Sell On Amazon or eBay Marketplace? Which Is The Best Option?

Posted by amazonconnector on June 11th, 2013

Having a private online store is certainly a great idea. For any form of business, especially if you are just starting it, selling online is surely an easier and a quicker way to make profits. Hence it becomes vital to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each marketplace on the Internet – Amazon and eBay. By knowing the advantages and disadvantages of each marketplace, it would be easy to identify either to sell on Amazon or eBay.

AMAZON

Amazon is considered “The Big Dog” in the online retail market, and it’s been in this field for past 20 years; hence they enormous expertise in e-commerce.

Pros:

1. Unmatched traffic. Amazon.com is the fifth most surfed site in the United States. Therefore, it has great selling capabilities. However, the number of sellers here is more in number, so you have to make sure that you stand out in the crowd.

2. Reliable platform. The Amazon’s system helps prevent fraud and ensures customers their orders safety, as well. This two-way security certainly brings additional trust.

3. Straightforward cost system. Selling on your own online store will surely increase your marketing costs, which in turn, will affect profits. However, Amazon collects a fee for each product sold, which I generally a percentage of the price which will certainly not be too high.

Cons:

1. Major competition. Amazon has numerous sellers with whom you will have to compete. Even if, you manage to surpass this competition, there may be people who may identify that your products are profitable and offer them to the customers at a better price and better condition.

2. Withholding your money. You may normally get your amount after 14 to 90 days after selling a product. This however, will cause difficulties to small business concerns.

3. Rarely a second chance. There are a number of cases when Amazon shuts a merchant’s store without any obvious reasons. Just a couple of negative reviews and this can happen. The only way to overcome this hurdle is by completely satisfying every single customer, which practically may not be possible.

EBAY

Unlike Amazon, eBay has a similar place on the internet; however, the business model is slightly different. It is the biggest consumer to consumer marketplace on the internet, which provides a possibility to sell anything by setting up an auction or by a fixed price.

Pros:

1. Plenty of potential customers. EBay.com is the 7th most visited site in the United States, and most of these visitors can become your customers if you smartly reach them.

2. The auction system. If you’re selling unique or rare items, the auction system will surely prove to be beneficial to you. This is because you can inflate the price to great levels. However, if your merchandise is easily available, it is wise to sell it with a fixed price

3. Increased trust. EBay has well drafted anti-fraud system, this in turn, increases the confidence of customers. This leads to increased sales as trust is one of the most crucial issues when buying online.

Cons:

1. The dominance of PayPal. EBay demands that all dealings are made through PayPal. This surely increases security of both parties. However, in case a problem arises, your amount will be held for a longer period of time or may even result in overall closure of your account.

2. The auction system. The biggest advantage of selling on eBay is the auction system; however, you shouldn’t expect extensive bid wars on them. By doing so, you may lose some profits which you may gain in other marketplaces.

Hence both Amazon and EBay have their or advantages and disadvantages. Choose the one depending on your product and business requirement.

About the Author:

This article is written by Vadym Gurevych who holds a Masters of Software Development degree from Kharkiv National Technical University (Ukraine) and has been creating commercial software products for businesses for 15 years. Currently he is the Managing director at Holbi. Holbi’s Amazon Connector specialises in providing bespoke & turnkey eCommerce solutions like Magento Amazon integration, Amazon eBay integration, e-commerce Amazon integration and more, to small and medium businesses from all over the world.