Tired of Ebay? Check This Top eBay Alternatives for Sellers

Are you really funk with eBay, or are you just looking into the vast world of selling websites to see what opportunities are out there? Your question at the moment is the top alternatives to eBay and the ones that will fit or suit your needs most.  It is true no one can deny the strength of eBay as this platform since 1995 has held its place as one of the most major marketplaces in the world as it has turned hundred of hobbyists into Powersellers and allowed thousands more to run profitable home businesses..  eBay has however evolved significantly in recent years and various policy changes have prompted a mass exodus from eBay as people or sellers are looking for other more profitable online marketplaces to sell their products/services. As it is commonly said, where there is a will there is also a way.  So below, I will be discussing/writing about other online marketplaces that compete very well with eBay or even better than eBay. The first on my list is Amazon.

Amazon like eBay but Much Better

Amazon started simply as an online bookstore that dropshipped much of its inventory and was known as the largest online book store as it was selling only books at the beginning.  It has however exploded into one of the world’s most visited websites that offers millions of products across a wide range of product categories ranging from beauty, health/fitness, sports, electronics and much more.  Amazon is similar to eBay in that you will head into a very large marketplace that has lots of buyers with a massive customer base. Amazon sells a large chunk of many products in many different categories, however, the platform (Amazon) allows third-party sellers to compete with them in its marketplace.  It is also easy to sign up for a seller account and list your items for sale. A plus to Amazon is that large numbers of people are always looking to buy quality items at a cheap price on Amazon, so as a seller you will enjoy the privilege of free quality traffic to your listings. In addition, Amazon also uses a built-in algorithm that will recommend your products to people who might be interested in the products based on their search history.  Note that Amazon compares favourably with eBay and here are the reasons:

Amazon is similar to eBay as they are both large networks with an extensive range of product categories.

eBay up till now is essentially an auction house unless you choose to list your item as “Buy it Now” whereas Amazon is a traditional retail set up and sales are instant with a fixed price.

eBay charges sellers for listing on the site, regardless of whether the item sells or not and will also take a commission when the item eventually sells.  Whereas on Amazon, you will list your items for free which is safer as you have nothing to lose if the items do not sell and if it sells you would only pay $0.99 per item sold on top of the commission for the sale if you have a basic free seller’s account.

Amazon provides extra service to buyers such as customer service, free shipping, same day delivery more especially when you use its fulfilment service popularly called FBA (fulfilment by Amazon).  Whereas eBay is not great about providing extra service for its buyers and the bulk of customer service rests with the sellers.

Almost anybody can sell their products or items on Amazon and it is extremely easy to get started without any complications whatsoever.  To sell very well make sure your product is of the high quality and that your prices are competitive enough to be a contender without sacrificing too much of your profit margins.    The best way to get ahead in a competitive market like Amazon is to ensure you do a little market research into what you plan to sell before you commit your time, energy and capital to actually selling the products.  One of the ways to get an idea of how well a product will perform is to try the Salehoo labs and this will be really useful to you more especially when you sign up to its drop shipping service to find quality and reliable suppliers/manufacturers.

One of the best ways to get ahead in a competitive space like this is to do a little market research into what you want to sell before you commit time, energy, and capital to actually selling it and using Salehoo Labs will enable you to filter your products  to see the ones with the highest success rate for the lowest competition in order to see some top options for you.

Etsy

Etsy is another online marketplace where you can sell your items and it is doing very well as an online selling platform.  Etsy started in 2005 as an online community for crafters, artists, vintage enthusiasts based in an apartment in Brooklyn, New York and now it has over 1.8 million active sellers and almost 28 million, active buyers.  Etsy is quickly trailing both Amazon and eBay as a site not to ignore by both sellers and buyers. Etsy specialises in handmade and vintage goods, as well as craft supplies which might be the limitation about this platform and because of its niche specific, might not be the market for most individuals.  If however, you are a lover of geeky things like costumes, jewellery, fashion accessories, home decor, cool gifts, designs such as t-shirts, mugs, calendars and other crafty items or you know how to source for quality vintage items, then this is definitely the place to sell it all.

While on eBay you can sell pretty much anything and on Amazon too, Etsy only caters for the handmade, vintage and boutique niches.

eBay has mass-sold items and big brands, while Etsy buyers enjoy handmade, craft items that are unique in nature.

eBay and Etsy are similar in one area though which is charging a listing fee.  eBay listings are up for 10 days, 30 days for a fixed pricing, while Etsy’s listings last 4 months and this means your listings will last 4 times as long on Etsy before you will have to renew them.

Etsy’s charging is cheaper which is only $0.20 listing fee per item and a fixed 3.5% commission, thus its fixed pricing model is much simpler than eBay.  

eBay is an auction site whereas Etsy is for direct sales, however, in terms of traffic eBay gets more traffic than Etsy, thus eBay enjoys a larger market share and audience, however, Etsy has better support than eBay.

On a final note, Etsy is clearly best suited to any merchants with handmade items, vintage items or arts/crafts related items.  So if you are an online seller who either produces your own unique products or you source items that suits this platform, then this selling platform is exactly for you.

Bonanza

Bonanza a fast growing online marketplace is headquartered in Seattle, though it is relatively new to the e-commerce scene, nevertheless, it is doing incredibly well.  The Bonanza marketplace has more than 23 million items ranging from Godzilla garden gnomes to taxidermy alligators. Majority of sellers are making good money on Bonanza.

One marketplace that helps make your online selling life easier is Bonanza and the name became more popular in 2017 and some sellers are moving away from eBay in favour of Bonanza.  The site has merchants and shoppers in nearly every country around the world with more than 60,000 sellers that are already selling on the platform. Bonanza is one of the easiest selling platforms to use and its popularity is on the rise among sellers.

How Bonanza compares with eBay

Bonanza is similar to eBay in that a huge range of different products are being sold on both, so the sky is the limit for what you want to sell. Unlike eBay however, many items on Bonanza are quirky and unique as extraordinary items do well on the platform.

There is a higher profit margin on Bonanza than eBay since it is absolutely free to list item on Bonanza and the average fee per sale is as low as 3.5% depending on the price of your item and this is considerably less than eBay.

Bonanza is a fixed marketplace thus buyers pay the listed price as opposed to bidding against other buyers on eBay in its auction-style listings.

Bonanza sends every time listing to Google and Bing, so sellers have the option to get more exposure by advertising their listings on other channels such as PriceGrabber, Nextag and Bonanza’s affiliate advertising platform.

Many sellers like to list their items on multiple platforms which is why Bonanza has easy to use import features for listings on eBay, Etsy, Amazon, Shopify and much more.

The only minors being that Bonanza’s monthly traffic is lower than eBay’s the ratio of shoppers to sellers on Bonanza is much higher 1,300 to 1 on Bonanza vs. less than 10 to 1 on eBay and this means far less competition between sellers and far more chances for buyers to see your products.

Bonanza is well suited to any individual or merchants that have products to sell online.

eBid

eBid is another marketplace that is similar to eBay and Amazon in that it is a platform for selling almost everything, though it is not as well known so you would be selling to a smaller pool of buyers.  eBid is a lower-cost option than eBay or Amazon and it is profitability rating is also lower. There are no listing fees and it charges only 3% commission on per sale, so this makes it a low-risk market to try out as if you have got little to nothing to lose here.

How eBid Compares to eBay

eBid is similar to eBay in that they both have an auction-style format for product listings.

eBay is a larger platform than eBid and receives more traffic when compared to eBid.  eBid is much cheaper than eBay and thus a lower risk option.

Both eBay and eBid are both trusted marketplaces with a wide variety of product categories.

eBid is good for anyone who does not want to pay to list items as on eBay or if you are just looking to try an alternative but similar platform to eBay.  There is really a great potential on eBid for sellers who know how to generate traffic to their listings.

Newegg

Newegg is an online marketplace and claims to be the no. 1 marketplace for everything “tech”. This means electronics, computers, parts, entertainment, smart home and gaming products are sold mostly on this platform.  Newegg is based in California and has distribution facilities across North America and Canada and has a global reach in more than 50 countries. Sellers can list products on the marketplace that reaches up to 36 million customers.

How Newegg compares with eBay

Sellers are restricted in terms of what products they can sell as Newegg is solely for tech products.

Also, the flipside to this platform is that visitors/buyers are solely looking for tech products so you have a more clearly defined audience and a potential customer base.

Newegg offers a fulfilment service similar to Amazon and popularly called Shipped by Newegg (SBN).  

Newegg provides account managers who can help to set up your business and guide you along the journey.

Newegg offers tiered membership options which are free, $29.95 per month and $99.95 per month, the more you pay, the more support, tools, flexibility and listings you get.  Newegg commission is in the range of between 8% and 15%.

Thus Newegg is best suited for anyone who is selling tech products, particularly those operating mostly in the USA and Canada markets.  Newegg’s target audience is mainly men aged 18 to 35 and if this is your target market, Newegg will be a good option for you.

eCrater

eCrater popularly referred to as the 100% free online marketplace and so called because it is free to set up a store and even has templates you can use to easily create an attractive store. I learnt it is easy to import your listings from eBay which is good if you are looking to move entirely from eBay.  You can read more about eCrater online but information at my disposal reveals that there are about 65,000 active stores on the site. There is fewer number of customers so also the amount of traffic is low when compared to other larger e-commerce platforms like eBay, Amazon, Etsy, etc.

How eCrater compares with eBay

It is 100% free to open and run a store on eCrater and if you make a sale it will take 2.9% of the total.  You are allowed to keep 100% of the sales that you bring to your store through your own SEO and marketing efforts.

The number of users and visitors on eCrater are much fewer when compared to eBay or Etsy.

eCrater provides your online store with templates that help you to get set up quickly and easily.

eCrater is only a good option for someone who is still selling on eBay but is looking for a 2nd marketplace to start selling.  Since eCrater does not quite have the numbers to be viable as a sole marketplace, it could still make for an excellent, low-risk and low-cost complementary option.

Ruby Lane

Ruby Lane is the marketplace for collecting enthusiasts and is designed to bring buyers and sellers of antiques, art, vintage, collectibles, jewellery together that is similar to Etsy and Bonanza.  Ruby Lane has 1.1 million unique visitors per month that is impressive for a niche marketplace. Majority of its users are located in the US, Canada, UK, Australia and Germany but has a global reach.  85% of its users are women aged over 40 and describe themselves as a collecting enthusiast. Ruby Lane attract more purposeful educated buyers who are willing to spend more money than those who are scouring eBay for bargains.

How Ruby Lane Compares with eBay

Ruby Lane is a fixed price marketplace and hence does not provide for auctions.

It is a much niche site than eBay, as it focuses only on antiques, jewellery, art and collectibles and this means visitors to the site are more highly targeted.

The charges on Ruby Lane are more when compared to eBay as it charges $0.19 per listing and tiered maintenance fee that ranges from $69 a month for small sellers to $0.01 per item for major sellers, and there is also a one-off $100 set-up cost.  However, there is greater quality control on Ruby Lane and sellers are vetted.

Ruby Lane is best for savvy sellers in the antique, collectibles, art and jewellery markets, especially if your target audience is women over 40.

Craigslist

Craigslist is one of the world’s largest online classified website and you can sell almost anything on Craigslist.  It is 100% free as there are no listing fees or selling fees, and it is super basic in both design and automation of the selling process.  Craigslist is just a forum and this means that you are pretty much on your own as far as selling and disputes go. With Craigslists you can also use it to advertise your service or skills for people that require such skills, for instance, creating of graphics such as banners, logos, flyers, business cards, etc once you know how to target the right audience in your location, you will get customers.

So, How Does Craigslist Compares to eBay?

eBay charges to list and sell items, whereas it is free on Craigslist and only charges for a small handful of post types like job listings, vehicles, products are free to list.

eBay will get involved in disputes if necessary while you are actually on your own with Craigslist so there is a bit of risk here.

Craigslist requires you to sell locally and you will arrange for pick-up or drop-off of items.  This limits your market when compared to eBay that involves shipping to a much wider area.

Unlike eBay, Craigslist has a free section where people are not looking to make money but just trying to get rid of things they don’t want anymore.  In this section though is spot for lots of junk, however, if you have a good eye for anything, you could get some items at a very cheap price, fix and resell them for a decent profit margin, more especially if you are good at fixing the items up to make it more appealing to buyers.

Is Craigslist Suited For You?

Note that Craigslist is well suited to sellers who will be selling locally and prefer to manage their transactions personally and it can be a good option for selling items that are too big to ship such as furniture in which case the buyer will arrange to pick it up from an agreed location or your house.  Most people like the idea of selling on Craigslist because they can meet the people they are selling and so there is a bit of social element here. When you sell on Craigslist you will get cash-in-hand and you won’t have to pay shipping fees.

To succeed with Craigslist you must be careful how you sell as online transactions can be a little dodgy here.  Accepting payments in person can be good but you must be careful and play safe more especially when you arrange the place to meet people as most people have lost their prized possessions or even their lives in the process.  Some of the items that you could sell on Craigslist are listed below, though, you can sell as many other items as you wish as most people sell items like furniture, fridge, freezer and other heavy items:

• Kitchen appliances
• Electronics
• Tools
• Bicycles

Facebook Marketplace

Facebook marketplace is a convenient destination for people to discover, buy and sell items.  There are already over 18 million new items in this marketplace ranging from video games to cars to clothing and other items.  The premise is simple and the buying experience too. When you find an item of interest simply message the seller to find out more information and you can work it out from there.  Each item normally has few pictures and a short description, however, it up to you and the seller to figure out the transaction details. The Facebook marketplace also works flawlessly on the mobile app with a button conveniently located directly in the middle.

The promise for Facebook Marketplace has always been massive, however, the reality often failed to live up to it.  Most buyers actually want the items for free or at a ridiculous price. So if you are planning on using Facebook marketplace it is not suited for listing new items but unwanted items.

 Walmart

As of now it is not widely known that Walmart which is one of the largest retail corporations on the planet has entered into the e-commerce marketplace world.  Walmart marketplace is a platform where select sellers can list and sell their products and it is very similar to Amazon as you will be competing with Walmart itself but it is definitely worth considering as an alternative to eBay more especially if you are resident of the USA.  You will get to take advantage of Walmart’s massive reach and customer base which is also free and easy to set up. Walmart seems to be taking the e-commerce space gradually and will likely be investing heavily in this area over the coming years.

How Walmart compare with eBay

There are no setup or maintenance fees, sellers will just pay a referral fee of between 8% and 20% for successful sales.  Also, there is no auction option as it is simply fixed-price listings.

You might be competing against some Walmart owned brands which might be given priority on the platform since Walmart is the owner of the marketplace.

As at the moment expect lower margins as Walmart gives priority to competitively price products and this means you might get caught in a race to the bottom.

In addition, Walmart’s online sales are lagging behind eBay, Amazon as it is still in its early days but will improve as the company attempt to become a force in the e-commerce marketplace.

Walmart is best suited to businesses with established brands as they will likely do well on the Walmart marketplace.  Walmart might be a good way to make an impression and could also a good option for new sellers looking to make brand awareness and credibility from the outset.

Your Own Online Store

Setting up your own online store is the no-competition option and is the ultimate option if you want to increase profits and build a business that will become a long-term asset.  The only problem is that when selling from your own online store, you have to generate your own traffic which might be slower to get started than selling in a bigger marketplace. However, once you are up and running you won’t have to compete with anyone else and the sales you make are all your own as you are not paying any commission or listing fees to anyone.

With this option, you can build your own brand rather than eBay or Amazon and when you sell on the platforms the person making the sale is the marketplace where you sell your products and so you hear people say “I bought this on eBay” or “I got this on Amazon”.  While you cannot totally ignore these marketplaces as a beginner or even an advanced e-commerce entrepreneur, it is still the best idea to start your own online store by the side and look for how to get your store noticed to your buyers in those marketplaces.

How Selling on Your Own Store Compares with eBay

The benefits of running your own online store are:

You are building your own brand

You can choose things which payment methods to accept and you can tweak the design of your store to suit your preferences.

You are not competing with any other sellers on the same platform and this means that you are not losing sales to other sellers.  This also translates to not having to use competitive pricing which makes way for larger profit margins.

Who is Suited to Open Their Own Store

To be candid anyone can start and run their own online e-commerce store with a determination to succeed just like selling in the marketplaces.  Setting up your own e-commerce store is not as hard as it used to be in the past. If you are not a techie person, you can engage the service of a web developer that will build your online store and this is done and paid for once, it becomes yours for life.  

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