The year 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, is an excellent time to launch an internet business and begin making money. Since it’s one of the largest and most trusted online marketplaces, eBay is likely the first place you’d think of when considering where to sell your products online.
One cannot deny eBay’s influence. It could be a fantastic choice for expanding your business’s reach into new markets and tapping into a ready-made customer base in order to increase your sales. After launching in 1995, eBay has continuously ranked as one of the largest online marketplaces in the world. As a result, many more people are now able to run successful at-home enterprises, and thousands of hobbyists have become influential sellers.
Yet for various reasons, eBay sellers may suddenly be considering alternate marketplaces. This essay will discuss eight of the most promising online marketplaces that could replace eBay.
The Benefits of Considering eBay Substitutes
There is no question that eBay is an advantageous marketplace for online retail firms. You can, however, choose from a number of well-known options. It is in your best interest to set aside some time to investigate the benefits and drawbacks of each of those marketplaces and determine which one will work best for you.
There could be a few issues with eBay, including the following:
Expenses and charges that are too high
Fees on eBay are based on the type of item you list, how much it sells for, and whether or not you have an eBay store. Both a “insertion fee” and a “final value fee” must be paid by sellers. If you offer upgrades to their listings, like a bold listing, a larger photo gallery, subtitles, or a theme-based layout, you will have to pay more money. Over time, these fees will add up, and when sellers sell low-priced items, it hurts their profit margin a lot.
You don’t have much say over your listings
eBay cares more about the items in each listing than it does about you. It means that you might not be able to do everything you want with your product listings. Most importantly, eBay can always take down your listing.
Less room for change
Most of the time, the rules on eBay make you less flexible. How? It may tell you that you can only accept certain kinds of payments, limit the keywords you can use, make you put certain text in your listings, or stop you from marketing on other platforms.
Best Good Sites Like eBay
You can make money quickly and easily by selling things online. Powerful marketplaces like eBay and the 8 eBay alternatives can help you make a lot of money. But you need to find a product to sell no matter which marketplace you use.
As the biggest and most popular wholesale market, AliExpress helps you find the things you want as quickly as possible. This article will mostly be about the different marketplaces you can choose from. Check out What Is AliExpress if you want to learn more about AliExpress.
Amazon
Amazon is now one of the largest and most popular online stores in the world. It lets you sell millions of different kinds of products in many different categories. Amazon also gives sellers a lot of tools and services to help them offer great customer service and support.
Because Amazon has a good name, people are more likely to trust it.
PROS:
- There are no listing fees when you add new products to your Amazon shops.
- With Amazon’s supply chain, things will be kept in different places so that they can be sent to customers as soon as possible.
CONS:
- More competition. Because it’s so popular, you may have to deal with a lot of other businesses in this market.
- Some things, like Auto Parts Products, are not allowed to be sold on Amazon. And if you want to sell health care products like masks, you have to ask for permission. Dropshipping, a popular way to run a business, is now supported by Amazon. If you dropship on Amazon, you might not have to keep track of your inventory or deal with orders. Sharing the website’s traffic and large database makes it easy to get things going.
Etsy
Etsy is also a popular market place, just like eBay and Amazon. It is made for artists, crafters, and people who sell old things. Etsy has grown from its start in 2005 to become one of the most popular online markets.
PROS:
- Tools: There are a lot of tools you can use to make it easy to manage your product catalogue.
- You can easily grow your business because there are free marketing and analytics tools and services to help you.
- Flexibility: You might be able to find a mobile app that lets you manage your products while you’re on the go.
CONS:
- Small market: Etsy is not for you if you don’t sell handmade or vintage items.
- Scale of limited products: Since they like niche products and handmade, vintage, and unique items, it may be hard to grow your business.
Facebook Marketplace
a better place to grow local sales because it is safer, more convenient, and easier to use. Users can sell items directly to each other using Facebook’s built-in buying and selling channel. It also lets sellers who qualify offer delivery for certain types of products in their country.
PROS:
- If you have fans for your account, you can easily reach a wide range of potential customers.
- It’s easy for local buyers and helps them get the goods as soon as possible.
- Since you are selling to someone you know, you are taking less of a risk.
CONS:
- If your e-commerce is outside of the United States, you won’t be able to use features like Facebook checkout, but you can still list your products.
- Still, there are some limits on what kinds of things you can sell on this market.
Newegg
Newegg is an American online store that has been around since 2001. It is well-known for selling things like computer hardware and computer electronics. There are also items for playing games. The main office of the company is in California, and it now has offices in up to 50 countries around the world.
PROS:
- They have offices in more than 50 countries.
- Like Amazon’s FBA, they offer a unique fulfilment service.
- They offer different membership options that can help your business.
- If you have a Newegg account, you can only sell tech items. eBid
- You can also use eBid instead of eBay. But compared to eBay, it doesn’t have as many customers and doesn’t reach as many people. But if you want a cheaper alternative to eBay, it’s a great choice if you live in the United States and want to sell items from different categories. Also, it’s easy to bring in products from other marketplaces.
CONS:
- You don’t have to pay anything to list your items.
- The commission rate on eBid is only 3%, which is pretty low. Because eBid has no listing fee and a low commission rate, it is a low-risk market.
- eBid doesn’t have as many users as eBay, which has a huge customer base.
- The site doesn’t get many visitors, so you need to promote your business on social media or through your networks.
Rakuten
Rakuten is a company with headquarters in Tokyo that sells electronic goods. In 1997, it opened an online store for selling things. What does it mean that Rakuten is known as Amazon in Japan? It will work for you if most of your customers are in Japan.
PROS:
- Rakuten gives you a lot of ways to freely change how your store looks.
- They offer great tools and support for sellers, which can make it easy for you to sell your products.
CONS:
- Rakuten takes a little bit more money than eBay does.
Bonanza
Bonanza may not be as well-known as eBay and is fairly new to e-commerce, but it will soon become a “giant-killer” and take over the market. It’s the first choice if you want to talk to your buyers. Also, it beats all of its competitors and comes in first place for the most recommended sales locations.
PROS:
- You can sell a wide range of things, from creative planters to bright shoes.
- On Bonanza, you can talk to each other in a clear way.
- You don’t have to charge anything to list items.
CONS:
- However, the market is better for one-of-a-kind items.
- Compared to eBay and Amazon
Ruby Road
Ruby Lane wants to bring together people who want to buy and sell art, antiques, antique collections, and jewellery. It’s a lot like Etsy and Bonanza, which are also online marketplaces. Even though Ruby Lane is a niche market, it has a big impact on the world. Ruby Lane is most popular in the US, UK, Germany, Canada, and Australia. It is not a fixed-price market like eBay.
PROS:
- It focuses on a niche market for jewellery, antiques, art, vintage collectibles, and other items that are easy to sell.
- It has a big impact around the world.
CONS:
- The price of Ruby Lane as a whole seems a little high. On the other hand, you can get a trusted place to sell your old things.
Conclusion
eBay is a great place to sell things online, but it’s not the only choice. So, these 8 top markets could be alternatives to eBay.
But you might have other options besides these marketplaces. You still have a lot of great chances to get into the e-commerce business, like setting up your own online store with Shopify or WooCommerce.
It’s important to note that these platforms can be used for both regular business and dropshipping. You can dropship on these platforms and make money if you use good tools like Dropship Corporation.
Compared to eBay, they all have their own pros and cons. So, I hope you’ve decided on the best online market for you based on your needs and tastes.
