Amazon or eBay? Which marketplace to choose

1. Registration and fees

The Amazon seller registration plan is free for users who sell fewer than 40 products per month; on each product sold, they pay 99 cents plus a variable referral fee percentage.

Users who, instead, want to sell more than 40 products per month can create a Professional account at a cost of €39 per month, while still paying a percentage on every product sold. Furthermore, those who choose this second type of subscription can also choose to create sponsored ads for their products.

The referral fee percentages on products sold vary depending on the product type and range from 8.24% to 15.45%.

Those who choose to register as a seller on eBay can choose to do so as a professional or non-professional seller. Unlike Amazon, eBay does not propose fixed costs for its service.

There are two main fees: an insertion fee (from 35 to 50 cents for each published listing) and a final value fee (from 4% to 8% of the product's selling price).

From a commission standpoint, it is more convenient for a seller to choose to sell on eBay to ensure a higher margin or to offer more advantageous prices.

2. Logistics and shipping

From this perspective, eBay leaves its sellers "alone," delegating everything related to this aspect to them. Those who sell on eBay are required to manage shipping in total autonomy, which often leads to longer waiting times for the customer and is one of the weak points of this platform.

Customers increasingly seek fast and free shipping, and in this, Amazon is a guarantee of quality. To help its sellers maintain these quality standards, it offers the FBA service, through which sellers can ship directly to Amazon warehouses and entrust the company with logistics, shipping, and customer service. This service has a cost that varies according to product types and the quantity of goods.

For logistics and shipping, Amazon definitely offers a better service for both sellers and customers, especially when dealing with many products sold in a short period.

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3. Products sold

The number of products sold annually by the two e-commerce giants varies significantly. Available data is not extremely precise or current, however, approximately half as many products are sold on eBay compared to Amazon.

The big difference, however, lies in the types of products that users search for most on the two platforms. If we consider the top 5 product categories, the only ones in common are, predictably, clothing and technology.

Excluding these two categories, Amazon customers primarily look for books and products in the home and kitchen category. On eBay, instead, users mostly seek vintage and collectible items.

This is one of the most important points when choosing which of the two platforms to join. There are products better suited to one and others better suited to the other. Furthermore, Amazon has very strict policies for certain products, so if you choose to sell in specific categories, you must be sure you have everything in order.

Conclusions

In conclusion, Amazon is more recommended for those selling goods they produce or private label items, shipping many products each month, and also for the higher average prices that Amazon customers are willing to pay. Furthermore, this is the most well-known and reliable platform at the moment; users trust Amazon because it always guarantees impeccable service, and therefore they will trust you.

eBay, on the other hand, is a platform better suited for sellers offering used, vintage, or collectible products. However, it requires effort both in managing your storefront and, above all, managing shipments. Moreover, recently the perception of Ebay as a reliable platform has been declining, so you will need to build a significant reputation. One way to do this is by offering secure payments through PayPal, which Amazon does not allow.

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