Selling On Amazon Vs. eBay In 2021: Which Is Better?

Walmart, Alibaba, Shopify; there are many options available today for sellers on e-commerce platforms to bring the products to the customers and sell them online.

Though Amazon and eBay are the 2 platforms which have successfully existed for much longer as compared to the others. They are not just the older but torchbearers in the arena of e-commerce sites; you might want to sell your product on one platform or another.

The question is, which of these two platforms will work best for you?

In this article, we will review the primary differences between both of them and see which will work better for the business type.

Consumer Trust

Since the 1990s, Amazon, as well as eBay both, have been established very well.

Yet Amazon is ahead in competition with respect to the customer trust. This company’s mission, vision, and values are to gain and maintain trust with customers, and this approach is working for them.

The easy process of returning a product is another reason for customers to shop from Amazon. If the shoppers are unhappy with the purchase quality, or the delivery time, the A-Z Guarantee makes sure that the shoppers get their full refund.

Compared to eBay, the process of returning the items and getting the full refund is pretty much complicated. On top of that, the buyers have no option left if sellers tick eBay’s No Return Box. It may seem a good idea from a seller’s point of view, but in reality, it damages the name of your business, and the customers won’t trust you again. As a seller, it is important that the customers return to you again and make purchases from you.

In this department, Amazon is creating brand loyalty as well as ensuring support post-purchase.

Fulfillment Methods

When it comes to the fulfillment, you have only one choice while selling on eBay: pack as well as ship the orders yourself.

At the same time, Amazon offers two options: have the platform fulfill all your orders (FBA) or fulfill orders yourself (FMB). The option FBA sets this platform apart.

In the case of eBay, the sellers have to work out everything all by themselves (apart from the payments that are, if you agree, signing up as the Managed payment seller). At the same time, Amazon works towards taking a lot of workload from your hands, from picking, packing, storing to shipping the products. Amazon also handles your returns as well as refunds. 

Though the fees of using the FBA option of Amazon to fulfill the orders are higher, when calculating the cost of storing, packing, and shipping your products, it goes down in a significant manner.

It is always better to have more choices which you don’t get on eBay.

Amazon Prime

Amazon Prime is the main key feature that eBay is lacking. This is one of the major reasons Amazon has a pretty large and dedicated user base though it might seem like it completely benefits shoppers (like the return policy of Amazon). 

The monthly fee is paid by the shoppers for ensuring speedy delivery rather than letting the Prime subscription get wasted.

Consumers also spend their money on-site on the significant holidays like the Prime Day or Black Friday, and the loyal Prime customers don’t just go to the Amazon site first before using other online stores.

In the U.S.A alone, Amazon has more than 112 million prime users and more than 150 million across the globe. This means sellers are reaching a humongous audience on this platform that will shop on this site regularly.

Product Price As Well As Quality

eBay has managed to remain a marketplace since the launch in the year 1995 for the others in order to conduct the businesses. On the other hand, Amazon hasn’t. Instead, Amazon has changed from a retailer to be a marketplace for the third-party sellers in addition. 

Unlike Amazon, there are no restrictions based on the quality of the product sold on eBay. From the brand new packed products to the threadbare used products, the sellers of eBay can sell almost anything. (Though Illegal things are prohibited, obviously). 

Though used products can be bought on both platforms, compared to Amazon when it comes to shopping for second-hand items, people prefer eBay more. To sell used items, the auction model lends itself in a perfect manner, giving users the chance to buy them at pretty competitive prices.

Cost Of Auction Model

When you are selling on eBay, it’s important to note that you have limited control on the final rate of your goods and, eventually, the profit margin.

But when you are selling on Amazon, the price of your product is set by you and fixed, which basically means that you have entire control.

(You can also run the fixed-price listing on eBay though shoppers look to get major bargains, so it tends to be a harder sell.

Amazon is a great marketplace for sellers who are looking forward to selling second-hand books for the most part. Because Amazon started as a digital bookstore, it makes sense.

More shoppers approach Amazon when they are looking for a product that is new and in perfect condition. When looking for new items, 66% of the users use Amazon as the search engine.

Thus, selling the top-tier quality products with the ready-to-purchase built right in, Amazon is the better option overall.

And by doing your proper product research, you can find the perfect supplier as well as by creating the listing that tempts buyers, earn profits that lets you to increase business on Amazon year by year and grow. All you need to make a decision about is how you are about to build the business by selling brand new items or selling second-hand products, or maybe you can plan about doing both.

Concerning both kinds of consumers, Amazon and eBay both have a pretty clear goal.

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Amazon Or eBay? Conclusion

Hopefully, now you have a better understanding of the prime differences between these two platforms and how each can benefit the business. Is it time to make up your mind about Amazon or eBay?

There has never been a much better time to start a business online, no matter if you choose Amazon or eBay.

Aishwar Babber

Aishwar Babber is a passionate blogger and a digital marketer. He loves to talk and blog about the latest tech and gadgets, which motivates him to run GizmoBase. He is currently practicing his digital marketing, SEO, and SMO expertise as a full-time marketer on various projects. He is an active investor in AffiliateBay and a director in ImageStation.

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