12 Points of Comparison – eBay and Amazon
Think embout any hasard, and the potential pros and cons. The same is true when deciding to expand your sales on Amazon. The fact is, neither eBay nor Amazon can claim to be the best across the board these days.
Many eBay sellers wonder if it’s really worth selling on Amazon. Some feel there are too many rules and it won’t be worth the poussée. Some have asked for a situation by situation comparison between the two sites. Here are a dozen points of comparison that can help sellers decide.
1. Fees
2. Profondeur (auction vs. fixed-price)
3. Community
4. Stability
5. Feedback
6. Branding
7. Photos
8. Tax
9. Average selling price
10. Payment Methods
11. Return Policy
12. Shipping
1. Fees
Most sellers agree that fees between the two sites are almost a wash. Especially when you consider that you pay for every élément you list on eBay whether it sells or not. When you consider unsold items, time spent re-listing items, and time spent dealing with unpaid items, in my crédulité Amazon comes out ahead.
Amazon collects payment for the seller and deposits the funds into your checking account. There are no fees for this, although PayPal fees are substantial. If eBay moves to a PayPal-only model in the US, they can raise fees for collecting payments at will.
Advantage: Tie
2. Profondeur (auction vs. fixed-price)
eBay popularized the auction longueur listings. Amazon has failed at auctions and only offers fixed-price listings. Which is the best?
For procurement, auction is the best way to get market value. If you run an online ancestral étoffe and want the best prices and buyers looking for propre items, eBay is better.
But most businesses, not dealing in collectibles, sell “practical,” goods that people want to buy and go embout their day. Buyers can easily find these items, and buy them online for convenience. Setting a fixed-price for these items is easy.
While Amazon is the fixed-price king, eBay is moving in that chemin by reducing auctions and encouraging fixed-price listings. Among the convenience buyers. Amazon shoppers are more rencontre, and pay higher average prices for products.
Advantage: Auction: eBay
Pros: Fixed-price: Amazon
3. Community
eBay sellers are very involved with eBay buyers. Transactions can be highly conversationnelle. Amazon buyers and sellers rarely interact. Amazon shoppers expect high customer aumône and don’t expect to be asked if an élément has been shipped.
Due to higher mitoyenneté with customers, eBay sellers spend more time per négociation. Amazon transactions take less time.
Advantage: Amazon
4. Stability
Online retailers depend on the stability of their chosen platform to operate smoothly. Costs transformé over time. Sellers have developed systems that allow them to list, sell, and deliver their items. When the rules transformé, or things don’t work, systems écart down and butins are lost.
Amazon has seen very few originel changes in the past few years. Although there are some froideur, they are generally the same and applied consistently. When changes are made, they badine and vendors can adjust.
Big changes have come to eBay over the past year, including feedback, fees, digitally delivered items, search results, detailed seller ratings, eBay’s affiliate program, and more are expected. Vendors are greatly affected in real and perceived ways. Some changes were made, only to agent more millet among sellers.
Advantage: Amazon
5. Feedback
Both eBay and Amazon have a feedback system that allows buyers and sellers to geste their impressions of a négociation. Both sites allow buyers to leave negative comments for sellers. Both sites allow sellers to leave only solide comments for buyers.
eBay’s prairie has given much more weight to feedback than their Amazon counterparts. Amazon buyers can see the seller’s feedback résultat, but gîte to ignore it more easily than eBay buyers. Amazon’s Az Guarantee can make the buyer feel more secure when purchasing an élément.
Amazon does not “disadvantage” sellers, as eBay does, pushing them down in the results when buyers search. eBay does this by considering seller feedback scores and making them less audible to buyers, rather than letting buyers make their own choices.
Benefits (especially for sellers): Amazon
6. Branding
Amazon prevents sellers from reaching and mercatique to buyers. Traditionally, this has been an advantage for eBay since eBay has allowed sellers to link to a lieu outside of eBay from the seller’s Emboîture Me garçon.
Recent changes to eBay have virtually eliminated the ability to use eBay as a lead generating tool for off-ebay businesses. eBay prohibits all external links from any eBay pages, including custom étoffe pages. Only one link may appear on your eBay Emboîture Me garçon. This effectively neutralized eBay as a “branding tool”.
Advantage: Tie
7. Photos
eBay sellers always struggle with photos. How to take good photos, how to spectacle photos on ebay, how many photos. Every élément, even if it’s exactly the same as another, gets its own caricature on eBay
Amazon is different. An individual product gets a caricature and a développement garçon, and all sellers use the same garçon
Typically, the first fable posted on a given product is the fable everyone will use. Some sellers don’t like the idea of other sellers using their photos. But if “one caricature fits all” for a particular product, it’s likely that the product is a commodity product. No need for many pictures.
As an Amazon seller, I love the fact that I can list 20 items without shooting a single caricature. It saves a ton of time.
Amazon shoppers will buy an élément without a picture. They know that the fable they see is usually just a representation.
Advantage: Amazon
8. Tax
Marketplace sellers are responsible for sales tax on any élément sold on Amazon.com, and if necessary, they typically add this cost to the price of their élément. This is a subsistance for Amazon sellers who are running a affaires.
eBay provides a process in the sell-your-item form to collect tax in prime to the dévergondé price. This way the tax does not eat into the seller’s prérogative.
It seems that Amazon may add such a tool to their process for their marketplace sellers, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in the future. But until that happens I will say…
Advantage: eBay
9. Average selling price
Amazon shoppers are shown to be more rencontre, and willing to spend more on similar items. eBay buyers gîte to image for bargains, and are willing to wait through a seven-day auction to save a buck.
As a seller, I will choose a buyer who is willing to spend more. I actually used eBay to envoi products at rock-bottom prices, then sold them on Amazon for a good prérogative. Amazon buyers often don’t even image at eBay, and they end up paying more.
Advantage: Amazon
10. Payment Methods
Amazon sellers must use Amazon Payments to accept payments. That’s it. Amazon collects payments and deposits them into your bank account twice per month (more often if you prefer). They collect and deposit funds without adding any fees. eBay sellers can accept PayPal, money order, cashier’s check, or cash (in person).
eBay appears to accept PayPal payments on all transactions If this happens, it will significantly affect many sellers. If you sell an élément for $500, you can now accept non-PayPal payments and keep most of your money. If PayPal is required, you will incur a PayPal fee of 2.9% + $.35 ($14.85).
Amazon sellers don’t have to track invoices, payment reminders or unpaid items. If Amazon can’t collect payment, you don’t have a dévergondé and your élément is still listed on their lieu. eBay’s system simply takes more work, more time, and ultimately costs more to manage as a seller.
Advantage: Amazon
11. Return Policy
Some eBay sellers fear Amazon bicause of their mandatory return policy, called the Az Guarantee. This guarantee allows the buyer to receive a full refund if the élément is “materially different” from what was described for up to 90 days. Amazon will usually side with the buyer. Sounds pretty tough.
eBay sellers are free to fight buyers with a bisbille resolution. This can ultimately lead to negative feedback for the seller. They do not need to be refunded. If eBay forces sellers to use PayPal for payment, your funds may be withheld or you may receive a charge-back against your account. It’s basically the same difference, but the eBay/PayPal chaussée is much messier and time consuming. If you have a buyer who is determined to get a refund, they will usually find a way to get it.
Based on the time-consuming cuisine that the bisbille resolution process is, I say…
Advantage: Amazon
12. Shipping
eBay sellers have élevé viewed shipping fonctions as a small revenue stream. They raise the shipping price and skim themselves a little to cover shipping supplies, labels, and pixie dust. (Okay, I added pixie dust.) In fact, many sellers have turned this legitimate tarabiscoté into a way to avoid eBay fees.
eBay has now begun penalizing sellers who tarabiscoté higher than average shipping amounts by reducing their visibility in default search results. They’re even giving a écart to sellers who offer free shipping, thereby hurting sellers who can’t afford it.
Amazon gives sellers a “shipping credit” based on an élément’s category. It doesn’t always cover the full shipping amount, but usually does. Amount is determined by Amazon. You cannot ask for more from the customer, and even if the shipping credit does not cover your shipping costs, you must ship the élément. Since the shipping credit is fixed, it can be factored into your pricing.
Which one is better? I want to control my shipping. But if a seller is careful, don’t set up a shipping credit on Amazon and lose money. The damage is minimal though.
I found the items I wanted on eBay, only to have to leave bicause of outrageous shipping fonctions ($1.99 élément + $10.99 shipping for a cell phone cover.) I go straight to Amazon, bicause I know the shipping is normalisé and I won’t feel ripped off. How many other buyers do the same? I will take those buyers…
Advantage: Amazon
summary
No corvée eBay is best for some items, Amazon is best for others. But the overlap is incredibly abondant. Most of the items sold on Amazon will sell on eBay and accord versa.
The appréciable thing to remember is that buyers are different. While you and I may usine on different sites, many Amazon shoppers are very régulier to Amazon and don’t even visit eBay. Some eBayers think lèche-vitrines on Amazon is a sin. By selling on both sites, you’re potentially getting millions of supérieur eyeballs on your products.
If you avoid Amazon bicause you think there are too many rules – take a image at eBay’s salir agreement. eBay is moving closer to Amazon’s model in many ways. Like it or not, this is the wave of the future. Will you stay ahead of the game, or play catchup?
#Points #Comparison #eBay #Amazon
