doesn't go to my listing, or if it does it is not there. but it goes to a different site,my description is being used too except a few words are changed around. Some of the places they turn up are Terapeak (I don't belong), Ebay India,independant selling sites selling the same things. If it does go to ebay my photo will say it is no longer available so they show a list of same type items, mine is never on that list either.My sales have been waaaaay down but I have a high rate of visits then no watchers sometimes when 150 buyers have clicked on. Ebay just says to end 3 party support and that might help. I spend a lot of time and effort for someone else to divert my listings. Sometimes they have my listing either right after I have listed it but once they were using my photos etc before Ebay even had mine up! No one can help with that either so here I am looking to find somewhere else to sell that is a level playing field. I do hope this problem will not follow me because still no idea how to stop it. If you have any idea why this is happening I would appreciate any help.
Sandi Polk on 3:51 19 Apr
OMG, I too, 11 years with eBay. Love hate relationship..They also have locked you into a year on subscriptions... I am stuck until October this year... I'm so sick of them, I have noticed a pattern over the years, besides the crazy changes they keep making. I have a niche market, and the item(s) constantly sell, then I look up and no sales...someone told me they control your search engine hits...there must be some truth to it.. because. It is crazy, I am the only seller of some specific items at the price...and suddenly this year hardly any sales.. Crazy... I seriously need to move.SHipping is insane....there is a discount on the USPS and other shipper...but EBAy turned around about 3 years ago started charging fees on your shipping fee we charge to our customer...so where di our discount go, right back to Ebay. . What a joke.
where to go
David Hattermann on 14:17 10 May
I agree with Sandi Polk.I was suspened by ebay after having to put up with abuse,scammers,an ebayer using threats and the hidden charges where extornionate.i even had an ebayer watching to compare prices and telling others what to charge to undercut me ,as if the charges werent bad enough.im now looking for a site I can trust.ebid played silly games and tried charging me,,facebook took my info then blocked me for no reason,you cant even contact them ,bonanza is wacky.amazon doesn't sell like ebay i.e bid or set price.so I am searching for a site that doesn't charge to join,doesnt just take your details,where I can sell items and know exactly what postage and fees if any.so if anyone has a good site wher I can sell in the UK only please contact.this advice above helps .
James on 8:29 4 Jun
I'd suggest using TrueGether - https://www.truegether.com/eBayAlternative.html as I am getting some occasional sales from this platform, The listing is totally free and you can use its multichannel selling feature too at no fee.LadyBiker on 18:42 22 Jun
Listings are free but I decided to go with the $9/mo. (send items to Google) to try and get some sales. If it doesn't work I will cancel the $9/mo. Otherwise let ride if I get sales!Karen on 20:58 19 Apr
Dwanda is similar to etsy but a small EU outfit. I find them very good as I make niche leather goods.eric b on 10:13 28 Apr
If you talk to me to some websites similar to ebay , then u lost me. Ebay is very bad. Anything similar is very bad also. Ebay has weird policies regarding buyer protection and the seller often get scammed and lose money. It happened to me a few times. They seem to let anyone return any item for any reason and dont protect the sellers much at all.ebayiscrap on 17:25 10 Feb
If a buyer is unhappy with your item or has buyer's remorse all they need to do is break the item you sent them and eBay will make you pay shipping both ways and refund all the money to the buyer. You as the Seller get back a broken item with no recourse. eBay stinksPollyG on 17:26 17 Mar
I stayed away from EBay for a long time, because it’s very time consuming and many consuming. But when I came crawling back, I noticed somenrhings that really upset me. I am not a seller, yet, but the seller fees are terrible! Y’all deserve better than that! And of course the sellers must charge exorbitant amounts for shipping. At times it’s almost laughable, until you realize that they are doing this to make back money they shouldn’t have paid.The biggest problem I see is in the feedback forum. I don’t think it’s even possible, any longer, to leave a very negative feedback. I’m not completely sure about this, but it seems that way when I was doing feedback. If there are no honest reviews, why in hell are we doing it? I place a whole lot of trust in my fellow humans and their opinions. In fact, I don’t typically buy things that have no feedback.
Etsy is an amazing place, even if you just want a little inspiration to spur your mind and body out of those terrible slumps. (Thus, my non-selling on EBay yet...) But there are some prices there that I really don’t understand. In art school, you learn a little about charging the appropriate for your time and talent. It’s hard to do. But there are lots of things that are hundreds and up for, what I see, are not a good value.
I guess we should just all be very aware and patient when researching all our options. Nothing is ever easy, I suppose.
Ron on 16:55 19 May
Before signing up with Bonanza I strongly recommend you look at their reviews - 5 Star (187)1 Star (394). source: https://www.sitejabber.com/reviews/bonanza.com
Kate on 9:01 25 May
Ebay Alternativehttps://bidderface.com/
Jane Adams on 9:48 12 Jun
There are several eBay alternatives, and I do like most of them because they provide several payment options for clients, they have those options available for both merchants and buyers.but with ebay you must stick only with PayPal.
Lynne Norris on 11:55 13 Jun
I dont feel that either Ebay or Amazon are viable options for dropshippers. The TOS on both sites are written so that it makes it impossible to be a dropshipper. You have to be covert in your business. I dont know why these two are ever listed as dropshipping options.Khan on 22:42 7 Jul
You missed some cons about selling on Amazon such as how they keep your money for a minimum of 2 weeks, sometimes, months on end until the buyer has reported that they got their item. Amazon also doesn't seem to have any person that one can talk to, just voice mails that never seem to get checked. Ebay on the other hand, once you have made a few sales and they have verified you aren't a scammer, gives you your money right away. It's one of the very few pluses to selling on Ebay. I'm here looking for alternatives to both of them. I'm tired of Feebay and I can't stand how Amazon holds onto the money until they feel like releasing it.Jan Neff-Sinclair on 3:17 2 Dec
Amazon has terrible customer service now, even if you are a Prime member with an account on Amazon for twenty years. They are too big for their britches.If you have a complaint to escalate, there is one level up, that's it. If you don't get service at that level, well, I had a rep ask me snidely if I wanted Jeff Bezo's email address.
I can't even close account or I will lose access to all of the digital items I PAID FOR over the last twenty years. As far as I am concerned, Amazon now sucks!
Paul on 11:21 10 Jul
Try TrueGether, they provide free listing. very easy platform to use and manage.Alexandria Barney on 13:46 17 Jul
Hi Gina!Great article - you really know a lot about selling products online, and I think this will be very beneficial for people interested in eCommerce. I think if someone were to go the route of creating their own website, the best platform to use is AmeriCommerce. They are the leading multi-store platform, and they excel at B2B as well.
Great read!
george Devin on 10:33 27 Jul
You have shared a great list of alternative places to sell. I hope this will surely help anyone to accelerate their business.gail on 18:35 12 Aug
do i have to pay sales tax if i set up web page to sell garage items. I prefer to sell online instead of having garage sale at my home. On ssd and don't want to loose my income due to selling my personal items and family and friends items. Any help would be most helpful.Richelle Monfort on 5:53 5 Sep
Hi Gail,This guide of ours will definitely help you start off on the right foot - https://www.salehoo.com/education/starting-online
Cheers!
Cathy Posten on 13:30 17 Aug
Looking to sell Authenicated sports memorabilia. Which site would be best? Maybe a site not losted here?Richelle Monfort on 5:52 5 Sep
Hello Cathy,SaleHoo has several suppliers that can help you with that :) You can check out products/brands vs the suppliers we have using this demo if you wish: https://www.salehoo.com/find-a-supplier?cid=demo (you need to join for full details obviously but should give you some examples of what our suppliers have). Once you join you can instantly access and contact all suppliers within our directory.
Join here when ready: https://www.salehoo.com/join-now It's $67 USD for one year, unlimited use.
Cheers!
Yellowpixy on 12:15 26 Sep
What about Facebook Market!?Rhea Bontol on 6:32 1 Oct
Hi Yellowpixy! You can actually promote your products on Facebook - promoting through social media is a must these days. Here's another blog dedicated to getting more engagement on your Facebook posts: https://www.salehoo.com/blog/how-to-get-more-engagement-on-your-facebook-postsAngela of AJ's Now and Then Antiques and Collectables on 20:21 29 Sep
I have owned an Antique shop in the past and I did not like selling that way, because there is alot of effort for very little profit. While a shop owner, I used Ebay several times to auction off high end items. But again, I didn't like selling this way because I seldom could get the true and honest value for my items and antiques sales can have a very limited customer base. I have also had a business as a picker for all semi local antique shops. I really enjoyed doing this and it helped greatly in building my reputation as an antique dealer, appraiser and restorationist! I enjoyed doing that a great deal, but my profit margin was limited greatly and my ability to make purchases was limited to the profits made from the last few sales. I stopped doing antique business completely when I found out I had cancer and focused on the fight of my life!Now having won that battle and facing massive medical bills, I am back in the business and determined to make it pay off!
I was very shocked and happy when I found that I still had a great reputation in the antiques world. I had began posting some of my personal items on Craigslist and on Letgo. I sold them really fast and I got a fair price for all of them! Then I posted on Craiglist and Letgo, a few items that I had bought at auction and had restored myself. The very next day I was doing some research online and I found that "Chrome" or "Google" had placed my "Craigslist" post on their front page, fourth down from the top under the heading of Antique News! "Google-Chrome" was advertising my return to the business of antiques! I was very shocked to say the least! There it was on their front page, they had reposted my Craigslist post to sell an antique, arched top, beveled, leaded glass, mirror! They reprinted the entire post and then they printed out 27 of my reviews from buyers I had done business with on both, Craigslist and Letgo! I still have no clue as to why, Google Chrome felt that I was News to the world of antiques, but I am very pleased that they do! I guess that I owe my thanks to the fact that I am selling my antiques on both Craigslist and Letgo. I also should mention that I had thought that I would prefer to have my own online store, but I had not yet pursued that route because I thought it would require alot more effort and I did not realize that my talent in restorations was really a marketable thing! I guess that I should also say, Thank you! I now know that it is due to the efforts of sites like this, "SALEHOO" that I am most grateful! Your insight to the best ways to sell goods online, is why I was consider to be News, in the world of antiques. I also owe a, Thank you! to, "Pinterest" and "Etsy", because they also contributed to my, News worthiness. So I am taking this opportunity to say a heart felt,
"I THANK YOU ALL SINCERELY!"
Rhea Bontol on 4:38 12 Oct
Hi Angela! We're glad that you're back on track with selling antiques online. Your resilience and spirit for life is truly an inspiration. If you put much thought and effort into your endeavors, the rewards are surely promising.Joe on 23:47 6 Apr
Great story! thanks for sharing!!! :)Vick on 5:46 3 Oct
Don't know why he did not mention TrueGether here.But I find it more useful than eBay as it allowed me to sell for free.
Susan on 18:46 6 Oct
You make a big deal about the listing fees on eBay when in reality, most sellers don't pay any listing fees at all! With a basic store, you get 500 free listings a month; with a premium store, you get 1,000 free listings. With the premium store, if you go over 1,000 your listings still cost only 9 cents each. (I think it's 25 cents for a basic store - not sure. But if you're listing over 500/mo, you shouldn't be using basic, anyway.) Amazon charges a much higher commission fee, then adds another 99 cents, making low-priced products cost-prohibitive.So on Amazon, you pay 15% plus 99 cents on every sale. Or you pay 15% plus $40 a month for Pro. Then there's the referral fee on TOP of the commission, and the explanation for that one totally escapes me. (I won't even go into the FBA fees; needless to say, az is cleaning up.) Anyway, according to the research, eBay sellers keep an average of 5.13% more of their profit than if they sold the same item on Amazon. And that figure includes the PayPal fee.
Yes, you do have to pay for your store on eBay, but having a store enables you to brand yourself, organize your inventory, and easily create an inviting storefront, all things you can't do on Amazon at any price.
Despite all of the eBay rules, and I'd never begin to defend them all, selling on eBay still teaches you how to run a business and allows you to work for yourself within the eBay framework. With Amazon, you're basically working for Amazon, not for yourself.
As for eBay not offering services like amazon because eBay itself isn't a seller: First, it's a huge plus not to have to compete with your own venue for sales. Second, eBay offers an extensive app center that provides just about any outside service you could ever need to help you run your business, from accounting to multi-channel integration to page design and image hosting.
Is selling on eBay flawless? Nope. Does it have any issues? TONS!!! But what site doesn't? In the final analysis, I find it the easiest - and cheapest - place to sell with significant traffic. It seems like the ones who yell the loudest against eBay are those who weren't very successful, and I get that. Not everyone is going to make a fortune. Is that eBay's fault? Maybe . . . But the fact is, we pay fees for the traffic; what we do with that traffic is entirely up to us.
William on 8:19 8 Oct
Come on, putting "Amazon" as alternative to ebay is a bit questionable, you need to be a huge player nowdays to be selling on Amazon where they take a 25% cut of your sales price + other fees.The best deal I've seen is TradePongo at 2% transaction fee https://www.tradepongo.com
I like Bonanza but their fees are higher plus add fees on shipping... it used to be good though but got greedy like everyone else.
Tradepongo is the place
sarah on 19:01 11 Oct
Has anyone tried Retrophoria? ( https://retrophoria.com ) It's for vintage items only.I just opened a sellers account. It looks promising and the price is right (free! :) ). Haven't made a sale yet but i am hopefull.
Michael Simcik on 18:44 15 Oct
At one time I sold on ebay. No one needs to tell me about the problems with them and now political too.For decades I have wanted to see a niche specific internet site that has people worldwide looking at only for things they are interested in specifically. And this is done without being intimidated, badgered, browbeaten, asked to donate to something I don't care about, or being politically favored or discriminated against. I personally was on ebay for two decades and I've seen it all!
What I'm talking about is "Everything sporting goods" but to exclude any firearms of course. What I'm referring to is vintage to current sporting goods from duck decoys to water skis, fishing rods to hunting vests. There are truly multi-millions of anything outdoor sports to be traded, purchased, or crafted from gun racks to archery, boats, and motors to waders and choke tubes. I see a lot of small very pricy sites on the net and some for just old rods, some for old lures, some for golf clubs, bags, etc, but if you put them all together on one site it would be very lucrative and ongoing for decades. Sporting people are always wearing things out and people are always having kids that don't stop growing into new stuff.
Gander Mt. is out of business, MC Sporting is out. Dicks Sporting is in trouble, Sports Authority is gone, etc, etc, and this is prime time for All Sports New and Old to be on the internet.
Bernie Kern on 6:57 22 Oct
What are your thoughts about Shopify??Rhea Bontol on 6:32 23 Oct
You can checkout an unbiased comparison here: https://www.salehoo.com/salehoo-vs-shopifyShelly on 22:47 23 Oct
Bonanza is $25 per month to set up a store. When I search Handmade, I find Etsy 10x more than I find anything on Bonanza and Etsy doesn't charge a "monthly" fee for an online shop.Rhea Bontol on 6:23 29 Oct
You can also checkout alternative places to sell online, here: https://www.salehoo.com/blog/top-6-places-to-sell-onlineNancy Owens on 4:24 6 Nov
I would like to know how long Tradsey can keep your money made from sells? Legally how long can they? They have kept mine for 4 weeks and finally let me transfer it, but told me the transfer will take another 7 business days. That will be over 5 weeks.Rhea Bontol on 6:26 12 Nov
Not sure on that though. PayPal however, can hold payments of up to 21 days (specially for new sellers) so it's nothing new for payment processors to hold. You can find out more about it: https://www.salehoo.com/blog/coping-with-paypal-payment-holdsTerryll Rex on 18:57 11 Nov
There's a place I sold years ago ig it is still in business. I intend to go look when I am done here and that is ioffer.com. You could sign up for your own store and I can't remember the fees, it was too many years ago.Rhea Bontol on 6:23 12 Nov
Although popular, I'm seeing a lot of mixed (more like negative) reviews about them on TrustPilot and Scam Adviser:www.ioffer.com">https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.ioffer.com
https://www.scamadviser.com/check-website/ioffer.com
So I guess if you're a seller, you also have to put weight on verified online marketplaces to keep a good standing record, specially if you use the same handler when selling at multiple selling sites.
Sandi Polk on 21:47 24 Nov
I am truly surprised that no one has mentioned Ecrater. I post here. it is MUCH better than eBay, with some pros and cons of course. Once you get the hang of how to post your items. it is great. there are no variation options at this time and you have to really figure out your shipping options and there is no way to ship through this platform. You will have to use PPal or some other source. They are linked to PayPal and one other payment source. The customer support is awesome. Replies are really fast. They really try to help you use the attributes to make sure your items are in google searches. All eligible products are submitted to Google Shopping. There are NO FEES to LIST and if your buyer comes direct there are NO fees to the seller. If the buyers come via a google search then your fees are like 2-3%. This gives you a better option on your selling prices. I send people to buy from me there quite often.There are no feedback concerns. There are still guidelines. No outrageous restrictions like eBay. You can import your ebay items, however, if you have a variation listing, don't waste your time, because you will have to recreate the listing all over again in Ecrater.
There is no email conversation database. Your conversation with your buyers will be in your email that you set up to link to the site. They keep it really simple but very user-friendly. You get about 6- 10 pics, FAQ section, and some other options. GO and check it out.
I am still new with it and I have not used it as yet for my custom order. can't wait to try that and see how it works. So my tip of the day is to go and check out Ecrater. they have been around for about since 2004. I think they have an awesome concept going and will expand their platform soon. They only have facebook sharing at this time.
Rhea Bontol on 6:27 26 Nov
eCrater indeed makes a good addition. We have a dedicated article for that here: https://www.salehoo.com/blog/need-more-buyersJudith A Perkins on 2:33 13 Oct
I think ecrater is horrible, they have zero customer service support, I started a store with them and found it to be suspended with no sign, the items I am selling are not on their "banned" list, I have tried to contact them on several occasions with absolutely zero response, I had to find out from members of the community that my store was suspended which was met with some help but also some bitchyness, I could actually go to my storefront add items to my cart and even make it to Paypal when everyone else said when they clicked on my items they got an oops message.Pam on 20:15 31 Jan
Thanks for all the information. I just need to decide if this for me and how to do it.Rhea Bontol on 4:37 1 Feb
Our Seller Training Center will help guide you with setting up an eCommerce business.psycho on 7:28 7 Feb
thanx guys, i think i ffound more useful info thru comments...i too used to sell on ebay, still have a perfect 1500 score there..there policies and business procedures are or were not up to par on both sides selling and buying...last thing i sold was in 2015 ...a ps4 that a friend owing me $300 gave me.i did sell it for a decent price and i shined it up and seen there was less than 40 hrs of playtime used on it and nearly flawless...i was asked to have it shipped overnight for $45 more than the one i had and told he was paying for it. 4 days later it came back to me half destroyed... i remembered i forget a disc in it and it wasnt in there and when i took it to the shop it was a $200 fix and the hd was taken and the guy said there was no way it was the one i shipped by looking at the pics i had for ebay...i tried telling ebay it wasnt mine, mine had no problems and the other guy won the case without ever replying again or anything, he only had a 10 rating and i think the account was dropped but the worst part was ebay not only charged me both shipping to and from an extra$90 but also charged me for a sell at $300 and some extra fee to where i was supposed to pay ebay around $200 for having some scmuck send me a bad ps4 back while running off with mine....the buying side i was always messaging sellors in china for thing i bought and needed by the end of their supposed shipping frame and id constantly get messages saying it b there soon til it was too late to actually do anything about it,and the worst ones are the ones u get a real bargain on and they keep saying its on its way then wait til last day to say theyll send your money back because its probly cheaper to give a refund then send u what u won at an awesome price but will act as though they shipped it to you and it must have gotten lost then they want u to give good feedback and make up stories about starving kids or dying spouses....but...ive stayed away from ebay since 2016 and found offer up, let go,5 miles, mercari, and different craigslist apps the best for me.ive found the craigslist apps are different between 3 or 4 of the top cl apps in the selling departments local ads and each of these apps have some bad qualities and good qualities along w bad and goodd people u meetRaj Mathur on 13:08 7 Feb
I want to open my own store with SaleHoo platform. Please get me started.Rhea Bontol on 4:04 11 Feb
Hi Raj! You can download the SaleHoo Stores User Manual and contact SaleHoo Support for technical assistance.Graham Carter on 7:45 19 Feb
Anyone know good sites for selling roasted and green coffee beans - we have our own coffee trees and are just getting started - we have arabica and robustaRhea Bontol on 6:05 22 Feb
Best to create your own web store to foster community, and make your site known. Lately, there have been a lot of interest for Arabica and green coffee but sadly, consumers don't know where or how to purchase it - that's where your site comes in.You might find this link helpful of top eCommerce sites: https://www.salehoo.com/blog/ecommerce-platforms
Artūrs Skripts on 20:15 22 Feb
Was thinking about finding the cheapest used item selling platform with the highest exposure, with low volume of entery.So basically running eBay store along with Facebook marketplace or my own site with ETH payment support (0.009 usd transaction fee) would be most cost-effective option.
Rhea Bontol on 5:51 25 Feb
You can find more alternative selling sites here. In the meantime, the Labs will help you find products that are selling well based on sell rate, average selling price, and competition.Selma on 7:31 17 May
I use Etsy but I'm not happy. They say the rates are 5% but they steal 20% for all sales including shipping.Laura on 23:16 11 Jun
I sell on Poshmark and love it! It is a resale app for a wide variety of clothing and accessories for children and adults. The platform is incredibly simple and I've been able to buy sell and print prepaid shipping labels from my phone. For everything else I've been selling on eBay but I'm really looking to expand my options.Judith A Perkins on 2:40 13 Oct
I use to sell on poshmark and then a new member stole a diamond engagement ring from me, when I contacted Poshmark about it, they told me my business practices were suspicious and ended up banning me from the app, it wasn't until I filed a complaint with the attorney general, the BBB and the post office that I actually got my money back from the sale, I had a 99% customer satisfaction rating was considered a 5star seller and had sold on that platform for 3 years prior to this happening, the girl who stole my ring had been a user of the app for less then a month, they still allow her to sell on the app also, and she usually tries to send people to mercari since their fees are lower, their authentication process is a joke, Poshmark is a toxic selling environment unless you have no issue possibly losing the item you sold with no recourse to the seller, I use Mercari now, and I find it a lot more friendlier of a selling platform, you can sell just about anything on Mercari, as far as I know Poshmark is limited to Women's clothing and accessories.Melissa Dawn on 5:01 13 Jun
Here recently I have had excellent success selling on Facebook Marketplace and collector groups that allow buying and selling. Some groups are only for sharing or information, but it is easy to find the ones who permit selling. For example I found a vintage Christmas group with over 100k members that I sold many items to. I also found groups to sell vintage toys, mid-century decor, glass, and jewelry. And I have had a lot of success with marketplace. I live in Kansas and have sold to collectors all the way in Houston. No listing or selling fees but u do have to do all the invoices and figure your shipping out yourself. I received payments on PayPal with no problems.Rhea Bontol on 5:52 8 Jul
Thanks for sharing, Melissa. Targeting deeper market segment indeed helps in differentiating your products to serve what this particular market needs.Robert Kroning on 2:57 9 Jul
Where to sell a collection of collectibles - books, stamps, etc. - related to a specific theme, like Lewis & Clark, or Columbus?Rhea Bontol on 6:23 22 Jul
Apart from eBay, try Bonanza or Ruby Lane for collectibles.Frances Horton on 13:57 11 Jul
"Then, you just have to get traffic to your site to encourage sales". And there's the big fly in the ointment. I haven't found a service yet, including Salehoo, that focuses on getting traffic for their customers. I don't care if you have a website or sell through some of the websites listed in this article. If you have your own website, you're up against millions, yes MILLIONS, of online selling websites. And what they don't tell you is that it costs money - lots of money to advertise and get in front of the public. Success in online retailing is finished for new people. Even if you have the most unique product on the planet, you better be loaded with cash to get it off the ground.Rhea Bontol on 6:26 22 Jul
You can apply the tips from these articles to generate traffic on your site:https://www.salehoo.com/blog/3-simple-ways-to-get-more-buyers-to-your-ecommerce-website
https://www.salehoo.com/education/ebay-selling/7-tips-for-getting-more-traffic-to-your-listings
Hope this helps.
Melissa GG Legaspi on 6:48 4 Aug
nice article... thanks for sharing your knowledge.Andy M on 7:12 10 Aug
I am also a disgruntled eBay seller. However, I would caution anybody against using EBID. Avoid like the plague. They charge a monthly subscription fee, but do absolutely nothing to help promote you or your products. In the six months I was with them I listed over 500 items and sold precisely NONE. Furthermore, when I aired my concerns on their forums, my comments were removed and I was 'warned' about my behaviour! They are most certainly not a user-friendly lot...Lori on 15:28 16 Aug
Thank you for the great resources!Chelle on 3:33 24 Aug
Your fees re Etsy are incorrect. They also take a fee from shipping now and I'm pretty sure there is another fee related to sales. They recently told all sellers that if they don't offer 'free' shipping, their items won't come up as in the search before others that do. Total bullying on their part when we, as the sellers, are the ones providing them with income (from sales).These are huge changes and the 'free' shipping' stance is ruining people's businesses, especially people who choose to sell internationally, as we can't use blanket costings as each place has a different postage price.
Very unfair and sometime to be aware of.
Rhea Bontol on 2:44 18 Feb
Thanks for the updated info! Yes, Etsy's community manager opened up a forum about this so they can properly handle their seller's concerns, specially those selling internationally.Nora Chavez on 22:28 5 Oct
Thank you for the helpful information.Abdul fataw on 14:07 14 Jan
It's great IdeaRhea Bontol on 2:03 18 Feb
Hi Abdul! There are a lot more options for you to decide the best alternative selling sites here. Enjoy!noureddine kiche on 14:29 15 Apr
Very interesting article, I have a question, is there a possibility to do the drop-shipping worldwide on these mentioned platforms ?Thank you
Rhea Bontol on 23:52 13 May
Yes, you can do dropshipping on these platforms. Their dropshipping terms and conditions are independent of each other so it's best to familiarize or contact their customer support for more info.Nompumelelo Monareng on 0:39 29 Apr
This was very insightful! Looking forward to have some of these marketplaces in South Africa. So far we have Localizedrsa which is quite good.Rhea Bontol on 23:54 13 May
You can checkout more alternative selling sites herestephen verhille on 16:31 5 Jun
Ebay is horrible. Customer service is the worst.Louise Scott on 12:12 20 Jun
What about MercariRhea Bontol on 22:46 25 Jun
Although not on our list here, Mercari is also a good marketplace.View more comments...