EBay Alternatives
eBay Alternatives -
There is no question that eBay is the biggest online auction game in
town, but are there viable eBay alternative sites for sellers? Over the
past several years, changing eBay policies and increasing seller fees
have produced a rising degree of anger and frustration among sellers.
The result is that many have found other selling alternatives, some have
given up altogether, and ever greater numbers of sellers consider
taking their business to other auction and ecommerce marketplaces. My
own research shows that regardless of the ill feeling, eBay continues to
thrive and new sellers continue to flock to eBay trying their hand at
auction success. If you are one of the dissatisfied, or merely wanting
to expand your selling options, this article will attempt to point you
in the direction of some of the alternatives.
To begin, it is
important to keep in mind that not all selling venues are equal and that
not all items may sell equally well on every marketplace. Some
marketplaces may have inbuilt biases towards and against items depending
on the characteristic of the traffic visiting the site. I'm not saying
this to scare you, just to make you aware that when you move from venue
to venue, you may have to tweak your auctions and presentation to catch
buyer interest. At this time, due to dissatisfaction with eBay
(justified or not), there are many auction sites springing up. You may
have even considered starting your own auction site, but I think it is
fair to advise that you not spread yourself too thin, and that you stick
to the most viable possibilities.
Selling products online
loosely falls under the large category of ecommerce, and when you are
looking for eBay alternatives, you are basically going to be researching
auction sites and non-auction sites. Broadly speaking, non-auction
sites fall into three categories, merchant program sites, classified ad
sites, and self-hosted ecommerce sites. When considering marketplace
possibilities, it is important to remember that each kind of marketplace
has its own characteristics.
Bay Alternative Sites for Sellers
If
you search for auction sites, you will find zillions and more are
cropping up each day. However, one of the reasons that eBay holds its
coveted position at the top is due to traffic. No other auction site
gets as much traffic as eBay, and so one your considerations when
seeking an alternative will be the amount of potential buyer traffic the
site gets. The one site that is fully the equal of eBay both in terms
of traffic and world-wide name recognition as a buyer and seller market
is Amazon.com. Amazon is a non-auction, merchant program site whose
seller fees are reported to be substantially less than eBay and whose
treatment of sellers is also reported to be far more sympathetic than
eBay. Although I have no personal experience of Amazon's treatment of
sellers, I can tell you that the fees really are much lower than
required by eBay; if you do your own comparison you will see that this
is true. However, selling on Amazon is not going to be the same thing
as selling on eBay, and you will have to take that into account if you
decide to make a switch. I would certainly advise experimenting before
making any permanent decision.
Another non eBay alternative
includes Google Product Search (http://www.google.com/products). You can
find out more about Google's merchant program at
http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/products/submit.html. Blujay.com is
another merchant program you may want to look into. Here, you
essentially set up your own online store using the Bluejay marketplace
space. eCrater (http://www.ecrater.com) is another non-auction
combination of marketplace plus free store builder. In addition, eCrater
has the ability to allow you to import your eBay auction products so
that you can use both at the same time.
Although there may be
innumerable additional auction sites, for the time being you may want to
focus on sites that have already developed substantial traffic and have
a sizable share of the marketplace. One contender is Overstock.com
(http://auctions.overstock.com), which now includes an auction service.
Overstock has been a major ecommerce player for many years and is big
enough to create its own market. Ubid.com, another player in the online
auction marketplace, boasts 5 million members. Although there is no
guarantee that products you sell on eBay will sell on Ubid, you
definitely want to put this site on your shortlist of eBay alternatives.
While
eBay is no longer the only significant ecommerce auction environment,
it is certainly a major player. Nevertheless, eBay and the
auction-style market place its popularity has spawned has opened the
door to many eBay alternative sites. This market place expansion is now
providing sellers with many other potentially profitable venues and
programs to take advantage of. Although this expansion is due in part
to dissatisfaction with eBay, even if you are pleased with the quality
of your eBay experience, as many are, it makes good business sense to
research additional markets for your products.
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EBay Alternative Sites for Sellers
Over
the past several years, more and more eBay sellers have been asking if
there are realistic alternatives to eBay. I can answer that question
with a definite "yes," but I can't know whether or not moving from eBay
to some other marketplace would be best for you. Much of the answer
will depend on how well you are doing and your general level of
satisfaction with eBay. The point of this article is not whether eBay
is good or bad. It is no secret there is a growing number of sellers,
some of whom are quite big, who are unhappy. The point, here, is
whether you have options, and if so, can they make you money?
Are
there viable alternatives to selling on eBay? As I mentioned above,
"yes," and people are making money in these other venues, but it is very
important to keep in mind that not all marketplaces behave the same
way. They are all different, have their own characteristics, and their
own kind of traffic. That is to say, one marketplace may favor certain
categories over others and the kind of visitors it gets may generally
prefer certain kinds of goods over others. Moreover, goods that tend to
sell well on auction sites may not do so well in non-auction ecommerce
venues. Because of this, it may be necessary to experiment and test
each site to determine which items will do well and how to best present
your range of products.
For our purposes, we can think of eBay
alternatives falling into two basic categories, auction and non-auction
sites. There are actually sub-categories of non-auction sites but
rather than worry about classification, I'd like to list a few
examples. The most obvious is simply listing products on your own
privately hosted ecommerce site. Here, you have to create your own
marketplace and you are entirely responsible for driving traffic and
handling all of the logistics of sales and shipping and handling.
However, there are also hosted merchant programs, such as Amazon.com,
and some eBay sellers do well selling on classified advertising sites,
such as Craig's List. At this point, I'll mention once more that we
must remember these marketplaces have their own characteristics of buyer
and seller appeal, and you must figure out how to "go with the flow" of
the site.
There are many new auction sites popping up each day
due in part to the perception of growing dissatisfaction with eBay.
Nevertheless, even though there is some heavy hitter competition in the
playing field, eBay continues to hold the lead in traffic numbers and
revenue. In addition, there is a steady flow of new sellers itching to
make their mark on eBay, so eBay is not going away. What this means for
you is that if you are serious about finding a truly viable
alternative, then you are looking for a site with huge traffic number,
as big a piece of the market share as possible, and a better treatment
for sellers. My own research finds that although there are some very
real and tasty competitors out there, the only site that comes close to
matching eBay in terms of traffic, revenue muscle, choice of goods, and
global name recognition is Amazon.com. Amazon has a non-auction
merchant program reported to be very successful and. One fact I can
report is that Amazon seller fees are much, much lower than eBay. I
have personally looked and compared. So, hypothetically, if (and this
is a big if) you sold the same volume through the Amazon merchant
program as you do on eBay, you would keep a much greater portion of your
income.
Google Product Search (http://www.google.com/products)
is another market to consider. You can find details and instructions on
how to list your products at
http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/products/submit.html. Listing is free,
and it is up to you to promote your listings. Although the shopping
traffic may not be as great as eBay, it is Google, after all, one of the
most highly trafficked sites in the world. And speaking of Google
Product Search, you may want to check out Bluejay.com. This is another
non-auction venue. Again, not as substantial as eBay but not to be
ignored, either. Bluejay provides its own marketplace plus access to
its online site builder for no cost. However, Bluejay also submits your
listing to Google Product Search, which is an added punch. One more
player in the field is eCrater.com. ECrater is big enough to provide
its own marketplace, and it, too, includes a free site builder, and
allows you to import all of your eBay products into your store.
There
is no shortage of auction sites, and though I don't want to discourage
you from playing the field, keep in mind that many of these sites will
have only a tiny amount of traffic. For that reason, you may want to
start out by giving your attention to sites that currently have good
market share and solid traffic numbers. One such site is Overstock.com
(http://auctions.overstock.com). Although not as big as eBay or Amazon,
Overstock is big business and has been selling low cost goods for many
years. Overstock may not be known to you as an auction venue, but it
is, and certainly one of the eBay alternatives you should look into.
One of the other big names in online auction is Ubid.com. Again, not as
big as eBay, but this should also be on your list of options. Site
promo reports Ubid has 5 million members, so this is large scale
business. If you are unhappy with eBay--or even if you are not--there
are hosted ecommerce additions and alternatives with which you can
expand your business.
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EBay Alternatives--Expanding or Replacing Your EBay Business
It
is no secret that eBay is the biggest online auction market with the
greatest number of buying visitors of any auction site in business. It
also arguably offers the greatest variety of goods; nevertheless,
increasing seller unhappiness has and continues to draw sellers away
from eBay and gives many others pause to consider finding a new "home."
Whether you are happy or not, you may have asked yourself if there are
any practical eBay alternative sites or other marketplaces to take or
expand your business. As for eBay, good opinion or not, it continues to
thrive making money hand over fist and hoards of new sellers launch
hundreds, if not thousands, of new auctions every day. Be that as it
may, if you are thinking of striking out into new territory, this
article will attempt to guide you toward realistic alternatives.
It
is important at the outset to keep in mind that not all marketplaces
are the same and do not behave in the same way. The various sorts of
venues available to you will each have their own characteristics, and
you will find that not all products will do equally well in all selling
environments. For example, a site which primarily deals art and craft
goods may not be the best place to list auto parts. Thus, one market
place may have certain biases that favor some products over others. My
point is that although there are alternatives, it may take a bit of
trial and error in order to make the site work for you.
If you
want to branch out from eBay, there are many, many options such as
selling goods from your own online ecommerce store that you run from
your private hosting. However, since you are selling on eBay, you may
prefer options that do not require you to have your own hosting.
Personally, I really like the privately hosted ecommerce option, but
that is a very different business model. Your options include auction
and non-auction sites. Non-auction alternatives will ideally have a
substantial traffic flow, have a substantial marketplace, and include a
free means of either listing your items or building an online store.
Another option that appears to work will for certain product categories
is classified ad sites, such as Craig's List.
If you plan on
replacing eBay, then ideally you will want a site with as much buyer
traffic, name recognition, and reach as eBay plus lower fees plus a
management more attentive to the needs of sellers. To my knowledge
there is no other auction site that gets as much traffic as eBay and
commands as much market share. The only market environment that
competes with eBay for traffic, revenue, and name recognition is
Amazon.com. According to my own research, Amazon's seller fees are much
lower than eBay, but it is also a much different kind of marketplace.
If you haven't considered Amazon before, go see for yourself. The link
to the merchant program is at the bottom of the page. I have no direct
experience with management behavior towards its merchants, though it is
reputed to be more sympathetic than eBay.
Two other non-auction
alternatives include Blujay.com and eCrater.com. Both Bluejay and
eCrater provide the seller with an already existing marketplace and both
provide a free means of building an online store on which to list
products. Bluejay actually submits your listings to Google Product
Search, and eCrater allows you to import your eBay products into your
eCrater store. The cost of listing on these services is also much less
than eBay, and there is no reason why you can't continue to list on eBay
as well as other venues. A moment ago I mentioned Google Product
Search (http://www.google.com/products); this is another service that
allows free listing of your products. This would also be a resource to
use if you have an eBay store or your own privately hosted ecommerce
store. You can find out how to sign up and list products at
http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/products/submit.html.
In the
event you are only interested in selling your goods through online
auctions, you still face the problems of traffic and marketplace
discussed above. Fortunately, there are options! One viable
marketplace is Overstock.com. You may think of Overstock as primarily a
vendor, but Overstock also hosts an auction environment at
http://auctions.overstock.com. Put this on your "Must Check Out" list,
because even though Overstock isn't as big as Amazon and eBay, it is
still huge. Another site that should be on your shortlist is Ubid.com,
which claims to have over 5 million members. Ubid is another huge
thriving online auction site. Keep in mind that no other site has the
traffic of eBay, but escaping eBay's fees may require that your "retool"
your business model a bit.
