11 Best Online Selling Websites Like eBay (eBay Alternatives)

Written by Franklin Hatchett

Our goal at EcomElites is to help readers get the information they need, we partner with companies to help bring you that information. If a purchase or signup is made through our partners, we receive compensation for the referral. Learn More

Would you like to expand the borders of your online business or would you like to switch its home base? You may have found the features of eBay limiting your business. Are you looking for other platforms that could match up the Amazon vs. eBay tussle? Maybe you are looking to join an online sales platform, and you want to weigh your options. No matter the reason, we are here to help.

eBay has grown significantly as a Customer to Customer Service C2C. Currently, it has over 1 billion products listed for sale and has over 171 million active users. We credit the platform to building successful business people out of hobbyists since 1995 when it was founded.

You may have your reasons for switching from eBay and you have come to the right place for answers. This article will discuss 11 other alternatives to eBay you may find appealing to your business. First, let’s start with what eBay has to offer and what it lacks to facilitate the success of an online business. You will then be able to compare it with other platforms to choose which platform best suits your needs.

Pros And Cons Of eBay

The major attraction of eBay is that you can sell anything and everything. Will you keep or kick eBay? Let’s weigh out the Pros and cons for your answer.

Pros

Easy to Set Up: Online salespeople are always looking for the least complicated and effective way to sell their products. Sellers can easily set up their storefront on eBay. You simply sign up, select a subscription plan, add your products, and begin selling!
High Visibility: eBay is a highly popular online marketplace. You have the chance to tap into the wide customer base of over 171 million users.
Seller’s Protection: You need assurance that you are protected from fraudulent activity when you are selling. Most platforms consider the buyer’s protection more than the seller’s. eBay is considerate of the rights of both parties.

Cons

High Bargain Competition: There is fierce competition on eBay as you will find many people selling the same product. Another seller could offer the same product at a price lower than yours. You will eventually lose as the buyer will almost always go for the lower price.
Limited Control: You are limited to what you sell and how you sell it. eBay features standardization of policies, branding, among other subjects. Thus you will have a hard time acquiring long term customers.
Marketplace Fee: eBay has marketplace fees that you may perceive as complex. There is a charge to list items on their platform, a charge on the total value of your product and an optional fee that will make your product highly visible to clients. You will need to add up these fees to your capital investment to avoid making losses.

What do you think? How do these pros and cons weigh to your business needs? We advise that you read further to see what other platforms have to offer so that you can be able to make a highly informed choice.

1. Amazon

Amazon may not be an auction website, but it is a very worthy competitor of eBay. Amazon uses a retail business structure. Thus, the prices are fixed, and you will be able to make an immediate sale. You need to conduct adequate research before listing your products on Amazon. You can use SaleHoo Labs to measure the success rate of your product, among other items in the same product category.

Best Fit For

Anyone. Amazon promotes the diversity of products. The only challenge you may face to maintain competitive prices. A small business could struggle with this. Bigger businesses can afford to make prices highly competitive as they sell in large quantities.

Direct Comparison With eBay

They are both large selling platforms, and they offer a wide variety of product categories.
Amazon is an online retail store. This means that your prices are fixed. However, eBay is more of an online auction house. You will have to set the ‘Buy Now’ option for your products so that you may sell them at a fixed price. Otherwise, you will be engaged in a bidding war which you may end up selling the product for a lower price than anticipated or you could take longer to sell your items.
Amazon lets you list your products for free. You will be charged a commission fee plus $0.99 for every product you sell. eBay charges you a listing fee plus commission for every item sold.
Amazon offers incentives that will help you draw customers to your business. you will be able to benefit from the customer incentives if you pay for the Prime membership. eBay does not do any selling. So it offers little incentives, and it is hard to build long-term relationships with customers. It is up to you the seller to provide customer service.

2. Etsy

Etsy is a platform that mainly offers deals on craft supplies, vintage products, and hand-made goods. You will be able to sell products such as jewelry, costumes, home décor, fashion items, among other crafty goods. It is more of a niche-specific online selling platform.

Best Fit For

Etsy is for merchants who make unique items or source for them. Such unique products include vintage items, hand-crafted items, and other crafty and artistic items.

Direct Comparison With eBay

Etsy is a niche-specific site that focuses on selling crafty, vintage, or handmade products. eBay lets you sell anything.
Etsy’s main focus is on unique products. eBay focuses on branded products or ones that are popular with the mass such as cellphones.
Both Etsy and eBay charge a listing fee. However, Etsy’s fee is lower than eBay’s. Etsy’s fee is fixed at $0.20 and 3.5% commission on all goods. eBay’s listing fee depends on your selling price. The higher your selling price on eBay, the higher their listing fee.
Etsy’s listing period is four months. eBay’s listing period falls between 10 to 30 days.
Etsy offers better customer support. eBay leaves most of the customer service to the seller.
eBay provides a larger market space with a wider customer base as compared to Etsy’s, which is niche-specific.

3. Walmart

Did you know that Walmart has ventured into the eCommerce market? You can take advantage of the store’s fame and popularity that has established a wide customer base. The products you list will feature alongside Walmart products and products from other suppliers.

Best Fit For

You have a better chance of success on this platform if you run a well-established business and selling solid brands. New sellers can also sell on the platform. You will need a solid strategy to help you create brand awareness and gain credibility.

Direct Comparison With eBay

Walmart does not charge set-up and maintenance fees. However, they charge referral fees for successful sales at a rate between 8% and 20%.
Unlike eBay, Walmart uses fixed prices rather than an auction for their items.
You may find yourself competing with Walmart itself as it also uses the platform to make sales. eBay, on the other hand, does not sell anything but you will be competing against other sellers.
Currently, more customers are familiar with eBay and Amazon as online sales platforms.
Walmart focuses on competitive pricing. Thus if you have rather pricey items, they may end up ranking low on the product lists.

4. Bonanza

Bonanza is an eCommerce platform that lets you sell anything from collectibles, home & garden, health and beauty, women’s collection among other categories. You will have access to many tools to enhance your sales experience. For example, you can import products from Shopify, eBay, and Amazon. You can also use target discounts to reach more customers.

Best Fit For

Anyone can sell anything on Bonanza. What’s more, it has specialized in the sale of unique items. Bonanza’s motto is ‘everything but the ordinary.’

Direct Comparison With eBay.

You can sell anything on Bonanza just like eBay. However, you are more likely to find unique products on Bonanza than on eBay.
Bonanza offers a higher profit margin. It only makes profits when a seller makes a sale. The charge a low commission fee of 3.5% and listing is free. eBay’s profits depend on your sales, and they do charge a listing fee.
eBay supports auction sales while Bonanza uses listed prices which are fixed.
Bonanza offers a better advertisement for your products. Your listed product is sent and listed on Bing, Google Bonanza’s Affiliate program, Nextag, and Pricegrabber.
Bonanza’s let you easily import your products from Amazon, Etsy, and eBay. Thus you can expand your market reach on multiple platforms.
Bonanza has a higher ratio of sellers to buyers despite generating less traffic. The ratio is 1:1300 while eBay’s is 1:10.

Related: Is eBay Safe?

5. Craigslist

Craigslist is very popular for selling anything. You can even find jobs on craigslist. It is a basic website that features no selling or listing fees. It is more of a forum where you are free to make sales, and you have to handle disputes on your own.

Best Fit for

Merchants who intend to make local sales. What’s more, it is meant for those who wish to handle their transactions on a personal level. You can sell anything you find too expensive or too big for shipping.

Direct Comparison With eBay

eBay charges a fee for listing and selling items on the platform. Craigslist lets you list products for free. However, you will be charged for listing post types such as vehicles and jobs.
eBay will help solve disputes and give verdicts. However, Craigslist has absolved itself of any dispute. Thus, you have to settle them yourself, and this makes it riskier.
Craigslist promotes local selling. You get to arrange shipping and pick-ups of products. eBay, on the other hand, offers larger market access.
Craigslist features a ‘Free Section.’ You could get these items, refurbish them, and then sell them to make a profit. eBay does not have a free section.

6. eBid

Are you looking to test out a low-risk market? eBid offers free listing and charges 3% commission for every sale you make. However, you have access to a smaller customer base.

Best Fit For

People testing out new markets. Moreover, it fits those who seek to avoid listing fees. You should try it if you are good at generating leads.

Direct Comparison With eBay

Both platforms embrace the auction sales strategy.
eBay has more traffic than eBid as it is larger.
eBid is a cheaper platform than eBay; thus, your risk is lower.
Both platforms offer a variety of products.

7. Newegg

Newegg is yet another niche-specific platform. It focuses on the sale of tech products only. It offers merchandising tools such as SEO guide, email autoresponders, among other programs. It has expanded to over 50 countries and has distribution facilities across Canada and North America.

Best Fit For

Newegg suits those who sell tech products and operate within Canada and the U.S markets. The main customers of Newegg are men aged between 18 and 35.

Direct Comparison With eBay

Newegg focuses on tech products only whereas eBay lets you sell a wide variety of products.
Newegg’s audience is more defined as they are source for tech products. Thus it increases your potential sales.
Newegg offers a shipping fulfillment service. The service is labeled Shipped By Newegg (SBN). eBay offers no fulfillment.
Newegg offers managers to help you manage your account and set up your business.
Newegg’s commission rate falls between 8% and 15%.
Newegg’s membership is tiered. This means the more you pay, the more listings, tools, flexibility, and support you get.

8. Rakuten

Rakuten is an online platform based in Japan. It offers an alternative entry point into online sales. You will be able to tap into the large Japanese population as 90% of people with internet access in the country are registered on this platform. Furthermore, it has access to the global online market.

Best Fit For

If you are looking to access the Eastern and global market, you should consider Rakuten. It is more dominative in the eastern hemisphere as it faces major competition on the global platform from stores like Amazon and eBay.

Direct Comparison With eBay

Rakuten is an online retail platform with fixed prices. eBay, on the other hand, is an auction platform.
You can build your own brand within Rakuten. You get to set -up your own store, include products and promote them via blogs within the platform.
Rakuten encourages customization. Thus you are more flexible with customer interactions on various levels such as pricing, promotions, and marketing.
eBay is already established in many countries. Rakuten, on the other hand, is still expanding, and you have the chance to expand your customer base concurrently. Rakuten is now available in 29 countries and counting.
Rakuten’s fees are slightly expensive as compared to eBay. You will pay $0.99 for every item you sell, a category fee of between 8% to 15% and a monthly seller’s fee of $33.

9. Ruby Lane

Ruby Lane is a platform that connects buyers and sellers of jewelry, antiques, vintage collectibles, and art. It is similar to Etsy and Bonanza. Ruby Lane boasts of over 1.1 million monthly visitors. These buyers are more purposeful, enthusiastic, and tend to spend more money. Survey shows that 85% of the customers are women over 40.

Best Fit For

Sellers with jewelry, antiques, art, and collectibles. What’s more, use Ruby Lane if these products could suit women over 40.

Direct Comparison With eBay.

Ruby Lane features a fixed price system. eBay is an auction platform.
Ruby Lane offers a targeted audience as it is a niche-specific platform. eBay, on the other hand, supports various types of product categories.
Ruby Lane may be costlier than eBay. You will pay $0.19 for every listing, a one-time $100 set up cost and tiered maintenance fee. Major sellers pay a maintenance fee of $0.01 per item, while small sellers pay $69 per month.
Sellers on Ruby Lane are vetted for quality.

10. Your Own Store

Major platforms will grow bigger and establish stronger brands when you use them to make sales. For example, you may have heard a phrase like ‘I got a good deal on Amazon or eBay. Your own store will help you establish your own brands and get full benefits from the sales.

Your own website will take time to grow as you will need to generate your own traffic. However, once the traffic is consistent, you will have a good customer base with no competition from within the platform.

Best For

You. Nowadays, anyone can set up a website and run their own store. It is easy to get a website without the use of a coding or design expert.

Direct Comparison With eBay

You get to build your own brand rather than promoting eBay.
You will not face competition from sellers within the same platform.
You get to customize the website to your liking. You will input preferences, such as design and payment methods.
eBay offers an already existing customer base, whereas you will need to generate traffic to establish a customer base for your website.

Also See: 11 Best Alternatives To Shopify That You Could Try

11. eCrater

eCrater is a dropshipping platform that serves customers within the United States. It is a growing platform that has more than 65,000 users. It is one of the most cost-effective alternatives for eBay as it only charges a 2.9% commission on sales. It is an auction platform like eBay.

eCrater supports purchases made through PayPal alongside credit cards, money orders, and checks. Setting up a store on eCrater is a simple and short process.

Best For

Sellers looking for a cost-effective platform to auction and ship within the US.

Direct Comparison With eBay

You can import items from eBay to eCrater but it is not possible to import items from eCrater to eBay.
Both platforms have an auction marketing structure.
eBay has a wider customer pool compared to eCrater’s roughly 65,000.
eBay easily integrates with Google Analytics which is not the case for eCrater.
Both accept PayPal, debit and credit card payments.